Born To Be Wired
The Confessions of John Malone, Media’s Most Misunderstood Mogul
In this exclusive excerpt from his new memoir ‘Born to Be Wired,’ the battle-scarred billionaire candidly reflects on his (mostly) friendly rivalries with Reed Hastings, Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner and how he built a sprawling empire while living with autism.
BY JOHN MALONE
The most valuable assets in any business are people and relationships.
I may have neglected to appreciate this at the time, when we were down in the fray. Now that I am a bit older and slowing down, just a little, I have realized that, all along, the most important element was who was involved, not what. The people whom I befriended, learned from, and fought against — rather than the deals or the payoff — gave me the most satisfaction. And the right people produced the highest upside — giving my journey meaning and enriching my knowledge of the world.
It has been enormously exciting and at the same time gratifying to play a role in the digital revolution. Our original intent was to deliver broadcast TV signals to far-flung rural valleys and mountainous terrain that antennas couldn’t reach. That very same cable evolved into the backbone of the broadband network better known today as the internet, three decades after we at Tele-Communications began laying down lines.
Clankers
Is an AI backlash brewing? What ‘clanker’ says about growing frustrations with emerging tech
A slur for robots and AI has emerged online in recent weeks, offering some sense of growing societal anxiety with increasingly capable technology.
By Jason Abbruzzese and Rob Wile
It’s a slur for the AI age.
“Clanker,” a word that traces back to a Star Wars video game, has emerged in recent weeks as the internet’s favorite epithet for any kind of technology looking to replace humans. On TikTok, people harass robots in stores and on sidewalks with it. Search interest for the term has spiked. On X, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., used the term last week to tout a new piece of legislation.
“Sick of yelling “REPRESENTATIVE” into the phone 10 times just to talk to a human being?,” he posted on X. “My new bill makes sure you don’t have to talk to a clanker if you don’t want to.”
The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity,
The Creative Legacy of Ray and Charles Eames Finds a New Home
Architects Herzog and de Meuron will design the new museum in the heart of Marin County.
by Min Chen
Ray and Charles Eames revolutionized midcentury design—now, their legacy is getting a new home. A museum opening in California will celebrate the couple’s singular creative universe and its lasting impact on art and design.
The Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity, the organization dedicated to stewarding the Eameses’ legacy, will be transforming the former Birkenstock campus in Marin County into a museum. Swiss architect giant Herzog and de Meuron has been tasked with converting the 88-acre site into a public space set to host exhibitions, workshops, educational programming, and retail offerings.
Shooting The Moon
The asteroid that will spare Earth might hit the moon instead. What happens if it does?
The asteroid known as 2024 YR4 is out of sight yet still very much on scientists’ minds.
The building-sized object, which initially appeared to be on a potential collision course with Earth, is currently zooming beyond the reach of telescopes on its orbit around the sun. But as scientists wait for it to reappear, its revised trajectory is now drawing attention to another possible target: the moon.
Discovered at the end of 2024, the space rock looked at first as if it might hit our planet by December 22, 2032. The chance of that impact changed with every new observation, peaking at 3.1% in February — odds that made it the riskiest asteroid ever observed.
Tinshemet Cave
A 100,000-year-old burial site in Israel is changing what we know about early humans
SHOHAM, Israel (AP) — Archaeologists believe they have found one of the oldest burial sites in the world at a cave in Israel, where the well-preserved remains of early humans dating back some 100,000 years were carefully arranged in pits.
The findings at Tinshemet Cave in central Israel, published in an academic journal earlier this year, build on previous discoveries in northern Israel and add to a growing understanding of the origins of human burial.
Of particular interest to archaeologists are objects found beside the remains that may have been used during ceremonies to honor the dead and could shed light on how our ancient ancestors thought about spirituality and the afterlife.
