Survivors & Art Sleuth

Can our deepest trauma lead to our most profound joy? Also, an amateur art sleuth cracks a 43 year old case.

Survivors & Art Sleuth

A Shark Attack and a Terrorist Bombing: This Is a Love Story

Esquire • 14 Oct 2024 • ~6650 words • Archive Link

In a poignant exploration of resilience and connection, this piece tells the intertwined stories of Colin Cook, a shark attack survivor, and Sydney Corcoran, a Boston Marathon bombing victim. Both faced unimaginable trauma, yet their paths converged in the most unexpected ways, leading to a shared journey of healing and love. Through vivid storytelling, we witness how their experiences shape not just their lives, but their futures together.

She met Colin Cook and he offered an answer. After his attack, he said he was never scared of sharks. That astounded her. He even convinced Sydney about six months into their relationship to travel to Hawaii with him, return to the very waters that had taken his leg, and swim with the sharks there. She was so nervous that day—but Colin wasn’t. With local shark experts guiding their swim, including Keoni Bowthorpe, the guy who’d saved his life, Colin got in the ocean miles from the shores of Oahu and swam right next to the Galapagos and reef sharks. He let them swim around him. They were close enough to touch. Back on land he shrugged it off. “The ocean is their home,” he said. It amazed her. Inspired her.

Works by Pissarro, Renoir, and Avercamp Vanished. Here’s How an Amateur Art Sleuth Cracked the Case

Vanity Fair • 14 Oct 2024 • ~9050 words • Archive Link

Meet Clifford Schorer III, a self-taught art detective who has spent years hunting down lost masterpieces. This piece details Schorer's investigation into a 1978 home invasion in Worcester, Massachusetts, where nine valuable paintings were stolen, while detailing the complexities of the case, including the involvement of several individuals, the legal intricacies of recovering stolen art, and the financial stakes involved. It also provides insight into Schorer’s unconventional methods and motivations, highlighting his passion for art, his determination to recover lost masterpieces, and his desire to right historical wrongs.

Schorer, who does not hold a university degree in art history, is largely self-taught and makes many of his finds in his spare time. He also employs runners to scour auctions around the world in search of hidden gems. “All day and night,” he says, “we send pictures back and forth by WhatsApp, going, ‘Do we think this is this?’ ” The Sunday Times Magazine (UK) describes him as being “well known in the art world for his ‘eye.’ ” Schorer formulates it slightly differently: “I’m known in the art world for rediscovering lost things.”

For a Venezuelan migrant family, the U.S. election is another crossroads in a perilous journey

The Globe and Mail • 18 Oct 2024 • ~5550 words • Archive Link

This story follows the journey of a Venezuelan migrant family, Kerli, Xavier, and their son Greike, as they navigate the complexities of global migration and seek asylum in the United States. It details their arduous trek from Venezuela through Central America, highlighting the challenges they face, including perilous border crossings, exploitation by cartels, and the ever-changing policies of the U.S. administration.

I have spent the past two years following Kerli and her family’s northward journey, receiving texts and photos of their struggles and texting with her regularly. As she trekked through deadly jungles, dodged gunshots at unofficial border crossings, survived a kidnapping, fought to get asylum in several countries and finally plunged into the border river, her decisions and destinations were constantly shaped by the ever-changing policies of President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, whose early efforts to dampen the border controversy had the perverse effect of forcing migrants into more dangerous paths.

The Rise and Fall of Matchbox’s Toy-Car Empire

Hagerty Media • 15 Oct 2024 • ~2150 words

This article discusses the history of the Matchbox toy car brand, from its humble beginnings as a small die-casting company in post-war London to becoming the largest toy car maker in the world. It explores the company's rise and eventual decline, as well as the announcement of a new Matchbox live-action movie starring John Cena, and questions what the film might entail given Matchbox's unique history and legacy.

What Hollywood should do, but probably won’t, is tell the real story of Matchbox, because it’s the tale of the rise and fall of the greatest toy-car empire in the world. It’s a story of postwar resilience, of a company holding out against hard times and fighting off market change. There are plucky East-End Londoners getting away with schemes on the side, a public-transit system sponsored by a toy-car factory, and, at the heart of things, a skilled and slightly rebellious engineer.

How Kevin Costner's Maligned Epic – 'The Postman' – Offered a Glimpse into America's Future

CrimeReads • 18 Oct 2024 • ~2800 words

Kevin Costner's 1997 film, The Postman, has long been dismissed as one of the worst movies ever made, earning numerous Razzie Awards. This piece argues that beneath its flawed surface lies a thought-provoking commentary on the struggle between civilization and authoritarianism. This article explores how the film, despite its bloated runtime and melodrama, eerily reflects contemporary political tensions and offers a lens through which to examine America's current challenges.

