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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 #210 - JANUARY 2026
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Stories from Around the World that Affect Us |
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Ukraine’s Impossible Dilemma
Zelenskyy has made the concessions he can, but that may not be enough.
Given the sheer number of summits, talks, and bilateral negotiations held between the United States, Ukraine, and Russia since the start of Trump’s time in office, one would be forgiven for getting a dash of déjà vu around the latest talks between Ukraine’s Zelenskyy and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in Berlin. The issues at play are still essentially the same ones as back in February—security guarantees for Ukraine and territorial concessions to Russia. But this time is different, and Ukraine is in more trouble than it has been in at any time since Trump’s return to office.
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 Saudi Arabia reveals details of Yemen bombing
ALJAZEERA(War/Politics)
He stated that upon entering the port of Mukalla, it became clear that the two ships were carrying more than 80 vehicles and containers of weapons and ammunition. He added that the UAE side transferred vehicles, containers, and Emirati personnel to the al-Rayyan base without informing Saudi Arabia. The spokesman said the coalition adhered to the rules of engagement during the military operation.
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 Trump Bombs Venezuela
ALJAZEERA (War/Politics)
United States President Donald Trump said the US carried out a land-based strike on Venezuela, marking a sharp escalation in Washington’s recent military activity against the South American nation. Trump said the operation had targeted a docking facility being used to load boats carrying narcotics. Venezuelan authorities, however, have yet to confirm the incident. Tensions between Washington and Caracas have risen sharply since September, when the Trump administration began a series of strikes on Venezuelan vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, which the US government claims are trafficking drugs. However, despite aerial strikes on more than two dozen boats, which have killed at least 100 people, the US has presented no evidence of drug trafficking. |
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Exxon’s new greenwashing ploy
Environments
ExxonMobil has a new plan to sell more methane gas in a warming world: Frame it as a climate-friendly solution for artificial intelligence. The fossil fuel giant is proposing to build massive gas-fired data center campuses—complete with power plants and pipeline infrastructure—to power the immensely energy-intensive AI boom. It’s also promising that this will be totally fine for the planet, because Exxon will remove 90 percent of the emissions from those facilities with taxpayer-funded carbon capture.
Image by Leonardo
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Ivan Krastev on 2026 Yascha Mounk Philosophy/Politics |
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In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Ivan Krastev discuss international reactions to the Trump administration, Europe’s weaknesses, and the impact of changing demographics worldwide. Image by Leonardo |
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Quote of The Week
Don’t
believe everything you are told, especially the facts.
- James King -
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Top Stories from our favourite publications to stimulate your curious mind, |
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How - and Why - To Read...
Literacy’s rise was fast and its fall may be even faster. People have been setting down squiggles on pages, and deciphering them, for five thousand years or so: a relatively brief span in human terms. Societies in which most people could read and write only arrived in the last 150-200 years. But now, having gone to the trouble of teaching ourselves this difficult skill, we seem to be concluding that it’s more trouble than it’s worth.
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Remedy for Our Resistance to Change
THE MARGINALIAN (Literature/Philosophy)
The most assuring thing about life is that we can change, that things can change, that they are always changing. The most maddening is that despite living in a universe that is one constant transmutation of energy and matter, despite living in bodies and minds whose cells and ideas are constantly being replaced, we so vehemently resist change, too afraid to unsettle the structure of our lives — even when it doesn’t serve us. “People wish to be settled,” Emerson wrote, “[but] only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them.” In another epoch, another prophet consecrated the elemental: “All that you touch you change,” wrote Octavia Butler. “All that you change changes you. The only lasting truth is change. God is change.” |
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Literature of Exploration
THE MARGINALIAN (Literature)
Nothing changes the history of the world more profoundly than changing the landscape of permission and possibility for people — what is possible and permissible for whom in a given culture. And no one has changed the history of the world more profoundly than the people who, with the self-permission to defy the prohibitive dogmas of their time and place, have broadened the horizon of possibility for others; who by some variable of their birth were not allowed or expected to do the thing — the bold thing, the passionate thing, the unreasonable thing — they ended up doing. |
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House of Vipers
A daughter’s loyalty. An evil plot. A mother’s cruelty brings the family down. Alfie struggles to deal with the whirlwind of horrors which unfold chapter after chapter in the second novel of the series.In the poor, hot and dusty north-east of Thailand Alfie Mynn, a South African businessman, has all but finished building a house for his partner Nin. But will her mother’s evil plot bring the family down? Can Mother use her daughter’s misplaced loyalty and the law to ruin Nin and Alfie? The worst and the best elements of the human condition are reflected in the characters.Can Alfie save himself or is it too late?
