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A Mother Journeys Through Grief Across Finland’s Many Islands

A Mother Journeys Through Grief Across Finland’s Many Islands

Life, Long Reads

The beauty and calm of the Aland archipelago is deceptive. Aland is a Swedish-speaking autonomous region of Finland and consists of 16 municipalities. The island population is close to 30,000; around 12,000 live in Mariehamn. The smallest municipality, Sottunga, had 91 residents in 2018. Isolation encourages contemplation — but can it offer respite as well?

How Eliud Kipchoge Broke Running’s Mythic Barrier

How Eliud Kipchoge Broke Running’s Mythic Barrier

Long Reads

It was one of sport’s great question marks: Is it humanly possible to run 26.2 miles in under two hours? Then Eliud Kipchoge did it. What followed was international fame—and plenty of controversy. GQ flew to Kipchoge’s ultra-rarefied Kenyan training ground to meet the man who pulled off the impossible.

The One Route Ghost Airline Between Egypt & Israel

The One Route Ghost Airline Between Egypt & Israel

Videos, World

Air Sinai appeared on the Internet in February 2020 and for the scarce few who were in the know about Air Sinai, it was a real shock. What’s so special about this ghost airline and how come up until now it was impossible to book a flight without being transferred endlessly between travel agents?

The Jungle Prince Of Delhi

The Jungle Prince Of Delhi

Long Reads, Politics, World

For 40 years, journalists chronicled the eccentric royal family of Oudh, deposed aristocrats who lived in a ruined palace in the Indian capital. It was a tragic, astonishing story. But was it true?

Bashir Sultani

Inspiration
Bashir Sultani
Tourism Is Eating The World

Tourism Is Eating The World

Cities, Economics, World

The number of international tourist arrivals has been increasing more or less exponentially since the mid-20th century, and totaled about 1.4 billion in 2018. Europe has seen the biggest share, but the Asia-Pacific region is growing fast.

Grandma’s Dementia Made Her Forget Her Homophobia

Grandma’s Dementia Made Her Forget Her Homophobia

Health, Life

After watching how my family treated my lesbian mom, I assumed it would all repeat when I came out. But as my grandma’s memory faded, her disapproval of gay people vanished too. My grandma had lost a lot of her memory, and she’d apparently forgotten her disapproval of same-sex relationships too.

She Was The PTA Mom Everyone Knew. Who Would Want To Harm Her?

She Was The PTA Mom Everyone Knew. Who Would Want To Harm Her?

Long Reads

Kelli Peters, 49, with short blond hair and a slightly bohemian air. As the volunteer director of the Afterschool Classroom Enrichment program at Plaza Vista, she was a constant presence on campus, whirling down the halls in flip-flops and bright sundresses. Who would want to harm her?

World's First City Discovered By U.S. Spy Satellite

World's First City Discovered By U.S. Spy Satellite

History, Videos, World

Old U.S. spy satellite images of the Middle East have unearthed a stunning discovery: the world’s first city, Tell Brak – 4,000 years older than the Great Pyramids. Where Tell Brak lies is an area of the Middle East known as the Fertile Crescent.

The Future Of Energy Storage Beyond Lithium-Ion

The Future Of Energy Storage Beyond Lithium-Ion

Innovation, Tech, Videos

Over the past decade, prices for solar panels and wind farms have reached all-time lows. However, the price for lithium-ion batteries, the leading energy storage technology, has remained too high. So researchers are exploring other alternatives, including flow batteries, thermal batteries, and gravity-based systems.

Silicon Valley's Online Slave Market

Silicon Valley's Online Slave Market

Crime, Videos

At the center of this powerful investigative film is Fatou, a 16 year old in Kuwait City who has been there for nine months. We follow her rescue and journey back home to Guinea, West Africa and ask: what’s being done to control the apps promoted on Google, Apple and Facebook-owned Instagram?