In its juxtaposition of fascism and democracy, The Postman acts as not only a forensic examination of right wing autocracy, but also a visual, narrative manifesto on behalf of social services and public goods. Culturally and socially, given how the army of heroes coalesces, and politically, considering what they aim to achieve, The Postman is an unapologetic argument for liberalism.

The SS United States Heads Into Unknown Waters

Atlas Obscura • 17 Oct 2024 • ~2050 words

The SS United States, once a symbol of American maritime pride, now faces an uncertain fate after decades of neglect in a Philadelphia shipyard. This article delves into the ship's storied history, from its record-breaking voyages to its current struggles against scrapping and decay. As efforts to preserve this iconic liner falter, the piece invites readers to reflect on what the loss of such a significant vessel means for the U.S. cultural heritage.

In the years since I photographed the SS United States, I’ve read hundreds of comments gleefully advocating for her destruction. I don’t understand it. There are no other ships like her left, and she was built as a symbol of national pride that doesn’t exist in the same way that it did then. Your interpretation of that will no doubt be dictated by your political leanings, but whether you view the SS United States primarily as an emblem of something that is missing from the modern world or as a tangible opportunity to preserve a priceless piece of naval history, one would think that the consensus would be that the ship must be saved.

Teaching American Studies in Amsterdam

The Dial • 17 Oct 2024 • ~3050 words

This essay explores the challenges and opportunities of teaching American Studies in a non-American context, particularly after the 2016 election of Donald Trump. The author argues that the traditional focus on American exceptionalism and national narratives has become increasingly problematic, leading to a need for more nuanced and critical approaches. Blaustein proposes embracing "Amerika-Müdigkeit," a "weariness" with American exceptionalism, as a way to decenter American Studies and promote critical thinking.

All this and we have not even gotten to the field’s object of study, which is … what? the United States? The mythology of “America”? The American empire? The Americas? The original search — now quaint-seeming — was for the “Americanness” of American literature, music, philosophy, architecture, machines, gardens, science, death, democracy and whatever else.

Nation-building

London Review of Books • 17 Oct 2024 • ~4350 words

Justine Firnhaber-Baker's "House of Lilies" explores the legacy of the Capetian kings, who began their rule in 987 and shaped what would become France. This review of the book delves into how these monarchs not only expanded their territory but also influenced the national identity, all while navigating a landscape rife with political intrigue and scandal.

In contrast to the little kingdom to which Hugh Capet had laid claim in 987, France by 1328 was a major political presence in Europe. The Capetians had established a strong dynastic tradition with a distinctive character and a powerful network of alliances and economic connections.

Scoops and Leaks

London Review of Books • 17 Oct 2024 • ~4050 words

Patrick Cockburn delves into the life of his father, Claud Cockburn, a pioneering figure in guerrilla journalism. Claud's approach was not just about reporting the news; it was about challenging the powerful by revealing truths hidden from the public. This article explores Claud's unique blend of skepticism, audacity, and wit, highlighting how he navigated the treacherous waters of 1930s Britain while uncovering significant political truths.

To the end of his life, Cockburn stuck to two other core beliefs. The first was his instinctive scepticism and cynicism about all who hold authority: the British establishment, all governments and even the leadership of the Comintern and the Communist Party of Great Britain, of which he was for many years a wayward member. But it was his second core belief that really drove his journalism, that ‘decision-makers were weaker, more incompetent, more divided, more self-destructively corrupt than they liked people to understand and hence more vulnerable to journalistic attack and exposure.’

Breaking Up Google

Phenomenal World • 16 Oct 2024 • ~2100 words

This piece delves into the complexities of Google's dual status as both a natural and intellectual monopoly, exploring how its dominance affects not just competition, but also the landscape of data and knowledge in our society. It argues that traditional antitrust remedies are insufficient to address the complex nature of Google's dominance, and raises questions about how to regulate natural and intellectual monopolies in the digital age.

Under a natural monopoly, boosting competition would come at the expense of efficiency and worsen search results. Moreover, increasing competition in this market would not make it free or fair. The winners would be Apple and Microsoft, whose search engines would receive more traffic. A far cry from Robin Hood, this solution would be taking from the rich to give it to the other rich. Even if Google were forced to divest and disaggregate, the new companies could still share databases and research results to maximize extracted rents, leaving the intellectual monopoly untouched.

