Tag Archives: Magazines

Birds, Climate Change, History, Magazines, Photography, Travel

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE – NOVEMBER 2023

October 31, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

National Geographic (NOVEMBER 2023) – The latest issue features The race to capture carbon – Any climate solutions strategy requires the removal of carbon from the atmosphere. Here are 12 of the most promising strategies; What flashy feathers reveal about the secret lives of birds, and more…

Another weapon to fight climate change? Put carbon back where we found it

Diver in wetsuit next to free-floating experimental enclosures.

Getting to zero carbon emissions won’t save the world. We’ll have to also remove carbon from the air—a massive undertaking unlike anything we’ve ever done.

BY SAM HOWE VERHOVEK

Over the past few centuries, we have dug, chopped, burned, drilled, pumped, stripped, forged, flared, lit, launched, driven, and flown our way to adding 2.4 trillion metric tons of carbon dioxide to Earth’s atmosphere.

That’s as much CO₂ as would be emitted annually by 522 billion cars, or 65 cars per person living today.

On a lonely, lunar-like valley 20 miles outside of Reykjavík, Iceland, Edda Aradóttir is on a mission to put it back where it came from.

What these flashy feathers reveal about the secret lives of birds

Shimmery. Spiky. Shaggy. Soft. Feathers are what make birds so alluring—but these photographs remind us that they also tell a story about the science of evolution.

BY ANNIE ROTH

PHOTOGRAPHS BY HEIDI AND HANS-JÜRGEN KOCH

In 1860 Charles Darwin wrote, “The sight of a feather in a peacock’s tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick!” The plumes were so extravagant, he surmised, they could be a hindrance to survival. Darwin’s frustration with their seemingly inexplicable elegance eventually led him to the idea of sexual selection. Although this form of natural selection—driven by the preference of one sex for certain characteristics in individuals of the other sex—is well understood today, a peacock’s feather can still hold mystery for its viewers, says Heidi Koch. She and her husband, Hans-Jürgen, have spent the past few years photographing feathers in all their glorious detail.

Although both sexes of the gray peacock pheasant have back and tail feathers adorned with brilliant eyespots, the males make the best use of them. During elaborate wooing rituals, they raise and fluff up their feathers—which can reach nearly 16 inches in length—putting..

Arts & Literature, Books, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Books: Literary Review Magazine – November 2023

October 30, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Literary Review – November 2023: The new issue features Sex, Satire & Revolution; The Race to the Future: The Adventure that Accelerated the Twentieth Century; Notes from the Atlantic Archipelago – The Britannias: An Island Quest; and more…

And It’s Go, Go, Go!

The Race to the Future: The Adventure that Accelerated the Twentieth Century

By Kassia St Clair

Cost, not a lack of courage, ensured that the entry field for the 1907 Peking to Paris car race was small. A massive two-thousand-franc deposit (equivalent to a professor’s annual salary) kept all but five of the aspiring contestants out of the race. That exclusion, as Kassia St Clair demonstrates in her captivating history of one of the most challenging endurance trials in the history of motoring, was precisely what the organisers intended.

Notes from the Atlantic Archipelago

The Britannias: An Island Quest

By Alice Albinia

In July 2023 Orkney Islands Council voted to explore alternative governmental arrangements for the archipelago. One option proposed by the council leader was for it to become a self-governing territory of Norway, the kingdom which lost control of Orkney to Scotland in 1468. The episode – in reality, a smart political stunt in a row over the Scottish government’s transport policy – attracted extraordinary international attention. In the UK press, it was treated with an uneven mixture of constitutional soul-searching and patronising amusement at the Passport to Pimlico-styleantics of the Orcadians.

Arts & Literature, Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

Culture & Politics: The Drift Magazine – Fall 2023

October 30, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The Drift Magazine – Fall 2023 Issue – Essays on dissidents, ecoterrorists, and mermaids; an interview with Veronica Gago, Dispatches on the future of the Supreme Court; also fiction, poetry, reviews and more…

Architecture, Buildings, Design, Magazines, Previews, Reviews

Design: The Architectural Review – November 2023

October 30, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The Architectural Review (November 2023) – The November issue of The Architectural Review showcases the shortlisted architects of the 2023 AR Emerging awards, who are leading the way in careful adaptive reuse and ecological ways of building around the world. But emerging into an industry that is overly reliant on unpaid labour and race-to-the-bottom fee structures has always been difficult.

