Rand Paul: Midterms will be ‘disastrous’ for Republicans The Hill
Epstein’s ‘Zorro Ranch’ under investigation in New Mexico Anadolu Agency
Jeffrey Epstein had two key aides – why do they still control his money and secrets? BBC (Paul R)
A top biotech VC quietly helped Epstein’s ‘great friend’ make a comeback STAT
Former Treasurer Mike Egan would be less charitable to his labour federal colleagues and the Commonwealth Grants Commission than Chris … Mike was a real fighter for the Shire, Sydney, and for the people of New South Wales
Biggest winners and losers in $103 billion GST carve-up
Chris Minns has slammed the national GST distribution system as "past its use-by date" following a 2026-27 review that left NSW with a historically low share of funds. Minns argues the current formula is unfair, with NSW receiving only 82 cents for every dollar it contributes, losing out by $1.4 billion compared to Victoria, despite having a much larger population.
Why daylight saving time is worse for your body than standard time
Wildflowers blanket Death Valley in best display since 2016 Get a Dog, Live Longer?
Research suggests pets keep you healthier. But there are some caveats
Jeremy Caplan {Note – this is a long, multifaceted list – below is just a snip]
Spending time with a difficult person can impact your mood in the moment. But over time, these challenging social interactions might also have a detrimental effect on your physical health, possibly making you age faster, new research suggests.
The study, which was funded by the National Institute on Aging and published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, looked at the health impacts of “hasslers” — people the researchers defined as those “who create problems or make life more difficult.”
While positive relationships have long been linked to healthier, longer lives, hasslers seem to have the opposite effect, increasing chronic stress and elevating epigenetic biomarkers associated with aging. The study also found that some people are more likely to report knowing hasslers, including women and those in poorer health.
We asked experts to explain the phenomenon — and share what you can do to prevent these types of relationships from chipping away at your health.
How social ties affect aging
Having a strong social network is known to offer protective benefits as you age, including lowering risk of cognitive impairment and mortality. Friendships may even help slow aging on a cellular level, some researchhas shown. “But not all social ties are supportive,” said Byungkyu Lee, an assistant professor of sociology at New York University and lead author of the study.
Difficult people in your life might make you age faster, study suggests
Architecture and urbanism: 2026 RIBA Royal Gold Medalfor Níall McLaughlin / an abandoned village in Wales / How the Aylesbury Estate became London’s theatre of stigma / Then and now: one year on from the Los Angeles wildfires / This was Paris in 1970, photographic archives (via MeFi) / a computer-generated visualisation of Venice/ a collection of Found City Photographs / London Rebranded: The Capital’s Changing Names, Mapped / the impact of Nano Banana on architectural visualisation / the story of Richard Neutra’s Lost Windshield House / city roads, ‘this website renders every single road within a city’.
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Art, Photography and Design: a new zine about 1960s Penguin Crime Novels (via Kottke). See also the long dormant but exhausting-to-compile Pelican Project / a look back at the heyday of the Olivetti Company, Beautiful machines from a beautiful country (via MeFi) / the cultural weight of the monobloc chair, what Coupland once called a ‘category killer’ / Fedor Vasilev’s images of the world of tower blocks / art by Amy Dury / Don McCullin at 90 / links to the finest papercrafts / car portraits by Martin Roemers/ Shadow Puppets, a comic by Martha Burgin / Leonard Koscianski’s eerily perfect suburbs / illustrations by Christoph Niemann / the work of Bruce Asbestos / photography monographs at Libraryman / beautiful prints at Kvist Studio.
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Culture: “Take me to your shelter, leader!”, ‘Do you have what it takes to be a shelter manager after World War III breaks out? Take this quiz from 1973 and find out!’ / meet Coalie. He’s not quite Mr Therm, but they’re definitely distant cousins. Coalie could do with a strapline like ‘Mr Therm burns to save you’, updated for the modern era / links to short stories by female authors / Freakpages, ‘a community-curated directory of esoteric articles across the internet’ / from Nigel Kneale’s ‘Beasts’ anthology, During Barty’s Party: watch on YouTube. Not for the murophobic / I fly for news, by Larry Rue, fascinating 1932 memoir by an early ‘aero reporter’ / reconsidering Morris and Co’s Blue Jam, 25 years on / another Brutalist Quake mod / a calendar of 2026’s design fairs / on collecting Dinky Toys. Related, the Google Doodle for Frank Hornby’s 150th birthday / 26 creatives for 2026, via Zetteler / C Thi Nguyen’s ‘brilliant warning about the gamification of everyday life‘ / the extraordinary life of Earl Amherst, 1896 to 1993 / the Epstein saga is the patriarchy laid bare.
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Technology and Transport: which car had the biggest carbon footprint of all time? There’s a strong case to be made for the Cadillac Allanté, which was flown from Italy to the US in specially modified cargo 747s. ‘All in, some Allanté components may have flown 7000 miles round trip, before the car’s key was turned for the very first time’ / a true dream wagon / the 6400-metric ton “Ithacus Sr.“, a 1966 proposal for a rocket-propelled troop carrier designed to carry a ‘rapid-strike battalion of 1200 soldiers’ across continents / the cramp-inducing world of micro yachting / Italy’s Insane Showcars of the 1930s and 1940s / How the age of motoring shaped our modern world / The Londoner profiles the motorist’s lycra scourge, Cycling Mikey / a timeline of studio and recording technology / a chronology of the Casio digital watch / grim news: two million books destructively scanned to teach AI/ watch AI agents wibble on to each other at Moltbook / the Computer History Museum has a new digital portal / browse Wallpaper*’s picks from V&A East Storehouse / rare vintage audio Holy Grails.
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Music and Sound: Captain Pikant breaks down iconic drum patterns / are these the 75 greatest guitarists of the 21st century? / upcoming book: Still in a Dream: Shoegaze, Slackers and the Reinvention of Rock, 1984–1994 / Tony Iommi: The Godfather of Heavy Metal, Volume One / An Evening Of Sitar Music, a short film about a legendary event / huge treasure trove of Banshees-adjacent press clippings / The Cure, live in Sydney, 1981 / the art rock insanity of Angine De Poitrine, ‘Orchestre Rock Microtonal Dada-pythago-cubiste’: watch a full performance in Rennes, France, during Trans Musicales 2025 / The South London Drone Orchestra / The Boojums, garage rock from Nova Scotia / Sounds of the Forest around the world / ‘A study suggested that men who play guitar in extreme metal bands mainly do it to impress other men‘ / 90s Festival Generator (via b3ta).