Why Kurt Vonnegut's advice to college graduates still matters today

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Why Kurt Vonnegut's advice to college graduates still matters today   Susan Farrell is a founding member of the Kurt Vonnegut Society, which works to promote the scholarly study of Kurt Vonnegut, his life, and works.Kurt Vonnegut didn’t deliver the famous “Wear Sunscreen” graduation speech published in the Chicago Tribune that was often mistakenly attributed to the celebrated author. But he could have. Continued here

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Why menstrual leave could be bad for women   PhD Candidate, Department of Global Health & Social Medicine, King's College London Spain recently adopted a menstrual leave policy, which makes additional (paid or unpaid) days off work available to “only and all cisgender women”. Continued here

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Latino youth struggle with sense of belonging in school   Latino youth in middle and high school have a lower sense of belonging at school and in the community overall when compared with white peers. That is a key finding from my analysis, which is currently under review and based on surveys with students in midsize districts – one urban and one suburban – on the East Coast. I also found that being a language learner is associated with lower school belonging.To measure belonging, I analyzed a 40-question survey that included questions about belonging at school, in after-school programs and in the community. Students reported that the reasons for feeling a lack of belonging stem from negative experiences at school, few trusting adult-student relationships and little affirmation from school of students’ Latino identity. Latino youths, especially those from immigrant households and nonnative English speakers, report lower sense of belonging. Continued here

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Balancing Power: The Yin and Yang of Co-CEOs - Exploring the Pros and Cons     Introduction:The leadership structure of a company plays a crucial role in its success and growth. While a traditional setup involves a single CEO at the helm, some organizations opt for a dual leadership model, with two individuals serving as co-CEOs. This approach, although less common, can have its advantages and drawbacks. In this article, we will explore the pros and cons of having co-CEOs, supported by examples from both successful and less successful implementations.Pros of Having Co-CEOs:1. Complementary Skill Sets:One of the primary advantages of having co-CEOs is the opportunity to harness complementary skill sets. Each co-CEO can bring unique expertise and perspectives to the table, leading to a more well-rounded decision-making process. For example, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-founders of Google, possessed complementary skills in technology and business, respectively, enabling them to effectively lead the company's growth and innovation. Continued here

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Dandelions are a lifeline for bees on the brink - we should learn to love them   Dandelions, love them or hate them, are blooming in abundance all over the UK this spring. As an ecologist who studies the insects which visit these flowers, so redolent of sunshine, I have never been able to understand why anyone might hate them. Why do some people despair when they see a dandelion poking through the grass in their garden, or through the concrete on their drive? Most see dandelions as “weeds”: they don’t want them around their house and will reach for the lawnmower, or worse still, a can of weed killer, when one dares to rear its yellow head. Continued here

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Sarah Holland-Batt wins the 2023 Stella Prize with a powerful look at death and ageing   Acclaimed poet Sarah Holland-Batt has won the 2023 Stella Prize for her powerful and elegiac collection of poetry, The Jaguar. Poetry was excluded from the Stella Prize until 2022. In only the second year of its inclusion, poetry has made its presence known: Holland-Batt is the second poet in a row to win the prize, after last year’s was won by Evelyn Araluen’s collection, Dropbear. Continued here

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Violet bakery's new cookbook: Love is a Pink Cake   In her small bakery-cafe, Violet Cakes, Claire Ptak brings a California ethos to East London, combining her passion for seasonality and simplicity with English-grown ingredients – a combination that would catch the eye, and taste buds, of royalty.The American chef, author and food stylist started baking at a young age, working in professional kitchens as soon as she could get a work permit at age 15 in Point Reyes, California. Eventually, she became a pastry chef at Alice Waters' legendary Chez Panisse restaurant in nearby Berkeley, after impressing the renowned farm-to-table pioneer with a wild huckleberry tart made from foraged fruit for her job trial. Continued here

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Extinction Rebellion gave it 'the Big One' with a four-day peaceful protest - now what?   The banners have been packed away, the face paint washed off and the Instagram accounts updated. The latest four-day demonstration by environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion (XR) – dubbed “the Big One” as it aimed to be the largest climate protest in UK history – ended without a single arrest.The movement that began with civil disobedience in 2018 has now declared its preference for “attendance over arrest and relationships over roadblocks”. Four months ago, the group announced a pause on disruptive action that inconvenienced the public, such as road blockades. Continued here

