An Alternative to Breaking News, Report
by Tom Jenks at OUP Blog: Reading is good; rereading is better. I can’t say with certainty how many times—forty? fifty?—I’ve read James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues,” only that for more than
Continue readingRacism, Jazz, and James Baldwin’s “Sonny Blues”
Arvind Dilawar in the Los Angeles Review of Books: AFTER THE END of the United States’ occupation of Afghanistan in 2021, the international community sought to preserve local advances, especially
Continue readingReenvisioning Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution in Islam
David P. Mindell at Reason: The conventional narrative for evolution is outdated. I am not casting doubt on the fact of evolution. I am saying that the way most people
by Michael Ignatieff at Literary Review: Nearly three quarters of the world’s population, according to the experts, live in autocracies. Anne Applebaum’s Autocracy, Inc wants us to see the resemblances
By Arik Kershenbaum at Literary Review: If a cow said, ‘Don’t eat me’, we wouldn’t. We seem to regard the capacity for language (by which we mean our kind of
Continue readingWhy Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication
Leon Vlieger at The Inquisitive Biologist: This is the third of a trio of reviews in which I take a brief detour into ants and collective behavior more generally. I
Rachel Dec in LA Review of Books: IN 2022, AS THE labor market thrived, a noticeable gap emerged between traditional economic indicators (which seemed good) and the lived experiences of
Bill Gates in Gates Notes: Melinda and I sometimes read the same book at the same time. It’s usually a lot of fun, but it can get us in trouble when
Continue readingA Gentleman in Moscow Has a Little Bit of Everything
Emily Cataneo in Undark: IT’S 1922. You’re a scientist presented with a hundred youths who, you’re told, will grow up to lead conventional adult lives — with one exception. In 40 years,
Pranay Sanklecha at Aeon: ‘Why did you decide to study philosophy?’ asked the Harvard professor, sitting in the park in his cream linen suit. ‘Because I want to find out
by Abbas Raza at 3 Quarks Daily: The following writers each picked 10 books for the New York Times: Stephen King, Min Jin Lee, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Bonnie Garmus, Nana
Louis Bayard at The NY Times: In the opening sentence of her rage-swollen “Ask Not,” Maureen Callahan declares that her book “is not ideological or partisan.” It is, of course,