An arresting and disturbing story about the past, present, and future of Narendra Modi’s politics. The story’s climax is the proposal that, with his reelection 2019, Modi “uncovered a terrible secret at the heart of Indian society: by deploying vicious sectarian rhetoric, the country’s leader could persuade Hindus to give him nearly unchecked power.”
A story about deep-sea mining efforts that are starting to coalesce into action at scale from multinational mineral mining organisations. As one oceanographer puts it – “We’re about to make one of the biggest transformations that humans have ever made to the surface of the planet. We’re going to strip-mine a massive habitat, and once it’s gone, it isn’t coming back.”
David Runciman reviews a volume of Margaret Thatcher’s biography and compares her political moment with the present, and Boris Johnson’s government.
An account of how a positive vision for technology’s impact on society curdled over the course of a decade, narrated by people at the centre of the industry – from the Arab Spring, to the slow-down of Moore’s Law, to the launch of Instagram.
The tragic story of a freelancer killed whilst reporting in South Sudan sheds light on the vulnerability of those reporting in conflict zones without the backing of a major media organisation.
A look at how the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is using increasingly invasive data surveillance techniques in its lurch away from the Obama administration’s “Felons, not families” approach.
A study of IKEA’s efforts in smart home technology illuminates their approach to product development.
A look at online ‘murder marketplaces’, sometimes scams designed to embezzle funds, sometimes the real thing.
A behind the scenes look at how the Democratic Party, spearheaded by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, grappled with the impeachment process.
A piece that asks – “What would social media look like if it served the public interest?”