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Hump day recommendations 01/03/2023

Read: “All the Pretty Horses,” by Cormac McCarthy. This great American writer published two eagerly awaited new novels in recent months: “The Passenger” and “Stella Maris.” But those unfamiliar with his work should start with an early classic, “All the Pretty Horses,” the first of his “border trilogy.” This page-turner reveals a novelist who, even in his early work, was already a master of vivid character. — Willis

Watch: O Rei & Sly. The late Brazilian soccer GOAT Pelé had a very brief career as a Hollywood actor, appearing in "Victory," a feel-good 1981 film directed by the great John Huston about Allied POWs who plot an escape from Nazi-occupied Paris while playing the German national team. The Allied squad features both big-name actors such as Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone — who plays goalkeeper — and soccer stars like Argentina's "Ozzie" Ardiles and England's Bobby Moore. The movie is just okay, but if you're a soccer fan, you'll go nuts over the final scene. — Carlos

Read: the limits of what we can know. How did the accidental invention of a pigment famously used by Van Gogh and Hokusai lead to the development of the poison gas used at Auschwitz? What devastating scientific/mathematical discovery moved Albert Einstein to protest that “God doesn’t play dice with the universe!”? And what happens when scientific inquiry reaches a point where it makes the world more uncertain rather than less? Part historical fiction, part philosophical meditation, and part quantum mechanics primer, the short, unclassifiable book “When We Cease to Understand the World” is Chilean author Benjamín Labatut’s exceptional effort to tackle these questions. If you read Spanish, pick up the original, titled Un Verdor Terrible. — Alex

Watch: “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed.” Nan Goldin, a New York-based photographer, anthropologist, and activist, has lived one hell of a life. She left a troubled suburban home at a young age and came of age professionally and sexually in New York City in the 1970s and 80s. Using her camera to document experiential art, sex, and the HIV/AIDS crisis that decimated her community, Goldin, who suffered from drug addiction in her 20s, more recently became entangled with the opioid crisis. “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” a documentary, elegantly interweaves the past and present and makes one nostalgic for a New York City where queer counterculture was young and free. — Gabrielle

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Graphic Truth: Costa Rica’s severe murder rate
Eileen Zhang
Costa Rica was once known as one of the most tranquil and stable countries in Latin America. A dollarized, tourism-oriented democracy so peaceful and picturesque that it didn’t even have an army. That idyll has been blown apart in recent years as murder rates – particularly among young men – have shot up to new highs. The culprit? Drug cartels. [...]
​A flood victim stands at her flooded home after weeks of heavy rainfall in Boane District, Maputo, Mozambique, January 19, 2026.

A flood victim stands at her flooded home after weeks of heavy rainfall in Boane District, Maputo, Mozambique, January 19, 2026.

REUTERS/Amilton Neves/File Photo
392,000: The estimated number of people displaced across Mozambique by recent rain-induced floods. Severe flooding in the southern African nation, as well as in South Africa and Zimbabwe, has killed over 100 people. Experts say climate change has exacerbated the rainfall and flooding. [...]
​Protesters call for US military intervention in Iran.

Protesters call for US military intervention in Iran.

ZUMA Press Wire
Are US strikes on Iran imminent?US President Donald Trump continued to threaten strikes on Iran, saying Thursday they must do “two things” to avoid a strike: end their nuclear ambitions and stop killing protesters. His message comes as the US is building up its military presence in the Gulf (he made a similar move in the Caribbean ahead of the [...]
Costa Rica presidential candidate Laura Fernandez in Heredia, Costa Rica, January 29, 2026.​

Costa Rica presidential candidate Laura Fernandez of the Sovereign People's Party (PPSO) addresses supporters during her closing campaign rally, ahead of the February 1 general election, in Heredia, Costa Rica, January 29, 2026.

REUTERS/Mayela Lopez
In yet another Latin American election shaped by concerns about security and violence, Costa Ricans will vote for president this Sunday.Leading the polls with roughly 40% support is conservative candidate Laura Fernández, the preferred successor and former chief of staff of current leader Rodrigo Chaves, who is popular but cannot run again due to [...]