The Ana Edit Issue #12: My Favorite News Sources
News Websites and Sources
Martin Luther King Jr once said, “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” Esteemed speakers throughout centuries have held the same sentiment to be true. My rendition of these sayings is, “Ignorance is bliss for the ignorant individual but deleterious to everyone else.” To be ignorant is to be akratic and selfish. The best way to combat ignorance is, by definition, to become educated, but not all sources of education are created equal. This week, the focus is on reliable sources of news that I read to learn about current affairs and use to make sound decisions e.g. wearing a mask because acclaimed sources such as “Scientific American” advocate for it. Without further adieu, let us delve into it.
The Atlantic
Reason for Interest: They proffer a wonderful blend of political content, opinion pieces, and miscellaneous writing on a variety of topics.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered—Then Discarded
The Atlantic covers news, politics, culture, technology, health, and more, through its articles, podcasts, videos, and flagship magazine.
Quantamagazine
Reason for Interest: I am a staunch advocate of paying people what they deserve for the work they do, but I refuse to pay a $100 dollar subscription for every news subscription in order to access more content. This is one of the paradoxes of value. Supposedly, if something is more valuable it is more difficult to obtain which is why high-valued goods tend to be more expensive. However, at the same time, high value means it is integral to have in one’s life. Therefore, the more valuable an entity is, the harder it is to obtain it and the more you need it. I do shell out the cash for a few of my favorite sites, but I do so begrudgingly. Luckily, quanta proffers as many articles as your heart desires for free. Moreover, the articles they write are eloquent, digestible, and thought-provoking. If I were forced to depend on a sole scientific news source, I would choose quanta.
Quanta Magazine - Illuminating Science | Quanta Magazine
Illuminating mathematics, physics, biology and computer science research through public service journalism.
www.quantamagazine.org • Share
Scientific American
Reason for Interest: Scientific American writes relevant articles on topics that impact us on the day to day. Whereas Quanta focuses on innovation and unique breakthroughs, Scientific American narrows in on the, ostensibly, less glamorous but cardinal topics like COVID-19.
Con: For the first time in over 100 years, Scientific American endorsed a political candidate, Joe Biden. While I am neither a Biden nor Trump fan, I would have preferred them to remain apolitical. To some extent, I understand from where they are coming. When a candidate flouts scientific discoveries and is a travesty to the scientific community, it can galvanize the person whose profession is being discounted to speak up. Yet, a part of me wishes they would have stuck their heads out of the debate, so that they could maintain their strictly objective reporting. After all, chances are the people reading this website believe in science and will allow that belief to guide their voting decision. The facts should speak for themselves. Anyway, I digress.
Debunking the False Claim That COVID Death Counts Are Inflated
Scientific American is the essential guide to the most awe-inspiring advances in science and technology, explaining how they change our understanding of the world and shape our lives.
www.scientificamerican.com • Share
Aeon
Reason For Interest: Unlike the aforementioned resources, Aeon is not where I get my news and updates on affairs. Instead, I engage with this website in order to enter a figurative discourse. Aeon publishes a myriad of essays that explore topics in which I am interested and topics that grab my attention.
Bonus: All the content is free!
Aeon is a magazine of ideas and culture. We publish in-depth essays, incisive articles, and a mix of original and curated videos — free to all.
Psyche
Fun Fact: Psyche is the sister website of Aeon
Reason for Interest: Psyche explores the most enthralling and enigmatic topic of all: the mind. When I am going stir-crazy or am questioning the nature of humans (all the time), I refer to Psyche.
Bonus: All the content is free!
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Psyche is a new digital magazine from Aeon that illuminates the human condition through three prisms: mental health; the perennial question of ‘how to live’; and the artistic and transcendent facets of life.
Politico
Reason for Interest: Politico allows readers to stay up to date with the latest and greatest political news across the globe. Hence, the name Politico. I enjoy having a site where I can gleam all the important updates and developments in the political sphere.
Politics, Policy, Political News - POLITICO
Nobody knows politics like POLITICO.
Wired
Reason for Interest: Wired composes innovative pieces and piques my curiosity on cyber-related issues. Reading articles can be monotonous at times, but with this company it never is. In the current climate, where our lives revolve around gadgets and technology, the editorials are more relevant than ever before.
Security News: Cybersecurity, Hacks, Privacy, National Security | WIRED
Get in-depth security coverage at WIRED including cyber, IT and national security news.
Unlike the other websites and sources explored before, Pocket is not a company composing writing. Instead, they compile it. Specifically, pocket is an app where readers can save articles for later consumption, archive them, add tags for prime organization, and overall have an inventory to which they can refer back. Additionally, and the reason why this is on the list, Pocket has a discover and explore section where readers can see picks from their editors that span multiple websites, topics, writing styles, and political standing i.e. if it is a more left leaning or right leaning source. I dedicate a day to searching up interesting articles and checking my inbox for them. Then, I save them to pocket so that I always have something to read in my pockets of free time.
Conclusion
In the world of political pundits, Coronavirus, and general volatility, it is paramount to be informed but can be overwhelming at times. Civilians are often disenchanted with adopting a nonfiction reading habit because there are a plethora of conflicting viewpoints on the same topic. In order to alleviate this conundrum, readers have to look for websites that either admit their biases or do not let them stymie objective facts. This blog post has been dedicated to a few websites I feel are successful in this endeavor, but it is up to the individual to explore and experiment. I would never wish to tell you what you should believe or from where you should get your information; I am simply proffering a starting point. If you have recommendations that you wish to share, please leave them below.
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