Down the rabbit hole: how QAnon conspiracies thrive on Facebook
A dive into the network of groups on Facebook linked to QAnon promoting a dizzying range of conspiracy theories.
There Are Many Man-Made Objects. The Rape Kit Is Not One of Them.
The story of Marty Goddard’s invention of the rape kit, work which was later incorrectly attributed to a police officer at his insistence. The piece examines the importance of the invention and the deeply troubled history of police and judicial responses to rape.
Sitting Up
A piece describing itself aptly as ‘A brief history of chairs’, looking at how different societies approach the act of sitting.
Where oil rigs go to die
A piece tracing the final journeys of oil rigs destined for ship breaking yards.
Going underground: inside the world of the mole-catchers
A look at the surprisingly bitter infighting that exists in the mole-catching community. The profession has been in existence in the UK since the 16th century.
David’s Ankles
A thoughtful piece on the transcendental beauty and structural fragility of one of the most celebrated works of art in the world, Michelangelo’s statue of David.
A Natural History of Walter Rothschild
Beautifully written piece examining the life of a man who possessed a great fortune and an even greater interest in exotic animals. A man who “simply wanted to possess the world in all its endless variety.”
Cricket historian, writer, surgeon, spy: the mad world of Major Rowland Bowen
An account of a life less ordinary.
Fishing in Guantanamo Bay
The recent history of Caimanera, the fishing town immediately adjacent to the US military base and prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Tales from the new Silk Road
Stories from different players involved in a vast Chinese infrastructure project aimed at expanding trade routes – a “bid to shape our century”.