Booklist Magazine, May 15, 2022 – From a barrier-leaping African American woman in the Gilded Age to a military coup in Guatemala and the woman bookseller who first published James Joyce’s Ulysses a century ago, the most radiant historical novels of the past 12 months illuminate many lives and times.
Opinion: India’s Economy, Workplace Surveillance, Infant Genome Screening
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the forces that stand to transform India’s economy over the next decade (11:06), how surveilling workers could enhance productivity (21:07), and full-genome screening for newborn babies is now on the cards.
Spring Walks: Essenburg Castle In The Netherlands
May 15, 2022 – We visited two of the many castles in our province Gelderland. In the province of Flevoland we saw a lot of konik ponies at the nature reserve Oostvaardersplassen.
Essenburg Castle is located in the Netherlands province Genderland east of the village Hierden. The plaque on the castle argues that it was built in 1652. It is believed that the current building was built on the site of a medieval castle. However, serious archaeological investigations found no evidence of the existence of the predecessor.
Morning News: Northern Ireland-UK, Mariupol Siege, Cannes Film Festival
We discuss the possibility of unilateral action on the Northern Ireland protocol and hear the latest on the conflict in Ukraine from Kharkiv. Plus: Yemen’s Sana’a airport finally reopens, and it’s the first day of the Cannes Film Festival.
Front Page View: The New York Times – May 17, 2022
Louvre Exhibits: ‘Pharaoh Of The Two Lands, African Kings of Napata’ In Paris
PHARAOH OF THE TWO LANDS – The African Story of the Kings of Napata
28 April – 25 July 2022
OVERVIEW
In the 8th century BC, a kingdom grew up around the Nubian capital, Napata. In about 730 BC, the Nubian king Piankhy conquered Egypt and founded the 25th Dynasty of Kushite kings, who ruled for more than fifty years over a kingdom stretching from the Nile Delta to the confluence of the White and Blue Niles. The most famous of those kings is the pharaoh Taharqa.
The exhibition highlights the importance of this vast kingdom, located in what is now northern Sudan. It is organised in connection with the Louvre’s archaeological campaign in Sudan, which focused for ten years on the site of Muweis before moving some 30 kilometres northwards to El-Hassa, not far from the pyramids of Meroe.
History Books: ‘The Castle’ By John Goodall (2022)
John Goodall’s The Castle: A history is the much slimmer companion to his magisterial The English Castle, (2011). Partly an attempt to bring the fruits of his research to a wider audience, Goodall’s new book uses extracts and quotations as the foundation of a historical account: each short chapter features an excerpt from a primary source that seeks to illustrate a particular moment. Rather than offering an architectural or conventional narrative history, Goodall explores the concept of the castle as it has been imagined, remade and contested over time. Important castles such as the Tower of London, Kenilworth and Windsor feature throughout.
Cover Preview: Harper’s Magazine – June 2022
Permanent Pandemic
Will COVID controls keep controlling us?
In January 2022 I came down with mild symptoms of something or other. I was already triple-vaxxed, with a French vaccine passport (“pass vaccinal”) on my iPhone to prove it, and like a true pioneer I had already suffered through a bout of COVID-19 long before, in March 2020.
Covid-19: How Deaths Reached 1 Million In U.S.
More than one million Americans were killed by Covid-19 in just over two years, the CDC reports. But the disease has hit some segments of the U.S. population far more than others. Photo illustration: Todd Johnson
Views: The Cinematic Soul Of Portofino, Italy (4K)
Delve into the cinematic legacy of Portofino. This year Belmond were thrilled to team up with the Italian Riviera Film Festival to celebrate Portofino’s silver screen heritage, producing a heartfelt short film presented by beloved actor Alessandro Gassmann. Commissioned by Belmond from local production company Flying Donkeys, the film honours legendary actor, director, screenwriter and Splendido guest, Vittorio Gassmann – Alessandro’s father.
Boomers Daily 