Arctic Melts & Gateways

Featured Articles

When the Arctic Melts

The New Yorker • 7 Oct 2024 • ~8150 words • Archive Link

As Greenland's ice sheets continue to melt at an alarming rate, the implications for global sea levels become increasingly dire. This piece explores the dramatic changes occurring in Greenland's ice sheet due to climate change and the potential global consequences if it continues to melt at an accelerating rate. It delves into the scientific research being conducted on the ice sheet, the feedback loops that are amplifying the melting, and the radical interventions being proposed to try and conserve the Arctic region.

The future depends on how humanity reacts to global warming, and it also depends on how the Earth does. Owing to advances in everything from satellite altimetry to deep-sea drilling, a great deal has been learned in the past few decades about the planet’s history. Much of the new science suggests that the climate is, all on its own, unstable, prone to dramatic and sometimes sudden shifts.

What’s in a Gateway?

Urban Omnibus • 2 Oct 2024 • ~3000 words

In exploring the significance of gateways in Chinatowns, this piece delves into how these structures serve as cultural markers and commercial symbols. It raises essential questions about representation and identity, particularly in the context of New York's Chinatown, which lacks a traditional gateway. The article highlights the ongoing dialogue within the community about what a "Welcome Gateway" should embody, reflecting the diverse experiences of those who call Chinatown home.

Over the course of the 20th century, the paifang’s meaning changed as it transformed into a defining visual symbol of Chinatowns from San Francisco to Singapore. Just type the word “Chinatown” into a Google image search and it will return pages of brightly colored Chinatown gates. These freestanding, typically ornate structures serve as territorial placemarkers of Chinese presence, or in the case of dwindling Chinatowns like Washington DC, increasing absence. The paifang is so successful a popular cultural symbol of Chineseness that it has been re-appropriated in China to enhance the tourist experience, a development Anne-Marie Broudehoux calls “the Chinatownization of Beijing.”

Recommended Articles

The belief in witches is an almost universal feature of human societies. What does it reveal about our deepest fears?

Aeon • 7 Oct 2024 • ~4100 words

Witchcraft is a belief that transcends cultures and eras, and this piece examines why the idea of the wicked witch has persisted despite a lack of evidence for their existence. It delves into the social, psychological, and anthropological explanations for this enduring belief and questions why certain individuals or groups are often singled out as witches. The article suggests that the universal image of the witch reveals deep-seated human fears and tendencies to imagine the existence of evil 'others' who threaten our well-being.

From the arresting series of inversions to manifesting as nocturnal lights to flying unaided, many attributions of witches are encountered so often, in different places and different historical periods, that they cannot credibly be explained as mere coincidences, or something that originated in one culture and simply spread to near and distant others. Some beliefs may have developed independently in different places. But this only begs the question: why should this have occurred? Given the uniformity of the image of the witch worldwide, we can only conclude that it is a product of pan-human psychology.

On the Remarkable Legacy of Lewis Lapham

Literary Hub • 7 Oct 2024 • ~3400 words

In this reflective piece, Elias Weiss offers a personal glimpse into the life and legacy of Lewis Lapham, the renowned editor and essayist. Through his anecdotes, Weiss captures Lapham's warmth and wit, revealing how his unique approach to editing and his love for storytelling inspired those around him. This tribute not only honors Lapham's contributions but also sheds light on the lessons he imparted to his interns and colleagues.

I stood there, seeing him among his staff, and was momentarily sad, then glad, for how the show goes on without you, how he must’ve called most people “Kiddo,” how he always gave everyone his time. That was the refrain of his memorial service. While there may be only a handful of people who reroute someone’s life, Lewis exerted this gravitational pull on hundreds and hundreds of us, playing the same role every time. That is integrity.

To Be Born in a Bag

Asimov Press • 6 Oct 2024 • ~5050 words

As researchers push the boundaries of reproductive technology, the concept of artificial wombs is evolving, aiming to support extremely premature infants or even grow a fetus entirely outside the womb. This article explores the current challenges faced by scientists, including replicating the complex functions of the human womb and the ethical considerations that arise from such advancements. It also delves into the possibilities of ectogenesis and what it could mean for the future of childbirth and reproductive choices.

