-
2 weeks ago | 
straitstimes.com | Jill Lepore
US President Donald Trump has reportedly told Cabinet members that Mr Elon Musk may soon leave the administration. If and when he goes, what will he leave behind? Mr Musk has long presented himself to the world as a futurist.
-
2 weeks ago | 
nytimes.com | Jill Lepore
Technocrats argued that liberal democracy had failed. One Technocracy Incorporated pamphlet explained how the movement "does not subscribe to the basic tenet of the democratic ideal, namely that all men are created free and equal." In the modern world, only scientists and engineers have the intelligence and education to understand the industrial operations that lie at the heart of the economy.
-
4 weeks ago | 
theguardian.com | Jill Lepore |Kelly Burke |Hattie Moir |Ellie Bury
We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2021: Despite Thatcher and Reagan’s best efforts, there is and has always been such a thing as society. The question is not whether it exists, but what shape it must take in a post-pandemic world
-
1 month ago | 
businessandamerica.com | Jill Lepore
“God expects me to stand up fearless for what I believe, to speak up against what I think is wrong, but not to worry, either in small personal matters or in world affairs, for fear,” Ruth once wrote. Bonner abides by Ruth’s rule for living. In “The Hand in the Glove,” Bonner solves the murder of P. L.
-
1 month ago | 
newyorker.com | Jill Lepore
If you haven’t heard of Ruth Stout, you haven’t spent much time in the Home and Garden section of a bookstore lately, and you haven’t been listening to gardening or homesteading podcasts, either. Stout, who died nearly half a century ago, lived most of her life in the shadow of her far more famous brother, the writer Rex Stout, the creator of the fictional detective Nero Wolfe.
-
1 month ago | 
flipboard.com | Jill Lepore
Save Money on These 8 Decor Items You Don't Need to Buy High-End, Designers SayWhy splurge when you can save? Furniture and decor don't come cheap these days, so it's crucial to cut costs where you can. While there are some …
-
1 month ago | 
freakonomics.com | Steven Levitt |Reginald Dwayne Betts |John List |Jill Lepore
It was 20 years ago this week that Reginald Dwayne Betts was released from prison. And that’s a great excuse to replay our conversation from 2023. This is a very special episode for me. I had never met Dwayne before this conversation, but I was so impressed by him that we stayed in touch, became friends, and I’ve even joined the board of the organization Freedom Reads. He’s truly one of the most remarkable and likable people that I’ve ever known.
-
Dec 1, 2024 | 
newyorker.com | Jill Lepore
The Shapiro brothers, Gefen and Yona, who are nineteen and sixteen and Harpo Marx look-alikes, own eleven cars between them, including a Girl Scout-green 1972 MG Midget, a blueberry-blue 1987 Alfa Romeo Spider, and a 1926 Chevy truck that’s known as the Superior (and is the only one they haven’t got running yet). Gefen owns five, Yona owns two, and they share four. They mostly buy wrecks on Facebook Marketplace, or else they find them in people’s driveways.
-
Nov 10, 2024 | 
newyorker.com | Jill Lepore
On Election Night, my mother used to bring out her Singer skirt marker and plonk it on the coffee table in front of the television while we were watching the returns. Then she’d take off her shoes and climb on top of the table. Hemlines change about every four years, and taking up or letting down skirts is such a boring chore that it’s the kind of thing best done while watching television.
-
Nov 4, 2024 | 
newyorker.com | Jill Lepore
“Jacob Javits of New York is the first United States senator to become fully automated,” the Chicago Tribune announced in 1962 from the Republican state convention in Buffalo, where an electronic Javits spat out slips of paper with answers to questions about everything from Cuba’s missiles (“a serious threat”) to the Cubs’ prospects (dim).