Since these conditions are rarely discussed, this issue is also dedicated to ‘beginnings’ and their paradoxes: ‘you are supposed to begin knowing something but also doing something completely new,’ writes Renee Gladman in the Keynote. Taking in napkin sketches, competitions, references and photographs, AR November 2023 serves a useful reminder that others came before, and that the beginning is behind us.

Arts & Literature, Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Reviews

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – Nov 6, 2023

October 30, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

People walk by The Cube at Astor Place at night.

The New Yorker – November 6, 2023 issue: The new issue‘s cover features Jorge Colombo’s “Astor Place” – The artist discusses landmarks and his own New York City.

Why Maui Burned

A burned vehicle is seen through the branches of a tree.

Lahaina’s wildfire was the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. Now the community is grappling with the botched response as it tries to rebuild.

By Carolyn Kormann

At 4 p.m. on August 8th, Shaun Saribay’s family begged him to get in their car and leave the town of Lahaina, on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The wind was howling, and large clouds of smoke were approaching from the dry hills above the neighborhood. But Saribay—a tattooist, a contractor, and a landlord, who goes by the nickname Buge—told his family that he was staying to guard their house, which had been in the family for generations. “This thing just gonna pass that way, downwind,” Saribay said. At 4:05 p.m., one of his daughters texted from the car, “Daddy please be safe.”

In the Cities of Killing

Mourners carry multiple coffins in a line. Two busses are in the background.

The Hamas massacre, the assaults on Gaza, and what comes after.

By David Remnick

The only way to tell this story is to try to tell it truthfully and to know that you will fail.

On the evening of Wednesday, October 18th, with the entire Middle East in a state of mourning and outrage, I took a taxi to the information offices of the Israel Defense Forces, a heavily guarded compound in northwest Tel Aviv. Like many reporters, I’d accepted an invitation to see video evidence of the worst massacre of Jews in generations, certainly in the history of Israel—Hamas’s rampage through Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Kibbutz Be’eri, and other communities near the Gaza Strip, extending to an outdoor electronic-music festival, Nova. At last count, the attack throughout what Israelis call Otef Aza—“the Gaza envelope”—had claimed some fourteen hundred lives; thousands were wounded, and around two hundred and twenty people had been kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip. Hamas gave the operation a name, the Al-Aqsa Flood.

Arts & Literature, Books, Magazines, Reviews

Books: World Literature Today – November 2023

October 29, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

World Literature Today (October 29, 2023) – The latest issue features 4 Artists of Iraqi Descent – Achieving recognition in the Diaspora; Cornel West’s prophetic witness; Traveling Mexico City’s Body by Metro; The Cheikh Bookstore – One of the Few Still Standing in Algeria, and more…

Artists of Iraqi Descent Celebrate Roots and Global Belonging

by Shakir Mustafa

Traveling Mexico City’s Body by Metro

by Erik Gleibermann

The Cheikh Bookstore: One of Few Still Standing in Algeria

by Saliha Haddad

Culture, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews, Society

The New York Times Magazine – Oct 29, 2023

October 27, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (October 29, 2023): The latest issue features The Scientists Watching Their Life’s Work Disappear; Can We Save the #Redwoods by Helping Them Move?; ‘It’s Like Our Country Exploded’: #Canada’s Year of #Fire and #ClimateChange Is Keeping Therapists Up at Night….

The Scientists Watching Their Life’s Work Disappear

All the photographs in this article are black-and-white. David Obura holds finger coral.

Some are stubborn optimists. Others struggle with despair. Their faces show the weight they carry as they witness the impact of climate change.

Interviews by Catrin Einhorn

Amid the chaos of climate change, humans tend to focus on humans. But Earth is home to countless other species, including animals, plants and fungi. For centuries, we have been making it harder for them to exist by cutting down forests, plowing grasslands, building roads, damming rivers, draining wetlands and polluting. Now that wildlife is depleted and hemmed in, climate change has come crashing down. In 2016, scientists in Australia announced the loss of a rodent called the Bramble Cay melomys, one of the first known species driven to global extinction by climate change. Others are all but certain to follow. How many depends on how much we let the planet heat.

Can We Save the Redwoods by Helping Them Move?

Redwoods with foliage in a violet specturm. All of the photographs in this article have special color treatment to highlight the foliage.

