The Works and Days of Elena Shvarts
A literary gumshoe visits St. Petersburg to track down the so-called “ninja of Russian verse,” Elena Shvarts, who died in 2010 leaving almost nothing behind.
Archive
A collection of 14232 issues
August 7, 2013: Afternoon
* Chinese scientists show bird flu has spread among people and is indeed contagious, "although only slightly." * Small-town police officer commended for insisting to call a child-on-child shooting "negligent," not "accidental." * Drill music brings fame to young rappers while Chicago becomes the
Checking Facts Like Freddie and Eleanor
Facts should be the oxygen of journalism.
Chiraq, Drillinois
Originating on the South Side, drill music has attracted major labels to Chicago in search of young rappers—as gang violence turns the city into the murder capital. Each has everything to do with the other.
August 7, 2013: Morning
* Mugabe-appointed men charged with illegally lobbying to overturn U.S. economic sanctions against Zimbabwe. * Officials in Bahrain use fake Twitter accounts to track down IP addresses and punish critics of Hamad regime. * Finished dinner plates of India's growing elite. * Rahul Ghandi's alleged claim that "
August 6, 2013: Afternoon
* In deeply red states like Missouri, looking for the new health insurance marketplaces "is like searching for a unicorn." * Beer's lead over wine in America has slipped by 20 percentage points since the early 1990s. * Ecologists using Hawaiian restaurant menus reconstruct long-term changes in local
Adjusting the Picture
Some of the best TV shows these days, whether we’re watching them on television sets or online, are being compared to novels—and even sonnets. A chat with some of the leading thinkers in TV writing to find out what comes next.
August 6, 2013: Morning
* After al Qaeda threat leads to dozens of U.S. embassies being closed, officials explain fears of liquid bombs and "Frankenbombers." * New research finds deep cooperation between Hollywood studio bosses and Nazi officials. * I feel alienated by [Don Lemon's] comments because they translate into a form
August 5, 2013: Afternoon
* Sharia committee bans croissants for their shape, which has been said to celebrate European victory over Muslims. * Successful scientific PR is not necessarily antithetical to valid science, but there's good evidence of a negative correlation. * Why serial tardiness is ruining your life—and how to turn yourself around.
August 5, 2013: Morning
* Wendy Davis succeeded against endemic misogyny to make her voice heard in the male-dominated Texas Capitol. * Though women are represented at the state level, just one woman, sworn in on Friday, holds office in the entire LA government. * If we cannot face the root issue—that we let people