Shadowmoon

It sounds almost like science fiction but for half a century we all stared down the barrel of an electron gun for hours at a time.

As guards were hired and prisons expanded, they had to be filled. The people sent to them came mostly from one layer of society, the poorest—suggesting that it is fate of origin, even more than character, that informs destiny. It simply can’t be a coincidence that very few middle-class people end up in prison. Calls like Kakutani’s to leave the... See more

Despite all the disasters, all the models, and all the conferences, in 2022 there were at least 119 oil pipelines in development around the world, plus 447 gas pipelines, 300 gas terminals, 432 new coal mines, and 485 new coal power plants. As the historian of science Jean-Baptiste Fressoz showed in his recent book More and More and More, despite... See more

In certain dialects of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese, the word for ‘four’ sounds very similar to the word for ‘death’1. Consequently, the number 4 is considered by many people in East Asian nations to be unlucky. It is not unusual for buildings in that region to skip the number 4 when labeling floors, much in the same way 13th floors... See more

Malm and Carton consider and dismantle the optimism of carbon capture and geoengineering, and they pile up evidence for the extraordinary financial investment since 2020 in what they call “fossil capital.” Any meaningful energy transition would make those immense pools of capital worthless—oil that can’t be pumped, pipelines that can’t be used,... See more

“To read – and announce oneself as having read – literature in translation is to be tasteful and intelligent, a latter-day cosmopolitan in an age of blighted provincialism,” Perelmuter writes, determined to get credit for reviewing a 512-page book from Hungary while sneering at anyone else who tries.

“Beauty is like war, it opens doors.”