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Biden's coronation no-show is no snub - more telling is whom he sends to King Charles' big day   The fact that first lady Jill Biden, but not her husband, President Joe Biden, will be attending King Charles III’s coronation on May 6, 2023, has not gone down too well with sections of the U.K. press. A “royal snub,” screamed headlines, while commentators grumbled about “Irish Joe” and his “hatred” of the Brits.The truth is, no U.S. president has ever attended a British coronation ceremony. Indeed, American presidents tend to avoid royal ceremonies of all stripes. Biden did attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022, but that was very much the exception, not the rule. Continued here

S20

'Got polio?' messaging underscores a vaccine campaign's success but creates false sense of security as memories of the disease fade in US   Messages like this are used in memes, posters, T-shirts and even some billboards to promote routine vaccinations. As this catchy statement reminds people of once-feared diseases of the past, it – perhaps unintentionally – conveys the message that polio has been relegated to the history books.Phrasing that aims to encourage immunizations by highlighting their accomplishments implies that some diseases are no longer a threat. Continued here

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Saving broadcasting's past for the future -- archivists are working to capture not just tapes of TV and radio but the experience of tuning in together   Michael J. Socolow is a member of the Library of Congress Radio Preservation Task Force, and was on the conference organizing team for the "Century of Broadcasting" conference. We’ve lived with broadcasting for more than a century. Starting with radio in the 1920s, then television in the 1950s, Americans by the millions began purchasing boxes designed to receive electromagnetic signals transmitted from nearby towers. Upon arrival, those signals were amplified and their messages were “aired” into our lives. Continued here

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Fatal Attraction and the endurance of the 'bunny boiler', dating culture's most toxic stereotype   In a world where Super Mario films and sexless Marvel sequels reign supreme at the box office, it's hard to imagine a return to 1987, where the highest-grossing film in the world was a psychosexual thriller about an extra-marital affair. Adrian Lyne, the king of the erotic thriller, directed Fatal Attraction, which grossed $320 million  globally and was nominated for six Oscars. Now Paramount Plus is hoping to replicate some of that success with a new small-screen adaptation starring Joshua Jackson, Lizzy Caplan and Amanda Peet as the central trio.In the original, Michael Douglas played Dan Gallagher, a married lawyer with an adorable daughter and perfect wife, Beth (Anne Archer). He meets Alex Forrest (Glenn Close), a successful book editor and they embark on a brief affair, but when Dan tries to end things, Alex does not take no for an answer and, among other things, famously boils the family's pet rabbit in retaliation. The film ends with Beth shooting Alex dead, after she turns up at their family home with murderous intent, but this was not the original plan. The first cut of the film saw Alex kill herself and frame Dan for her murder, but test audiences wanted to see her most resolutely punished, resulting in an ending that film critic Karina Longworth described in the Erotic '80s series of her podcast You Must Remember This as "bigger but stupider". "Audiences needed some kind of big blowout at the end," Longworth tells BBC Culture, expanding on her point. "They couldn't accept a more low-key ending with more empathy for the Glenn Close character.” But as Longworth also explains, some people maintained empathy for her despite the brutal conclusion. "Fatal Attraction almost played like a completely different movie to different people depending on what their point of view was at the time." Continued here

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Ukraine war: Russia scales back May 9 Victory Day celebrations amid fear of popular protests   Russians celebrate the end of the “great patriotic war” on May 9 each year. Victory Day, which commemorates the defeat of Nazism in Europe is the most important holiday in Russia. The public and the state come together in a patriotic celebration during which people remember their family members who sacrificed their lives to defeat Nazism. Many of the day’s features - the parades, songs and commemorative practices - date back to the Soviet era. Continued here

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Tech giants forced to reveal AI secrets - here's how this could make life better for all   The European Commission is forcing 19 tech giants including Amazon, Google, TikTok and YouTube to explain their artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms under the Digital Services Act. Asking these businesses – platforms and search engines with more than 45 million EU users – for this information is a much-needed step towards making AI more transparent and accountable. This will make life better for everyone.AI is expected to affect every aspect of our lives – from healthcare, to education, to what we look at and listen to, and even how how well we write. But AI also generates a lot of fear, often revolving around a god-like computer becoming smarter than us, or the risk that a machine tasked with an innocuous task may inadvertently destroy humanity. More pragmatically, people often wonder if AI will make them redundant. Continued here

