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 look at an unflinchingly brutal fungal parasite that invades the abdomens of cicadas, turning them into “flying saltshakers of death” when they then fly around releasing spores from the fungus on to their brethren on the ground. The cicadas’ obliviousness to the catastrophic loss of their bottoms is perhaps explained by the fact that the fungus has been found to contain psychedelics and amphetamines.
The dizzying, multi-layered story of a huge pearl that has been at the centre of elaborate hoaxes, claims and counter-claims, and havoc in the lives of those connected to it for over 80 years. http://bit.ly/atlantic-pearl
A story looking at the sheer complexity and scale involved in designing the floating cities that make up modern cruise ships. http://bit.ly/wired-cruise
A look at social media’s “black market” for influence in the form of followers and some of its intended and unintended consequences.
A look at the new credit scoring tools available in China, made possible by deep integration of services around a small handful of companies, and reaching into almost every part of daily life. As one user succinctly puts it – “If your friends are all high-score people, it’s good for you. If you have some bad-credit people as friends, it’s not nice.”