How the scruffy kids of the ’60s youth movement turned cooking from a shameful job into a lauded profession.
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Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Story
A Girl’s Guide to Missiles
A professor returns to the California military base where she grew up to make sense of her family’s role developing weapons for the US government.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
Jenny Diski: 1947-2016
Jenny Diski died this morning at the age of 68. Here are nine stories celebrating Diski and her work.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
Jenny Diski: 1947-2016
Jenny Diski died this morning at the age of 68. Here are nine stories celebrating Diski and her work.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Drawing Parallels Between Elon Musk and the Wright Brothers
There are a number of suggestive parallels between [Elon] Musk and the Wrights, beyond the obvious ones to do with an interest in flight. The [Wright brothers’ father] had very high standards and set no limits on the intellectual curiosity he encouraged in his children; Musk’s father had the same standards and the same insistence on […]
Posted inBooks, Reading List
The Tender, Wild Realm of Children’s Literature: A Reading List
The plot of the book came to me as I was falling asleep: two girls share a bedroom, and squabble until they have no choice but to divide their room in half. Only one girl has access to the bedroom door. The other has the closet, which turns out to be an elevator. Suddenly, I was […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
How Should Nuclear Inspections Work in Iran?
A historic Iran nuclear accord has been reached, promising to lift sanctions in exchange for the country reducing its nuclear ability. The agreement is expected to be published in the next few days and include the crucial mechanics related to nuclear inspectors’ access to sites. Scott Ritter, a former intelligence officer with the United States […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
On the Difficulty of Separating Van Gogh the Artist from Van Gogh the Brand
It has become harder over the last 130 years or so to see Van Gogh plain. It is practically harder in that our approach to his paintings in museums is often blocked by an urgent, excitable crescent of worldwide fans, iPhones aloft for the necessary selfie with Sunflowers. They are to be welcomed: the international reach […]
Posted inBlog Post, Nonfiction
Riding the Rails: Celebrating Trains and Subway Commuter Life
My other half Rebekah and I recently returned from Japan, and we’re in that rapture phase where you wish the things you loved overseas were also available in America. I already miss the 24-hour action of Japanese cities, their automated restaurants, the street-side vending machines — and public transportation. In Japan, trains run on time. […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Amy Winehouse Documentary Doesn’t Pander
Like Senna’s, Winehouse’s family co-operated with Kapadia, but unlike them, they are displeased with the film, and it’s not hard to see why. As well as a welcome portrait of the frequently caricatured Winehouse as an (exceptional) artist and as a person, Amy is an indictment of those around her, especially her ex-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, […]
