Rebels Without A War
FARC have been engaged in guerilla warfare against the Colombian government for over 50 years. That might be about to change.
She made a career out of studying the brain. Then hers veered off course.
The story of neuroscientist Barbara Lipska, who has spent much of her career studying mental illness, before suffering her own illness when receiving experimental treatment for brain cancer. This left her uniquely placed to see the “thin line between life and death, between sanity and insanity.”
Inside the Binge Factory
A behind the scenes look at how Netflix went from “a digital warehouse for other conglomerates’ intellectual property”, to producing “more television than any network in history”. A de-centralised commissioning structure, data, and a relentless focus on growth are three of the key ingredients.
Looking For Tom Lehrer, ComedyÕs Mysterious Genius
This piece goes in search of a genius who went to Harvard aged 15, wrote comic songs that were a huge hit and with which he toured the world, then almost entirely vanished from the stage. Talking to People magazine in 1982, as ever he had the best words to describe some of what had changed “Things I once thought were funny are scary – now I often feel like a resident of Pompeii who has been asked for some humorous comments on lava.”
In Conversation: Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones is fantastically indiscreet in this interview, covering everything from his relationship with the Trumps, to Michael Jackson’s alleged theft of songs and The Beatles’ lack of musical talent.
What Putin Really Wants
A piece looking at Russia’s global influence that seeks to counter the common perception that Vladimir Putin is an all-seeing strategic genius, instead characterising him as a “gambler who won big” with his highly successful electoral meddling.
Returning to Second Life
A piece revisiting the alternative virtual world Second Life, which is still surviving and even generating significant revenues, despite receding from popular consciousness in the last decade.
Exiles on Pennsylvania Avenue: How Jared and Ivanka Were Repelled by Washington’s Elite
The story of Jared and Ivanka’s adventures in Washington.
Through the Outback
A piece interspersed with evocative images, describing the photographer-author’s 12,000-mile, three-month journey through Australia’s Outback.
The Lost Joys of the Screen Saver
This piece, an artistic appreciation of computer screen savers, doesn’t hesitate to use three long words where one short one would suffice, and cites sources from Borges to Escher. Alongside that it retains an infectious enthusiasm for these artefacts of an earlier age of the web.