"Stand still, and I will read to thee / A lecture, love, in love's philosophy." John Donne is one of the greatest love poets in the history of the English language. In a new biography, Super-Infinite, Katherine Rundell reveals the many transformations in his life – from scholar to sea adventurer to priest. She also tells Kirsty Wark of his extraordinary ability to transform language into something new.
Copies of his Metaphysical Poems will be well-thumbed by students around the country. But what of the power of books in general? In Portable Magic: A History of Books and their Readers, Emma Smith presents an iconoclastic and revisionist story of our love affair with books.
Megan Walsh meanwhile has been looking at contemporary Chinese literature. The Subplot: What China is Reading and Why it Matters, reveals the huge appetite for books and the wonderful diversity of Chinese writing – from migrant-worker poetry movements and homoerotic romances to surreal stories and sci-fi.
Rejecting claims that migration is a crisis for Europe, Europe's Migration Crisis: Border Deaths and Human Dignity (Cambridge University Press, 2020) instead suggests that the 'migration crisis' reflects a more fundamental breakdown of a modern European tradition of humanism. Squire provides a detailed and broad-ranging analysis of the EU's response to the 'crisis', highlighting the centrality of practices of governing migration through death and precarity. Furthermore, she unpacks a series of pro-migration activist interventions that emerge from the lived experiences of those regularly confronting the consequences of the EU's response. By showing how these advance alternative horizons of solidarity and hope, Squire draws attention to a renewed humanism that is grounded both in a deepened respect for the lives and dignity of people on the move, and an appreciation of longer histories of violence and dispossession.
Vicki Squire is Professor of International Politics at the Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick. Her research explores the politics of migration, displacement, asylum and solidarity activism across various contexts. She is author of several books, including Reclaiming Migration (2021, Manchester University Press), Europe’s Migration Crisis (2020, Cambridge University Press), Post/Humanitarian Border Politics Between Mexico and the US (2015, Palgrave) and The Exclusionary Politics of Asylum (2009, Palgrave). She currently leads a large collaborative project, Data and Displacement, which explores the data-based humanitarian assistance to IDPs (internally displaced persons) in north-eastern Nigeria and South Sudan.
You never really know someone…especially online. In today’s world, the power of influence can be the quickest path to money and fame, and it often ends in ruin. These are the stories of the world’s most insidious Scamfluencers. And we are their prey. On Wondery’s new weekly series, join co-hosts Scaachi Koul and Sarah Hagi as they unpack epic stories of deception from the worlds of social media, fashion, finance, health, and wellness. These influencers claim to be everything from charismatic healers to trusted financial insiders to experts in dating. They cast spells over millions. Why do we believe them, and how does our culture allow them to thrive? From Black Swan Murder to a fake social media influencer to an audacious Hollywood Ponzi schemer, each season will take the listener along the twists and turns, the impact on victims, and what’s left when the facade falls away.
We'll tell you about a new Russian general in Ukraine and why the U.S. says bringing him on was not a good sign.
Also, spring break and summer travelers may be running into more problems, and thousands of Etsy sellers are going on a "strike" today.
Plus, Elon Musk changed his mind about Twitter, Will Smith responded to his final punishment from the Academy, and how Tiger Woods performed in his latest comeback.
Andy talks with disaster expert Juliette Kayyem about how to prepare for scary and unpredictable things, from hurricanes to cyber attacks. As the former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Intergovernmental Affairs, Juliette accepts that disasters will happen and helps people, companies, and governments “fail safer,” as she puts it. She explains to Andy why a Russian cyber attack on U.S. soil would likely come in the form of an oil, gas, or water disruption. Putting in some hard work now, before the next bad thing happens, will leave you more prepared and empowered when it does.
Throughout the pandemic, CVS Health has been there, bringing quality, affordable health care closer to home—so it’s never out of reach for anyone. Because at CVS Health, healthier happens together. Learn more at cvshealth.com.
Order Andy’s book, Preventable: The Inside Story of How Leadership Failures, Politics, and Selfishness Doomed the U.S. Coronavirus Response: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250770165
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Texas authorities arrested 26-year-old Lizelle Herrera, last week, on murder charges for what the local sheriff’s office described as a “self-induced abortion.” Her bond was set at $500,000 and her arrest sparked protests from abortion rights activists over the weekend. But on Sunday, local prosecutors dropped the charge against her.
More than 50 people were killed and another 98 injured after a missile struck a train station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, last Friday. Thousands of people were trying to board trains to evacuate the city since Russian forces began to shift the focus of the war to eastern Ukraine.
And in headlines: Pakistan’s Parliament voted to remove Prime Minister Imran Khan from office, French voters took to the polls to pick their next president, and former President Donald Trump endorsed Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate Mehmet Oz.
LOS ANGELES—What is a rogue prosecutor? Why is Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon considered one of the most progressive prosecutors in America? How have his new policies led to a crime increase in Los Angeles?
Gascon has “really completely abandoned his responsibility to the public,” says Kathy Cady, a former Los Angeles prosecutor who now works as a victim’s rights attorney.
The ways in which Gascon is changing L.A's prosecutorial system is “negatively impacting communities of color” and “murder victims' families,” Cady says.
Cady joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” along with Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Eric Siddall to explain how progressive, or rogue, prosecutors are affecting LA crime rates and crime victims.
Also on today’s show, we ready your letters to the editor and share a good news story about a business owner who is using his love of coffee to fight for the rights of the unborn.
If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What Next. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to help support our work.
How did the information superhighway get so gridlocked? Guest Anne Helen Petersen tells Sarah the story of how email took over the world and our working lives, and what it would mean for us to get a little of our lost time back. Plus, a Kurt Loder cameo.
