Tag Archives: Magazines

Politics: The Guardian Weekly – February 2, 2024

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The Guardian Weekly (February 1, 2024) – The new issue features ‘Party Crasher’ – Is Trump more vulnerable than he seems?; Israel, the ICJ ruling and The West; Europe’s Big Bad Wolves and more….

It had all seemed like business as usual for Donald Trump in the aftermath of last week’s New Hampshire Republican primaries, where he scored a comfortable victory over his only remaining challenger, Nikki Haley. And yet … was there something in his subsequent outburst towards Haley that suggested all was not well in Trumpworld?

Barring the mother of all reversals, Trump will soon be confirmed as the Republican presidential nominee. But, as David Smith and Jonathan Freedland outline in this week’s big story, Trump remains a deeply polarising figure in American politics, not least within his own party.

And his petulant irritation at Haley over her refusal to concede the race was a visible reminder to American floating voters of the unhinged personality that lurks beneath the orange veneer, something his campaign team will be desperate to avoid more of.

“The shadow of Trump is long, and his return seems closer than ever,” explains illustrator Alberto Miranda on his cover art for this week’s Guardian Weekly. “He is a controversial figure with a dangerous side and, at the same time, has an utterly comical aspect. That’s why we wanted to portray his influence in the Republican party in an almost grotesque manner.”

Arts/Books: Times Literary Supplement – Feb 2, 2024

Times Literary Supplement (January 31 2024): The latest issue features ‘Back to Nature’ – The counterculture begins with Thoreau; Enlightenment dimmed; The secret state and the IRA; Homosexuality in early modern Europe and A family haunting….

History Today Magazine – February 2024 Preview

History Today (January 30, 2024) – The latest issue features ‘The Search For The Buddha’; ‘Blood and Sand’ – The Cold War in North Africa; All In The MInd – A history of phantom pain, and more…

A History of Phantom Pain

A lecture on the nervous system, by C. Bethmont, c.1860. Wellcome Collection. Public Domain.

For centuries, scientists and philosophers used phantom limbs to unravel the secrets of the human mind. While we know phantom pain exists, we still don’t know why.

‘American Journey’ by Wes Davis review

Henry Ford fishing, with Harvey Firestone, George Christian and Thomas Edison, C. 1920. Library of Congress. Public Domain.

American Journey: On the Road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs by Wes Davis falls short of examining the consequences that followed the wanderlust.

The Search for the Historical Buddha

The Buddha seated cross legged on a lotus throne, surrounded by scenes from his life. Tibet, 18th century. Photograph © 2023 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. All rights reserved. / Denman Waldo Ross Collection / Bridgeman Images.

Arriving in the West in the 19th century, the Buddha of legend was stripped of supernatural myth and recast as a historical figure. What do we really know about him?

‘Judgement at Tokyo’ by Gary J. Bass review

International Military Tribunal for the Far East judges on the bench, 3 March 1947. UVA LAW Special Collections (CC BY 4.0).

Pacy and even-handed, Judgement at Tokyo: World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia by Gary J. Bass is unlikely to be bettered as a portrait of the Tokyo trials.

Preview: Philosophy Now Magazine February 2024

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Philosophy Now Magazine (February/March 2024)The new issue features ‘Irish Philosophy’ – Pure Philosophy, No Blarney; Steven Pinker – On Violence and Metaphors…

Steven Pinker

Steven Pinker is the Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, and a popular writer on linguistics and evolutionary psychology. Angela Tan interviews him about politics, language, death, and reasons to be optimistic.

Thomas Duddy & Irish Philosophy

Tim Madigan travels through time to seek the essential nature of Irish thought.

Irish Philosophy & Me

Cathy Barry charts her journey through historical Irish thought.

Edmund Burke & the Politics of Reform

Jon Langford outlines conservative insights gained from revolutionary failures.

Philip Pettit & The Birth of Ethics

Peter Stone thinks about a thought experiment about how ethics evolved.

International Art: Apollo Magazine – February 2024

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Apollo Magazine (January 29, 2024): The new February 2024 issue features ‘Giants of Indian Miniature Painting’; The Crisis in Italian Paintings and more…

• Holidaying with the Habsburgs

• An interview with Julie Mehretu

• The crisis in Italian museums

• Howard Hodgkin’s Indian miniatures

Plus: Slim pickings for foodies on Valentine’s Day, Parma’s monumental museum complex, and  – and reviews of Impressionists on paper, experimental art in the Eastern bloc, and Africa and Byzantium at the Met

Previews: The New Yorker Magazine- February 5, 2024

A family shares a meal to celebrate Lunar New Year.

