Tag Archives: Opinion

Culture/Politics: Harper’s Magazine – November 2023

Harper’s Magazine – NOVEMBER 2023: This issue features The Machine Breaker – Inside the mind of an “ecoterrorist”; Forbidden Fruit – The anti-avocado militias of Michoacán; Principia Mathemagica; From Magus – The Art of Magic from Faustus to Agrippa, and more…

The Machine Breaker – Inside the mind of an “ecoterrorist” 

by Christopher Ketcham

In the summer of 2016, a fifty-seven-year-old Texan named Stephen McRae drove east out of the rainforests of Oregon and into the vast expanse of the Great Basin. His plan was to commit sabotage. First up was a coal-burning power plant near Carlin, Nevada, a 242-megawatt facility owned by the Newmont Corporation that existed to service two nearby gold mines, also owned by Newmont.

Forbidden Fruit

by Alexander Sammon

The anti-avocado militias of Michoacán

Phone service was down—a fuse had blown in the cell tower during a recent storm—and even though my arrival had been cleared with the government of Cherán in advance, the armed guard manning the highway checkpoint, decked out in full fatigues, the wrong shade to pass for Mexican military, refused to wave me through. My guide, Uli Escamilla, assured him that we had an appointment, and that we could prove it if only we could call or text our envoy. The officer gripped his rifle with both hands and peered into the windows of our rental car.

Opinion: Free Markets Are Fading, Democracy Dims In Africa, Bitcoin Origins

‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (October 9, 2023) A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, are free markets history? Also, why Africans are losing faith in democracy (10:25) and we investigate whether bitcoin originally leaked from an American spy lab? (17:25)

Special Report: ‘Homeland Economics’ (October 2023)

Special reports: Homeland Economics

The Economist SPECIAL REPORTS (OCTOBER 7TH 2023):

Homeland Economics

Governments across the world are rediscovering industrial policy. They are making a big mistake, argues Callum Williams

Opinion: An Antidote To Aging, A Bigger And Better EU, Japan’s ‘Toilet’ Culture

‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (October 2, 2023) A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the search for the antidote to ageing, why a bigger EU is a better EU (11:30), and Japan’s world-leading toilet culture (25:30).

Opinion: Ukraine’s Long War, Asia Trade Evolves, A Disgraced UK Comedian

‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (September 25, 2023) A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, how to win a long war in Ukraine, what Asia’s economic revolution means for the world (11:05) and why a disgraced comedian is the symbol of a cruel, misogynistic and politically vacant era in Britain (18:52).

Opinion: AI Is Recasting Science And Rising Waves Of Hard-Right Populism

‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (September 18, 2023) Three essential articles read aloud from the The Economist. This week, an analysis of how AI can revolutionize science and how a fresh wave of hard-right populism is stalking Europe.

Culture/Politics: Harper’s Magazine – October 2023

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Harper’s Magazine – OCTOBER 2023: This issue features ‘Craving A Choice’ – Insurgency and its Threat to the Democratic Party; The Spy – An Essay On seeing without being seen, and more…

Against the Current

Joe Biden campaigning in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, July 12, 2019 © Devin Yalkin

Where’s the support for Democratic insurgents?

by Andrew Cockburn

For decades, New Hampshire has generated brisk and gratifying drama with its first-in-the-nation presidential primary. The Granite State momentously destroyed a presidency in 1968, when the Minnesota senator Eugene McCarthy ran against President Lyndon Johnson on an antiwar platform.

The Spy

Intrusive Thought, by Lenz Geerk © The artist. Courtesy the artist and Roberts Projects, Los Angeles

On seeing without being seen

by Rachel Cusk

Not long ago our mother died, or at least her body did—the rest of her remained obstinately alive. She took a considerable time to die and outlasted the nurses’ predictions by many days, so that those of us who had been summoned to her bedside had to depart and return to our lives.

Previews: The Humanist Magazine – Autumn 2023

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(September 14, 2023) – The new issue features OpenAI’s now famous ChatGPT bot was used by the Humanist to generate this article as an experiment to discover what today’s AI knows and will tell about the dangers posed by AI technology.

The Dangers of Artificial Intelligence

From Misinformation to Autonomous Weapons

IN RECENT YEARS, the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence have brought forth a myriad of benefits and possibilities. Be it healthcare or transportation, AI has shown its potential to revolutionize industries and improve the quality of human life. However, this transformative power comes hand in hand with a range of dangers that must be understood and addressed. This article delves into both the narrower personal risks and the broader socio-political concerns associated with AI.

Artificial Intelligence Unveiled: Navigating the Hazards in Our Everyday Lives

Imagine a world where your conversations with AI-powered machines could lead you astray, your job might vanish overnight, and your personal data might end up in the wrong hands. Welcome to the realm of artificial intelligence, a place where the marvels of technology coexist with a web of dangers that can reshape our lives in unexpected ways. There are personal concerns that ordinary people face as they navigate this AI-infused landscape.

Opinion: The Middle East’s Future, Managing Wealth, London Bus Driver Health

‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (September 18, 2023) Three essential articles read aloud from the The Economist. This week, the future of the Middle East, Wall Street’s race to wealth management (10:00), and how London’s bus drivers revolutionised health (17:40).

Culture & Opinion: Noema Magazine – Fall 2023 Issue

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Noema Magazine (Fall 2023) – The new issue features Climate Lessons From A Lost Land; The Rediscovery Of Circadian Rhythms; Finding Hope In The Dark Power Of Fungus, ….

Climate Lessons From A Lost Land

The story of the “Atlantis of the North Sea” is one about our impermanence and ultimate futility against the elements. But within it also lies a warning of our potential future in an age of climate change.

BY TRISTAN SØBYE RAPP

Finding Hope In The Dark Power Of Fungus

Fungi can take on the mess and the junk, the waste and the abandoned, break it all down and transform toxin into life.

Taehyoung Jeon

Jesse Stone for Noema Magazine