Author: Lance Garrison

An artist in Ukraine considers “The Zone of Interest” and what happens when the horrors on the other side of the wall are too close to home to ignore.

How this plays out could have serious implications for American power and influence.Look at what happened in the early 20th century, when fascism posed a global threat. America entered the fight late, but with its industrial power — the arsenal of democracy — it emerged on top. Whoever unlocks the door inherits the kingdom, and the United States set about building a new architecture of trade and international relations. The era of American dominance began.Climate change is, similarly, a global problem, one that threatens our species and the world’s biodiversity. Where do Brazil, Pakistan, Indonesia and other large developing nations…

Hilary Cass is the kind of hero the world needs today. She has entered one of the most toxic debates in our culture: how the medical community should respond to the growing numbers of young people who seek gender transition through medical treatments, including puberty blockers and hormone therapies. This month, after more than three years of research, Cass, a pediatrician, produced a report, commissioned by the National Health Service in England, that is remarkable for its empathy for people on all sides of this issue, for its humility in the face of complex social trends we don’t understand and…

Such pressure is the point: Republicans want to silence Israel’s opponents. In one of the hearing’s most farcical moments, Rick Allen, a Republican from Georgia, asked Shafik whether she knew Genesis 12:3. She didn’t recall the biblical passage offhand, so he explained it to her. “It was the covenant that God made with Abraham, and that covenant was real clear: ‘If you bless Israel I will bless you, if you curse Israel I will curse you,’” he said, explaining how this compact was confirmed in the New Testament.“Do you consider that a serious issue?” Allen asked heatedly. “Do you want…

Among the signature images of O.J. Simpson’s acquittal of the murders of his ex-wife and her friend was the contrasting tableaus of Black people grouping in front of television screens applauding while white people watching it were shaking their heads — appalled, perplexed and even disgusted by a verdict that flew in the face of obvious fact. Those contrasting perspectives have gone down as demonstrating a gulf of understanding between the races.That gulf persists, but it narrows apace, and if the verdict came down today, it would be a lot less perplexing to many white people than it was back…

April 18, 2024 – The explosive rise in skin care “influencers” hawking product after product on social media has led many young people to seek anti-aging products and procedures even as experts say there is no actual evidence that Gen Z is aging faster than normal. Worries about things like frown lines and wrinkles often serve as proof online. But skin care experts said that this claim is false. Rather, it largely boils down to perception. Gen-Zers – young people between the ages of 12 and 27 – are arguably the generation that uses social media the most. With skin care influencers seemingly both…

In The Times, Dennis Overbye chronicled and captured the magic of a recent marvel without any semantic straining, any verbal excess: “Today, in one of the greatest one-day migrations in history, humans flocked by the millions to a swath of North America that was briefly cast in a shadow of darkness and wonder. They crowded into airplanes, buses and trains, braved traffic jams, and slept in overpriced hotels, in tents and in their cars. For a cosmic moment, they were connected across the millenniums with every other person who has ever experienced an eclipse, witnessing the light die and then…

April 18, 2024 – Turns out it’s not a Sisyphean task – or at least not impossible, like trying to roll a large boulder up a steep hill over and over again. Some people with deep-rooted beliefs on a wide range of health topics – from COVID vaccination to mental health stigma to foods including genetically modified organisms – could be persuaded to rethink their positions. But how you deliver the message is as important as what you’re saying, new evidence suggests. A traditional public health message like “Get vaccinated. It’s good for your health and the health of others” typically does…

To the Editor:Re “Make a Difference This Tax Season,” by Matthew Desmond (Opinion guest essay, April 14):Mr. Desmond is, of course, right that tax rates and tax deductions are heavily skewed to favor the very wealthy. One of the solutions he offers, however, asks the somewhat wealthy to imitate the very wealthy: Take your deduction and give to your favorite charities.That’s how the taxpayers end up subsidizing — through deductible philanthropy — huge bequests to operas, billionaires’ alma maters, vanity art collections and other pet projects.If people just didn’t take the deductions, as Mr. Desmond also proposes, the savings could…

World leaders are not unaware of the nuclear industry’s long history of failing to deliver on its promises, or of its weakening vital signs. Yet many continue to act as if a “nuclear renaissance” could be around the corner even though nuclear energy’s share of global electricity generation has fallen by almost half from its high of roughly 17 percent in 1996.In search of that revival, representatives from more than 30 countries gathered in Brussels in March at a nuclear summit hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Belgian government. Thirty-four nations, including the United States and China,…