The New Yorker (January 29, 2024): The new issue‘s cover features Sarula Bao’s “Lunar New Year” – The artist depicts the joys of gathering with loved ones, around a table of good food

The Rural Ski Slope Caught Up in an International Scam

When the scheme became public Vermonts governor said “We all feel betrayed.”

A federal program promised to bring foreign investment to remote parts of the country. It soon became rife with fraud.

By Sheelah Kolhatkar

As the general manager of the Jay Peak ski resort, Bill Stenger rose most days around 6 a.m. and arrived at the slopes before seven. He’d check in with his head snowmaker and the ski-patrol staff, visit the two hotels on the property, and chat with the maintenance workers, the lift operators, the food-and-beverage manager, and the ski-school instructors—a kind of management through constant motion. Stenger is seventy-five, with white hair, wire-rimmed reading glasses, and a sturdy physique that makes him look built for fuzzy sweaters. 

The Perverse Policies That Fuel Wildfires

We thought we could master nature, but we were playing with fire.

By Elizabeth Kolbert

Ukraine’s Democracy in Darkness

A photo-illustration of Zelensky and the Ukrainian parliament.

With elections postponed and no end to the war with Russia in sight, Volodymyr Zelensky and his political allies are becoming like the officials they once promised to root out: entrenched.

By Masha Gessen

The New York Times Magazine- January 28, 2024

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (January 26, 2024): The new issue features ‘America’s 21st-Century E-Commerce Economy Has Stoked A 19th-Century Form of Crime: The Train Robbery’….

The Great Freight-Train Heists of the 21st Century

A photo illustration composed of an old black-and-white photograph of train robbers stealing amazon packages in color.

The explosion of the e-commerce economy has created an opportunity for thieves — and a conundrum for the railways.

College Is All About Curiosity. And That Requires Free Speech.

An illustration of a professor in front of a class that is shouting and picketing from the rafters.

True learning can only happen on campuses where academic freedom is paramount — within and outside the classroom.

The Economist Magazine – January 27, 2024 Preview

How the border could cost Biden the election

The Economist Magazine (January 25, 2024): The latest issue features How the border could cost Biden the election; Could AI transform the emerging world?; Saving coffee from climate change and Why you shouldn’t retire…

How the border could cost Biden the election

Could AI transform the emerging world?

AI holds tantalising promise for the emerging world

Saving coffee from climate change

A warming planet threatens the world’s favourite drug

Britain’s nuclear plans

The government has yet another plan for a nuclear renaissance

Why you shouldn’t retire

Pleasure cruises, golf and tracing the family tree are not that fulfilling

Research Preview: Science Magazine -January 26, 2024

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Science Magazine – January 25, 2024: The new issue features ‘Pump It Up’ – Pushing water uphill to store green energy…

How giant ‘water batteries’ could make green power reliable

For times when wind and solar fall short, some utilities are turning to an old technology called pumped storage hydropower

A ghostly quasiparticle rooted in a century-old Italian mystery could unlock quantum computing’s potential

Before he disappeared, Ettore Majorana made a strange prediction. Researchers are still hunting for the truth about him—and his namesake particles

Current Affairs: Prospect Magazine – March 2024

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Prospect Magazine (March 2024) The latest issue features ‘How The Government Captured The BBC’ – A faceless fixer – and a broadcaster in a state of ‘permanent cringe’…

To whom do we owe shelter?

We do not choose where we are born. That creates rights—and obligations—that we should all seek to honour

Conflict, human rights abuses and climate change have led to a doubling of the global refugee population in the last seven years, and yet the response of many wealthy countries has become increasingly insular and myopic. Constant demands to slash international aid, along with punitive immigration policies and hateful rhetoric, mark a shift away from humanitarian values. The UK’s Rwanda scheme epitomises this trend: it would normalise the mass deportation of asylum seekers and undermine prohibitions on returning refugees to dangerous countries. At the same time, citizens of wealthy countries appear increasingly indifferent to the plight of those who perish in the Mediterranean or along other perilous routes.

How the government captured the BBC

© Photography by Sara Morris, post-production by the Retouching Shed

Ukraine’s fate, Europe’s choice

Friendly fire? Ukraine’s chief commander, Valeriy Zaluzhny, is said to have a frosty relationship with Zelensky © Ukraine President’s Office / Alamy