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International Tax Reform the C-Suite Can't Ignore   By the end of this year, the global tax system will experience a historic shift that will have implications for multinational enterprises (MNEs) that go far beyond their tax departments. The upcoming regulatory changes will impose significant compliance burdens on MNEs and should prompt C-suites to reconsider whether their global operating models remain fit for purpose.For decades, countries have competed intensely to attract MNEs' operations by cutting their corporate tax rates and narrowing their tax base. But this competition is about to change significantly, now that 138 jurisdictions, representing nearly 95% of the global gross domestic product, have reached an agreement to put a floor on global tax competition. The agreement — part of an initiative led by G-20 countries and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) — requires that all large MNEs be subject to a minimum tax of 15% in each foreign country in which they operate. Key jurisdictions, including all members of the European Union, are expected to apply the new rules in 2024.The new tax agreement represents a watershed moment for global business regulation. To understand how we got here, consider that the average corporate income tax rate among the high-income countries that the OECD comprised in 1980 was 47%, and that average had declined to 23% in 2021. The Obama and Biden administrations, among other governments around the world, have referred to this decline as a "race to the bottom," whereas other policy experts assert that the decrease is the result of healthy competition fueled by tax policy. Continued here

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Why the Turner prize shortlist is a cultural barometer of our political times   The UK’s biggest prize for contemporary art is back. The 2023 Turner prize shortlist has been announced featuring British artists Jesse Darling, Rory Pilgrim, Ghislaine Leung and Barbara Walker. An exhibition of the artists’ work will go on show at Towner Eastbourne from 28 September to 14 April 2024 with the winner announced on 5 December. Continued here

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Beyond Legalization: Righting the Wrongs of the Past in the Marijuana Industry (TradeBriefs Exclusive)     In recent years, there has been a growing movement to legalize marijuana for both medical and recreational use in the United States and around the world. However, many advocates argue that simply legalizing marijuana is not enough to right the wrongs of the past, particularly when it comes to the disproportionate impact that drug laws have had on communities of color.For decades, drug laws in the United States and elsewhere have been used to target communities of color, resulting in high rates of incarceration and other negative outcomes. This is particularly true when it comes to marijuana, which has been used as a justification for policing and incarceration that has disproportionately affected communities of color. Continued here

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The Rising Wave: Countries Embrace Alternatives to the Dollar as Momentum Grows     Introduction:In a notable global trend, an increasing number of countries are actively seeking alternatives to the US dollar, aiming to reduce their dependence on it as the dominant global currency. This movement, which aims to diversify financial systems and protect economies from potential vulnerabilities, is gaining significant momentum. This article explores the driving forces behind this shift, highlights concrete examples of countries taking action, and examines the potential implications for the global economic landscape.Economic Sovereignty:Countries are motivated by the desire for greater economic sovereignty, recognizing that heavy reliance on a single currency controlled by another nation poses risks beyond their control. As a result, they are actively diversifying their currency holdings. For instance, Russia has been reducing its holdings of US dollars in favor of increasing its reserves of euros and Chinese yuan. This move aims to strengthen economic independence and protect against potential financial disruptions. Continued here

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AI is exciting - and an ethical minefield: 4 essential reads on the risks and concerns about this technology   If you’re like me, you’ve spent a lot of time over the past few months trying to figure out what this AI thing is all about. Large-language models, generative AI, algorithmic bias – it’s a lot for the less tech-savvy of us to sort out, trying to make sense of the myriad headlines about artificial intelligence swirling about.But understanding how AI works is just part of the dilemma. As a society, we’re also confronting concerns about its social, psychological and ethical effects. Here we spotlight articles about the deeper questions the AI revolution raises about bias and inequality, the learning process, its impact on jobs, and even the artistic process. Continued here

