“The act of probing into the future need not be predictive to be useful,” writes historian Adamson. Instead, considering what the future might look like can focus attention on the good and bad of the present. Adamson opens with a fascinating, albeit brief, account of weather forecasting, which became more reliable with the advent of […]
This graphic novel opens on a snowy evening at Hillock College, where the semester is off to a bumpy start for Molly Song and her friend Lou Kingston. Molly is reeling from a recent breakup with her girlfriend, Olene Reed, who dumped Molly via email from the plane to Europe, where she’s spending the semester […]
Finley has big dreams of becoming a podcast host. Her football player boyfriend, Jensen, has been supportive and has helped her prep for the auditions for the school’s podcast, which is hosted only by seniors. Finley is hoping to garner a co-host gig—a coveted spot that opens the door to an internship at the community […]
In spring, when frost thaws and rain arrives, amphibians such as spring peepers and salamanders begin their journey from woods to the vernal pools where they’ll spawn. That perilous journey involves crossing roads as vehicles whoosh past. Enter the Amphibian Migration Team—volunteers who stand at these crossings at night to monitor traffic and help “our […]
Fried peanuts always make an appearance at Meng’s family’s New Year celebrations. Dad mentions that the food has an extra-special meaning because of Meng’s great-grandmother, or tài nǎi nǎi: “When she spoke, everyone listened.” He tells Meng about the time that Tài Nǎi Nǎi noticed an unfamiliar pregnant woman wandering the neighborhood. Days later, Tài […]
Salt is everywhere in Taoudeni, where Malik lives. His father, a salt trader, regularly crosses the desert to Timbuktu, leading his azalaï of a dozen camels carrying blocks of salt to places where salt is scarce and precious. This time, Malik is old enough to join his father and to look after his own camel […]
Reid, the co-founder of LinkedIn, and Beato, a tech and culture writer, aim to dispel the public’s concerns about ceding control to AI systems and to establish trust in AI companies and their methods by showing “what could possibly go right” in AI development. Attempting to persuade readers that industry regulation is undemocratic and inhibits […]
As is true for any new parent, Brown’s life changed immensely with the birth of her first child, Lily.She initially found it hard to maintain routines that had once been easy, but the adjustment period seemed to be going as expected. Then she received an unexpected call from her doctor, reporting that her baby had […]
Grace Hastings feels as if she’s clawed her way to the role of marketing manager for a London dating app called Fate, struggling with imposter syndrome every step of the way. Meanwhile, she writes off her workplace rival Eric Bancroft’s effortless rise as a result of his popularity, family name, and good looks. When the […]
“That’s a body.” That’s the reaction of professor Cristina Rivera Garza—the main character of this novel, who shares her name with its author—when she discovers the corpse of a man while on one of her customary runs. The man is missing his penis, the victim of a mutilation; “a terrible thing against the dead,” Cristina […]