What I’m Reading
November 7, 2023
The topics for today’s What I’m Reading are conflicts and the environment.
The selective reading about the situation in Ukraine produced two stories I believe you should see. They cover the reality in Ukraine from a unique perspective and keep an eye on consequences not many think about.
I promised more material about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh three weeks ago, and today’s selection holds pictures from the past and a dispatch from the recent escalation.
The climate story invites you to a diving expedition off the coast of Florida.
Drones in Ukraine & Emotions Elsewhere
I wasn’t expecting a story about consumer electronics when I scanned for the candidates that should help me stay updated on what is happening in Ukraine.
But Andrew E. Kramer and Lynsey Addario delivered a fascinating account of such a small detail of this conflict. Budget Drones Prove Their Value in a Billion-Dollar War, published by The New York Times, shows the airborne technology used in this war and the cat-and-mouse game between Ukrainian and Russian forces in their attempts to stay ahead.
The angle is fascinating, the photography breathtaking, and the writing gripping. If it’s only one story about Ukraine you pick, I urge you to make it this one to find out how it’s possible that, as one local is quoted, “drones that cost hundreds of dollars are destroying machines costing millions of dollars.”
The Guardian recently published a podcast that inspects a different side of this tragic conflict. ‘Ruzzki not welcome’: the Russian exiles getting a hostile reception in Georgia is a half-hour listen about Russians who fled their home after the war began and how they’re being received in Georgia.
The long-form feature, written by Joshua Kucera, was also published in text form. You can read it here.
You’ll hear about a part of the conflict often ignored: Russians who don’t support the war and decided to flee their home to avoid having to fight in a war they don’t support.
It’s an important story about morals and ethics, how we classify who is a victim and who is an offender. It shows that victims of war can be found in many places and that few things are black-and-white.
If you give this a listen (or read), you’ll experience a beautifully written and reported slice of journalism that dives deep into this conflict and examines one of the many subplots to the main talking points. In doing so, Kucera also shares much about life in Georgia and the complicated relations between Russia and its neighbors.
A Conflict Over the Years, In Images And Words
On The Front Lines Around Nagorno-Karabakh, published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is a visual look at the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict from October 2020. The gallery of images shares the work of AFP photographers who reported from Azerbaijan (Bulent Kilic) and Armenia (Aris Messinis).
Paired with the primers I shared before, those 18 photographs should provide a foundation of facts and emotions about past phases of the conflict.
Recently, The New York Times published a story about the latest escalation. A Stunningly Sudden End to a Long, Bloody Conflict in the Caucasus, written by Andrew Higgins and Ivan Nechepurenko and photographed by Nanna Heitmann, reports about the end of the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijani takeover, and the trek of refugees from the enclave to Armenia.
The Republic of Artsakh, the name for the tiny state that caused headaches in international diplomatic circles for decades, is gone. The idea of independence, the differences between two peoples, and human suffering continue.
You might also find the photography project A Troubled Home by Anush Babajanyan worth a look. It is an intimate look at life in Nagorno-Karabakh between 2016 and 2020. It was exhibited at the 2020 Visa Pour L’Image festival and published as a book (now a testament to the importance of photojournalism and its role in documenting life).
Saving The Ocean
The health of Earth’s oceans is a serious issue with consequences for human life. We all know coral reefs are in danger of warming oceans, pollution, and other events.
Jenny Jarvie (writing) and Carolyn Cole (photography), for the Los Angeles Times, report on the fascinating scientific effort to save corals off Florida’s coast. Go underwater with the scientists rushing to rescue coral from the Lower 48’s only barrier reef is a sad story. But it is also a story of hope as scientists are optimistic about the future of corals.
The stunning photography shows you the wonders of the ocean and the dedication of the scientists who check on Florida’s corals, rescue and nurture them, and use science to help nature survive. The following line from the story summarizes perfectly why this is a sad and a happy story.
In the words of one of the scientists, who was detailing why they were optimistic about their efforts: “We’re going to control what we can control, which is being really creative with science to develop the solutions to what is a reality: the warming of our oceans.”
You’ll find all the details in the story, including what bleaching means and what that creative science looks like. I hope you find it a read as worthwhile as I have.
Those are my recommendations for this week. I’ll post a new chapter of A Journalist’s Diary before the week closes. Until then, enjoy your readings.
