My déja vu is so extreme I can’t tell what’s real any more
The author’s brain tumour has left him experiencing acute and persistent déja vu – here he his uses his personal experience to explore both the phenomenon and memory more broadly.
Eat, pray, live: the Lagos megachurches building their very own cities
They started as accommodation to support huge events, but have expanded to become highly desirable living quarters for the Lagos faithful.
Style Is an Algorithm
A piece examining the somewhat terrifying possibility of entirely algorithmically driven cultural tastes, from fashion to art, music, food, home decor and more. It asks what our response is to the central promise of recommendation algorithms “If you like this, you will get more of it, forever” and the new value exchanges that are their outcome.
Not the end of The World: the return of DubaiÕs ultimate folly
Dubai’s iconic / infamous reclaimed offshore property development went bust during the financial crisis and was left empty for years (apart from a solitary beach club in Lebanon). A few developers stayed the course and are now imagining ever more ambitious architectural smorgasbords to entice the global elite.
Double Cross – The Ukrainian Hacker Who Became The FBI’s Best Weapon – And Worst Nightmare
A blackhat hacker operated on both sides of the fence, working with both the FBI and the criminals they were trying to stop.
Flat Earthers and the Psychology Behind Conspiracy Theories
The piece asks why conspiracy theories gain so much traction, and finds that good stories, and the clarity they offer, are at least part of the answer. The author asserts that conspiracy theories share the same attraction to us as science fiction narratives that find “pattern and meaning in this senseless racket of life”.
This 3,500-Year-Old Greek Tomb Upended What We Thought We Knew About the Roots of Western Civilization
A stunning archaeological find is not only providing a window into a 3,500 year old society, but also challenging founding principles underpinning our views of how Western civilisation developed.
The Oldest Restaurant in Kabul: Where Tradition Trumps Rockets
A look at the recent history of Kabul through the story of an enduringly popular restaurant.
Analysis of “The Uninhabitable Earth”
Climate Feedback is a platform created by scientists to highlight inaccuracy in media coverage of climate change (often that put forward by climate change skeptics) – they invited 17 scientists to comment on the article in their analysis piece. New York Magazine has felt sufficiently stung by the response to republish their piece complete with annotations and sources (this is the version we share here).
Eyes Aloft
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.