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Henry James on Losing a Mother   Each month, I spend hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars keeping The Marginalian going. For seventeen years, it has remained free and ad-free and alive thanks to patronage from readers. I have no staff, no interns, not even an assistant — a thoroughly one-woman labor of love that is also my life and my livelihood. If this labor has made your own life more livable in the past year (or the past decade), please consider aiding its sustenance with a one-time or loyal donation. Your support makes all the difference.“Every man or woman who is sane, every man or woman who has the feeling of being a person in the world, and for whom the world means something, every happy person, is in infinite debt to a woman,” the visionary psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott wrote as he considered the mother as a pillar of society. Having a mother is a lifelong complexity. Losing a mother, no matter the nature or duration of the relationship, is the cataclysm of a lifetime. That is what Henry James (April 13, 1843–February 28, 1916) reckoned with in his thirty-ninth year, recording the loss in a breathtaking diary entry found in The Complete Notebooks of Henry James (public library). Continued here

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How Gen Z are disrupting the definition of 'prestigious' jobs   Even before Molly Johnson-Jones graduated from Oxford University in 2015, she felt professional pressure to land a ‘prestigious’ job in a high-powered industry. She says she and her university friends felt there were sectors that carried cachet – particularly the rigorous fields of finance, consulting, medicine and law. That’s why Johnson-Jones ended up in investment banking for two years once she graduated, even though didn’t feel like quite the right fit.These kinds of “very traditional industries” have indeed carried prestige, says Jonah Stillman, co-founder of GenGuru, a consulting firm that focuses on different generations in the workplace. Stillman, a Gen Zer, says this sentiment is present in higher-education settings, but he adds many people across generations have felt pressure well before university to pursue these paths, including from family members or high-school counsellors.  Continued here

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Peace in the DRC: East Africa has deployed troops to combat M23 rebels - who's who in the regional force   The East Africa Community (EAC) has completed the deployment of its regional force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to oversee the withdrawal of the rebel group, M23, from the eastern part of the country. The last contingent was of South Sudanese soldiers who joined troops from Kenya, Burundi and Uganda. Continued here

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Rethinking Infrastructure to Spur Sustainability Efforts - SPONSORED CONTENT FROM Panasonic   Sustainability has become essential to meeting critical world goals such as reversing the climate crisis, ending poverty, reducing inequalities, and providing affordable and clean energy. To elicit change and achieve these goals, companies, governments, and society as a whole must collaborate and transform the infrastructure around them—including the physical and organizational structures, resources, and facilities that influence the way people live, work, and move from place to place. Continued here

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Human activities in Asia have reduced elephant habitat by nearly two-thirds since 1700, dividing what remains into ever-smaller patches   Despite their iconic status and long association with humans, Asian elephants are one of the most endangered large mammals. Believed to number between 45,000 and 50,000 individuals worldwide, they are at risk throughout Asia due to human activities such as deforestation, mining, dam building and road construction, which have damaged numerous ecosystems. My colleagues and I wanted to know when human actions started to fragment wildlife habitats and populations to the degree seen today. We quantified these impacts by considering them through the needs of this species. Continued here

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Historic flooding in Fort Lauderdale was a sign of things to come - a look at who is most at risk and how to prepare   When a powerful storm flooded neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in April with what preliminary reports show was 25 inches of rain in 24 hours, few people were prepared. Even hurricanes rarely drop that much rain in one area that fast. Residents could do little to stop the floodwater as it spread over their yards and into their homes. Studies show that as global temperatures rise, more people will be at risk from such destructive flooding – including in areas far from the coasts that rarely faced extreme flooding in the past. Continued here

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Ukraine war: as Kyiv prepares counteroffensive it needs to convince allies it is up for the fight   Teaching Fellow, School of Strategy, Marketing and Innovation, University of Portsmouth After a long campaign of attritional warfare in the east of Ukraine over the winter months, things appear to be stirring in the south where there have been multiple reports of preparations for the long-awaited Ukrainian spring offensive. Continued here

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US-South Korea nuclear weapons deal - what you need to know   The United States and South Korea have unveiled an agreement under which leaders in Seoul will be handed an enhanced role in planning any nuclear response to a strike in the region by North Korea.Announced at a state visit to Washington by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on April 26, 2023, the so-called “Washington Declaration” will see U.S. deployments of “strategic assets” around the Korean Peninsula, including an upcoming visit by a nuclear submarine. The last time the U.S. had nuclear weapons in South Korea was 1991 Continued here

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How dirty old used cars from the US and Europe carry on polluting ... in Africa - podcast   Associate Science Editor & Co-Host of The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation Paul Bledsoe consults for the Progressive Policy Institute, and is president of Bledsoe & Associates, LLC, a strategic public policy firm specializing in energy, natural resources and climate change, among other issues. Continued here