Mention the term “ectogenesis” to the researchers working on artificial wombs for premature babies, and they often roll their eyes. They will tell you that the idea is absurd, technically naïve, or even outright impossible; nobody is trying to grow babies in a lab without a mother. But that is exactly what Colossal plans to do — in what is almost a side-project of their de-extinction venture, scientists at Colossal are developing artificial wombs to grow living creatures from embryo to birth.

Silicon Valley, the New Lobbying Monster

The New Yorker • 7 Oct 2024 • ~8750 words

As Silicon Valley flexes its financial muscle, the tech industry's influence on politics is becoming increasingly pronounced. This piece explores how super PACs like Fairshake are reshaping the political landscape, using money to intimidate lawmakers into supporting pro-crypto agendas. The article raises questions about the role of money in shaping the democratic process and whether the tech industry's political activities serve the public interest or primarily their own.

Pro-crypto donors are responsible for almost half of all corporate donations to PACs in the 2024 election cycle, and the tech industry has become one of the largest corporate donors in the nation. The point of all that money, like of the attack on Porter, has been to draw attention to Silicon Valley’s financial might—and to prove that its leaders are capable of political savagery in order to protect their interests. “It’s a simple message,” the person familiar with Fairshake said. “If you are pro-crypto, we will help you, and if you are anti we will tear you apart.”

Milton in the Anthropocene

The Montreal Review • 5 Oct 2024 • ~5100 words

In exploring John Milton's "Paradise Lost," this piece explores how this epic poem reflects the profound transformations of the early modern period, from the colonization of the Americas to the scientific revolution. It examines how Milton's work grappled with the dislocations and uncertainties of the emerging modern world and how his vision of humanity's "fall" from Eden presages the environmental crises of the Anthropocene era. The article ultimately asks whether Milton's epic can still speak to us today as we confront the existential threats posed by climate change and ecological collapse.

. . . within English literature, as affected and archaic as the language of Paradise Lost may sound, Milton’s epic is as a window through which thinking passes from the antique into the contemporary; it is the hinge through which modernity emerges, or even more accurately, where it is first named . . . If modernity began with the Columbian exchange, with the suturing together of the world’s long disconnected hemispheres as European powers burnt a path of conquest across the Americas, then the fullest literary expression of that modernity in English would not be well until the seventeenth-century, not in the form of Phillip’s translation of A Short History of the Destruction of the Indies, but in his uncle’s epic poem.

Killing Our Way To Paradise

The Reframe • 5 Oct 2024 • ~5000 words

This piece critiques the pervasive violence in contemporary society, where the normalization of "good killing" is justified under the guise of heroism. It examines how this mindset manifests in popular culture, politics, and real-world events, and questions why many are drawn to the idea of "killing our way to paradise" despite the clear historical evidence that such an approach only breeds more violence and suffering.

All the proposed killing sure sounds like murder to me, but I'm informed that most of it is actually a very practical and necessary and obvious solution. This makes it good killing—we can tell because we are doing it—or at least killing I oughtn't to worry about so much, or else it is killing that important to ignore for now to avoid even more future killing. Good killing has been necessitated by other bad killing, I'm told, or at least the threat of some future potential bad killing. We can tell it is bad killing because they have done it—and the bad killing is the only killing that I'm told ought to alarm me, while the good killing should make me feel safe. We are the heroes, I'm told. No, it's more than that—heroism is our exclusive property. What I mean is, I'm told that what we do is heroic because we do it.

Seeing Like a Simulation

Los Angeles Review of Books • 5 Oct 2024 • ~3800 words

In her review of Chaim Gingold's "Building SimCity," Celine Nguyen explores the intriguing parallels between the virtual city-building experience in SimCity and real-world attempts at utopian urban development, such as the controversial billionaire-backed city in California. Nguyen delves into how simulation games reflect broader societal values and decisions, highlighting the tension between individual agency and collective governance. It contrasts SimCity's top-down, authoritarian approach to city-building with alternative models that aim to cultivate civic agency and democratic participation.