They Aren’t Going To Need Us
WILD VIDEO SHOWS ROBOT CHANGING ITS OWN BATTERY
As we continue on our path towards a potential future filled with tireless humanoid robots staffing factory floors, companies are looking to solve a major pain point of the tech: a limited battery life.
Chinese company UBTECH recently showed off its bipedal Walker S2 robot contorting its arms to hot swap one of its battery packs — a “world’s first,” seemingly — which means the 95-pound automaton could technically work 24 hours a day, an integral part of fully automated “dark factories” that never need to keep the lights on.
Video footage shows the robot walking up to a rack of swappable batteries. After unnaturally flipping its arms around, the automaton replaces one of its two battery packs in its back before going on its merry way.
Ozzy Gone
Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne dead at 76
The heavy metal legend recently played his final concert on July 5.
Ozzy Osbourne, the pioneering heavy metal singer and Black Sabbath frontman whose star turn on reality TV endeared him to a new generation of fans, has died, his family announced Tuesday. He was 76 years old.
“It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,” the family said in a statement signed by Osbourne’s wife Sharon, as well as his children Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis. “He was with his family and surrounded by love.”
They added, “We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
News of Osbourne’s death comes 17 days after he performed his final show in Birmingham, England, alongside his former Black Sabbath bandmates at the Back to the Beginning benefit concert.
Where is Six?
Why The I Am Number Four Franchise Was Canceled
BY JOE ROBERTS
Adapting young adult fiction has been a reliable approach for Hollywood, especially in a post-“Twilight” world. That stupid lightning in a bottle phenomenon gave rise to multiple imitators, whether it was books or adaptations of those books — some of which were more successful than others. 2011’s “I Am Number Four” was one of the less successful examples.
Directed by D.J. Caruso (“Disturbia,” “Eagle Eye”), the science-fiction action film was based on the 2010 novel of the same name. The book itself was written by Pittacus Lore (a collective pseudonym for authors James Frey and Jobie Hughes) and represented the inaugural Lorien Legacies novel in what is a seven-novel series that has also produced multiple spin-off and sequel series. Even before the book eventually became a hit, though, a bidding war had erupted for the film rights. In June 2009, J. J. Abrams faced off against Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay for a shot at adapting the property, with the latter winning out in the end. HarperCollins won the book rights soon after, and “l Am Number Four” spent seven weeks at number one on the children’s New York Times bestseller list.
Sneak Peaking
Galley Envy
Could the most coveted object of the summer be an uncorrected manuscript you can’t even buy?
Paperback advance reader copies were once sent to critics and booksellers to secure review attention and favorable retail placement. More recently, they have been showing up in the hands of actors and influencers, tucked into designer totes, perched on beach chairs, or featured on Instagram Stories shot in Montauk, resting on linen-covered laps beside sweating glasses of wine. What used to be industry ephemera has become the status galley, a new form of cultural currency.
“I think that the human condition is to show that you have something before someone else, especially if it’s desirable,” says Chris Black, the co-host of the popular podcast How Long Gone.“But I also think, with books, it makes you seemingly smart or at least look smart. And that’s in addition to being ahead of the curve, which I think is always something we’re striving for.”
Walk The Day Awake
“The Surprising Benefits of a Morning Walk.”
Impact of morning walk on Physical and Mental Health
by Mj writes
It is widely known that morning walks can help your physical as well as your mental health start a new day on the right note. Daily morning walking helps in the improvement of cardiovascular health, as it acts as a regimen that regulates blood circulation, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. It also helps exercise burning of calories to achieve the required amount of energy needed in a calorie reduction process, a prerequisite for achievement of a slender body.
From these effects of walking, it is evident that it has positive impact on muscles as well enhancing the health of joints particularly for people experiencing arthritis or any other joint conditions. It also strengthens musculoskeletal and postural structures and thus decreases the likelihood of falls in anyone, more particularly the elderly.
