How can I catch up on the news for the last two weeks?

July 30, 2006 3:58 PM

Let's say you've been living in a hole for the last two weeks or so and have no knowledge of current events and limited reading time. Where would be a good place to gain information quickly?

A friend of mine is travelling and doesn't have access to the news. I'm trying to send him some clippings/print-outs that will keep him from being in the dark when he returns. I've already started pulling articles, but want to make sure I don't miss anything.
He's usually very well versed in current events, so he doesn't need any huge "year in review" type material. More like "month-in-review."
I welcome article links, etc. for current news, but also would be interested in finding sites that would help with the catch-up process at any time.

posted by cynthia_rose to Media & Arts (21 answers total)

news.google.com or Wikipedia Current Events
posted by blue_beetle at 4:08 PM on July 30, 2006

MetaFiter?
posted by paxton at 4:09 PM on July 30, 2006

Best answer: The Economist

there's an ad one has to watch to get a daypass

they have very good overview articles, being a weekly publication
posted by Kattullus at 4:23 PM on July 30, 2006

The Guardian Weekly might be a good choice: it excerpts articles from the previous week of the Guardian and several other newspapers. And if they are travelling somewhere without Internet access, you can subscribe to the printed version and send it to them.
posted by baggers at 4:44 PM on July 30, 2006

the internets?
posted by caddis at 4:45 PM on July 30, 2006

I second The Economist. It's a very dense (as in, lots of information) magazine that will give you an insightful overview of a week's events. I don't use the online version, but I think it has much of the same content.
posted by Emanuel at 4:46 PM on July 30, 2006

Popurls and reddit can help with more current stuff.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 5:18 PM on July 30, 2006

I third the Ecobnomist, but also suggest the ol' standbys -- Newsweek and Time.
posted by ericb at 5:20 PM on July 30, 2006

Ecobnomist -- say that three times fast!
posted by ericb at 5:21 PM on July 30, 2006

Best answer: The Week.
posted by kindall at 5:26 PM on July 30, 2006 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I find Harper's Weekly Review (link goes to the latest news brief) to be quite informative for a column that's only a few paragraphs long. Even better, once you start reading it, just hearing the way the sentences flow one after another lends it a rather sarcastic and witty tone.

It comes out every Tuesday, and you can subscribe to it via email for free. It takes less than 5 minutes to read.
posted by invisible ink at 5:27 PM on July 30, 2006

The New York Times week in review (Sunday)
posted by special-k at 5:37 PM on July 30, 2006

Activate
posted by scody at 5:46 PM on July 30, 2006

Seconding The Week. Fantastic.
posted by blag at 6:01 PM on July 30, 2006

Thirding the week.
posted by andendau at 6:16 PM on July 30, 2006

I think the NY Times Week in Review is a little too big-picture oriented for this. It's more about pointing out trends and ideas, and less about summarizing what actually happened. I love reading it, but I'm not sure it's what cynthia_rose needs.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:30 PM on July 30, 2006

I get the The Week print version and I absolutely love it. Honestly. Therefore, even though I don't subscribe to the email version, I'd have to recommend it anyway. Just an excellent, excellent magazine.
posted by catcatwomanman at 6:33 PM on July 30, 2006

Today's Papers from Slate?
posted by sohcahtoa at 6:45 PM on July 30, 2006

I say he should just pick up again with whatever is his normal routine of getting the news. News stories always give some backstory for those who haven't seen/heard/read the previous reports on the topic. And anything that came up in those two weeks that is never mentioned again isn't important anyway.
posted by winston at 8:33 PM on July 30, 2006

Drudge Report?
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:58 PM on July 30, 2006

I find the best news in the world comes out of the BBC. That is, if the events in the Middle East aren't the only thing you mean when you say "current events." There's a whole big world out there with it's problems pretty evenly dispersed. The Beeb gives them all equal time.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 7:15 AM on July 31, 2006