Author: Michelle Korhonen
Recently reading through the cookbook Jerusalem, I was struck by an observation made by its co-authors, an Israeli chef and a Palestinian chef, in their introduction. Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi write that food “seems to be the only unifying force” in Jerusalem, a city claimed as the capital of both Israel and Palestine. Despite their cuisine’s fraught history, the chefs consider preparing meals to be a uniquely human act—an unspoken language shared between two people who might otherwise be enemies.I was flipping through Jerusalem rather than scrolling through news updates about the Middle East. I found comfort in the…
A Christmas fair in Germany, a new volcanic eruption in Iceland, a floating Nativity scene in Italy, border crossings in Arizona and Texas, war damage in a Ukrainian cathedral, continued Israeli strikes inside the Gaza Strip, guard geese at a penitentiary in Brazil, an ice hotel in Sweden, and much more
Secretary Xavier Becerra, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Becerra announced Wednesday his agency is seeing record enrollment numbers for Affordable Care Act health plans. Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League hide caption toggle caption Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League Secretary Xavier Becerra, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Becerra announced Wednesday his agency is seeing record enrollment numbers for Affordable Care Act health plans. Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League The Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces appear set to break a record for the number of Americans enrolled, for the third year…
This is an edition of Time-Travel Thursdays, a journey through The Atlantic’s archives to contextualize the present, surface delightful treasures, and examine the American idea. Sign up here.Consider—just for one terrible, stressful, bleak moment—if our forebearers in Naples had never invented pizza. No perfectly charred Margherita pies, no late-night Domino’s delivery, nothing. To the pizza-deprived, the world’s most beloved food probably wouldn’t sound all that special. What’s so great about the combo of bread, cheese, and sauce, after all? The alchemy among the three creates something that is so much greater than the sum of its parts—but I don’t have…
Why do some people seem to be obsessed with fitness trackers? NPR talks with psychologist Pamela Rutledge of Fielding Graduate University. LEILA FADEL, HOST: Almost 1 in 3 Americans uses a wearable device to track their fitness, according to the National Institutes of Health. And as people shop for last-minute holiday gifts, fitness trackers are a popular choice for nearly all ages. But do they actually work? And why do some people seem so obsessed with keeping tabs on everything from their sleep to how many steps they get a day? Pamela Rutledge is a professor of media psychology at…
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here.Any person with a phone knows that spam calls are a real problem in the United States. But fighting them is like playing whack-a-mole.First, here are four new stories from The Atlantic:Robocall Whack-a-MoleIn a classic Seinfeld scene, Jerry answers a phone call from a telemarketer, says he’s busy, and asks if he can call them back at home later. “I’m sorry, we’re not allowed to…
New study offers hope: a drug called dulaglutide (Trulicity) may significantly reduce weight gain after quitting smoking, particularly for women.Quitting smoking is a monumental victory for health, but for women, weight gain looms large as a potential side effect. This fear can even deter attempts at quitting, creating a vicious cycle. However, a new study shines a light on a potential ally in this fight: the diabetes medication dulaglutide (Trulicity).The research reveals a stark gender disparity in post-quitting weight gain. Women are five times more likely than men to pack on extra pounds after tossing their last cigarette. This vulnerability…
This is the year that the COVID-19 pandemic was declared to be no longer a global health emergency. But even though case counts are down in 2023, it’s not as if everything is back to normal. There is, for example, a new omicron variant that was first detected in late summer and has spread significantly in recent weeks. It’s called JN.1, and health officials have now classified it as a variant of interest. And a frequently asked question is: How worried should we be about JN.1? Health officials are not sounding the alarm. The World Health Organization says the overall…
However troubling its political implications might be, the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday that Donald Trump is disqualified from the state’s primary ballot for having “engaged in insurrection” demonstrates that the judicial system is still functioning in the United States. The reason is straightforward: The court applied the plain language of the Constitution, doing its job with clarity and fidelity to the rule of law.But perhaps what is most striking about Colorado’s decision was the conservative reasoning the justices employed to reach their conclusion. The four justices who voted in the majority adhered to three stalwart principles of judicial…
Statins May Slow Alzheimer’s Progression, Study Finds – People with Alzheimer’s dementia who took statins to lower their blood cholesterol levels may have experienced slower cognitive decline compared to those who didn’t take statins, according to a new study published in Alzheimer Research and Therapy.The study, led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, is observational, meaning it can’t definitively prove that statins caused the slower decline. However, the findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that statins may have brain-protective effects.“Our study suggests that statins may be protective against cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease,” said lead author…