The New York Times Magazine – May 4, 2025

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THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (May 2, 2025): The 5.4.25 Issue features ‘The Happiness Issue’…Susan Dominus on what we’ve learned from nearly a century of research into happiness; Molly Young’s depressing week in “the happiest country on Earth”; Kwame Anthony Appiah on how the idea of happiness got small; Jance Dunn on tips from experts on finding bliss; and more.

My Miserable Week in the ‘Happiest Country on Earth’

For eight years running, Finland has topped the World Happiness Report — but what exactly does it measure?

How Nearly a Century of Happiness Research Led to One Big Finding

Decades of wellness studies have identified a formula for happiness, but you won’t figure it out alone. By Susan Dominus

The Best Advice I’ve Ever Heard for How to Be Happy

Tips from experts, astronauts and Cher on finding bliss. By Jancee Dunn

The New York Times – Friday, May 2, 2025

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Trump Moves Waltz to U.N. and Names Rubio Interim National Security Adviser

This is the first significant personnel overhaul of top White House aides, and the kind of shake-up President Trump has sought to avoid in his second term.

Behind Trump’s Deal to Deport Venezuelans to El Salvador’s Most Feared Prison

New details deepen questions about the deportations, showing that El Salvador’s president pressed for assurances that the migrants were really members of the Tren de Aragua gang.

Missteps, Equipment Problems and a Common but Risky Practice Led to a Fatal Crash

New details revealed by The Times show that the failures on Jan. 29 before an Army helicopter crashed into a jet near Reagan National Airport were far more complex than previously known.

Federal Judge Strikes Down Trump’s Use of Alien Enemies Act to Deport Venezuelans

The ruling, which is limited to the Southern District of Texas, prohibited the administration from using the wartime law because the president’s claims about a Venezuelan gang do not add up to an “invasion.”


The European Review Of Books – Spring 2025

THE EUROPEAN REVIEW OF BOOKS (May 1, 2025): The latest issue features …Around the world in strawberry red. Schengen’s pseudo-borderless « Europe ». A day in Minsk & an eternity at the border. A trip through Syria’s now-uninhabited terror apparatus (archivists needed). Cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire, agricultural-novelists in Switzerland & France, tree-huggers in The Hague

Double negative

Our first piece from Issue Eight, out from behind the paywall! « It’s best to go into Schengen’s history unshocked by contradiction. by George Blaustein

The shortest, longest bus trip

Travelogue of a day in Minsk & an eternity at the EU border. Paula Domingo Pasarin

On learning to hate chickens

Two novelists (one Swiss, one Spanish) sign up for agricultural jobs. Tania Roettger

Bethlehem, Jericho & a view of Jerusalem

A Palestinian writer mentally retreats to three unreadable cities. by Karim Kattan

National Geographic Traveller – June 2025

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER MAGAZINE (May 1, 2025): The latest issue features the pintxos bars of San Sebastián to exploring the artists’ studios of Barcelona, the June issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK) invites you to discover mainland Spain’s most breathtaking cities through the eyes of locals.

Kenya: In the southern safari regions, humans and wildlife have a fragile coexistence
Faroe Islands: In search of shapeshifters and sea trolls in this elemental archipelago in the Atlantic
BiarritzOn France’s Basque coast, this nostalgic town is revered by surfers and gourmands alike
Croatia:Hop from beach clubs to medieval monasteries with these island itineraries
Cartagena: Local designers and bartenders are giving this Colombian city a shake-up
Trentino: Mediterranean and Northern European cultures collide in this mountainous Italian province
Chengdu:In Sichuan’s provincial capital, teahouses are attracting a new generation of travellers
Prague: The Czech capital’s hotel scene is a feast for design aficionados 

Plus, our pick of this month’s most exciting travel news; celebrating 200 years of Berlin’s Museum Island; a look at the flavours of Burgundy; exploring Galloway, Scotland, on two wheels; an architectural tour of Casablanca; the best summer music festivals; a dose of Victorian whimsy on the Isle of Wight; independent bookshops worth travelling for; and essential kit for festivalgoers.

The Economist Magazine —- May 3, 2025 Preview

THE ECONOMIST MAGAZINE (May 1, 2025): The latest issue features ‘The Taiwan test‘….

A superpower crunch over Taiwan is coming

China has a new chance to call America’s bluff

Investors’ risky bet: they can shrug off the trade war

The relief they are banking on needs to come fast

India must prove Pakistan’s complicity in the attack in Kashmir

It would then have every right to strike back

The New York Times – Thursday, May 1, 2025

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Secret Deals, Foreign Investments, Presidential Policy Changes: The Rise of Trump’s Crypto Firm

World Liberty Financial has eviscerated the boundary between private enterprise and government policy in ways without precedent in modern American history.

