The New Yorker

Thomas Heatherwick, Architecture’s Showman

This profile of Thomas Heatherwick looks at his career, and recent work on the Vessel, a huge installation in one of New York’s largest and costliest new developments. The piece is waspish enough to keep things interesting, whilst also providing an insight into the rarefied world of star designers and architects.

The Spy Who Came Home

A story about Patrick Skinner, currently a local cop in Savannah, Georgia, but formerly a CIA case officer directly engaged in post-9/11 operations. The piece jumps between his two careers and relates how he is applying lessons from the CIA to community policing.

Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet

Though it is currently the 7th most visited site in the world (and 4th in the US), it’s easy to underestimate the sheer scale of Reddit, the self-styled “front page of the internet”. That scale, and its anarchic traits, have made it the front line in figuring out what is acceptable online behaviour. This insightful and often darkly funny piece meets the people trying to draw the lines.

McMaster and Commander

A look behind the scenes at how H.R McMaster adapted from the military into his role of National Security Adviser, and the reality of dealing with a boss who takes in little of what you say. His solution was straightforward – “If Mattis was a babysitter, then McMaster was a waiter, presenting the Commander-in-Chief with a menu, and letting him order.” What this didn’t necessarily allow for was any questioning of what was going on the menu.

Anthony Scaramucci Called Me to Unload About White House Leakers, Reince Priebus, and Steve Bannon

If freshly minted White House Communications Director Anthony “Mooch” Scaramucci appears to you like a three episode antagonist from a 5.2/10-on-IMdb show you watch anyway because you wish the West Wing was still going, then this story is 100% true to type. Since the story was published on Thursday, it has gone viral and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus has been replaced with a retired four star general.