Poison Tongue

How They Tried to Kill Me

Elena Kostyuchenko | n+1 | 15th August 2023

Russian journalist, who reports regularly from Ukraine, describes what she thinks is a poisoning attack by Russian special services. It took her a long time to accept assassination as a possibility. "I did not want to believe that they could kill me. I was protected from this thought by revulsion, shame, and exhaustion. It disgusted me to think that there were people who wanted me dead" (4,150 words)

Hands And Tongues

R. Douglas Fields | Quanta | 28th August 2023

Neurological background to a peculiar behaviour: why humans stick our tongues out in moments of manual concentration, such as when playing an instrument or threading a needle. Research suggests a connection with the early development of language, when hand signals were first coupled with syllabic utterances. There is also evidence that the tongue movement improves manual precision (1,590 words)