Dry, the Beloved Country
A piece that examines the response to a severe drought in Cape Town. Whilst undoubtedly a crisis, it has also become “a kind of vast, unplanned, crazy—and fabulous—social experiment”.
China’s Selfie Obsession
A piece examining the phenomenal success of MeituÕs social apps, installed on over a billion devices, and changing self-image across their user base.
Sitting Up
A piece describing itself aptly as ‘A brief history of chairs’, looking at how different societies approach the act of sitting.
The End of Independent Film As We Know It
A deep dive into how independent film makers are striving to make it work in the era of Netflix and Amazon Prime, and the impact on the major studios.
The Faithful
The story of two men who set out to convert their Catholic megachurch in Medellin, Colombia to Orthodox Judaism.
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.