The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies is an NGO that researches weapons of mass destruction. This is the story of how they traced, identified and analysed the recent North Korean missile launch that caused concern around the world.
If civilisation falls then many of Silicon Valley’s elite will be well prepared – this article meets some of those getting ready with ammunition, motorcycles, food supplies and other wheezes to survive the ensuing chaos.
Myanmar has gone from having 0.2% of the population online in 2011 to an estimated 20% today, with most of the growth taking place in the last two years. A story covering what happens when several million people with no prior exposure to the internet all sign up at the same time. Such is its allure that print magazines called ‘Facebook’ and ‘The Internet’ are produced for those that can’t afford to make the switch.
An insight into the world of aviation enthusiasts. Their activity is memorably described – “Their interests are so basic that they seem abstract: to appreciate planes; to record them; to appreciate them by recording them; and to record their own passion for recording.” Yet the piece shows how the information that they gather about the comings and goings of air traffic (including military and VIP flights) can fan out into public and political life.
An article delving into the state sponsored doping programme undertaken by the East German government in the 1970s.
A fascinating peek behind the scenes in the Obama White House, through a profile of one of his key speechwriters.
A piece examining a simulation of life on Mars, taking place on a volcano in Hawaii. http://bit.ly/atlantic-mars
A behind the scenes account of Travis Kalanick’s defenestration from his role as Uber’s CEO. The piece provides insights into the delicate power balance between executives and their company boards. Recent events do though help to put Kalanick’s ‘fall’ in context – an investment in Uber by Japanese firm Softbank has recently been agreed, netting him an estimated $1.4bn.
Hacktivists use open source technology and publicly available information to investigate political and military activity – this piece looks into the problems their activities throw up.