A list of good reads
- In this entertaining Modern Love essay in the New York Times (splainer gift link), Alex Kruger lays out his rigorous dating system—complete with spreadsheets and data analysis!
- Wall Street Journal (splainer gift link) reports on the definitive conclusion of a Harvard study: personal connections are the most important factor in long-term health and happiness.
- Ok so you gave up booze for Dry January. Wired explains why a temporary break isn’t going to help your overall health.
- Also in the Wired: Climate change has put increasing pressure on the world’s two favourite coffee species. Now, researchers have come up with a 19th century alternative.
- The Verge offers a detailed deep dive into Twitter’s takeover—and ultimate destruction—by Elon Musk.
- The Wire has historian Romila Thapar’s timely speech on Hindu-Muslim relations in India that she delivered at the India International Centre in New Delhi on Saturday.
- Scroll offers a fascinating piece on the treasure trove of ancient pornographic art collecting dust in Uttar Pradesh’s sarkari library. Yes, images are included—and one of them involves a goat.
- Speaking of the erotic, The Conversation has an excellent read on the history of the clitoris.
- Researchers are using AI to track expressions of stock market traders—and correlate mood swings with market swings. Bloomberg News via Mint explains how it works.
- The universe is made of stories, and Rebecca Solnit in The Guardian argues that we need new ones on the climate crisis.
- BBC News has a fascinating read on how sniffer dogs are being used to save Italy's olive trees from a deadly and hard-to-detect disease.
- Goya has a lovely ode to the classic “touchings” or bar snacks that one sees in Kerala.
- The newsletter Vittles has a brilliant read on the Punjabi protest song ‘Pecha’ and other protest anthems that the farmers’ protest gave birth to. (h/t founding member Basreena Basheer)
