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CURIOUSMINDS
A weekly serving of great articles we curate, and original content we produce. So, all you have to do is pick, read, watch and listen. |
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Issue #207 - December 2025
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Stories from Around the World that Affect Us |
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Scimitar-horned oryx brings hope to the Sahara
The scimitar-horned oryx has been brought back from extinction through captive breeding. Conservationists hope it could help slow the spread of the Sahara Desert. The Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve, a protected area on the edge of the Sahara, is bigger than the Republic of Ireland, with vast expanses of sun-baked drylands. New arrivals usually assume "it's just desert", says Petretto, a biologist and wildlife veterinarian, but as they moved through, their team of ecologists and conservationists documented its vast ranges of Sahelian grasslands and wooded gorges. "At first the desert and arid lands seem very flat and homogeneous," she says. "Once you start exploring, you realise how incredibly varied they are."
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 Canadian airline to start cancelling flights
BBC(Travel)
The union representing the airline's pilots issued a 72-hour strike notice on Sunday, announcing that Air Transat pilots will stop showing up to work on Wednesday if a contract agreement is not reached. Following the strike notice, the airline said it would gradually shut down its operations "to prevent the consequences of a sudden, unplanned interruption". The airline called the strike notice "premature" while a union leader said there is still time to avoid the strike.
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 Ukraine talks in London
BBC (War/Politics)
Zelensky will attend the talks in Downing Street alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Cabinet minister Pat McFadden said on Sunday that Ukraine's security and self-determination would be "at the heart" of the leaders' discussions in London. He said that US-led talks were at a "really pivotal moment". After three days of discussions in Miami, US President Donald Trump's outgoing Ukraine envoy said that a deal to end the war was "really close" but hinged on Russia's co-operation. |
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Climate Disaster is not Ambiance
Environments
A politician who helped a climate-denying administration come to power.
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How Capitalism Made the Modern World Yascha Mounk Philosophy/Politics |
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In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Sven Beckert explore the origins of capitalism, how this triggered the Industrial Revolution, and whether today we’re in late stage capitalism. Image by Leonardo |
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Quote of The Week
Don’t let depression get you down
- James King -
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Top Stories from our favourite publications to stimulate your curious mind, |
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Cathedrals and the Silicon Soul
Once a sanctuary for art and invention, Silicon Valley has become co-opted by bureaucracy and disbelief. Its renewal depends on restoring faith in creation itself.
In 1966, Billy Klüver stood before an audience at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York City. Behind him, Robert Rauschenberg’s Oracle emitted electronic sounds that pulsed with artificial life. Surrounding them, a chorus of nine other artists and thirty engineers from Bell Labs had assembled “9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering”, the first performance to wield the quiet magic of Doppler sonar, video projection, and wireless sound transmission. It was a show that the art world had never witnessed, and that would mark the beginning of Klüver’s now renowned Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.).
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Love Yourself and Love Another
THE MARGINALIAN (Literature/Philosophy)
We can override this elemental self-reference only with constant vigilance, reminding ourselves again and again as we forget over and over how difficult it is — how nigh impossible — to know what it is like to be anybody else. It does not come naturally to us, this recognition that every other consciousness is a different operating system governed by different needs and different responses to the same situations, encoded by different formative experiences. |
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Saturday Links
My parents were not fans of Grandma Moses (1860–1961), the octogenarian painting farmwife discovered and promoted by my grandfather Otto Kallir (1894–1978). In the 1950s, Moses seemed to be everywhere: on television, on the radio, in newspapers, on the covers of national magazines such as Time and Life. |
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Post it Notes
The financial crash of 2008, plus a new woman, make for a potent Molotov cocktail. As if escape from a disastrous marriage wasn’t enough, Alfie jumps straight back into the fire. Driven to a place where no one knows him, the road to rebuilding his life is littered with potholes. Post it notes stuck on the fridge door are constant reminders of a period Alfie wants to forget. But he can’t resist a challenge, even if it has the potential to destroy him. Has Alfie taken on more than he can handle? Only time will tell. ‘Post it Notes’ is the first novel in the ‘Alfie Goes to Thailand’ trilogy. If you like thought-provoking drama, suspense, and damaged characters, you’ll love this series about Alfie’s fractured relationships with the women in his life, and his attempt to re-invent himself.
