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50 Winters Ruled Well : Congress and the “Beowulf” Problem
A House hearing on artificial intelligence showed lawmakers at their best -- so you probably never read or heard about it.
As a freelance journalist, I write often about what happens to our bodies as we age.
I’m based in the United States, so I spend a lot of time digging into Medicare, the giant federal program that covers people age 65 and older.
You think that sounds boring?
Medicare is only boring if you don’t care how much time doctors can spend with patients and how much scientific evidence insurers require before deciding whether to pay for treatments and products. (If you want an explanation of how Medicare policies drive decisions about health care for people of all ages, let me know in a comment. There are tales to be told about battles over medicine and money, with high stakes involved for both old retirees and young start-up companies.)
Reporting on aging led me a few years ago to reread Beowulf, an Old English poem that dates to perhaps the 8th century AD.
It’s such a epic story that it’s been translated over and over again through the centuries. William Morris, the influential 19th century British designer, collaborated on…
