Arts:
Latest:
Mason, Daniel. "Writing an Enchanted Landscape." Wonder Cabinet (October 10, 2026) ["How does a landscape come alive and even feel enchanted? Bestselling author Daniel Mason explores this question in his novels “Country People” and “North Woods.” Both are steeped in the natural history of New England, from its geology to its native plants and animals. They capture the uncanny feeling of living in a landscape layered with human history — the stone walls, cellar holes, and other remnants of lives long past, hidden in the woods. In this conversation, Mason talks about the deep history of the land and the folklore of rural Vermont. One plot strand in “Country People” involves a secret society whose members believe the Earth is hollow, with a cave leading to a magical kingdom inside. Mason, who’s also a professor of psychiatry at Stanford, is fascinated by the thin line between imagination and delusion. He believes novelists exist in a state of wonder, and he’s drawn to visionary writers like Dante, Milton, and William Blake. One recurring theme in his fiction is the idea of a “paradise lost.”"]
Subject Guide:
Economics:
Latest:
Scanlon, Kyla. "You Can Know Everything (About the Economy)." Talk Easy with Sam Fragaso (November 1, 2026) ["The way Americans talk about money is changing. Economic commentator Kyla Scanlon has emerged as a fresh, influential voice in that conversation. Recently named one of TIME’s 100 Creators, her New York Times bestseller, In This Economy?: How Money & Markets Really Work, has been hailed as “essential reading” by Jon Stewart. She joins us this week to offer her “boots-on-the-ground” understanding of the economy, ahead of the midterms."]
Subject Guide:
Economics/Political Economy/Business/Labor
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Healthcare:
Latest:
Mozaffarian, Dariush. "Why 94% of Americans Have Suboptimal Health (And How to Fix the System)." The Dan Buettner Podcast (October 22, 2026) ["Is almost everything you think you know about nutrition completely wrong? In this episode, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, cardiologist, public health scientist, and director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University, joins The Dan Buettner Podcast to dismantle decades of dietary dogma. Discover why 94% of American adults have suboptimal cardiometabolic health, why total fat and seed oils aren't the villains we made them out to be, and how ultra-processed foods are silently driving our chronic disease crisis. Plus, Dr. Mozaffarian breaks down the real science behind food as medicine, whole grains, and actionable policy solutions for a healthier future."]
Subject Guide:
Healthcare/Medicine/Body
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Philosophy:
Johnson, David. "The Future That Makes Us: Nick Land and Hyperstition." The Observing I (November 3, 2026) ["One of the concepts associated with the CCRU is hyperstition. It’s an awkward word, admittedly, although considerably less awkward than some of the group’s other terminology. Broadly speaking, hyperstition concerns fictions that become effective within reality, influencing events and helping create the circumstances they describe. ... The philosopher Ian Hacking approached the problem from another direction, examining how classifications of people can influence the people being classified because we’re aware of the classification. The future we eventually experience isn’t necessarily the only future that could have happened. And the person we’ve become isn’t necessarily the only person we were capable of becoming. In this week’s episode of The Observing I, The Future That Makes Us: Nick Land and Hyperstition, I’m exploring that relationship between the stories we believe, the futures we anticipate, and the lives we end up living. Are we describing who we are, or deciding who we’re allowed to become?"]
Subject Guide:
Philosophy/Critical Theory
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Technology:
Rushkoff, Douglas. "Networks Don’t Throttle. Platforms Do: Zuck, Musk, and the Eugenics of Selective Reduction." Rushkoff (November 3, 2026) ["The internet was supposed to be a decentralised network of people sharing ideas, experimenting with identities, and imagining new possibilities. So how did it become a collection of privately owned platforms controlled by a handful of tech billionaires? From Elon Musk’s control over Starlink in Ukraine to Meta’s alleged interference in Brazilian politics, Douglas Rushkoff explores how the promise of an open internet gave way to systems of surveillance, corporate power, and algorithmic control. Reflecting on his experiences of the early internet, Rushkoff explains the fundamental difference between networks and platforms, why that distinction matters more than ever, and how we might reclaim the decentralised, collaborative spirit of the internet before its owners gain even greater control over our lives."]
Subject Guide:
Science/Technology/Mathematics
