Queen of Crime
A look at the life and work of Agatha Christie, a woman who can lay good claim to being the most widely read novelist in history.
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.”
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.
The Most Eligible Bachelor on the Planet
Bill Clinton and James Patterson’s thriller The President is Missing gets the London Review of Books write up it deserves.
Gerhard Steidl Is Making Books an Art Form
A piece profiling Gerhard Steidl, a man with a single-minded dedication to perfecting the art of making books.
How to spot a perfect fake: the world’s top art forgery detective
As the prices commanded by landmark works and artists rise ever higher, so too does the sophistication of forgeries being produced to dupe collectors and institutions. A tip: it’s apparently far easier to copy a Modigliani than a Leonardo – at a recent exhibition of his work, 20 out of the 21 works on display were found to be counterfeits. This piece profiles the man said to be the very best in the field of science-led authentication.
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.
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.
Art by algorithm
An article looking at the impact of computational advances on art and aesthetics, and the potential for a future of bland, algorithmically-driven perfection. The piece also considers a more appealing path for art, exemplified by changes in chess since Gary Kasparov was defeated by the Deep Blue supercomputer, where human and computer now unite to elevate and evolve the game into something altogether different.
Thomas Heatherwick, Architecture’s Showman
This profile of Thomas Heatherwick looks at his career, and recent work on the Vessel, a huge installation in one of New York’s largest and costliest new developments. The piece is waspish enough to keep things interesting, whilst also providing an insight into the rarefied world of star designers and architects.