The Mild-Mannered Librarian Who Saved the Big Thicket

Texas Monthly • 16 Oct 2024 • ~2700 words • Archive Link

Maxine "Mickey" Johnston, now 95, is the last living link to the grassroots movement that fought to protect the Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas. This piece from chronicles her journey from a young girl missing the forests of her childhood to a pivotal figure in the decades-long battle against timber and oil interests. Johnston's quiet determination and diplomatic skills helped secure a vital ecological treasure, showcasing the power of community action in conservation.

Fifty years ago this month, on October 11, 1974, President Gerald Ford signed the laws that created America’s first national preserves: Big Cypress, in South Florida, and here, the Big Thicket, a so-called string of pearls stretching from Woodville and Jasper to just north of Beaumont. The Thicket preserve was a hard-fought victory that came after years of opposition from lumber and oil industries, land developers, and property owners. Fortunes and reputations were made and lost in the battle over the forest, and Maxine “Mickey” Johnston, now 95, is the last living link to the citizen-led coalition that worked tirelessly to create the preserve.

The Coming Second Copernican Revolution

NOEMA • 15 Oct 2024 • ~8050 words

The article discusses the emergence of a new "planetary" perspective that is being shaped by advancements in astrobiology, Earth systems science, and complexity theory. It argues how this perspective could lead to a "second Copernican revolution" that fundamentally reshapes our understanding of life, planets, and the human project of civilization.

To exist on a planet for more than just a few centuries, any technosphere must become mature by manifesting a new form of self-organization. If it is to persist over even semi-geologic timescales of a few thousand years, it must become self-creating and self-maintaining. Thus, a mature technosphere would be autopoietic. In becoming so, it must manifest what the supporting biosphere established billions of years earlier: planetary intelligence. This is the only way technospheres can endure and thrive across timescales like those of biospheres.

The Seventy Percent

Harper's Magazine • 15 Oct 2024 • ~4050 words • Archive Link

In this essay, Li argues that contemporary readers often dismiss characters like Nikolai Rostov from Tolstoy's War and Peace because he lacks ambition and doesn't conform to modern ideals of heroism or suffering. She critiques this tendency to categorize characters as "toxic" or "passive," arguing that it reduces complex characters to simplistic labels. Ultimately, Li argues for the importance of appreciating characters who exist in the "70 percent" of life that lies between the extraordinary and the truly terrible, and she suggests that embracing the ambiguity and complexity of these characters makes for a more nuanced understanding of both literature and life.

Characters like Nikolai and Stoner, who react to life more often than they “take action”—whatever that term means—are often labeled by my students as passive characters. Sometimes a student is advised by his or her peers to give characters “higher stakes” or “more agency*.”* This tends to lead me to groan internally. Isn’t living from day to day enough of a stake? Isn’t living itself the most important action, if you really pay close attention to the world?

Your diet can change your immune system — here’s how

Nature • 14 Oct 2024 • ~2700 words

As claims about the connection between diet and the immune system flood our daily lives, a deeper look into the science reveals a complex and evolving field. This article highlights recent research using innovative approaches to uncover the molecular mechanisms by which specific dietary components, fasting, and dietary shifts affect immunity and discusses the potential for personalized dietary interventions to treat various health conditions.

In the past five or so years, however, researchers have developed innovative approaches to nutrition immunology that are helping to close this credibility gap. Whereas nutrition scientists have conventionally studied the long-term impacts of loosely defined Mediterranean or Western diets, for example, today they have access to tools that allow them to zoom in on the short-term effects — both helpful and harmful — of narrower food groups and specific dietary components, and to probe the molecular mechanisms underpinning the effects of foods on immunity.

Canadian doctors who provide euthanasia struggle with the ethics of killing vulnerable patients

AP News • 14 Oct 2024 • ~2400 words • Archive Link

As Canada expands its euthanasia laws, healthcare professionals are confronting ethical dilemmas surrounding requests from vulnerable individuals. This AP investigation reveals how some doctors and nurses are wrestling with cases where poverty, loneliness, and lack of support play significant roles in patients' decisions to seek assisted dying. The piece highlights a troubling discourse in medical forums, where the line between alleviating suffering and addressing societal failings becomes increasingly blurred.

One doctor wrote that although his patient had a serious lung disease, his suffering was “mostly because he is homeless, in debt and cannot tolerate the idea of (long-term care) of any kind.” A respondent questioned whether the fear of living in the nursing home was truly intolerable. Another said the prospect of “looking at the wall or ceiling waiting to be fed … to have diapers changed” was sufficiently painful.