Premium summer big reads: The rise of Jofra Archer and cleaning up Facebook

Jofra Archer quickly became a World Cup winner and Ashes hero. Photo / Getty Images

The New Zealand Herald is bringing back some of the best stories of 2019 from our premium international syndicators, including The New York Times, Financial Times, The Times of London and Harvard Business Review.

This morning we look at this year's newest cricket hero Jofra Archer, Carly Simon and Jackie O's improbably friendship, cleaning up Facebook, Generation X and Japan's monarchy.

From Barbados to bouncers: The rise of Jofra Archer

Jofra Archer only made his England debut in May but he's already a World Cup winner and Ashes hero.

The fast bowler talks to Robert Crampton of The Times about racism, moving from Barbados to Sussex – and the ball that felled the Australian captain and announced Archer's arrival on the global stage.

Archer celebrates after dismissing Australia's Marnus Labuschagne during day four of the fourth Ashes Test cricket match. Photo / AP

Infidelities and PTSD: Carly Simon reveals the private side of Jackie O

Carly Simon reveals the private side of Jackie O as she opens up about her improbably friendship with the former first lady.

Will Pavia from The Times sits down with Simon.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in 1992, left and Carly Simon in 2016. Simon has written a memoir about her friendship with Jackie O. Photo / AP

Tears for Christchurch: The man trying to clean up Facebook

On March 15 a gunman killed 51 people in two Christchurch mosques and live streamed it on Facebook. It took Facebook roughly an hour to remove the video from its site. By then, the bloody footage had spread across social media.

Facebook has heralded artificial intelligence as a solution to its toxic content problems. Mike Schroepfer, Facebook's chief technology officer, tells the New York Times it won't solve everything.

Mike Schroepfer, chief technology officer of Facebook. Photo / Peter Prato / The New York Times

Actually, Gen X did invent all things millennial

"They crave entertainment, but their attention span is as short as one zap of a TV dial. They hate yuppies, hippies and druggies. They postpone marriage because they dread divorce. They sneer at Range Rovers, Rolex's and red suspenders."

It's been a quarter century since the clichés about Generation X ossified. But what if everything we decided about Generation X turned out to be wrong?

Alex Williams of The New York Times looks at how Gen X set the precedent for today's social justice warriors and capitalist super-soldiers.

Survival of the throne: The story of Japan's monarchy

There has been an emperor in Japan for more than 15 centuries, making the Chrysanthemum Throne the world's oldest continuous monarchy.

This year, the emperor stood down, yielding to his eldest son in the first abdication in 200 years.

Motoko Rich of The New York Times tells the family's story.

Japan's Emperor Akihito speaks during the ceremony of his abdication in front of other members of the royal families and top government officials at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Photo / AP