Author: Michelle Korhonen
This is an edition of Time-Travel Thursdays, a journey through The Atlantic’s archives to contextualize the present and surface delightful treasures. Sign up here.In a 1998 Atlantic cover story, William H. Calvin offered perhaps the best oceanography lesson to appear in a major national magazine. It was also a call for concern: He drew on the research of the legendary Columbia University climate scientist Wallace Broecker to explain the relationship between ocean currents and the climate, and warn about a rather counterintuitive tipping point that our age of global warming could cause. By warming the planet, humanity might kick off…
The death of a Kansas woman last summer has brought attention to the higher rates of domestic violence during pregnancy. It comes as shelters say they’re seeing a rise in requests for help.
Out on the savannas of East Africa, lions have always loomed large. Clocking in at several hundred pounds apiece and capable of ending a zebra’s life in a single swift bite, they’re veritable food-web royalty.But in certain parts of their habitat, these hefty carnivores are now under threat from an unlikely and petite new nemesis: an invasive ant, puny enough to fit inside a hollowed-out sesame seed. The two creatures rarely, if ever, directly interact. And yet, the fact that lions are now struggling to hunt their favorite prey “is entirely attributable to these ants,” Douglas Kamaru, a conservation biologist…
This photo provided by U.S. Food & Drug Administration shows the location of a lot number of recalled Robitussin cough syrup. The maker is recalling several lots of its medicine Thursday, due to contamination that could pose a serious risk to people with weakened immune systems. U.S. Food & Drug Administration via AP hide caption toggle caption U.S. Food & Drug Administration via AP This photo provided by U.S. Food & Drug Administration shows the location of a lot number of recalled Robitussin cough syrup. The maker is recalling several lots of its medicine Thursday, due to contamination that could…
In the weeks after she caught COVID, in May 2022, Lauren Shoemaker couldn’t wait to return to her usual routine of skiing, backpacking, and pregaming her family’s eight-mile hikes with three-mile jogs. All went fine in the first few weeks after her infection. Then, in July, hours after finishing a hike, Shoemaker started to feel off; two days later, she couldn’t make it to the refrigerator without feeling utterly exhausted. Sure it was a fluke, she tried to hike again—and this time, was out of commission for months. Shoemaker, an ecologist at the University of Wyoming, couldn’t do her alpine…
Despite money, critical hosannas, honorary degrees, Oscar nominations, and the Academy’s Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, Norman Jewison was never as famous as his movies. Whereas some name-brand Hollywood directors cultivated their public personas, Jewison, who died last week at 97, contented himself with creating some of the most captivating movies of the 20th century. If there is a single scene to remember from his filmography, it’s one from In the Heat of the Night, in which Sidney Poitier, likely playing Hollywood’s first Black detective, is slapped by a malevolent plantation owner—and slaps back. As the critic Wesley Morris said…
Recently, someone I’m close to made a confession: He felt embarrassed to still be living with roommates in his early 30s. I assured him that was absurd, but given that I also live with two of my friends, I knew what he meant; I’ve noticed the same societal clock ticking, and I’m a few years younger. I don’t feel pressure to find a spouse or start a family—my social circle is filled with single people, the prospect of homeownership seems laughable, and I can’t keep a spider plant alive, much less a human baby. But I have watched as more…
Want to stay current with Arthur’s writing? Sign up to get an email every time a new column comes out.I teach many young adults who aspire to be leaders in the private and public sectors. In their classes, they study inspiring cases of success, but they also learn that a good education is no guarantee that things will go well for them. Indeed, as the Harvard Business Review reminds us, some 50 to 70 percent of new executives in private business fail in their role within 18 months of being hired or promoted. We don’t have comparable numbers for the…
Chantal Panozzo and her husband, who live in the Chicago suburbs, expected their first routine colonoscopies would be free — fully covered by insurance as preventive care under federal law. Taylor Glascock/KFF Health News hide caption toggle caption Taylor Glascock/KFF Health News Chantal Panozzo and her husband, who live in the Chicago suburbs, expected their first routine colonoscopies would be free — fully covered by insurance as preventive care under federal law. Taylor Glascock/KFF Health News Chantal Panozzo and her husband followed their primary care doctors’ orders last year after they both turned 45, now the recommended age to start…
What a bummer. When Roy Wood Jr. stood behind Trevor Noah two weeks ago while Noah was accepting an Emmy for The Daily Show—the show that Noah no longer hosted, the show that hasn’t had a permanent host since he left at the end of 2022—and silently mouthed, for all the world to see, “Please … hire … a … host,” Jon Stewart was probably not … who … he … meant.Yes, Comedy Central announced today that, after a near-decade hiatus from its flagship program, Stewart will return to host the show on Monday nights through November’s presidential election, and…