Art UK
The charity Art UK has created a digital catalogue of 250,000 works of art in the UK and made it easy to search and navigate them. Splendid.
There Are Many Man-Made Objects. The Rape Kit Is Not One of Them.
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.
The Messengers
A profile of a magazine and its charismatic editor embarked on “a mission of protecting India’s tradition of democracy and religious pluralism”.
The History of the “Riot” Report
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 Cave Kingpin Buying Up America’s Underground
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.
The neoliberal era is ending. What comes next?
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.
Christoph Niemann
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.
Touching Minard
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”.
Outgrowing growth: why quality of life, not GDP, should be our measure of success
An opinion piece laying out the argument for moving from GDP to quality of life as a better metric against which to measure progress.
Hans Rosling’s 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes – The Joy of Stats
Hans Rosling was an academic who excelled in using data in visual and accessible ways to tell the story of humanity’s progress. This excerpt from his Joy of Stats programme tells a powerful story in just four minutes.