At Vietnam War Memorial, Grief, Anger and a Sense of Finally Moving On

Visitors to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the anniversary of the fall of Saigon said they still felt sadness and fury. And some, at last, had a sense of closure.

U.S. Announces Deal to Share Ukraine’s Mineral Wealth

The Trump administration did not immediately provide details about the agreement, and it was not clear what it meant for the future of U.S. military support for Ukraine.

Gates Foundation Is Rattled by Trump’s Threat to Its Mission

As the Trump administration dismantles foreign aid, Bill Gates, whose philanthropy is devoted to global health, is trying to talk to anyone with the president’s ear.

The Guardian Weekly – May 2, 2025 – Politics Preview

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY (April 30, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Northern Exposure’ – Can Mark Carney save Canada from Trump?

The North America edition showcases Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, who achieved a remarkable victory in Monday’s federal election. As our reporter in Ottawa Leyland Cecco explains, Carney reversed a huge Liberal party poll deficit after voters backed him over his conservative opponent, Pierre Poilievre, to stand up to the threats of Donald Trump. Can the dour but tough former central banker succeed in fending off the aggressive advances of his US counterpart?

The big story | Kharkiv suffers in the shadow of a peace deal
While US-led negotiations threaten to carve up Ukraine, deadly Russian attacks continue amid deep cynicism about the process. Luke Harding reports from a city under siege

Science | Why f ish farms on the moon aren’t such a wild idea
The Lunar Hatch project is studying whether aquaculture might be able to provide a source of protein for astronauts on space missions. Kim Willsher paid them a visit

Feature | The dirtiest race in Olympic history
How did the 2012 Olympics women’s 1500m get its reputation? Athletes cheated out of medals talk to Esther Addley about what happened – and how the results unravelled

Opinion | Will Pope Francis’s compassionate legacy endure?
Some, especially within the US, see the forthcoming conclave as an opportunity to establish a more conservative leader, says Guardian associate editor Julian Coman

Culture | The genius of Barrie Kosky and his Wagner phantasmagoria
He put Carmen in a gorilla suit and had Das Rheingold’s Erda represented by a naked elderly woman. What are the the opera director’s plans for his edge-of-the-seat Die Walküre? Fiona Maddocks finds out

Nature Magazine – May 1, 2025 Research Preview

Volume 641 Issue 8061

NATURE MAGAZINE (April 30, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Trait Expectations’ – Predicting the functional diversity of tropical forest canopies.

Why US police shootings are so deadly ― and why some police forces do better

Two studies show the extent of gunshot wounds inflicted by police and link certain police-department policies with a lower death toll.

A front-line antiviral drug disappoints against worrisome monkeypox strain

Tecovirimat, which has been approved to treat mpox, was no better than a placebo in a large trial.

Martian rock hints at ancient dense atmosphere

Carbonate mineral is long-sought evidence of conditions that supported liquid water.

‘Tatooine’-like planet orbits two stars ― but at a weird angle

Like the Star Wars planet, a distant world follows a path around two stars, both of them small, cool bodies called brown dwarfs.

London Review Of Books – May 2, 2025 Preview

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TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT (April 30, 2025): In the period of extravagant mourning that followed Princess Diana’s death, the human rights lawyer Helena Kennedy complained that the country had entered “an era in which the public had lost its capacity for rational thought”.

Dangerous Chimera

Liberty as Independence: The Making and Unmaking of a Political Ideal 
by Quentin Skinner.

Red Pants on Sundays

The Maverick’s Museum: Albert Barnes and His American Dream 
by Blake Gopnik.

It’s a shitshow

Inside Thatcher’s Monetarism Experiment: The Promise, the Failure, the Legacy  by Tim Lankester.

The New York Times – Wednesday, April 30, 2025

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How Trump’s Second Term Is Changing Power, Institutions and More

President Trump has wielded the presidency as an instrument of blunt power, ignoring the howls of outrage from Democrats and daring largely docile Republicans to challenge the limits of his authority.

Mark Carney Wins New Term as Canada’s Prime Minister on Anti-Trump Platform

The election was dominated by Mr. Trump and his relentless focus on Canada. Pierre Poilievre, the opposition leader, lost the seat he had held for 20 years.

A Russian Missile Blew Apart These Kyiv Apartments, and a Decades-Old Community

“It feels like I lost my whole extended family,” one survivor said.

Justices Appear Skeptical of School District in Student Disability Rights Case

The case is being watched closely by disability rights groups, which warned that arguments by a school district could threaten broader protections for disabled people.

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