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10 years after the Rana Plaza collapse, fashion has yet to slow down   This week marks at once the annual campaign of the Fashion Revolution and the 10th anniversary of the tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building. The event, which killed over 1,100 garment workers and injured two thousand more, sparked a global debate at the time about the true cost of the fast fashion industry. Everyday brands such as Benetton, Mango, Zara, Walmart, and C&A were revealed to have resorted to factories inside of the faulty eight-story building, setting many on a racetrack to reclaim their ethical and environmental credentials since. But ten years on, has anything changed? There is widespread agreement to the contrary. In fact, it would appear the pace in the fashion industry has accelerated. This is evident from the rise of ultra-fast fashion retailers like Shein, which carries the fast paced logic of the field to extremes by adding several thousand new items per day. In this regard, no one can deny it is important we have a public conversation about the toll fast fashion is taking on people and the environment. However, too often that conversation ends with individual responsibility and customers’ “hunger for cheap clothing.” The chorus is now a familiar one, as civil society calls on consumers to stop buying fast fashion and those who still do struggle with feelings of guilt. As marketing scholars specialised in sustainable consumption and fashion, we argue that it is misguided to focus on consumer responsibility to solve systemic issues that seem too large even for companies to address. Continued here

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South Africa's hidden jazz history is being restored album by album   It’s fitting that Johannesburg is among 12 cities featured in the 2023 Unesco International Jazz Day, themed “jazz journey around the world”. The day, established in 2011 to celebrate the role of jazz in “uniting peoples across the globe”, is now marked annually on 30 April in close to 200 nations. It would have been hosted by Cape Town in 2020 had COVID-19 not intervened.Even so, many jazz lovers elsewhere may be aware of the long history and uniqueness of South Africa’s jazz legacy through only a few names – Miriam Makeba, Abdullah Ibrahim, Hugh Masekela – who were driven out by apartheid to find world stages. Uncovering, documenting and showcasing more of the creativity that fought to flower inside the country remains a work in progress. Continued here

S57

Nida Manzoor's Complicated Muslim Women   Three minutes into the first episode of "We Are Lady Parts," a British sitcom about an all-female, all-Muslim punk band that débuted in the spring of 2021, the band is introduced rehearsing a raucous anthem. "I'm gonna kill my sister," Saira, the tattooed, plaid-shirt-wearing lead singer and rhythm guitarist, snarls. "She stole my eyeliner . . . and she's been stretching out my shoes with her big fucking feet." Alongside Saira are the other members: Bisma, the bass player, who wears a headwrap and a cowrie-shell necklace, and Ayesha, who pounds the drums furiously, tossing luxuriant hair that's typically kept tucked under a headscarf. On the couch is Momtaz, the band's manager, rocking out in a midnight-blue niqab. The song, "Ain't No One Gonna Honour Kill My Sister But Me," is, like the best punk anthems, delivered straight and filled with rage. Meanwhile, the show that it's a part of—created by Nida Manzoor, a thirty-three-year-old writer and director from London—is, like the best comedy, sly and subversive. Securing a rare hundred-per-cent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, "We Are Lady Parts" is as unexpected and as heady as the cloud of vape smoke that wafts through Momtaz's veil.When "Lady Parts" débuted in Britain, on Channel 4, it was immediately hailed as something new: a series that represented the experience of young British Muslim women by acknowledging the should-be-obvious fact that there is no single experience shared by young British Muslim women. Instead, there is a multiplicity of experiences, which, in "Lady Parts," is refracted through its ensemble cast. There's the experience of Saira, who, when she is not making music, is butchering halal meat and, in dealing with her own trauma and loss, trying to keep her devoted boyfriend at a distance. There's that of Bisma, who has a young daughter, a partner, and an aspiring career as a creator of feminist graphic novels called "The Killing Period (Apocalypse Vag)"—"think 'Handmaid's Tale' meets 'Rugrats,' " she says. There's that of Ayesha, who, as an Uber driver, has to deal with the prejudices of riders like the three young men who ask her if her dad is forcing her to work. "Yeah, he said if I don't drive simple dickless pissheads around he's going to send me to Iraq to marry my cousin," she replies, before blasting them with heavy metal. The swaggering Momtaz, who wheels and deals on behalf of the band in her veil, gown, and gloves, and who also works in a fancy-lingerie shop selling bras that she categorizes to one customer as "recreational, titillational, factual, respectful, shag-me-kind or shag-me-hard," repudiates the bigoted perceptions of observant women held by some non-Muslim Brits, including the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who once characterized women who choose to wear the burqa as "looking like letterboxes." Continued here

