February 2024 Magazine

Our feature story this month, by Barbara Lloyd McMichael, is about John de Graaf's latest film that depicts Katharine Lee Bates, who wrote the lyrics for America the Beautiful. Yes, indeed, women are a force for good, and if you believe that, then please pass along this platform. #WomenBelieve. On an entirely different note, Art Gets a Free Ridedemonstrates how the rich use art to get richer. While we’re on the subject of wealth, please see Annie Searle’s Sanitizing Bad News that examines the elements of risk inherent in the structure of large corporations.

 


Sanitizing Bad News

I was thrilled to be the first expert interviewed by Sean Costigan in Red Sift’s new podcast series, “Resilience Rising,” available on Spotify. We covered a lot of ground, looking at firms like Wells Fargo, Boeing, Theranos, and JPMorgan Chase.  I had written about much of what we discussed in 2017 in an article for Risk Universe magazine called “Executives and Risk: What Your Teams Won’t Tell You.”


Art Gets a Free Ride

Whenever I’m writing a book, the research I do to enrich my story’s authenticity takes me to new heights. My latest novel about an artist depicts Arcis, an artport for art storage. Arcis is a tax haven that shields mega high-net-worth art collectors from having to pay taxes (sales tax to the city of New York and duty to U.S. Customs.)


Women Believe

My granddaughter Quinn was born on November 4, 2023. Quinn’s birth made me twice the Nonna that I used to be. (My grandson Wyatt was born November 25, 2021.) Becoming a Nonna (Grandma in Italian), made me embrace the fragile complexity of life that is especially evident in these tender children. As a Nonna, a writer, and a giver of life, I can help to make a better world, that ultimately benefits all children. So, I came up with a list of simple beliefs that #Women Believe.


GLOBAL GOVERNANCE NOW!

There is very little time to make major improvements in world politics and to mobilize the resources and personnel needed for the unprecedented, life-threatening climate challenges that are already happening and will soon become much worse. Here is a plan for major changes/improvements to existing U.N. institutions and for the creation of two new U.N. agencies, a Global Infrastructure Fund (GIF) and a Global Emergency Management Agency (GEM), along with expanded roles for the World Bank and for INTERPOL. It could be called a large carrot, small stick strategy.  In the words of The New York Times’ columnist, Thomas Friedman, “later will be too late.”

 


Unsung Hero: The Woman Behind “America the Beautiful”

The third song to be sung in the Super Bowl pre-game program is “America the Beautiful,” a perennial favorite in the nation’s canon of patriotic music. The Woman Behind America the Beautiful is an unsung hero. The song was written first as a poem by Katharine Lee Bates, a young Wellesley College professor.


Robin Lindley Interviews Director Lynn Novick and Senior Producer Sarah Botstein on the Hemingway Documentary

Director Lynn Novick and Senior Producer Sarah Botstein discuss the research and production process for the new Ernest Hemingway documentary, which they worked with Ken Burns to complete. 


Book Review: The Hummingbird's Gift

Most of this slim book focuses on the rescue efforts made to save two baby hummingbirds, who have been orphaned. The ensuing drama reveals both the fragility and great strength of these magical creatures.