Beyond “The Bird”
New Canaan’s Notorious Neighbor – James Frey’s Fictional Drama Hits Close to Home
by Jill Johnson
THE APPROACH TO JAMES FREY’S HOUSE FEELS LIKE A DRIVE THROUGH THE PAGES OF HIS LATEST BOOK
The landscape unfolds with rambling farmhouses and faux French chateaus—each boasting a dozen bathrooms and perimeters marked by quaint fieldstone walls that quiet the opulence. It’s particularly picturesque in the bloom of spring, as perfect as New Bethlehem, the fictional town where Frey’s book, Next to Heaven, is set.
It’s no secret that the setting is modeled on New Canaan; the town’s history, outlined in detail by Frey, and its shops, landmarks and parks mirror our own. But are the characters ours, too? That’s the question that left some residents sleepless in their Frette linens as they anticipated the book’s release in June. And now that the juicy novel is out, reading lights are burning bright across the “Next Station to Heaven.”
In his newest release, Frey draws from the salacious novels of Jackie Collins and Danielle Steele—surprising inspirations for an author who says he pursued writing because of men like Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac and Kurt Vonnegut. But Frey is not what one might expect from a man quick to give the world the middle finger.
Frey’s neighborhood is dotted with the occasional modern home, placing us squarely in The Ice Storm country. New Canaan was also the setting for Ang Lee’s 1997 film based on Rick Moody’s eponymous novel about a key party that wreaks havoc on its characters’ lives and community. Next to Heaven features its own spouse-swapping shindig. It’s the kind of thing that can make a small town edgy. Was it based on an actual swingers party? My mission would be to find out.
Pickle Golf
Golf’s Answer to Pickleball Is Spreading Across the US
Park golf is picking up steam
There’s a sport gaining ground in the United States that has numerous similarities to an already-popular sport here, but with slightly different gear and played with larger balls. If you’re thinking to yourself, “Yeah, we know about pickleball already,” well, it’s not pickleball. The sport is park golf, developed in Japan in the 1980s and beginning to make its presence felt globally.
One park golf course recently opened in the New York metropolitan area — specifically, at Great Gorge Golf Club in Vernon, New Jersey. The club in question has a long history (including an early connection to the Playboy Club) and currently touts the presence of a Tom Fazio-designed course on the premises. As NJ.com’s Rob Jennings reports, though, that’s no longer the only game in town.
Bring Back Tree Forts!
LET YOUR KID CLIMB THAT TREE
It could actually make them safer.
By Henry Abbott
A bunny, small enough to nestle in a cereal bowl, has recently started hanging out in my backyard. Now and again, it nibbles a plant or lies in the sun. Mostly, it explores the limits of movement, zooming, darting, feinting, and trundling through bushes. Once, I saw it corner so hard that it sprayed mulch in a giant, messy arc. A human kid who did that would almost certainly be called inside to clean up. But I haven’t seen the adults in this bunny’s life in weeks; the baby has carte blanche. If only more of the kids I know could be so lucky.
Wild animals are the best movers on the planet, and little ones spend much of their time frolicking, fighting, leaping, and climbing. From birth, human children share animals’ potential for wild movement; left to their own devices, they would presumably tumble about like puppies. But more and more, they do nothing of the sort.
Dialogo de Cecco di Ronchitti da Bruzene in perpuosito de la stella Nuova
Historic Galileo Manuscript Just Set a New Auction Record
The Italian polymath’s first publication reveals his bravery in challenging established doctrines with radical scientific ideas.
Even in the league of genius polymaths, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei enjoys legendary status. He was the first to systematically study space with a telescope and his inventions include the pendulum clock and the geometric compass. It is no surprise that his works are a hot commodity on the few occasions they come to market.
The celebrated scientist set a new auction record yesterday with an exceedingly rare first edition of his early 17th-century publication Dialogo de Cecco di Ronchitti da Bruzene in perpuosito de la stella Nuova. The landmark achievement of early modern science sold for an impressive £1.1 million ($1.5 million) at Christie’s London’s Valuable Books and Manuscripts sale on July 9. This figure roughly doubled the presale estimate of £500,000–£700,000 ($680,000–$950,000) (final prices include buyer’s fees, estimates do not).
Glass House Summer 2025
Here’s Everything You Missed at the Glass House’s Summer Party
Honoring the late Gaetano Pesce, the annual event in New Canaan brought together a cadre of guests across art, design, and literature for a celebration featuring new exhibitions and a lively dance performance.
by Sam Falb
The Glass House welcomed a design-forward crowd to New Canaan for its annual Summer Party—a vibrant afternoon of art, architecture, and tribute. Honoring the late Gaetano Pesce, the gathering debuted Big Surprise 2, a limited-edition resin vase created with Italian furniture design firm Meritalia and inspired by two Feltri chairs from the host’s own collection.
DJ Pete Brockman set the tone, while Max Mara’s Whitney Bag activation and gelato cart gathered curious eyes across the lawn. As attendees including James Frey and Paul Goldberger; designers Sophie Lou Jacobsen and Maximilian Eicke; artists Deborah Brown and Naudline Pierre; Aldrich Museum Director Cybele Maylone, creative director and curator Abby Bangser, and Phaidon’s Editor-at-Large Spencer Bailey took in the scene, the overarching mood of the afternoon couldn’t be missed—spirited, sculptural, and unmistakably Pesce.
Cloning Ponies
Cloning Came to Polo. Then Things Got Truly Uncivilized
A polo legend and a businessman joined forces to copy the player’s greatest horse. But with a single clone worth $800,000, some technologies are a breeding ground for betrayal.
THE HORSES ARE slick with sweat, veins bulging, feet dancing through a maelstrom of legs and mallets and flying clods of earth, 6,000 pounds of flesh tumbling after a tiny white ball. The riders are all furious angles, jabbing their mallets blindly beneath their saddles. But Adolfo Cambiaso appears calm. He lifts a gloved hand and swings the head of his mallet in a perfect arc through the tangle of horse and human to thwack the ball and send it clear toward the goal. It’s the final game of the 2016 Argentine Open—the most important polo match of the year in the most polo-obsessed country in the world—and there are some 30,000 spectators in the stands, all watching Cambiaso’s every move.
Depending on who you ask, Cambiaso might be described as a horse whisperer, a sex symbol, or a marvel of longevity. And it’s all true: At 41 he’s easily the oldest player on this field, his handsome face and cleft chin sun-beaten and stubbled, his dark hair matted with sweat. But the more universally accepted fact is that Cambiaso is the greatest polo player alive—top ranked for some two decades—if not the greatest who has ever lived. As if that weren’t enough, he’s also a horse breeding tycoon who is, on this very field, in this very game, transforming polo from the sport of kings into a frontier laboratory of applied biotechnology.
Days Gone By
The Concorde-and-Caviar Era of Condé Nast, When Magazines Ruled the Earth
Opulent days are over at Vogue, Vanity Fair and other once-powerful glossies. Anna Wintour is giving up (some) control. Now that everyone’s a gatekeeper, why do we keep recreating their status-obsessed world?
As the longtime editor in chief of Vanity Fair, Graydon Carter was accustomed to big expenses: chauffeured town cars, five-star hotel stays, writer salaries that stretched into the mid six-figures. But in early 2001, he wondered if he had gone too far.
Annie Leibovitz, the magazine’s chief photographer, had run up a $475,000 bill on a cover shoot involving 10 world-famous actresses — Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Sophia Loren — and an elaborate stage set, complete with a mantelpiece and a genuine John Singer Sargent painting, which was flown from Los Angeles to New York to London. (“It was like Vietnam, the expenses,” Mr. Carter recalled.) Now, he needed to tell his boss, S.I. Newhouse Jr., the billionaire owner and patron of Condé Nast, about the latest line item on his tab.