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Why We Launched the Print Renaissance
Four years ago, in the spring of 2021, we launched the first print edition of Palladium Magazine with PALLADIUM 01: Governance Futurism. Since then, we have published eighteen more print editions containing some of the most influential and groundbreaking essays written this decade, luxuriously packaged and accentuated with beautiful, haunting art. When we announced 01, the reaction from many people was skepticism—who launches a magazine in the internet age?
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Frontiers of Knowledge
If you tried to study biochemistry in 1820, you’d have a lot of trouble: the field had yet to cohere. Do we think that all the biochemistries of the world have been discovered? If we did back then, we’d be wrong. For those seeking a safe career, sticking to the established fields is probably the right move. But for those interested in pushing forward the frontiers of knowledge, it will sometimes be better to work in a field that has not yet cohered, or in a field on the cusp of crystallizing. Often the best intellectual opportunities — if you want to be a breakthrough researcher — and the largest economic opportunities — if you want to build a great company — are going to be precisely in those areas about to crystallize into a new field.
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UPGRADE to PAID
CURIOUSMINDS content and opinions contain important information curated from reliable sources. We rely on reader support to keep it FREE. We want it to reach as many people as possible. If you value what we do and would like to help us sustain it, please consider a small monthly or annual contribution. Contributing subscribers get full access to all James King Publications including archives of CURIOUSMINDS, and a valuable BONUS: FREE ebook versions of all James King’s published books.Click - View them at Amazon · Donate via the - Choose a subscription plan - page. If you are not a subscriber already - Go to the Welcome page |
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James King Blog offers valuable resources for students of Arts and Humanities. Particularly those interested in Environments, Literature, Performing Arts, Visual Art, Philosophy, Travel, and Human Rights. The articles provide insights into complex interactions between humans and their environments, and the ethical and moral dimensions of environmental issues. The Blog is relevant to students of all ages and those who are just fascinated by the Arts and Humanities. |
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 The Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – The Best Overview
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is a multilateral treaty aimed at protecting the civil and political rights of individuals. It includes freedom of religion, speech, and assembly rights. Adopted on December 16, 1966, the ICCPR entered into force on March 23, 1976. |
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FREE BOOKS89 Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense FreebiesThis Promo Closes 31 December Thriller authors join forces in joint promotion campaigns to introduce themselves to readers. You can download as many books as you like.
I hope you find plenty to entertain you. CLICK THE BANNER BELOW TO VIEW THE PROMO - AND GRAB AS MANY BOOKS AS YOU WANT |
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ALFIE GOES TO THAILAND - SERIES
If you like thought-provoking drama, romantic tragedies, and damaged characters, then you’ll love the tropical sauna and wry humour of POST- IT NOTES and the other books in this Psychological Thriller series. The Series is a story of human challenge, manipulation, rejection, abuse, and a search for peace. |
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THE KENRIGHT CHRONICLES - SERIES
The Kenright Chronicles is a psychological thriller series. Jack Kenright, a young investment banker gets involved in an international art swindle. which cripples his business and threatens his life and his family. He ends up a recluse, working for the FBI undercover and exposes massive corruption in the gambling world. |
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The Earth Shook, the Sky Burned By William Bronson
A Photographic Record of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire
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The Four Just Men By Edgar Wallace
The thrilling debut of the Four Just Men, the world's most sophisticated vigilantes In a time of turmoil and intrigue, with governments around the world buffeted by the winds of radical change, four men vow to do whatever it takes to ensure that justice prevails. They kill without remorse, their victims powerful men and women guilty of the vilest of crimes: rape, embezzlement, extortion, murder. Now the British foreign secretary finds himself in the crosshairs of Manfred, Gonsalez, Poiccart, and Thery—the newest member of the four and a man with a very special skill.
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Substack - Creative Xellence -
Join us at Creative Xellence where we are building a home for James King's Poetry, Short Stories and serialised Novels. Subscribe for Free and you will be notified of new content and recieve the Newsletter.
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Medium
At Medium we curate high value informative articles related to A&H from major publishers and authoratative sources. And we publish a smattering of selected articles from James King Blog and articles written by James King for Medium Publications.
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