The Eternal Colony
Who governs Sicily? Does it matter? With a population of five million (similar to Scotland’s, larger than Croatia’s), this island of 10,000 square miles lying off...
The Burden of ‘Yes’
One day Zeus and Hera were quarreling. They called Tiresias and asked him which of the two, man or woman, got the most pleasure from sex....
The Fourth Woman
When Nathalie Léger was around nine years old, her father’s mistress moved into the house next door. One afternoon, Léger hid in the hedge that separated...
Waiting to Deflate
We delight in the folly of others. As Charles Mackay wrote in Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, “Is it a dull or uninstructive...
‘A Searing Bolt of Turquoise’
This spring I taught a course at Mount Holyoke on Emily Dickinson. We spent a week on her riddle poems, and I asked the students to...
‘No One Thinks in Esperanto’
The letters below are drawn from How to Start Writing (and When to Stop), a collection of the advice columns that Wisława Szymborska wrote anonymously in...
Best headphones for iPhone owners: Think outside the (AirPods) box
AirPods are great and all, but have you heard of literally anything else? Listening to music, podcasts, or audio books on your iPhone makes perfect sense...
Will Everyone Be Exposed to Covid-19 Eventually? It’s Complicated
This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance on masking for those fully vaccinated against covid-19, recommending that people living in areas...
Argo AI can now offer the public rides in its autonomous vehicles in California
Argo AI, the autonomous vehicle technology startup backed by Ford and VW, has landed a permit in California that will allow the company to give people...
Taika Waititi’s Flash Gordon Film Might Be Live-Action Now
Filmmaker Taika Waititi is involved with so many things it’s very easy to forget one or two. For example, you probably remember he’s making Thor: Love...
