MIT Technology Review – May/June 2025 Preview

MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW (April 23, 2025): The Creativity Issue features Defining creativity in the Age of AI: Meet the artists, musicians, composers, and architects exploring productive ways to collaborate with the now ubiquitous technology. Plus: Debunking the myth of creativity, asteroid-deflecting nukes, bitcoin-powered hot tubs, and a new way to detect bird flu.

How AI can help supercharge creativity

Forget one-click creativity. These artists and musicians are finding new ways to make art using AI, by injecting friction, challenge, and serendipity into the process.

How creativity became the reigning value of our time

In “The Cult of Creativity,” Samuel Franklin excavates the surprisingly recent history of an idea, an ideal, and an ideology.

AI is coming for music, too

New diffusion AI models that make songs from scratch are complicating our definitions of authorship and human creativity.

Times Literary Supplement – April 25, 2025 Preview

TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT (April 23, 2025): The latest issue features ‘The Blakean Spark’ – The artist’s ‘Imaginative Eye’…

The New York Times – Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Under Hegseth, Chaos Prevails at the Pentagon

The defense secretary’s inner circle is in disarray, and distrust is growing among civil servants and senior military officials.

Francis’ Death Silences a Voice for the Voiceless

As democratic values and alliances were being turned upside down, the pope was a consistent moral guidepost. Who can play that role now?

He Was a Prophet of Space Travel. His Ashes Were Found in a Basement.

During his life, Willy Ley predicted the dawn of the Space Age with remarkable accuracy. How did his remains end up forgotten in a co-op on the Upper West Side?

Foreign Affairs Magazine – May/June 2025 Preview

Semafor Flagship: A launchpad, not a destination | Semafor

FOREIGN AFFAIRS MAGAZINE (April 22, 2025): The latest issue features ‘The Committee to Run the World?’….

The Rise and Fall of Great-Power Competition

Trump’s New Spheres of Influence by Stacie E. Goddard

The Return of Great-Power Diplomacy

How Strategic Dealmaking Can Fortify American Power by A. Wess Mitchell

The Russia That Putin Made

Moscow, the West, and Coexistence Without Illusion by Alexander Gabuev

The Once and Future China

How Will Change Come to Beijing? by Rana Mitter

The New York Times – Tuesday, April 22, 2025

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Pope Francis’ Legacy in the U.S.: A More Open, and Then Divided, Church

Pope Francis’ transformative vision for the American church made it more open, but also energized conservative resistance that further divided it.

Francis, the First Latin American Pope, Dies at 88

After decades of conservative leadership, Francis tried to reset the course of the Roman Catholic Church, emphasizing inclusion and care for the marginalized over doctrinal purity.

E.P.A. Set to Cancel Grants Aimed at Protecting Children From Toxic Chemicals

The cancellations, set to apply to pending and active grants, also affect research into “forever chemicals” contaminating the food supply.

White House Assesses Ways to Persuade Women to Have More Children

Baby bonuses and menstrual cycle classes are among the ideas pitched to Trump aides as they consider plans to try boosting the birthrate.

The New Yorker Magazine – April 28, 2025 Preview

An illustration of a scene near the Picnic House at Prospect Park. Various dogs are running around and playing.

THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE (April 21, 2025): Adrian Tomine’s “Lucky Dogs” – At least some of us are happy.By Françoise MoulyArt by Adrian Tomine

Donald Trump’s Deportation Obsession

Right-wing ideologues have long fantasized about the prospect of mass self-deportation: the Trump Administration is attempting something far more radical. By Jonathan Blitzer

How Trump Worship Took Hold in Washington

The President is at the center of a brazenly transactional ecosystem that rewards flattery and lockstep loyalty. By Antonia Hitchens

The Mexican President Who’s Facing Off with Trump

Can Claudia Sheinbaum manage the demands from D.C.—and her own country’s fragile democracy? By Stephania Taladrid

The Powerful Films of the L.A. Rebellion

Also: Adam Gopnik on where to eat near the Frick; Sondheim and Chekhov, Marisa Tomei and Lucas Hedges onstage; the kinetic Afro-pop of Youssou N’Dour; and more.

By Richard Brody, Michael Schulman, Sheldon Pearce, Helen Shaw, Brian Seibert, K. Leander Williams, Jane Bua, and Adam Gopnik

The New York Times – Monday, April 21, 2025

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Hegseth Said to Have Shared Attack Details in Second Signal Chat

The defense secretary sent sensitive information about strikes in Yemen to an encrypted group chat that included his wife and brother, people familiar with the matter said.

Inside the Urgent Fight Over the Trump Administration’s New Deportation Effort

The push to deport a group of Venezuelans raises questions about whether the government is following a Supreme Court order requiring that migrants receive due process.

Trump Administration Draft Order Calls for Drastic Overhaul of State Department

The draft executive order would eliminate Africa operations and shut down bureaus working on democracy, human rights and refugee issues.

Inside the ‘Tropical Gulag’ in El Salvador Where U.S. Detainees Are Being Held

A U.S. senator was allowed to meet with Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, but he was denied access to where Mr. Abrego Garcia had been held. What is that prison like?

The New York Times – Sunday, April 20, 2025

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Supreme Court, for Now, Blocks Deportation of Migrants Under Wartime Law

More than 50 Venezuelans were believed to be scheduled to be flown out of the country, presumably to El Salvador, from an immigration detention center in Anson, Texas.

Defying the Law and the Courts, Trump Seeks to Shift the Focus

The president is trying to rewrite the narrative of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia’s wrongful deportation as a dispute about illegal immigration rather than the rule of law.

Trump’s Aid Cuts Hit the Hungry in a City of Shellfire and Starvation

The stark consequences of the rollback are evident in few places as clearly as in Sudan, where a brutal civil war has combined with a staggering humanitarian catastrophe.

The Firefighter With O.C.D. and the Vaccine He Believed Would Kill Him

For years, Timmy Reen tried to hide his compulsions and rituals from everyone at his New York City firehouse — until his secret was forced out in the open.

Barron’s Magazine ——April 21, 2025 Preview

Barron's | Financial and Investment News

BARRON’S MAGAZINE (April 19, 2025): The latest issue features ‘The War On College Endowments’…

University Endowments Are Worth $874 Billion. Trump Is Waging War on Them.

Under attack from Washington, Harvard and other elite schools could be facing an ‘existential threat.’ What the future holds.

Bonds Are a Buy Again. Where to Find Yields of 6% or More.

From junk bonds to munis to mortgage securities, yields are elevated and prices depressed. Ten funds to consider.

The Trade War Is Here. Retirees, It’s Time to Protect Your Portfolio.

Make sure you have enough cash, and consider alternatives to stocks and bonds that can hold up in downturn.

The Market Had Another Rough Week. The Fed’s Powell Remains Calm.

Teresa Rivas

News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious