College student in 2014: Which periodical should I subscribe to?
September 30, 2014 1:07 AM Subscribe
I'm a college sophomore and I want to be well-informed about the world. Which periodical should I subscribe to? Requirements: not US-centric, broad and well-written coverage. I'd love something like Lapham's Quarterly, but I'm also considering something that might condense important, current world news because it's hard to keep up with the newspapers.
I've read this six-year-old question where the answers were overwhelmingly to choose The Economist. I read The Economist through the last two years of high school and enjoyed it very much, but the warnings against bias (which I'd never picked up on then) that I found throughout the Internet give me pause. I'm not opposed to reading things that are biased, but it worries me that I didn't realise it and therefore only had my own opinions confirmed where I did already have opinions.
I've read this six-year-old question where the answers were overwhelmingly to choose The Economist. I read The Economist through the last two years of high school and enjoyed it very much, but the warnings against bias (which I'd never picked up on then) that I found throughout the Internet give me pause. I'm not opposed to reading things that are biased, but it worries me that I didn't realise it and therefore only had my own opinions confirmed where I did already have opinions.
Le Monde Diplomatique is probably the closet publication to the Economist in terms of content if that is the kind of news you would like to keep up with.
posted by Another Fine Product From The Nonsense Factory at 1:42 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by Another Fine Product From The Nonsense Factory at 1:42 AM on September 30, 2014
Though, I should add it is also "biased" (French social democrat left) in a similar way to the economists free market approach - so for extra points read both and make up your own mind.
posted by Another Fine Product From The Nonsense Factory at 1:46 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by Another Fine Product From The Nonsense Factory at 1:46 AM on September 30, 2014
You're not going to find anything that is free of bias. The Economist is less biased than most. I recommend sticking with it.
posted by Jacqueline at 3:26 AM on September 30, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by Jacqueline at 3:26 AM on September 30, 2014 [5 favorites]
omething that might condense important, current world news because it's hard to keep up with the newspapers.
Guardian Weekly is far and away the best short, readable round up of world news and features I have found in literally years of looking. You get excellent content from The Guardian, obviously, but also syndicated content from Le Monde, Washington Post, and many many more global papers of repute. They also have an "international development" section once a month - which is covering an invaluable, fascinating, and profoundly under-reported area.
It is different to the economist; it's publishes newspaper pieces - news, and predominantly just the facts - not so much features and only one or two longer articles per issue. It also has a much more balanced books section if you like that kind of thing.
It's surpremely digestible, and has virtually no ads, and is run by a non-profit foundation. It's also supremely non-US-centric - far more so than The Economist, which actually publishes slightly different regional versions. If you're only going to subscribe to one mag, Guardian Weekly is the best I've found, personally.
If you're after longer features, there are a lot more options - but no one stop shop. Depending on depth, Le Monde Diplomatique, even Nat Geo (the features are consistently under-rated imho, but it is generally a more scientific/anthropological focus, rather than geo-political) could be the ticket.
I highly recommend getting to a decent library and having a read and seeing what tickles your fancy. Do let us know how you go.
posted by smoke at 3:36 AM on September 30, 2014 [5 favorites]
Guardian Weekly is far and away the best short, readable round up of world news and features I have found in literally years of looking. You get excellent content from The Guardian, obviously, but also syndicated content from Le Monde, Washington Post, and many many more global papers of repute. They also have an "international development" section once a month - which is covering an invaluable, fascinating, and profoundly under-reported area.
It is different to the economist; it's publishes newspaper pieces - news, and predominantly just the facts - not so much features and only one or two longer articles per issue. It also has a much more balanced books section if you like that kind of thing.
It's surpremely digestible, and has virtually no ads, and is run by a non-profit foundation. It's also supremely non-US-centric - far more so than The Economist, which actually publishes slightly different regional versions. If you're only going to subscribe to one mag, Guardian Weekly is the best I've found, personally.
