The Other Ocean

As I may have mentioned, I restarted my dormant Atlantic subscription, solely because one of my most admired podcasters, Idrees Kahloon, defected from The Economist to The Atlantic. (I have no idea, but my guess is that he did so because his wife, who just gave birth, is also an Economist podcaster - also one of my favorites, her name is Alice Fulwood and she is by far the most "fun" Economist employee that I know of, which is perhaps a low bar).

If you are interested, here is an article Idrees wrote a while back for the New Yorker:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/07/26/are-americans-more-trusting-than-they-seem

I am also catching up, sort of, on a pile (8-10) of Atlantics from my last subscription that I didn't read entirely. I have to say, reading The Atlantic is just so pleasant. It's like a nice walk on the beach on a sunny day, pure happiness, vs. The Economist can be more like the daily 10k - good for you, no doubt, but enjoyed more in retrospect than during.

That said, I am not sure I learn all much useful information from The Atlantic, at least not directly. It's style is totally different - one edition every six weeks or so, 10-15 stories per, and some of them go on for 30+ pages. Economist is one per week, 70-80 stories per, and none are more than 3-4 pages; many are < 1 page. 

The last couple:

1 - Arnold Schwarzenegger. Super-readable and fun. What I remember? a) he loved being a politician, was hugely successful at first, but got killed in a re-election bid. Admits to having impregnated his housekeeper while his wife was pregnant. Huge believer in routine, and goes to a "regular person" gym every day. Useful? Not really, but a pleasant read.

2 - Insomnia. To have hard-core insomnia sounds truly awful. Much of the article was debating the use of sleep enhancing drugs, and concluding that they are often the least bad option. TBH, this story was way too long for what I got out of it. But I did finish it easily.