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My Third Winter of War
PERSUASION (War/Human Rights)
Last year, things were easier because the electricity and gas infrastructure was not attacked to the same extent. This year, they really carried out intense shelling of the energy sector and gas hubs. Energy workers once needed hours for repairs—now they take days. Absolutely everyone is cut off. A difficult stage has begun, because it is winter and there is very little gas and electricity. The state can’t cope. This year, they didn’t even start the heating season on time. Usually the radiators in apartment buildings begin to warm up when the temperature drops below 59 degrees. The first sectors to be launched are kindergartens, hospitals, schools. We had a very cold summer and the fall was also very cold. By mid-October, the heating season would normally have been launched. It’s one thing when you walk along the street if the sun is shining on a 45-degree day. When you sit in an apartment, you just freeze.
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Wednesday Links
PRUFROCK (Literature/History/Environment)
The Wall Street Journal has started a new cultural newsletter called “Free Expression.” Matthew Hennessey, who will edit the newsletter, explains that it “will address questions and controversies arising from the culture. We won’t ignore Washington and Wall Street, but we’ll cast a wider net.” A variety of writers will contribute, including Matthew Continetti, Kyle Smith, John J. Miller, Louise Perry, and others. You can subscribe here. John Podhoretz has announced that his father and longtime editor of Commentary, Norman Podhoretz, has died. He was 95:
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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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 Human Rights for North Korea – Is the Crisis Urgent?
The isolated totalitarian state with an authoritarian at the helm, has violated human rights for years. The transgressions range from political repression to limiting human movement. Human Rights for North Korea citizens have been of concern to the world for many years. |
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FREE BOOKS69 Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense FreebiesThis Promo Closes 31 January 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. |
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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 Housemaid is WatchingBy Freida McFadden
A twisting, pulse-pounding thriller from Freida McFadden, the New York Times bestselling author of The Housemaid and The Coworker I used to clean other people's houses―now, I can't believe this home is actually mine. The charming kitchen, the quiet cul-de-sac, the huge yard where my kids can play. My husband and I saved for years to give our children the life they deserve. The Lowells' maid isn't the only strange thing on our street. I'm sure I see a shadowy figure watching us. My husband leaves the house late at night. And when I meet a woman who lives across the way, her words chill me to the bone: Be careful of your neighbors. Did I make a terrible mistake moving my family here? I thought I'd left my darkest secrets behind. But could this quiet suburban street be the most dangerous place of all? |
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DemianBy Hermann Hesse Demian is a classic coming-of-age story that continues to inspire generations of readers in its exploration of good and evil, morality, and self-discovery. A story of Jungian individuation, the process of opening up to one's unconsciousness. First published in 1919, it is a brilliant journey of the psyche written by one of Germany’s most influential writers and thinkers—Herman Hesse. A young man awakens to selfhood and to a world of possibilities beyond the conventions of his upbringing. Emil Sinclair is a quiet boy drawn into a forbidden yet seductive realm of petty crime and defiance. His guide is his precocious, mysterious classmate Max Demian, who provokes in Emil a search for self-discovery and spiritual fulfillment.
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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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