The largest trees on the planet can’t easily ‘migrate’ — but in a warming world, some humans are helping them try to find new homes.

By Moises Velasquez-Manoff

When Philip Stielstra retired from Boeing in 2012, he needed something purposeful to do. He and his wife, Gay, were casual golfers, but Stielstra, an antiwar activist in college who refused to fight in Vietnam — he worked in a post office instead — wanted a pastime with bigger stakes. Before leaving his job, he received an email from the city of Seattle: The Parks and Recreation Department needed “tree ambassadors.” Tree canopy cover had receded in the city, and the department was responding by promoting an appreciation for its remaining trees. The volunteer ambassadors would learn about these trees and lead residents on walking tours to marvel at them. Stielstra, despite being a self-described introvert, signed up.

Arts, Culture, History, Magazines, Previews, Reviews, Travel

Arts/History: Smithsonian Magazine – November 2023

October 26, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Smithsonian Magazine (November Issue) – The latest issue features Unlocking the Secrets of the Aztecs – How one daring scholar forged a new understanding of the ancient Americas; Healing in Hanoi – After 50 years, U.S. veterans commemorate their release from a notorious Vietnamese prison

Trailblazer

a photo montage of a woman and colorful Aztec engraving

Anthropologist Zelia Nuttall traveled the globe, decoded the Aztec calendar and transformed the way we think of ancient Mesoamerica

BY MERILEE GRINDLE

On a bright day early in 1885, Zelia Nuttall was strolling around the ancient ruins of Teotihuacán, the enormous ceremonial site north of Mexico City. Not yet 30, Zelia had a deep interest in the history of Mexico, and now, with her marriage in ruins and her future uncertain, she was on a trip with her mother, Magdalena; her brother George; and her 3-year-old daughter, Nadine, to distract her from her worries.

Healing in Hanoi

a black and white photograph of a man inset on top of street scene in a city environment

After 50 years, U.S. veterans commemorate their release from a notorious Vietnamese prison

BY JEREMY REDMON

In March of this year, I followed retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Robert Certain through the entryway of the former Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi. French colonists built the prison in the 19th century, calling it the Maison Centrale and using it to imprison and behead Vietnamese dissidents. During the Vietnam War, American prisoners facetiously called it the Hanoi Hilton. For the first time in 50 years, Certain was about to step inside the notorious compound where he’d been held, interrogated and beaten.

Magazines, Podcasts, Previews, Research, Reviews, Science

Science Magazine – October 27, 2023 Issue

October 26, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

Science Magazine – October 27, 2023: The new issue features The Hypothalamus – Coordinating basic survival functions; High hopes for low-growing corn plants; A quantum process in a laser microchip….

Small and mighty: The hypothalamus

By MAROSO & PETER STERN

If you pause for a second and think about the activities that occupy most of your day, presumably sleeping, eating, and engaging in social interactions are among the first that come to your mind. Perhaps surprisingly, a small area buried deep inside the brain, called the hypothalamus, is responsible for coordinating neuronal signals related to these activities. By controlling the homeostasis of the neuroendocrine, limbic, and autonomic nervous systems, the hypothalamus is a key brain region for many physiological and pathological processes. Despite its small size, the hypothalamus has a complex cellular organization and circuitry that determine its structural and functional organization. It is composed of 11 nuclei grouped by their location and has vast, mostly bidirectional connections with many neuronal and endocrine systems.

HIGH HOPES FOR SHORT CORN

Plants bred or engineered to be short can stand up better to windstorms. They could also boost yields and benefit the environment

To an interstate traveler—or anyone lost in a corn maze—the most impressive feature of corn is its stature. Modern corn can grow twice as tall as a person, but height has drawbacks, making the plants vulnerable to wind and more difficult for farmers to tend. Plant scientists think corn can be improved by making it shorter, and leading seed companies are doing that through both conventional breeding and genetic engineering. Bayer has launched a short variety in Mexico, another company is selling its versions in the United States, and more are getting involved.

Economics, Financial, Magazines, Opinion, Politics, Previews, Reviews

Previews: The Economist Magazine – Oct 28, 2023

October 26, 2023 She Seeks Serene Leave a comment

The Economist Magazine (October 28, 2023): The latest issue features America’s Test – How will it manage the Israel-Hamas war?; Argentina’s troubling election result; Should governments be ‘policing’ AI? and the ‘Art Rivalry’ between Paris and London….