“I do have to talk to you about something,” Mr. Carter said as the men sat down for lunch. “It’s a good-news-bad-news situation.”
“What’s the bad news?” Mr. Newhouse asked.
“Well, I think we just shot the most expensive cover in magazine history.”
A pause. “What’s the good news?”
“It looks like a $475,000 cover.”
It was the equivalent of roughly $850,000 today. Mr. Newhouse was fine with it.
Conversation at Bedford Playhouse
James Frey Visits Bedford Playhouse for Conversation on Next to Heaven
Bedford Playhouse recently welcomed bestselling author James Frey for a riveting conversation about his latest novel, Next to Heaven—a dark, satirical thriller that delves into the underbelly of America’s wealthiest communities. Dubbed “America’s Most Notorious Author” by TIME and the “Bad Boy of American Literature” by The New York Times, Frey captivated the audience with his insights into the twisted world of privilege, scandal, and betrayal that drives his newest work.
Moderated by author and media executive Fran Hauser, the event offered a lively and thought-provoking discussion on the themes of moral decay, voyeurism, and the extremes of human behavior that Frey masterfully explores in his novel. Guests had the opportunity to purchase signed copies of Next to Heavenand connect with the author in person.
It was a thrilling evening of literature, conversation, and candid storytelling—true to form for one of the most provocative voices in contemporary fiction.
Death Valley Driver
Death Valley National Park is so hot that cars keep catching on fire
Cars, not heat, are the biggest problem in the deadly park
By Farley Elliott, SoCal Bureau Chief
Somewhere around Towne Pass, elevation 4,956 feet, the tractor trailer’s brakes started to squeal and sputter. Descending through Death Valley National Park in the predawn hours, the big rig — with cargo in tow from somewhere deep in Nevada — struggled to slow down. Then, the cab began to heat up.
By first light on June 19, the 18-wheeler was toast, having succumbed to the heat and inevitable flames from overheated brakes while trying to maneuver through the hottest place on Earth. The tractor portion of the rolling beast was burned beyond recognition, its engine block seemingly melted solid. The white cargo trailer had, smartly, been disconnected by then. It sat on the rocky desert shoulder, waiting for a ride. Hopefully this one wouldn’t burn to a crisp, too.
“Listen, kid, we’re all in it together.”
Terry Gilliam Reflects On ‘Brazil’ As Film Celebrates 40th Anniversary & The Challenges Of Getting Movies Made Today: “I Really Don’t Want Any More Fights”
Veteran filmmaker Terry Gilliam is headed to the Umbria Film Festival in Italy, where a screening next weekend of his iconic 1985 dystopian black comedy Brazil will celebrate the film’s 40th anniversary. Nominated for two Oscars and winning a pair of BAFTAs, the movie centers on Jonathan Pryce’s Sam Lowry, who works in the sprawling archives of a megalopolis ruled by faceless bureaucracy and an all-seeing Information Department. When a band of terrorists begins sowing chaos, Sam escapes the gray monotony of his desk job through vivid, dreamlike visions — until reality and fantasy collide with explosive consequences.
Terrible.
The Beauty and the Danger of the Guadalupe River
Generations of Texans gather at the river’s stunning headwaters, which have been carved by cycles of catastrophic floods.
“When the river takes you, don’t fight it,” my parents told me when I was about nine years old. “If it takes you under, focus your effort on holding your breath—it will push you back up.” We would practice floating on our backs, feet downstream, like tiny giggling canoes moving diagonally across the Comal, Medina, San Marcos, and other lesser currents that made up the landscape of our gorgeous, dangerous childhoods, until we were ready for something bigger.
One of those bigger rivers was the Guadalupe, which runs from the Texas Hill County to the Gulf of Mexico, crossing aquifers and collecting tributaries as it plows southeast with a depth millions of years in the making. Before there were roads or fences, the Guadalupe was already cutting its way through limestone in a slow choreography of water and stone. It’s that clever pathway that makes the river so beautiful. It’s that perseverance through rugged terrain that makes it so deadly.