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Unveiled: The Top Strategies to Break the Third Generation Curse in Family Businesses! (TradeBriefs Exclusive)     The "third-generation curse" is a phenomenon that refers to the difficulty that many family businesses face in sustaining themselves beyond the third generation of ownership. Research suggests that only about 12% of family businesses survive to the third generation, and only 3% make it to the fourth generation and beyond. The reasons for this are varied and complex, but they often stem from issues related to family dynamics, succession planning, and the ability to adapt to changing markets and business conditions. In this essay, we will discuss some strategies that family businesses can use to avoid the third-generation curse.1. Focus on Communication and Transparency: Clear and open communication is essential for any successful family business. However, it becomes even more important when dealing with complex issues related to succession planning and generational transitions. Family members should be encouraged to communicate their thoughts and concerns openly, and a culture of transparency should be fostered within the business.For example, in the case of the family-owned business M. Holland Company, a leading distributor of thermoplastic resin, the third generation leadership team prioritized communication and transparency by creating a family council that met regularly to discuss family-related issues. The council included family members from both the business and non-business branches of the family, and its purpose was to encourage open communication and collaboration across generations. Continued here

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Ukraine recap: diplomatic manoeuvres intensify in advance of a possible spring offensive   A quick check of the Met office forecasts for Ukraine suggests that over the next week or so the weather is going to get steadily warmer. The rising mercury has fuelled speculation that Ukraine’s much discussed spring offensive is just around the corner, the only questions being when and where Ukraine’s military planners intend to make their big push. Kyiv is being understandably tight-lipped about this, surprise and deception – as Sun Tsu noted in the Art of War millenia ago – being key to military success.Some observers have noted that Ukraine has achieved a bridgehead on the eastern side of the Dnipro River, which could foreshadow a major push southwards towards Crimea. The big question exercising most military experts is whether Ukraine has received sufficient new military equipment from its western allies to achieve the sort of spectacular successes it managed in September and October last year. Continued here

S56

A Natural-History Museum for a Post-Truth Age   It is not uncommon to hear the director of a fine-art museum, presiding over the ribbon-cutting for a shiny new wing, declare that its architecture is so pathbreaking that the building itself, far from being a mere container, deserves to be thought of as part of the permanent collection. The architect Jeanne Gang, the lead designer of the new Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History, in Manhattan, has given her clients every opportunity to make a similar claim. Here, though, the affinity to the collection flows not from an avant-garde approach, but, as seems fitting for a natural-history museum, a timeworn and elemental one. This new wing is anything but shiny.The centerpiece of the Gilder Center, which will open to the public on May 4th, is a dramatic cavelike atrium, lined in sand-colored, rough-edged concrete, that soars, dips, and bends through five levels and eighty-three feet of vertical space—a kind of slot canyon for the Upper West Side. The Times, in a pair of articles published when the design was unveiled, in 2015, compared it to Jurassic Park and Dr. Seuss and said that it “evokes the Flintstones’ town, Bedrock.” Beyond Hanna-Barbera, the relevant architectural precedents include Erich Mendelsohn’s Einstein Tower in Potsdam, Germany, of 1921; thin-shell mid-century designs by Félix Candela and Eero Saarinen, as well as Saarinen’s Morse and Ezra Stiles residential colleges at Yale; Le Corbusier’s curvilinear but substantial late-career buildings, in particular his concrete Notre Dame du Haut chapel on a hilltop in Ronchamp, France, completed in 1955; the 2014 Serpentine Pavilion in London’s Kensington Gardens by Chile’s Smiljan Radić, a temporary structure that resembled an oversized dinosaur egg; and the undulating ceiling in the lobby of the 2015 Broad museum, in Los Angeles, by the New York firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Continued here

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How I Turned My Internship Into a Full-Time Job   It was a bit of a double-edged sword. During my job interview, I was told there was a low probability of my role turning into a full-time position. I was told everyone in the office had at least a master’s degree, and it would be difficult for me to progress. The internship was supposed to last for five weeks. Just five weeks of financial security until I would, again, be unemployed. Continued here

