The Eternal Return of Buzzfeed
This piece looks at what a highly successful, disruptive organisation like Buzzfeed can learn from its antecedents as disruptors, who are now part of the establishment it is taking on.
The story of the internet, as told by Know Your Meme
Tales from the front line of meme documentation. As the Editor of Know Your Meme puts it, the internet is “kind of the anti-Bible. You learn everything terrible about human beings.”
Margaret Atwood, the Prophet of Dystopia
A profile of the novelist who has conjured up a series of dystopian worlds that on occasion now seem all too recognisable.
The Prisoner
The story of Edwin Debrow, a 37 year old man who has been incarcerated since he was convicted of murder at the age of 12.
We’re The Only Plane In The Sky
The story of the eight hours President George W Bush and his team spent in the air in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attacks, told through the testimony of those present on board.
The Doctor
Tom Catena is the only doctor for thousands of miles in South Sudan, living and working in the midst of a brutal civil war. This article examines life for ‘Doctor Tom’ and his team.
The Voyeur’s Motel
A man bought a motel 30 or so years ago, installed a home engineered viewing platform above the rooms and set about snooping on his customers with gusto for the next 30 years. He did so with a pseudo-scientific agenda that led him to document what he saw in minute detail. The resulting document is an extraordinary, ghoulish blend – a detailed study of this man’s madness, the intimate lives of the people he spied on, and the changing nature of America over the last quarter of the 20th century. Simply the most extraordinary story, it will stay with you for some time.
How an Ex-Cop Rigged McDonald’s Monopoly Game and Stole Millions
This story of how an inside man perpetrated a huge fraud on McDonald’s multi-million dollar Monopoly sweepstake is made for cinema. It in fact appears likely to make it to the big screen, as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are reported to have started work on a film version.
Anthony Bourdain’s Moveable Feast
A 2017 profile of the much loved broadcaster and writer Anthony Bourdain, who died this week.
Style Is an Algorithm
A piece examining the somewhat terrifying possibility of entirely algorithmically driven cultural tastes, from fashion to art, music, food, home decor and more. It asks what our response is to the central promise of recommendation algorithms “If you like this, you will get more of it, forever” and the new value exchanges that are their outcome.