Society

An unsolved murder at Italy’s most notorious tower block

The story of a murder at an apartment block marketed as a luxury development when it opened in 1968, but now “like an inverse of Dante’s layers of hell”. The building is disintegrating, but houses a large and diverse population, including an estimated 50 drug dealers. This is a story about the changes in fortune in the Italian economy, urban development, immigration, integration, and failing public infrastructure.

The Lord and The Patriot

The story of how Chechnya’s ruler Ramzan Kadyrov uses sport to project and consolidate his power. Stunts include organising a mixed martial arts bout for children featuring his own sons, aged between eight and eleven.

How to Fix Facebook – Before It Fixes Us

This piece has been doing the rounds in technology circles because of the unique profile of its author – a Facebook investor and mentor to Mark Zuckerberg. Having observed Facebook’s impact on US Elections and the UK EU Referendum, he issues a clarion call for reform.

The Spy Who Came Home

A story about Patrick Skinner, currently a local cop in Savannah, Georgia, but formerly a CIA case officer directly engaged in post-9/11 operations. The piece jumps between his two careers and relates how he is applying lessons from the CIA to community policing.

Why We’re Post-Fact

A piece explaining how we came to find ourselves in an era where our political leaders are freed from fact, allowing us all to “indulge in a full, anarchic liberation from coherence”.