Keeper of the gate
The weekend despatch: In Seoul, a bet against borrowing intelligence from Silicon Valley. Off East Africa, a new volcano’s time capsule from the origin of the Earth. + What is sacred steel?
Recommendations
08
Aug
‘A shield of peace’
The weekend despatch: A new military alliance is taking applications. An unknown ancestor is in every human genome. + Who is Kurt Ballou?
9 min read
01
Aug
Buying time
The weekend despatch: Engineers from America’s leading AI labs, all asking Washington to help them cool things down. Astronomers listening for alien signals, now opening up beyond a band they’ve been using for decades. + Who is Vini Reilly?
13 min read
18
Jul
To the victor …
The weekend despatch: In Budapest, the machinery of the old order, handed to the people who ran against it. A 25-kilometer crater in the Quebec bush that no one noticed for 390 million years. + How rare are creative multi-hyphenates in Hollywood?
12 min read
11
Jul
Oil, oil, everywhere
The weekend despatch: A petrostate lines up for petrol. The discovery in Egypt of a town that buried its dead with gold on their tongues. + Is time slowing down, or are jazz tracks getting longer?
12 min read
04
Jul
‘There is no road’
The weekend despatch: A Maya city found after 11 centuries, intact in the rainforest. A glow at the center of the galaxy that could be dark matter. + What are Boards of Canada doing in hell?
13 min read