A list of good reads
- The New York Times (splainer gift link) has an excellent essay on the tyranny of ‘the best’—our obsession with ratings and rankings.
- Jillian Hess offers a fascinating look at Roald Dahl’s notes while he was writing the classic ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.’
- New Yorker has a lovely feature on a new exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art called ‘Van Gogh’s Cypresses’—which is all about Van Gogh, trees and his art.
- Washington Post (splainer gift link) has an exclusive report detailing how the US knew that Ukraine was plotting to destroy Europe’s energy lifeline—the Nord Stream pipeline. With friends like that…
- Vulture has a very good deep dive into how streaming destroyed television’s business model.
- Independent UK has the bizarre tale about a veteran Everest climber whose life was saved by a sherpa—and yet failed to acknowledge him in any account of the rescue.
- BD McClay in Slate takes aim at angry Swifties—arguing that Taylor Swift’s dating life does not require so much of indignation or justification.
- A Reuters investigation reveals that a large part of the money pledged by wealthy countries towards climate change is going into projects like coal plants and hotels.
- Quartz has a fun riff on ‘X’—the alphabet’s wayward letter.
- Scroll explains how Manipur slipped into civil war.
