Imagined Cuisines

… the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.
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What Could Be Wurst?

… in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.
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Why the West Won’t Die

… sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.
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A Kingdom of Little Animals

… agreed with Hooke’s description of the “lowse” as having “a short tapering nose, with a hole in it, out of which … it thrusts its sting” to feed. Leeuwenhoek’s next letter described how he proved this: by “several times” putting a “hungry lowse upon my hand, to observe her drawing blood from thence.” As …

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We Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet

Blight: Fungi and the Coming Pandemic by Emily Monosson; W. W. Norton, 272 pp., $28.95
Consider fungi. They are their own kingdom, more closely related to animal than to plant. They grow and search for food with threadlike hyphae. They feed by excreting digestive juices onto their dinner, living or dead, to help break …

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Music to Have Revelations To

… sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.
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The Pain Principle

… which ought to occasion attention and assistance, can almost serve to discredit the pain.
This line of argument helps explain why undercover videos of animal abuse in feedlots and slaughterhouses—released by organizations such as PETA—haven’t exactly proved to be effective propaganda. The feelings these sights inspire in their audiences are complex. As …

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Phantoms

… I hear a constant hissing-swishing sound like water dissolving an antacid tablet, a noise that can progress to trilling, beeping, or shrieking as loud as microphone feedback, depending on tiredness or viruses or the whims of the ear gods. These sounds are not just annoying to listen to; they block out the real-world …

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Deleting Delusions

… to party, protest, and publish has been far more enfeebled than enabled by social media. In short, I haven’t built my career on posts, tweets, and feeds. I’ve built it on books, essays, and speeches. And I haven’t built my strongest communities on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I’ve built them on …

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Night Visitors

… Amahl is forgiveness. In one scene, the Mother, performed with power and poignancy by mezzo-soprano Chrystal E. Williams, looks at the boxes of gold brought by the wise men and sings: “All that gold! All that gold! … Do they know how a child could be fed?” She steals some of it to feed

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