If you're after longer features, there are a lot more options - but no one stop shop. Depending on depth, Le Monde Diplomatique, even Nat Geo (the features are consistently under-rated imho, but it is generally a more scientific/anthropological focus, rather than geo-political) could be the ticket.
I highly recommend getting to a decent library and having a read and seeing what tickles your fancy. Do let us know how you go.
posted by smoke at 3:36 AM on September 30, 2014 [5 favorites]
I nth the Economist. Another option that might make you more able to consume multiple sources is podcasts. I listen to the BBC Global News Podcast every day while walking to school -- it fulfills all your requirements, reports with a different bias than The Economist (or probably any other periodical you might choose), and it's updated multiple times per day.
posted by telegraph at 3:59 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by telegraph at 3:59 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
The Economist is exceptionally biased - as is all media, obviously - but really, it's biased and gross as fuck and has been for over 100 years.
On the left-leaning side, Jacobin is good for American stuff and the LRB for Britain and to some extent Europe.
posted by Ted Maul at 4:15 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
On the left-leaning side, Jacobin is good for American stuff and the LRB for Britain and to some extent Europe.
posted by Ted Maul at 4:15 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Nthing the Economist.
Also agree with telegraph about podcasts. NPR and the BBC both have fantastic podcasts (I am not a fan of the Economist's podcasts personally). Check out some of their series, like Planet Money (NPR), and From Our Own Correspondent (BBC).
posted by troytroy at 4:16 AM on September 30, 2014
Also agree with telegraph about podcasts. NPR and the BBC both have fantastic podcasts (I am not a fan of the Economist's podcasts personally). Check out some of their series, like Planet Money (NPR), and From Our Own Correspondent (BBC).
posted by troytroy at 4:16 AM on September 30, 2014
I'm not opposed to reading things that are biased, but it worries me that I didn't realise it and therefore only had my own opinions confirmed where I did already have opinions.
All things have bias. If you want a companion news source for The Economist, I usually suggest the CS Monitor. It is an excellent publication with several Pulitzers. There is a Daily News Briefing delivered by email; the first month is free and worth trying, and after that it's a very reasonable $5.75 per month. I prefer it to the Guardian.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:57 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
All things have bias. If you want a companion news source for The Economist, I usually suggest the CS Monitor. It is an excellent publication with several Pulitzers. There is a Daily News Briefing delivered by email; the first month is free and worth trying, and after that it's a very reasonable $5.75 per month. I prefer it to the Guardian.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:57 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
I quite like the i newspaper, from the publishers of The Independent, which is a left-ish newspaper in the UK. I like it precisely because it's condensed. It's not as in depth as a magazine obviously, but I find it makes consuming daily news very digestible.
posted by like_neon at 5:06 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by like_neon at 5:06 AM on September 30, 2014
I too enjoy reading the Economist. As you get older, you'll see the bias more. When I was in high school I read Mother Jones and took it all as gospel. I grew up in Arizona, so it was a nice contrast.
All media is biased, so while you enjoy the Economist, read other journals too. Not all of them regularly, but pick up a New Republic, or Mother Jones, or Wall Street Journal every so often. Hell, buy that paper the Nation of Islam sells at stoplights.
The more you read, the more you understand and the better your brain works.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:17 AM on September 30, 2014
All media is biased, so while you enjoy the Economist, read other journals too. Not all of them regularly, but pick up a New Republic, or Mother Jones, or Wall Street Journal every so often. Hell, buy that paper the Nation of Islam sells at stoplights.
The more you read, the more you understand and the better your brain works.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:17 AM on September 30, 2014
I was coming to say Guardian Weekly. It's really a weekly mini-newspaper aimed at British people living overseas (or at least the left-wing Guardian-reading types).
My mom subscribed to the Guardian Weekly when I was growing up (in fact, it featured in one of my college admissions essays, so obviously I'm a bit biased). I stopped reading it late in high school because I was reading a good 90% of the Guardian website every morning and most of the content comes form the Guardian (the rest, like smoke said, is Le Monde Diplomatique and Washington Post--I want to say there's one week a month that's Le Monde-heavy, but I could be wrong). I'm half contemplating subscribing now because I no longer read so much of the Guardian website (however many redesigns later, it no longer lends itself so well to being read straight through every morning).
