Circle Or Sphere? Inside The UK’s First ‘Flat Earth’ Conference
A look at a conference for flat earth conspiracy theorists. A speaker at one of the events kicks off with “I don’t accept logic and reason”, which is a pretty good summary, all in all.
What do we owe her now?
The important, powerful story of Amber Wyatt, a woman who in 2006 reported that she had been raped at a high school party, and the many ways in which she was subsequently let down by her community.
This guy doesn’t know anything: the inside story of Trump’s shambolic transition team
Michael Lewis (Moneyball, Flash Boys, The Big Short) on Trump’s transition is exactly what you’d expect – a tragicomedy. In amongst the tales of alarming incompetence, the piece features such glorious anecdotes as Trump declaring his enjoyment of The Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian” to Egypt’s President, the first head of state to congratulate him on his election victory.
Here was a plague
A sobering, finely wrought and hugely powerful narrative of the Aids epidemic in the 1980s.
A Warning From Europe: The Worst Is Yet to Come
A story about political polarisation in Poland and the warning signs for liberal democracy everywhere. The author of the piece, Ann Applebaum, is in a unique position to write the story, with Polish and American nationality, a celebrated career writing about the former Soviet Union, and a husband who was formerly Poland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The Plot to Subvert an Election: Unraveling the Russia Story So Far
This piece goes back to the beginning and unpacks in meticulous detail and with great clarity, Russia’s interference with the 2016 US Election.
A giant crawling brain: the jaw-dropping world of termites
It turns out termites are absolutely fascinating creatures, and this article explains why.
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 Real Heroes Are Dead
Seventeen years after 9/11, this fine piece of writing has lost none of its heartrending impact. The terrible context of the piece ties a knot in the reader’s stomach as they make their way through a love story, then war stories, to the narrative’s inevitable conclusion.
A Spy Story: Sergei Skripal Was a Little Fish. He Had a Big Enemy.
This story goes back in time to Sergei Skripal’s life in the Russian intelligence service, long before he was poisoned in Salisbury. It skilfully intersperses his story with that of the wider geopolitical climate, from the fall of the USSR to today.