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…
It’s the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso’s death and The Musée National in Paris along with The Albertina Museum in Vienna are commemorating the occasion with two outstanding shows centered around the legendary artist’s work.
The new landmark Vermeer exhibition in Amsterdam showcases 28 known works by the artist, providing a rare opportunity to see a significant collection of his masterpieces in one place. Learn about these thrilling shows and more in this video.
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.
Barron’s Magazine – March 20, 2023:
The nation’s banking giants will be beneficiaries of the industry’s turmoil. They have cheap stocks, and hefty dividend yields.
Investors and customers fell in love with these two Silicon Valley banks and their CEOs. Then they fled as the crisis hit.
The banking sector is in turmoil. But the causes are very different from 2008.
Some economists say the Federal Reserve must pause its interest-rate-rising campaign to help bolster banks, while other economists say that such a pause would indicate the Fed isn’t serious about taming inflation.
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 Book Review – March 19, 2023:
The new book by the sociologist and author of “Evicted” examines the persistence of want in the wealthy United States, finding that keeping some citizens poor serves the interests of many.
Brazil’s ultra urban megacity overwhelms the landscape and the imagination. Paulo Scott recommends books that peel back its layers.
The fashion world’s hunger for larger-than-life figures glorified the designer. But a cozy new biography shows him to be more business whiz than artist.
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?
March 17, 2023: the extraordinary story behind what Canadian police have called “the biggest art fraud in history”. More than 1,000 fake works purporting to be by the First Nations artist Norval Morrisseau are seized and eight people have been charged.
The Art Newspaper’s Editor, Americas, Ben Sutton, tells the extraordinary story, involving a rock star, a television documentary and alleged forgery rings, and what it tells us about the market for First Nations art in Canada. A report into artists’ pay in the UK has exposed the inordinately low sums paid to artists for their labour by arts organisations.
We talk to the art collective Industria, who wrote the report, and Julie Lomax, the CEO of a-n, The Artists’ Information Company, which has published the study. And this episode’s Work of the Week is An Old Woman (around 1513) by the Northern Renaissance artist Quinten Massys, a painting better known as The Ugly Duchess.
A new exhibition at the National Gallery focuses on this work in its collection, exploring its origins in a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, and the combination of satire, folklore, humanism and misogyny from which it emerged. Emma Capron, the curator of the show, tells us more.A PDF of Industria’s Structurally F–cked report can be found at a-n.co.uk. Industria’s website is we-industria.org.The Ugly Duchess: Beauty and Satire in the Renaissance, National Gallery, London, until 11 June.
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
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