I prefer Harper's to the New Yorker (and it's a lot cheaper and only comes once a month), but they're pretty similar, so that's probably a matter of personal preference.
The New York Review of Books (which is not the NY Times book review section) might be vaguely in the Lapham's Quarterly vein (except for the bit about being comprised of book reviews and thus a totally different format). I'd see if you can track down a copy before subscribing though. It's a lot of reading and it tends to a specific style.
posted by hoyland at 5:22 AM on September 30, 2014
My mom subscribed to the Guardian Weekly when I was growing up (in fact, it featured in one of my college admissions essays, so obviously I'm a bit biased). I stopped reading it late in high school because I was reading a good 90% of the Guardian website every morning and most of the content comes form the Guardian (the rest, like smoke said, is Le Monde Diplomatique and Washington Post--I want to say there's one week a month that's Le Monde-heavy, but I could be wrong). I'm half contemplating subscribing now because I no longer read so much of the Guardian website (however many redesigns later, it no longer lends itself so well to being read straight through every morning).
I prefer Harper's to the New Yorker (and it's a lot cheaper and only comes once a month), but they're pretty similar, so that's probably a matter of personal preference.
The New York Review of Books (which is not the NY Times book review section) might be vaguely in the Lapham's Quarterly vein (except for the bit about being comprised of book reviews and thus a totally different format). I'd see if you can track down a copy before subscribing though. It's a lot of reading and it tends to a specific style.
posted by hoyland at 5:22 AM on September 30, 2014
I don't know how seriously you're considering Lapham's, but it's really not what you're looking for. I really enjoy it, and it's an excellent publication, but it doesn't really do "coverage" of anything. It basically picks a topic and then provides a hundred thoughts on that topic from the entire history of the written word. I'd guess something like 75% of the articles contained in any issue are out of copyright protection. It's a totally worthwhile publication and great for a self-education in humanities, but doesn't sound like it fits the need you're trying to meet.
posted by LionIndex at 5:49 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by LionIndex at 5:49 AM on September 30, 2014
You might take a look at Le Monde Diplomatique (English language edition), which smoke already mentioned above.
posted by nangar at 6:06 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by nangar at 6:06 AM on September 30, 2014
For what you are asking for, there is nothing else like the Economist. I don't necessarily mean that it's the best magazine out there, because magazines can be good in many ways. I love the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books. The London Review of Books is great also, kind of a little Marxist where NYRB is more liberal. Foreign Affairs is very good in a different way.
But the Economist is unique in serving as a weekly briefing book for the whole world. So far as I know, nothing matches its breadth of coverage and depth of knowledge. (The best dailies may come close in reporting the top stories from around the world, but they don't do as good a job situating them in an ongoing context. People say good things about FT but I can't speak to that.)
The Economist's bias grows out of this special function they perform -- they situate the news in a larger story, and the choice of story is not a neutral one. Their slant is something like: pro-business liberal internationalist. The Economist was founded to protest the Corn Laws (grain import tariffs) in the 1840s, a competition that pitted urban labor and bourgeoisie against rural wealth -- they still represent a broadly 19th-century-British-liberal view.
But while they are ideological, they are not dogmatic. They endorsed Bush in 2000, and changed their mind in 2004. Their international scope, and international editorial and subscription base, puts them somewhat outside the usual battle lines of US politics. The Economist can say things that are outside the ideological envelope for most US publications. I'm a little surprised that so many people jump to point out that it's biased (I don't mean in this thread, where the topic was raised explicitly, but in the world generally). It is, but that's never the first thing off someone's lips when you mention the New York Times -- what gives?
If there is a left publication of comparable scope and quality, I would love to hear about it, but so far as I know there is not.
posted by grobstein at 6:22 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
But the Economist is unique in serving as a weekly briefing book for the whole world. So far as I know, nothing matches its breadth of coverage and depth of knowledge. (The best dailies may come close in reporting the top stories from around the world, but they don't do as good a job situating them in an ongoing context. People say good things about FT but I can't speak to that.)
