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Rachel Cusk’s Protest Against Personhood

Books “Life of M,” the novelist’s latest book, continues a career-long attempt to dismantle character in fiction. Has she succeeded? August 16, 2026 Freedom is something that Cusk’s characters—particularly her female characters—long for and lack.Photo illustration by Jack Smyth; Source photographs from Getty The protagonist of Rachel Cusk’s new novel,

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The Truths That Failed Jason Arday

This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. Updated at 11:25 a.m. ET on August 18, 2026 Yesterday in London, Jason Arday, the controversy-plagued British academic and author, was found dead. Made famous as the youngest Black professor in Cambridge’s more

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The great silence: why haven’t we found any aliens yet?

During a visit to the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1950, Enrico Fermi, one of the architects of the Manhattan Project, was having lunch with other physicists when the conversation turned to flying saucers. At one point during the discussion, Fermi blurted out: “Where is everybody?” – or, as another

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How a Drone ‘Hellscape’ Might Stop a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan

Inspired by Ukraine’s battlefield gains, Taiwan is betting on drones to deter a potential Chinese invasion. Listen · 9:03 min Members of Taiwan’s military operating a drone during the annual Han Kuang military exercises in Changhua, Taiwan, on Thursday.Credit...Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times Aug. 9, 2026 阅读简体中文版閱讀繁體中文版

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Why MAGA Is So Obsessed With Fauci

Sign up for Inside the Trump Presidency, a newsletter featuring coverage of the second Trump term. Half a dozen years ago, Anthony Fauci was as popular as he would ever be. A respected physician and researcher for decades, he became in 2020 the public face of the pandemic response—calm, confident,

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Nvidia’s Risky Business

Listen to this post: Log in to listen On January 1, 1870, Jay Cooke, hailed as an American hero for his role in financing the Union effort in the Civil War, signed a contract that would, if you squint, lead to world war. In 1864, Congress had created the Northern

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Does Silicon Valley dream of Philip K Dick?

Subscribe to unlock this article Try unlimited access Only $1 for 4 weeks Then $75 per month. Complete digital access to quality FT journalism on any device. Cancel anytime during your trial. Keep reading for $1 Explore more offers. FT Edit $49 per year Access to eight surprising articles a

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The Once-Shameless President Is Deeply Embarrassed

Sign up for Inside the Trump Presidency, a newsletter featuring coverage of the second Trump term. One of President Trump’s superpowers is his shamelessness. Most of the time, he demonstrates a singular ability to shrug off—or flat-out lie about—scandals or missteps that would have caused another politician’s career to self-immolate.

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The Delusions of John Roberts

Profiles The Chief Justice insists that his Supreme Court isn’t biased even as it keeps making dramatic leaps rightward. August 10, 2026 Today’s Justices are openly fractious. All Roberts can say is “We’re not as much at each other’s throats as you might think.”Illustration by Paul Rogers / Source photograph

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¿Por qué se ríen de ‘La odisea’ de Christopher Nolan?

1. Lo que más teme un autor, en cualquier campo de la creatividad, es que la obra que produce se convierta en objeto de burla. El capital de ridículo que puede acarrear un libro, una obra de teatro, una pintura o una película equivale a la amenaza de la ruina.

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Does Silicon Valley dream of Philip K Dick?

Subscribe to unlock this article Join FT Edit Only €54 a year Get 2 months free with an annual subscription at was €65.88 now €54. Access to eight surprising articles a day, hand-picked by FT editors. For seamless reading, access content via the FT Edit page on FT.com and receive

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How the Reflecting Pool Came to Mirror Trump’s Washington

You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. Times investigation A hospitality manager for the Trump Organization traveled to Las Vegas to find a solution to problems at a national landmark. This is

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What if Freud Was Right?

This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. To announce that you are embarking on a course of psychoanalytic training today is tantamount, in many quarters, to admitting that you plan to treat your patients using astrology or by parsing the

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