At the Democratic National Convention, the sense of relief was as overwhelming as the general euphoria—but the campaign against Donald Trump has only just begun. By Jonathan Blitzer
1 Spotlight | 40,000 deaths: another grim milestone for Gaza As faltering ceasefire talks continued this week, Malak A Tantesh and Emma Graham-Harrison report on how the death toll given by Gaza’s health officials fails to tell the full story of Palestinian grief.
2 Technology | Is Threads a new safe haven for those leaving X? Elon Musk’s frequently inflammatory online remarks have left many seeking a less toxic alternative. James Ball explores whether Meta’s Instagram spin-off provides it.
3 Feature | Audrey Tang, the good hacker The activist turned hacker is used to breaking boundaries as the world’s first minister for digital affairs. Now, she tells Simon Hattenstone, she wants the world to learn how to detoxify the internet.
4 Opinion | Caution needed over Kamala Harris’s flying start The Democratic vice-president has enjoyed a spectacular launch to her presidential campaign. But, warns Jonathan Freedland, it is far too early to write off her rival Donald Trump.
5 Culture | Snogs away! The crazy world of UK dating shows There’s much to be gleaned about British culture from analysing its TV dating shows, finds Daisy Jones – and, it stands to reason, about other countries’ via theirs.
Times Literary Supplement (August 21, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Angels at her table’ – C.K. Stead and Kirsty Gunn on Janet Frame’s singular voice; Pat Barker and Mark Haddon’s modern myths; Rethinking incarceration; How art comes about; Sleep science; Hypochondria and literary reputations….
Country Life Magazine (August 20, 2024): The latest issue features ‘Sensational Scotland’ – Where to buy north of the border; The legend of the Stone of Scone; Up the workers – Chatsworth’s red-sock army; Forests of the future – the trees we should plant now…
Building on history
In the first of two articles, John Goodall charts the central role played by Scone and its former abbey in the history of Scotland.
Barking up the right tree
Britain’s native trees are facing an uncertain future, but we can still act to save our magnificent woodland, argues Sir Harry Studholme
Working their red socks off
A very special band of helpers is behind the smooth staging of Chatsworth Country Fair, as volunteer Simon Reinhold reveals
O Flowers of Scotland
Penny Churchill casts her eye over three Scottish estates, one a ‘pastoral oasis’ making its first appearance on the open market
Tom Byrne’s favourite painting
The actor chooses a work that treads that fine divide between ‘life and death, night and day’.
Dive in with both feet
There’s nothing more diverse than divers. Marianne Taylor dips below the surface to examine these underwater masters
Thistle do nicely
The ‘weediest of weeds’ is loved by insects, loathed by landowners. John Wright tackles the prickly matter of Scotland’s emblem.
The good stuff
Hetty Lintell selects luxuries designed or made in Scotland
Is that a plum in your mouth?
Tom Parker Bowles finds that the best way to savour traditional British varieties is to grow them yourself
Sculpting with plants
Perennials and billowing grasses are a perfect backdrop for the sculpture at Whitburgh House in Midlothian, finds Caroline Donald
The New Yorker (August 26, 2024):
Boomers Daily 