Tag Archives: June 2023

News: US Supreme Court Reverses Affirmative Action, Riots In France

The Globalist Podcast, Friday, June 309, 2023: We speak to NYU professor and ACLU president Deborah Archer about the US Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action, the latest from France as riots rock major cities and an update on the EU Council summit in Brussels.

Plus: Andrew Mueller unpacks a whirlwind week in Russia.

The New York Times – Friday, June 30, 2023

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Supreme Court Rejects Affirmative Action Programs at Harvard and U.N.C.

Demonstrators in favor of affirmative action in Washington on Thursday.

In earlier decisions, the court had endorsed taking account of race as one factor among many to promote educational diversity.

With Supreme Court Decision, College Admissions Could Become More Subjective

Many schools have been planning for the Supreme Court’s decision for months, if not years, and have already made some moves toward “race-neutral” admissions.

Colleges have a game plan, like emphasizing the personal essay, but so do conservative groups that promise to monitor and, if necessary, go back to court.

Police Shooting in France Presents New Challenge for Macron

Protests over the fatal police shooting of a teenager come as President Emmanuel Macron seeks to restore a sense of calm after his pension overhaul ignited turbulence in the streets.

Dangerous Heat and Heavy Wildfire Smoke March Across North America

The twin threats have sickened people across the continent with little relief in sight.

Research Preview: Science Magazine – June 30, 2023

Contents | Science 380, 6652

Science Magazine – June 30, 2023 issue: Vapor from liquid nitrogen wafts over a rat kidney awaiting a groundbreaking preservation method at the University of Minnesota. Scientists there have learned how to cool the organ to –150°C and rewarm it while minimizing freezing damage, enabling it to work after being transplanted. 

Long-sought hum of gravitational waves from giant black holes heard for first time

illustration of pulsar on gravitational waves from supermassive black holes.

Subtle shifts in stellar signals reveal pervasive waves from mergers of giant black ho

Frozen in time

Scientists are learning how to cryopreserve living tissues, organs, and even whole organisms, then bring them back to life

Morning Views: Mont-Saint-Michel, France

MYGEMPICTURES (June 29, 2023) – Mont-Saint-Michel, rocky islet and famous sanctuary in Manche  départementNormandy  régionFrance, off the coast of Normandy.

Around its base are medieval walls and towers above which rise the clustered buildings of the village with the ancient  abbey  crowning the mount. One of the more popular tourist attractions in France, Mont-Saint-Michel was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

Books: The Top Ten Best Reviews – June 2023

Wall Street Journal Books & Art (June 28, 2023) – A country music outsider’s journey, the uprising that tested a young America, the true story of a psychotherapy cult and more standouts from the month in books.

Animal Spirits: The American Pursuit of Vitality From Camp Meeting to Wall Street

By Jackson Lears 

Shaw’s life force, Freud’s libido, Bergson’s ‘élan vital’—all are expressions of a spark that eludes the control of civilized modernity. Review by Jeremy McCarter.

“All history is the history of longing,” Jackson Lears has written.

Read the review


Empire, Incorporated: The Corporations That Built British Colonialism

By Philip J. Stern 

The history of the British empire is really the history of ‘venture colonialism,’ developed by bold entrepreneurs, savvy investors—and some shady characters too. Review by Tunku Varadarajan.

Read the review


Hands of Time: A Watchmaker’s History

By Rebecca Struthers 

The craft requires ingenious engineering at a miniature scale and an appreciation for timeless beauty. Review by Michael O’Donnell.

Read the review



Mozart in Motion: His Work and His World in Pieces

By Patrick Mackie 

The continuing appeal of Mozart’s music may lie in the contradictory nature of the composer, balancing elegance with challenging originality. Review by Lloyd Schwartz.

Read the review


Once Upon a Prime: The Wondrous Connections Between Mathematics and Literature

By Sarah Hart

Are great writers and brilliant mathematicians really so far apart? Within the structures of literary works of all kinds, numbers are hiding. Review by Timothy Farrington.

Read the review


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News: Wagner Camps In Belarus, ‘Bidenomics’ Plan

The Globalist Podcast, Thursday, June 29, 2023: Wagner sets up camp in Belarus – but what will they do next and who will they be fighting for? Why do so many people not like the way Joe Biden is handling the economy?

Plus: Japan prepares to release wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific and the latest headlines from the UAE.

The New York Times – Thursday, June 29, 2023

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Smoky Skies Menace U.S. Cities, Driving Residents Indoors

Haze from Canadian wildfires blanketed the Pittsburgh skyline, as seen from West End Overlook in the Elliott neighborhood.

Across the nation’s middle, unhealthy air from Canadian wildfires sent summer campers home and left residents coughing, and asking when this would end.

Putin Moves to Punish Prigozhin Allies

A man in a dark suit sitting at a desk, holding papers and pointing forward. Behind him is a Russian flag.

Russia’s president indicates that associates of the Wagner group’s leader in government and the military will face punishment.

Something Was Messing With Earth’s Axis. The Answer Has to Do With Us.

Though you can’t feel it, Earth’s rotation is nowhere near as smooth as that of the globe on your desk.

Scientists knew the planet’s centerline could move. But it took a sharp turn sometime around the start of the 2000s.

A Night Out for Dinner Ends in Destruction and Death

A Russian missile strike on a popular restaurant in Kramatorsk, Ukraine killed at least 11 people, wounded dozens more, and showed the peril of trying to claim pieces of ordinary life during war.

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – June 29, 2023

Volume 618 Issue 7967

nature Magazine -June 29, 2023 issue: RNA molecules can adopt complex 3D structures, but whether DNA can self-assemble into similar 3D folded structures has been less clear. In this week’s issue, Luiz Passalacqua and his colleagues use a DNA mimic of green fluorescent protein (GFP) to investigate this question.

Underwater volcano triggered the most intense lightning ever recorded

Satellite video of Tonga's Hunga Volcano eruption.

The huge eruption of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha‘apai volcano generated more than 2,600 lightning flashes per minute.

Open-source AI chatbots are booming — what does this mean for researchers?

A green unlocked padlock symbol is pictured amongst a binary code sequence on a computer screen.

Freely accessible large language models have accelerated the pace of innovation, computer scientists say.

The craze for generative artificial intelligence (AI) that began with the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT shows no sign of abating. But while large technology companies such as OpenAI and Google have captured the attention of the wider public — and are finding ways to monetize their AI tools — a quieter revolution is being waged by researchers and software engineers at smaller organizations.

Oceans: Marine Life In The Midnight Zone (BBC Earth)

BBC Earth (June 28, 2023) – A kilometre beneath the surface and beyond the reach of the sun, life can still flourish in this dark expanse.

The midnight zone is the single largest habitat on the planet, accounting for 70% of all seawater, but because of its remote location, it is poorly understood. Little is known about the animals that inhabit these waters, and even less is known about microbial life in this zone.

Travel Tour: The Hilltop Village Of Gordes, France

Tourist Channel Films (June 28, 2023) – The village of Gordes is perched on a rock at 340 metres high, in the Vaucluse département in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France called the Luberon. It is the most visited locality in the Luberon and enjoys 300 days of sunshine a year.