Villeneuve’s Bond
With Denis Villeneuve on Bond, Amazon MGM Signals a Prestige Approach to the 007 Franchise | Analysis
The “Dune” filmmaker brings both commercial and critical acclaim to the long-running series
After buying the keys to the James Bond franchise, Amazon MGM Studios signaled this week that it plans to create a high-prestige version of the series by setting Oscar-nominated “Dune” filmmaker Denis Villeneuve to direct the first new installment of the franchise since Daniel Craig’s tenure.
Plans for the new Bond movies are under lock and key, but newly installed producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman made a statement with Villeneuve’s hiring: This new Bond will be stylish. It will be big. And it could even make an awards splash.
New Canaan Buzz
New Canaan Darien Editor’s Letter: Buzz about town
There is a book that lives on my nightstand called Me Talk Pretty by the American humorist David Sedaris. I don’t bother to put it back on the shelf because something will remind me of one of the stories, and I will reach for it again and again.
Recently I reread a story in which Sedaris explains how he asks obscure and often silly questions to strangers while traveling because he finds they tend to start fascinating conversations. This reminded me of what has recently become my favorite question to ask people around New Canaan: “Have you heard about James Frey’s new book?”
The replies have been varied and passionate. Frey and his books seem to evoke strong reactions in people. Some locals were excited that his novel, Next to Heaven, was set in New Canaan (or “New Bethlehem” as Frey calls it in the book). Others were skeptical about a book with dark themes and “swingers parties” being set in their hometown. Either way, once advance copies hit Elm Street Books in early June, it quickly became the talk of the town, with everyone wanting to know: Is it fact or fiction?
Frey addressed the rumors in a recent coversation with the actress Gina Gershon at the New Canaan Library. He assured the standing-room-only crowd that it is fiction, not based on real people or events. He also said that it is his job as a writer to “hold up a mirror and tell a story about what I see.”
Those are some real nice melons.
Move Over, $100 Lobster Salad. In the Hamptons, These Melons Cost $400.
Gourmet grocery stores are upping their game in the Hamptons, serving a welcoming wealthy clientele.
It wasn’t even 8:30 on a recent morning when a shopper emptied his basket of dinner ingredients onto the counter of the Farm & Forage Market in Southampton: two king crab legs, two bags of frozen dumplings, two packages of ramen noodles and a bag of dried sea kelp.
The cash register rang up an already eye-popping tally before the customer realized he had forgotten the caviar. He tossed a jar of it onto the counter. The grand total was $1,860.
“I’ll put that on your tab, right?” asked Jonathan Bernard, owner of the tiny, tidy store. The shopper, a private chef who works in a home nearby, nodded and noted he would be back later for truffles.
Semiquincentennial Commences
Countdown to America’s 250th Birthday
The U.S. was in a similarly disjointed mood heading into 1976 but pulled off a spectacular national party.
By Paul Beston
Fifty years ago, the U.S. was anticipating a major national anniversary only 12 months away: the bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence. The road to 1976 was rocky. Americans endured a decade of disorienting social change and tumult ranging from political violence to urban riots. They lost thousands of young men in a traumatic and unsuccessful war. A generational economic boom was over. Social optimism had degenerated into suspicion and bitterness. An American president resigned after a coverup failed to conceal what many had long suspected.
The nation had good reason to eye the bicentennial with caution. But Billboard’s No. 1 song on July 4, 1975, was Captain & Tennille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together,” and a year later, the country got itself together to stage a memorable celebration. On July 4, 1976, tall ships and other vessels from dozens of nations filled New York Harbor. Arthur Fiedler conducted the Boston Pops in a concert before a record-breaking audience of more than 400,000 on the Charles River Esplanade. In Washington, grand marshal Johnny Cash marched at the head of a massive parade down Constitution Avenue. Los Angeles staged its own great procession on Wilshire Boulevard.
