In today’s newsletter, how Donald Trump’s pick to lead the F.B.I. whitewashed the J6ers’ political violence. But, first, Arthur Krystal on the comforts of reading about the end of the world. Plus:
Some fear we’ll be buried in brimstone; others expect to be extinguished by A.I. But is there comfort to be found in our apocalyptic visions?
“It’s a mite soon to start grieving,” Arthur Krystal writes, in this week’s issue, “but scientists now project that life on Earth will probably end in about a billion years.” Many people, it seems, can’t wait til then, judging by the mass popularity of stories about the apocalypse. From Mesopotamian mythologies to Y2K narratives and beyond, people have long been telling tales about the end—floods, comets, plagues, and now nuclear annihilation, rogue A.I., and, yes, more plagues. In a fascinating essay, Krystal explores what we might learn about life from this fixation with total death. Perhaps some humility? “While we wait let’s keep in mind that the Earth is an infinitesimal dot on the skein of existence,” he notes. “The end of the world is small potatoes.” Read or listen to the story »
P.S. In the latest edition of Book Currents, a weekly column in which notable figures share what they’re reading, the best-selling writer Kaveh Akbar recommends four collections by Palestinian poets which consider this moment of exile and destruction, as well as timeless themes such as love, sex, and motherhood. 📚
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