The story of Marty Goddard’s invention of the rape kit, work which was later incorrectly attributed to a police officer at his insistence. The piece examines the importance of the invention and the deeply troubled history of police and judicial responses to rape.
A profile of a magazine and its charismatic editor embarked on “a mission of protecting India’s tradition of democracy and religious pluralism”.
A study of reports published by government commissions after periods of protest and struggles for justice, which have perversely “acted as alibis for inaction”.
The story of an eccentric millionaire with a passion for caves that extends to purchasing and charting huge numbers of them, mainly in Minnesota. His methods have proven controversial.
An opinion piece suggesting that the neoliberal approach to government’s time is coming to an end, and that “a space has opened up for a different, more realistic view of human nature: that humankind has evolved to cooperate.” The author recognises that what will fill that space is far from certain.
Illustrator of numerous covers and stories for The New Yorker and other august publications, Cristoph Niemann’s inventive and playful style, often mixing illustration with real world objects and photography, is a delight.
Charles Minard was a civil engineer by profession but also, in partial retirement, a celebrated information designer. He was born in France in 1781. This story examines the man and his fascinating diagrams, charts, and maps, including those of Napoleon in Russia, described in his obituary as evoking “bitter reflections on the cost to humanity of the madness of conquerors”.