BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE – APRIL 2023:
From the Romans to the Russians, monarchies that at one time seemed all powerful have come crashing down as a result of violence, political manoeuvring or the will of the people. Danny Bird charts the downfall of 10 kingdoms and empires throughout history
How much do you know about the Crimean War? Test your knowledge with this quiz on the Victorian conflict…
Poetry a special section
T. S. Eliot’s still point by James Matthew Wilson
Singing the “Frauenliebe” by Ian Bostridge
The foundational “Kokinshu” by Torquil Duthie
A White Russian on the rocks by Boris Dralyuk
Darkness visible: Auden collected by William Logan
Three poems by Georgia Douglas Johnson
New poems by David Ewbank
A review of Peace and Friendship by Stephen Aron & Indigenous Continent by Pekka Hämäläinen.
A review of India: A History in Objects by T. Richard Blurton.
The Good Life France Magazine – Spring 2023:
This issue whisks off to the lovely Loire Valley to discover two historic royal castles – Loches and Chinon as well as – the real Sleeping Beauty castle and gorgeous Villandry which has fairy tale pretty gardens – garden envy guaranteed. Read the extraordinary story of a postman who built a palace from pebbles with his bare hands in a tiny village in the Drôme, southeastern France. Not only that – he did it at night after he finished work – by candle light!
Follow the history of the Plantagenet English Kings through Anjou and Normandy. Fall in love with exquisite Vaucluse in Provence where nature has a party in the spring. And sigh over chocolate box lid pretty Le Perche in Normandy.
Come with us to the Roman city of Arles, Aigues Mortes – where the sea is pure pink and flamingos roam, and to sunny, festive Sète with its incredible lagoons. Discover delicious Lyon, the gastronomic capital of France, and its surroundings. Explore Brittany and Les Charentes – Charente and Charente-Maritime. Fairy tale pretty Alsace is unmissable – we look at the most picturesque villages and the historic wine route. Plus the magic of sun-kissed Provence captured in photos, will have you dreaming.
The New York Times Magazine – March 19, 2023:
Inside a psychiatric hospital in Kyiv, the growing mental trauma of the war is written on every soldier’s face.
Behind our institutions are ordinary people. Emily Kohrs is their new face.
A century ago, Thomas Midgley Jr. was responsible for two phenomenally destructive innovations. What can we learn from them today?
Lipids called ceramides may be better predictors of cardiovascular problems than cholesterol. Doctors and pharma are waking up to their potential
The gut microbiota is critical for human health. Understanding how beneficial bacteria colonize the gut enables medical interventions that promote gut health. Krypotou et al. discovered a mechanism that enhances the fitness of a commensal bacterium in the gut.
Rising interest rates have left banks exposed. Time to fix the system—again
Only ten days ago you might have thought that the banks had been fixed after the nightmare of the financial crisis in 2007-09. Now it is clear that they still have the power to cause a heart-stopping scare. A ferocious run at Silicon Valley Bank on March 9th saw $42bn in deposits flee in a day. svb was just one of three American lenders to collapse in the space of a week.
Binyamin Netanyahu and a constitutional crisis
When Israel’s best and brightest are up in arms it is time to worry
By saying Ukraine is not a vital American interest, Ron DeSantis emboldens Vladimir Putin
English Garden Eccentrics: Three Hundred Years of Extraordinary Groves, Burrowings, Mountains and Menageries
By Todd Longstaffe-Gowan
In the English garden, eccentricity and variety went hand in hand.
What counts as eccentric in the garden, and what counts as a folly? As a child I used to be taken on Sunday walks to the Needle’s Eye in Wentworth, South Yorkshire, a kind of sharp pyramid of stone some forty-five feet tall and pierced by an arched passage.
The Diaries
by Franz Kafka, translated from the German by Ross Benjamin
Kafka’s diaries—made up of false starts, stray thoughts, self-doubts, internal dialogues, dreams, doodles, aphorisms, drafts of stories, character sketches, and scenes from family life—are often very funny.
The New Statesman – March 17, 2023:
The breakdown of the West’s rules-based order began with the invasion of 2003.By Peter Ricketts
Could a resolute cabinet and a more sceptical press have stopped Tony Blair?
How do you mourn soldiers killed in an “unjust” war? For years the town of Wootton Bassett showed us…By Jason Cowley
Smithsonian Magazine – April/May 2023 Issue
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Scientists endlessly study lakes and rivers, historians document them, artists paint them, and travelers continue to explore them. In a series of articles, Smithsonian magazine highlights all that draws our eyes to our nation’s fresh and coastal waters.
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Take a journey back to your elementary school cafeteria with a visit to the Georgia outpost
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Dive into the secret past and uncertain future of the body of water that has defined a nation
Palaeolithic hand stencils with missing fingers could indicate ritual mutilation or frostbite – but new research suggests they might be trying to tell us something
From mice with two fathers to cures for debilitating diseases, the transformative power of genomic technology requires some big decisions on what we want to do with it
These images give an insight into the Padma, a major river flowing through Bangladesh that makes up the last leg of the journey of the river Ganges
Boomers Daily 