Subtle shifts in stellar signals reveal pervasive waves from mergers of giant black ho
Scientists are learning how to cryopreserve living tissues, organs, and even whole organisms, then bring them back to life
Emmanuel Carrère’s new book, Yoga, has been the subject of gossipy debate about its veracity, but it is seductively open about its own anxiety as a work of fiction.
Johannes Vermeer, one of the most intimate and quiet of artists, who is celebrated for the silence and light of his paintings, has become, paradoxically, a crowd-pleaser.
Johannes Vermeer: Faith, Light and Reflection by Gregor J.M. Weber
Vermeer and the Art of Love by Aneta Georgievska-Shine
The Wagner mutiny exposes the Russian tyrant’s growing weakness. But don’t count him out yet
Ukraine’s counter-offensive is going slowly
Factions close to the Russian president are thinking about life after him
Times Literary Supplement (June 30, 2023): Evelyn Waugh’s failed marriage and spiritual crisis; The police on trial; Grotesque, unbelievable murder; Lorrie Moore’s road trip; Levity in death and more….
The Critic Magazine (July 2023 Issue) – The new issue features The errors of escalation; The end of German stability?; Brahms: sublime genius on a major scale, and more…
What does it mean and why is it so dangerous?
The National Portrait Galley’s renovation doesn’t disappoint, bringing light and space to tell the story of the nation
In the end, godlike aspirations often met with all too human final moments.
By Mary Beard
One of the funniest works of Roman literature to survive—and the only one that has ever made me laugh out loud—is a skit, written by the philosopher Seneca, about the Emperor Claudius’ adventures on his way to Mt. Olympus after his death. Titled “Apocolocyntosis Divi Claudii” (“The ‘Pumpkinification’ of the Deified Claudius”), it recounts how the Roman Senate declared that the dead Emperor was now a god, complete with his own temple, priests, and official rites of worship. The deification of emperors was fairly standard practice at the time, and the spoof claimed to lift the lid on what really happened during the process.
They both release and attract toxic chemicals, and appear everywhere from human placentas to chasms thirty-six thousand feet beneath the sea. Will we ever be rid of them?
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (June 23, 2023) – In this issue, Christopher Cox on the risk that California’s dams will fail; Charlie Savage on his connection to Pink Floyd and “The Wizard of Oz”; Dan Kois on Lorrie Moore; and more.
We may be on the cusp of an era of astonishing innovation — the limits of which aren’t even clear yet.
By DAVID WALLACE-WELLS
One superstorm could send walls of water sweeping through populated areas. There’s not much time to act.
Mock embryos created by multiple groups recapitulate developmental events beyond implantation
A European space telescope sets off to discover the nature of dark energy—the biggest ingredient in the universe
An MIT class exercise suggests AI tools can be used to order a bioweapon, but some are skeptical
The costs of taming price rises could prove too unpalatable for central banks
At first glance the world economy appears to have escaped from a tight spot. In the United States annual inflation has fallen to 4%, having approached double digits last year. A recession is nowhere in sight and the Federal Reserve has felt able to take a break from raising interest rates. After a gruesome 2022, stockmarkets have been celebrating: the s&p 500 index of American firms has risen by 14% so far this year, propelled by a resurgence in tech stocks. Only in Britain does inflation seem to be worryingly entrenched.
For Russia’s war to fail, Ukraine must emerge prosperous, democratic and secure
Ukraine’s war is raging on two fronts. On the 1,000km battlefront its armies are attacking the Russians’ deep defences. At the same time, on the home front Ukraine is defining what sort of country it will be when the fighting stops. Both matter, and both will pose a severe test for Ukraine and its backers.
Now is the time to buy some time
Iran cannot rival Ukraine and Taiwan for headlines, but it could soon prove as dangerous as either. Its nuclear-weapons programme has put its regime in a position to dash for a bomb. Because full-blown negotiations are impossible, the threat could yet draw the Middle East into war—including through American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. That is why it is good that the Biden administration is seeking to lower tensions.
Times Literary Supplement (June 23, 2023): Twenty-two TLS writers’ choices for best Summer 2023 Books, Anna Della Subin on Mary Magdalene; Kojo Koram on global capitalism; Zachary Leader on Joyce and Léon and illustrating Victorian classics
Boomers Daily 