The Economist's bias grows out of this special function they perform -- they situate the news in a larger story, and the choice of story is not a neutral one. Their slant is something like: pro-business liberal internationalist. The Economist was founded to protest the Corn Laws (grain import tariffs) in the 1840s, a competition that pitted urban labor and bourgeoisie against rural wealth -- they still represent a broadly 19th-century-British-liberal view.
But while they are ideological, they are not dogmatic. They endorsed Bush in 2000, and changed their mind in 2004. Their international scope, and international editorial and subscription base, puts them somewhat outside the usual battle lines of US politics. The Economist can say things that are outside the ideological envelope for most US publications. I'm a little surprised that so many people jump to point out that it's biased (I don't mean in this thread, where the topic was raised explicitly, but in the world generally). It is, but that's never the first thing off someone's lips when you mention the New York Times -- what gives?
If there is a left publication of comparable scope and quality, I would love to hear about it, but so far as I know there is not.
posted by grobstein at 6:22 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Not a periodical as much as an all-around news source, but Al Jazeera America has been doing some truly excellent work over the last year or two.
posted by Itaxpica at 6:50 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Itaxpica at 6:50 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Has to be the Economist, for weekly. If you consider monthly:
I subscribe to Foreign Affairs and while the magazine mostly considers a slightly more historical perspective the website and blogs have up to date news and analysis to put things in perspective. Many of the articles have obvious biases (especially those written by former government Ministers, heads of state etc) but as a college student you're learning to pick up precisely this.
A few people are recommending New Yorker, and I'd agree, I also enjoy Monocle for their soft power focus and interviews with government officials and diplomats.
This overview of political orientation of magazines might be of interest.
posted by wingless_angel at 7:20 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
I subscribe to Foreign Affairs and while the magazine mostly considers a slightly more historical perspective the website and blogs have up to date news and analysis to put things in perspective. Many of the articles have obvious biases (especially those written by former government Ministers, heads of state etc) but as a college student you're learning to pick up precisely this.
A few people are recommending New Yorker, and I'd agree, I also enjoy Monocle for their soft power focus and interviews with government officials and diplomats.
This overview of political orientation of magazines might be of interest.
posted by wingless_angel at 7:20 AM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Well, the Economist is certainly biased but it's also generally well written. It's also biased in a way that I favor, so consider my answer here biased.
posted by dfriedman at 7:21 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by dfriedman at 7:21 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
I liked the Economist until I got a subscription. Looking at it every week led to some serious disenchantment. It got to the point where the employment ads were the only part I would look at. The fact that it cost a fortune made it easy to give it up.
posted by the christopher hundreds at 10:06 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by the christopher hundreds at 10:06 AM on September 30, 2014
It got to the point where the employment ads were the only part I would look at.
That's not to say I saw myself as a contender for any of the positions, just that they remained fascinating.
posted by the christopher hundreds at 10:07 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
That's not to say I saw myself as a contender for any of the positions, just that they remained fascinating.
posted by the christopher hundreds at 10:07 AM on September 30, 2014 [2 favorites]
I think how you read articles matters more than diligently maintaining a subscription list. Learn to spot patterns and think about the narratives being crafted. Is the journalist making valid historical comparisons? Do they really understand the history of the countries they're reporting in? Have these newspapers lied in the past? And ultimately news is business, especially in 2014, so always ask: who benefits from the claims being made?
Being well-informed does require a ton of reading, but it also comes naturally with age and reasonable skepticism.
posted by gorbweaver at 3:24 PM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Being well-informed does require a ton of reading, but it also comes naturally with age and reasonable skepticism.
posted by gorbweaver at 3:24 PM on September 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Get the print version of The New York Times delivered to your doorstep and read the International section every day. Student rates are cheap.
posted by Buddy_Boy at 8:31 PM on October 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Buddy_Boy at 8:31 PM on October 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
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