Enacting one’s agency in a game can produce an aesthetic experience. It can also be a political act. SimCity players must make decisions about key urban political dilemmas: What businesses and residents should the government try to attract? What taxation policy encourages growth? What transit and zoning policies will improve cultural diversity? What defines an ideal city—or a city gone awry?

You Are Going to Die

The Atlantic • 4 Oct 2024 • ~2900 words • Archive Link

The article profiles Oliver Burkeman, an unlikely self-help guru who has found success by reminding readers of their mortality and the futility of trying to "master" time. It explores Burkeman's journey from a productivity-focused writer to an author who encourages readers to embrace their limitations and the inherent problems of life, as seen in his books "Four Thousand Weeks" and the new "Meditations for Mortals". The article delves into Burkeman's unconventional approach to self-help and the philosophical questions he grapples with regarding time, death, and the human condition.

Burkeman's opening sentence, with its cascade of unexpected adjectives, is the prelude to his countercultural message that no one can hustle or bullet-journal or inbox-zero their way to mastering time. Such control, and the sense of completion and command it implies, is literally impossible, Burkeman argues. In fact, impossible is one of the words he uses most frequently, though it sounds oddly hopeful when he says it.

Breaking a Child’s Will

The Cut • 4 Oct 2024 • ~5350 words • Archive Link

The article examines the persistence of corporal punishment of children in Evangelical Christian parenting, exploring how this practice is deeply rooted in certain theological beliefs and has been perpetuated by influential figures within the Evangelical community. It delves into the traumatic experiences of survivors who endured physical abuse in the name of biblical parenting and how this has impacted their lives as adults. The article also investigates the broader societal implications of normalizing violence against children.

Wooden spoons recurred in countless interviews. Many of the people who wrote to me about their childhoods had had spoon after spoon broken on their thighs and backs. At 23, Abigail refuses to have one in her house. “I don’t even keep them in my kitchen for cooking purposes,” she said. “They’re not allowed in my house at all.”

The making of an alleged school shooter: Missed warnings and years of neglect

Washington Post • 3 Oct 2024 • ~5350 words • Archive Link

In an unsettling account, this piece explores the tragic circumstances that led a 14-year-old to allegedly become the youngest school shooter in a quarter century at Georgia's Apalachee High School. Through interviews and a review of personal communications, the article sheds light on Colt Gray's troubled upbringing and the warning signs that went unheeded. It delves into the missed warning signs, family dynamics, and systemic failures that may have contributed to the end result.

That Christmas, a law enforcement official confirmed, Colt’s dad decided to buy him a present: his own AR-style rifle.

How Chicken Tenders Conquered America

New York Times • 1 Oct 2024 • ~1900 words • Archive Link

In this exploration of American culinary culture, Pete Wells dives into the history and rise of chicken tenders in, tracing their origins back to Manchester, New Hampshire, fifty years ago. While the tender may seem like a simple dish, its journey reflects broader themes of innovation, marketing, and even identity in American cuisine.

Today, the chicken tender is not just familiar. It is triumphant. It is a fixture of school lunches and kids’ menus, of all-night diners and gas stations. It can be found at airports, food courts and stadiums. It is a major reason for the double-digit sales growth that Chick-fil-A, Popeyes, Raising Cane’s and other chicken-centric chains have reported for five straight years.

Saudi Arabia is stealing snooker’s soul Torn from its British heritage, the game may die

UnHerd • 6 Oct 2024 • ~1700 words

The article discusses the past, present, and potential future of snooker. It explores the game's contradictory nature—a slow-paced, working-class pursuit with an aristocratic aesthetic—as well as the financial and logistical challenges facing the sport. The article also questions whether moving the World Championship away from its traditional home at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield would come at the cost of losing snooker's soul.

A quiet game, with a wild history — a working-class pursuit, with an aristocratic look — snooker is, in every sense, a game of contradictions. Its ancestor, billiards, was very much the preserve of the English and French nobility. King Louis XI owned the very first indoor billiard table; Mary Queen of Scots was an avid player, and even had a table in her prison cell. But as snooker out-muscled billiards in the early 20th century, it found new homes in the working men’s clubs of Britain’s industrial towns. And as the years went on, the nation’s billiard halls developed a particular kind of reputation — a less than salubrious one, for suspect characters and shady dealings.