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ARE ALL DICTATORS ‘BAD’?

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we question if Napoleon was an enlightened leader or a tyrant, learn how Death Valley got its name, eat more foods with omega-3s ... and discover a mysterious twist in a lake of bones.

a re-enactor of Napoleon Bonaparte

PHOTOGRAPH BY SERGIO RAMAZZOTTI

Is there such a thing as a good dictator? Napoleon Bonaparte (reenacted above) modernized the law and civil service from the ashes of feudalism and the French Revolution. The soldier-turned-emperor seized territory and glory, but ultimately lost both and sacrificed a generation on the battlefield.

He also reintroduced slavery. One historian says to celebrate Napoleon, the topic of an upcoming movie, “is to suggest that the people whose lives he destroyed actually don’t matter.”

WHAT IS HIS LEGACY?

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STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

the bones of up to 800 people scattered across the shores in the Himalayas

PHOTOGRAPH BY HIMADRI SINHA ROY

DNA study deepens mystery of lake full of skeletons (Above, the bones of up to 800 people scattered across the shores in the Himalayas)

How omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation

Home sweet... trash? The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is teeming with life

If you’ve felt like people are getting crueler, you may be right

Inside the growing U.S. movement to breed healthier, friendlier dogs

Botox to treat depression and anxiety?

How did this musical genius go from superstar to has-been to icon?

Prehistoric female hunter discovery upends gender role assumptions

What is the best time to sleep—and why do we need so much?

A strike threatened to cripple Hollywood in 1960. Here's how they resolved it.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

a gif of Bertie Gregory's adventures

VIDEO BY BERTIE GREGORY

Adventures better than ever: Immersed in schools of fish. Running with hyenas. Climbing peaks of mountains. Nat Geo Explorer Bertie Gregory doesn’t shy away from nature’s best—and captures it all for us to see. His new show streams in September. See the trailer here.

MORE ABOUT BERTIE

PHOTO OF THE DAY

An aerial view shows the new volcanic eruption at Litli Hrútur. Geological changes normally take thousands of years, but here at the volcano, where new land is forming, the earth changes rapidly as fissures open up, and molten lava spills across the landscape.

PHOTOGRAPH BY KARIM ILIYA/VERB PHOTO

River of fire: Rising up and spilling over, Iceland’s volcanoes are once again erupting. An aerial view shows the Litli Hrútur eruption, taken just two weeks ago, creating a fiery river stretching across the land.

WHERE THE VOLCANO BLOWS

LAST GLIMPSE

the Mesquite Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park

PHOTOGRAPH BY RAUL TOUZON, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Feeling hot, hot, cold? This place holds the record as the hottest place in the world—in 1913, it apparently reached 134°F. Death Valley, however, didn’t get its name from the blistering heat—but from a winter disaster. (Pictured above, the Mesquite Sand Dunes in Death Valley National Park.)

Today’s soundtrack: The Bones, Maren Morris and Hozier

Thanks for reading our newsletter! As always, it was edited and curated by Jen Tse, Hannah Farrow, Nancy San Martín, and David Beard. We'd love to hear from you: [email protected]. Enjoy the rest of your week!

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