The story of the internet, as told by Know Your Meme
Tales from the front line of meme documentation. As the Editor of Know Your Meme puts it, the internet is “kind of the anti-Bible. You learn everything terrible about human beings.”
A New Theory for why Voters are so Angry – That Actually Makes Sense
An interview with a professor who researched a recent book through numerous interviews with people living in rural communities in Wisconsin. These conversations convinced her that while fact-driven policy did come into their electoral choices, it had far less impact than fundamental questions of identity, tied up in numerous issues, but boiling down to – “Who am I for, and who am I against?”.
Welcome to the Dark Net
A poacher turned gamekeeper hacker acts as a guide to the clandestine world of the dark net, a home for all sorts of illegal trade.
The Mastermind
An apparently routine murder investigation in the Philippines fans out into an investigation of a global criminal overlord, The Mastermind.
Kidnapped Royalty Become Pawns in Iran’s Deadly Plot
This piece kicks off with an evocative depiction of the scene typically found at the V.I.P. terminal of Baghdad International Airport. It was there where in April 2017 a group of Qataris were held on arrival when their luggage was found to contain $360 million in cash. Their presence was linked to a royal hunting trip turned kidnapping that would significantly affect the Middle East’s geopolitics.
Present at the Creation
A source present at the creation of ISIS provides insight into how it came into being and its ongoing operations.
Camp Code
A guide to the geography, politics and daily life of Bourj Al Shamali, a refugee camp in Lebanon that has been in existence since 1948.
Death in the Forest
Looking at mushroom foraging around the world, and the extraordinary lengths people go to secure valuable or rare varieties.
What is Code?
This article is 38,000 words long and is all about code. It’s a year old. It’s also a masterpiece.