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King Charles's 21st century coronation: Repatriating the Crown Jewels is long overdue   Annie St. John-Stark is affiliated with the Memory Studies Association, is Co-Chair of the Memory & Trauma Working Group (MSA), and is co-editor of Transdisciplinary Trauma Studies (De Gruyter Press). King Charles will be directed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to “punish and reform what is amiss, confirm what is in good order” at his upcoming coronation. Continued here

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Health and housing measures announced ahead of budget, and NDIS costs in first ministers' sights   The May 9 budget will include a $2.2 billion suite of measures to seek to ease pressures in primary health care and hospitals, as well as containing initiatives directed towards the crisis in the rental market. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the measures after Friday’s meeting of national cabinet, that also looked at reining in the ballooning cost of the National Disability Insurance Scheme. This, if left unchecked, could approach $100 billion in a decade. Continued here

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Slavery's historical link to marriage is still at play in some African societies   Governments and religious institutions regulate marriage. Such regulations are heavily laden with specific moral ideas and cultural taboos. There are heated debates around what counts as “proper” marriage: should polygamy or monogamy be preferred? What should be the minimal age for marriage? Despite these debates, all contemporary societies see marriage as a sacrosanct institution that deserves legal protection. Not so slavery. Continued here

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What the stories of the Crown Jewels tell us about exploitation and the quest for reparations -- Podcast   Although King Charles will have a low-key ceremony on his coronation day this May 6, the Crown Jewels will still figure prominently. An exploration of the story of the jewels tells a tale of brutal exploitation, rape and the original looting. Join us on Don’t Call Me Resilient to follow the jewels. Much of what was called the British Empire was built from stolen riches — globally — and much of that was from India. Continued here

S52

The defence review fails to address the third revolution in warfare: artificial intelligence   Throughout history, war has been irrevocably changed by the advent of new technologies. Historians of war have identified several technological revolutions.The first was the invention of gunpowder by people in ancient China. It gave us muskets, rifles, machine guns and, eventually, all manner of explosive ordnance. It’s uncontroversial to claim gunpowder completely transformed how we fought war. Continued here

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Illegal migration bill: can the government ignore the European court of human rights?   The illegal migration bill has been approved by MPs and now moves to the House of Lords. The controversial bill would make it so that anyone who arrives in the UK irregularly (for example, by small boat) can be removed to their country of origin or a third country (for example, Rwanda). The bill passed the Commons with a number of amendments, including one that allows the government to disregard “interim measures” issued by the European court of human rights. Continued here

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The Week the Biden-Trump Rematch Got Real   There are weeks in Washington that clarify, and weeks that obfuscate. And then there are weeks, like this one, when the big picture of American politics may not change so much, but an awful lot of weird and possibly even relevant things happen. On Monday, Fox News abruptly fired Tucker Carlson, the country’s most-watched cable-news host and, aside from Donald Trump himself, the cynical firebrand most associated with the anti-establishment populism that has taken over the Republican Party. On Tuesday, Joe Biden formally launched his campaign for reëlection, citing the existential threat to democracy from Trump and his MAGA Republicans as the rationale for a Presidential candidacy that otherwise might make little sense, given Biden’s advanced age and lack of popularity.By Wednesday, America’s 2024 choice was once again distilled by the split-screen news cycle into its worrisome essence: the superannuated Biden versus the nearly as old and far-more-terrifying Trump. In the White House Rose Garden, Biden hosted a rare press conference, as part of the state visit of the South Korean President, Yoon Suk-yeol. He was asked a question—the question, really—about his reason for running, by ABC News’ Mary Bruce: “You’ve said you can beat Trump again. Do you think you’re the only one?” Biden, in a rambling reply, which went on for nearly seven hundred words, said that he had “a job to finish,” that “I feel good,” that his policies are popular, and that it would be up to the American people “to judge whether or not I have it or don’t have it.” Continued here

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5 Easy Ways to Take Control of Your Personal Finances   The last year has been a very difficult one. Not only have we had to deal with travel restrictions, lockdown orders, and fears of getting sick — many of us have also been struggling financially. In fact, research suggests that financial stress is at an all-time high in America, a phenomenon explained by the numerous hiring freezes and layoffs brought on by the pandemic.  Continued here