In Conversation: Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones is fantastically indiscreet in this interview, covering everything from his relationship with the Trumps, to Michael Jackson’s alleged theft of songs and The Beatles’ lack of musical talent.
What Putin Really Wants
A piece looking at Russia’s global influence that seeks to counter the common perception that Vladimir Putin is an all-seeing strategic genius, instead characterising him as a “gambler who won big” with his highly successful electoral meddling.
Returning to Second Life
A piece revisiting the alternative virtual world Second Life, which is still surviving and even generating significant revenues, despite receding from popular consciousness in the last decade.
Exiles on Pennsylvania Avenue: How Jared and Ivanka Were Repelled by Washington’s Elite
The story of Jared and Ivanka’s adventures in Washington.
Through the Outback
A piece interspersed with evocative images, describing the photographer-author’s 12,000-mile, three-month journey through Australia’s Outback.
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.
How Ex-Spy Christopher Steele Compiled His Explosive Trump-Russia Dossier
The story of how the controversial dossier on President Trump was researched and compiled.
Xenu’s Paradox: The Fiction of L. Ron Hubbard and the Making of Scientology
L. Ron Hubbard’s journey from science fiction pulp novelist to Scientology founder is well trodden – but this article finds fresh insight into it nevertheless.
The Pilot Who Stole a Secret Soviet Fighter Jet
The story of the Soviet fighter pilot who defected in 1976 in a new supersonic fighter jet that no one outside the Soviet military had ever before set eyes upon.
Second Life was Just the Beginning
Second Life was perhaps the first virtual world to enter mainstream discourse. Its founder thinks new virtual reality technologies are its successor, and destined for mass adoption. http://www.bit.ly/wired-secondlife