The New Yorker

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.

How Rudy Giuliani Turned Into Trump’s Clown

Jeffrey Toobin’s profile of Rudy Giuliani is full of political insight, but also contains a healthy dose of revealing anecdotes – such as those about life at Giuliani’s favourite cigar club, complete with Alec Baldwin’s description of “Republican Manhattan”.

How E-Commerce Is Transforming Rural China

While Amazon and many of their US based competitors are seeking growth by diversifying beyond retail (movies, music, television), for their counterparts in China there is a huge amount of growth still to be had simply by spreading outside major urban centres. This piece looks at the impact on local communities, by examining the experience of Xia Canjun, a regional manager for JD.com covering the rural community he grew up in, and the CEO’s strategy back at HQ in Beijing.

The Trafficker

One from the New Yorker archives (2010), this is the story of one of the world’s leading arms dealers. Monzer al-Kassar was a man who lived up to many stereotypes of his profession – speaking many languages, piloting his own private jet, and running a fleet of Mercedes to get about town.