A list of good reads
- Everything that happens now has most likely happened before—as senior civil service officer BD Pande’s memories of the Emergency in The Telegraph remind us.
- If you are curious about ‘Passing’—which just dropped on Netflix—you may want to check out this TIME magazine piece on the book that inspired it.
- If you enjoy the eccentricities of Britishness—and the mocking of them—LongReads has assembled an excellent collection of essays. We particularly enjoyed: ‘Tea, Biscuits, and Empire: The Long Con of Britishness.’
- Vietnamese refugee Chantha Nguon in Hippocampus pens a moving meditation on her will to survive, which destroyed her feminine ‘softness’—not necessarily a good thing.
- Noah Smith over at Substack raises a good question: What if Xi Jinping just isn't that competent?
- Another good question: How do some people manage to remain good friends with their ex? The Atlantic looks for answers.
- A kinda creepy but fascinating question posed by Aeon: What will happen to dogs if human beings go extinct?
- Visual Capitalist offers a very interesting breakdown of our skewed perception of the true size of countries—and how maps aid in the illusion.
- Mother Jones offers a rare feel-good enviro read on furry sea otters—the world’s best climate change warriors.
- New York Times takes a deep dive into the scientific advances that may put an end to chronic pain.
- Sonali Ranade in the India Forum looks at why the stock market is booming while the economy is doing not-so-well.
- A Stanford creativity expert lays out three brain exercises to help you think better in CNBC.
- Here’s a fun beauty read: Mint Lounge offers a guide to recreating the looks you see in iconic paintings by the likes of Raja Ravi Varma.
- Also in Mint Lounge: Economist Abhijit Banerjee discusses his… upcoming cookbook?
- The Economist makes a case for the pandemic fading away in 2023. You need to create a login for this one.
- This Guardian essay makes a strong case for ‘joy scrolling’—reading upbeat and happy news as opposed to the depressing kind. Also why we have sections like Sanity Breaks, Smart & Curious and Feel Good Place every day.
- Climate activist Disha Ravi in the Independent writes about being denied a passport to attend COP26 in Glasgow.
