Alternative investments such as private credit and cryptocurrency can diversify investment portfolios. But not all investors need them—and not all alts are created equal.
When you picture a quant hedge fund manager, you probably imagine a secretive, wildly idiosyncratic James Bond–villain type. Asness doesn’t really fit the bill.Long read
THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (03/07/2025): The 3.9.25 Issue features David Enrich on the attack on The New York Times v. Sullivan ruling and its protections for the press; Ruth Margalit on the activist Einav Zangauker, whose son is captive in Gaza; Jonah Weiner on the director Bong Joon Ho; and more.
The ‘Parasite’ Director Brings Class Warfare to Outer Space
Bong Joon Ho has turned his funny-sad excavations of life under capitalism into unlikely blockbusters. With “Mickey 17,” he’s bending a whole new genre.
Spotlight | Can Keir Starmer be Europe’s bridge to Trump? Amid the fallout from Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s catastrophic trip to Washington and efforts to secure a peace plan for Ukraine, is Britain’s prime minister the man for a critical moment? Kiran Stacey reports
Science | Is the world ready for bigger waves? In some seas, swells are growing noticeably larger. Scientists say coastal communities should be prepared for damaging consequences – but also potential opportunities. By James Bradley
Feature | The savage suburbia of Helen Garner Over 50 years, the Australian has become one of her country’s most revered and beloved authors, writing as if readers were her friend, party to her most candid thoughts. Is she finally going to get worldwide recognition? By Sophie Elmhirst
Opinion | Defiance, not subservience, is how we resist Trump The US president has utterly changed the rules of engagement. World leaders must learn this – and quickly, argues Simon Tisdall
Culture | Gracie Abrams, the year’s biggest pop star The US singer’s unfiltered approach to pop has made her a superstar. She talks to Alexis Petridis about the horror of American politics – and the solace of needlepoint
PROSPECT MAGAZINE (March 5, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Smash and Grab’ – The existential choices when America turns allies into enemies; Michael Ignatieff predicts a new world order and voices from illiberal states reflect on resisting autocrats. Plus, we examine British defence and the future of the media.
Donald Trump and his cronies are smashing up democratic norms, government institutions and the postwar international order. There are no signs yet that anyone will stop them
Revisiting W. H. Auden’s postwar poetry collection The Shield of AchillesBy John Fuller
Awakening
The inner life of Oliver Sacks, as revealed by his letters By Andrew Scull
This week’s @TheTLS, featuring Andrew Scull on Oliver Sacks; John Fuller on Auden’s Shield of Achilles; Krishan Kumar on nationalism; @sophieolive on Dora Carrington; Paul Quinn on Jonathan Meades; @irinibus on Saint Leoba – and much more pic.twitter.com/UHUNWR5JAz
A host of luminaries that were born in 1775 still shape British identity some 250 years on, as Matthew Dennison discovers
A horse walks into a bar…
Jack Watkins raises a glass to the Cheltenham superstars immortalised in the bars and restaurants at Prestbury Park
Interiors
Amelia Thorpe cooks up a real treat with the latest inspiration and innovations for the kitchen
London Life
– Amie Elizabeth White celebrates 100 years of the Dickens museum, plus Country Life’s guide to the best baked goods in the capital
Arts & antiques
Charles Dance talks to Carla Passino about Michelangelo, mentoring and why the Sistine chapel is like playing King Lear
The good, the bad and the ugly
Michael Hall delves into the genius of Michelangelo, at once the enfant prodige and enfant terribile of theRenaissance
Simon Martin’s favourite painting
The art-gallery director selects a beguiling 17th-century miniature revealing a connection to Nature
A regal renewal
John Goodall hails the revival of Restoration House in Kent, a magnificent property that welcomed Charles II in 1660
The legacy
Agnes Stamp hails the ‘British Barnum’ Charles Cruft, whose dog show is still best in class
Shiver me timbers
The once-popular black poplar could be our secret weapon in the battle against climate change, finds Vicky Liddell
The good stuff
Hetty Lintell’s top tips on what to wear to the Cheltenham Festival
And it was all yellow
Charles Quest-Ritson brightens his day with the cheerful flowers of the ever-dependable forsythia
Sharp practice
The thorny old issue of pruning roses, with Charles Quest-Ritson
Foraging
Is tapping birch-tree sap worth the bother, asks John Wright
Travel
Emma Love shares the latest cruise news, Imogen West-Knights finds everything shipshape in the South of France, John Niven follows in the wake of Mr Mississippi Mark Twain and Pamela Goodman’s birthday treats take on a life of their own
Including a new golden age at Versailles, Cycladic art over the centuries, the dangers of living in Los Angeles, Tracey Emin’s passion for painting, what new EU import laws will do to the art market, and a preview of TEFAF Maastricht; plus reviews of modernism in Brazil, the drawings of Henri Michaux, and the essays of Svetlana Alpers. And: Tessa Hadley on Bellini’s shocking depiction of the making of a martyr
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious