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.
The Faithful
The story of two men who set out to convert their Catholic megachurch in Medellin, Colombia to Orthodox Judaism.
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.
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.”
Present at the Creation
A source present at the creation of ISIS provides insight into how it came into being and its ongoing operations.