Kids On Bikes
A Classic Childhood Pastime Is Fading
Kids on bikes once filled the streets. Not anymore.
By Erin Sagen
Walk down a quiet American street a few decades ago, and chances were good that you’d come across a vision of the Spielbergian sort: a gaggle of school-age children charging down the block on bikes, armed with a steely sense of purpose, and without any protective headwear.
You’re less likely to catch that kind of scene today. Over the course of the 1990s, an average of 20.5 million children ages 7 to 17 hopped on a bike six or more times a year, according to data from the National Sporting Goods Association, a sports-equipment trade group. Only a few decades later, that number has fallen by nearly half, to about 10.9 million in 2023. Of those kids, according to the association, just less than 5 percent rode their bikes “frequently.”
The Bling Kings
‘More Is More’: The Elite Luxury Jewelers Decking Out Athletes
Pros—and even amateurs—are partnering with high-end jewelers to create custom pieces with six-figure price tags and a lot of flash.
Jalen Hurts walked into a postgame press conference in December 2024 wearing what would become the most viral piece of jewelry in pro sports last year: a diamond-encrusted pendant bearing his personal motto, “Breed of One.”
“So that’s what y’all wanted to see, huh?” the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback said as he took his seat in front of the cameras. He was talking about his performance—he threw two touchdowns and ran in a third that game—but the line very well could have been about the chain.
In the lighting of the press room, the Cuban chain and glittering pendant commanded the spotlight. It was jewelry as a statement: a period, a flex, a brand in all caps. A signature chain, custom pendant, or flashy grill can steal the show before an athlete even says a word.
Terminal Lucidity
Flashes of lucidity before death: The debate shaking up neuroscience
Near-death experiences and terminal lucidity raise questions about what we know about consciousness
“My mother had advanced Alzheimer’s. She no longer recognized us and seemed indifferent to the strangers who visited her once or twice a week. The day before she died, however, everything changed. Not only did she recognize us, but she wanted to know what had happened to each of us in the past year.” The testimony of a German woman, collected in 2019 by Alexander Batthyány, director of the Viktor Frankl Institute in Vienna, highlights a case of what has been dubbed terminal lucidity, a brief return of the self in people who seemed to have faded long ago due to brain injuries or Alzheimer’s.
In his book Threshold, Batthyány recounts his research on this little-studied phenomenon, relating cases of family members and healthcare professionals who witness what appears to be a temporary return of lucidity in someone they thought was lost. According to his estimates, up to 6% of people who appear to have lost consciousness forever experience it. In an interview with EL PAÍS, the psychologist defends the importance of studying these cases to understand their significance. For him, they challenge the current notion that the mind is only an emergent property of the brain and that when the brain is damaged consciousness disappears forever.
[ click to continue reading at EL PAÍS ]
Joyce Carol Oates on James Frey and Norman Mailer
Lili Anolik & James Frey Discuss Didion & Babitz
Author Talk with Lili Anolik & James Frey Elm Street Books
July 22 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Join us Tuesday, July 22nd at 6:00 PM for an author talk with Lili Anolik, here to share her book Didion & Babitz. Joining her in conversation will be local author, James Frey.
Ticket purchase required and includes a copy of Didion & Babitz. Copies of Next to Heaven by James Frey will also be available for purchase.
About the Book:
Could you write what you write if you weren’t so tiny, Joan? —Eve Babitz, in a letter to Joan Didion, 1972
Eve Babitz died on December 17, 2021. Found in the wrack, ruin, and filth of her apartment, a stack of boxes packed by her mother decades before. The boxes were pristine, the seals of duct tape unbroken. Inside, a lost world. This world turned for a certain number of years in the late sixties and early seventies and centered on a two-story rental in a down-at-heel section of Hollywood.