The producer behind BTS is bringing his formula for creating idols to America.

Producers have been inventing pop stars and constructing super groups since well before Elvis started shaking his hips. And so, in a way, Bang Si-hyuk, whose triumphs in Korea's music scene have made him a billionaire and earned him the nickname Hitman Bang, fits nicely into a long lineage of Svengalis. Bang has launched a new quest to dominate charts around the globe, but, as Alex Barasch reports in this week's issue, the producer is using a formula that relies on a radical kind of fan service from his artists, and his enthusiasm seems increasingly disconnected from the sound. "Music delivers a very strong experience and emotions in an instant of listening," Bang explains. "But we want to make it so that it can be part of a much longer and more sustained type of content consumption." Will the future of pop need music at all? Read the story "

Weather-wise, the world has entered uncharted territory -- and the best we can do at this point is try to limit future damage by, on the one hand, radically reducing fossil-fuel emissions and, on the other, building more resilient infrastructure. Elizabeth Kolbert reports.

P.S. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded today to David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper, for their work in the analysis and design of proteins. In 2020, Matthew Hutson wrote about the ways in which Baker's search for one of "technology's holy grails" could "help us cure diseases; build new kinds of materials and electronics; clean up the environment; create and transform life itself." 🧬