An Effortless Way to Improve Your Memory

An Effortless Way to Improve Your Memory

Life, Psychology

New research suggests that we should aim for “minimal interference” during 10-15 minutes breaks – deliberately avoiding any activity that could tamper with the delicate task of memory formation. You really need to give your brain the chance for a complete recharge with no distractions.

The Danger Of Befriending Celebrities

The Danger Of Befriending Celebrities

Life, Media

Meryl Streep doesn’t call me every week to go bowling. In fact, she doesn’t call me at all. And that’s a good thing. I honestly can’t recommend becoming friends with celebrities, especially if you’re a long-running journalist like I am. It simply will not lead to a Hollywood ending.

It's Okay To Be Good And Not Great

It's Okay To Be Good And Not Great

Health, Life, Psychology

“Good is the enemy of great” is one of the most popular self-improvement expressions there is. It’s the first sentence of an international bestselling business book. It sounds appealing and rolls off the tongue nicely, but there’s a good chance it’s downright wrong.

Nikolay Schegolev

Inspiration
Nikolay Schegolev
The Oldest Tattooing Family In The World

The Oldest Tattooing Family In The World

Art, History, Videos

Wasim Razzouk is a tattoo artist in Jerusalem’s Old City. Ink runs deep in his family. The Razzouks have been tattooing visitors to the Holy Land for 500 years (and in Egypt for 200 years before that). Christian pilgrims flock to Razzouk Tattoo to get a cross tattoo based on one of the designs on wooden stamps that have been in the Razzouk family for generations.

Satanic Panic In Rural Canada

Satanic Panic In Rural Canada

History, Long Reads

It was the spring of 1992 in the small town of Martensville. Rumours were spreading that a local family were members of a secret satanic cult, abusing children at their home daycare and at a property outside of town. A horde of devil worshippers was allegedly on its way, looking to attack in the dead of night.

How Slack Ruined Work

How Slack Ruined Work

Apps, Business, Tech

Slack is a particularly “scary offender” in stopping people getting their work done because it encourages them to be constantly distracted. It’s scary because messenger-based systems directly tap into how humans seek to reward themselves, and the long term result is unhealthy.

How Barcelona Is Taking City Streets Back From Cars

How Barcelona Is Taking City Streets Back From Cars

Cities, Videos

The city of Barcelona is testing out an urban design trick that can give cities back to pedestrians. It involves taking nine square city blocks and closing off the inside to through traffic. Buses, big freight trucks — or any vehicles that are trying to get from one part of town to the next — have to drive around the perimeter.

How Ring Went From ‘Shark Tank’ Reject To America’s Scariest Surveillance Company

How Ring Went From ‘Shark Tank’ Reject To America’s Scariest Surveillance Company

Business, Crime, Long Reads

Amazon’s Ring started from humble roots as a smart doorbell company called “DoorBot.” Now it’s surveilling the suburbs and partnering with police. Although there’s no credible evidence that Ring actually deters or reduces crime, claiming that its products achieve these things is essential to its marketing model.

A Long Walk's End

A Long Walk's End

Crime, Long Reads, Nature

On May 18 2015, the FBI announced the search for a 53-year-old accountant accused of embezzling $8.7 million from an Ohio-based Pepsi distributor had come to an end. His name: James T. Hammes. Authorities say Hammes took the funds through a series of banking transfers while working as a controller for the distributor. Then he went for a hike.

The Day The Pirates Came

The Day The Pirates Came

Business, Long Reads

For Sudeep Choudhury, work on merchant ships promised adventure and a better life. But a voyage on an oil tanker in West Africa, in dangerous seas far from home, would turn the young graduate’s life upside down. His fate would come to depend on a band of drug-fuelled jungle pirates – and the whims of a mysterious figure called The King.

Welcome To The Monkey House

Welcome To The Monkey House

Crime, History, Long Reads, Politics

Between the end of the Korean War and the early 1990s, more than one million Korean women were caught up in a state-controlled prostitution industry that was blessed at the highest levels by the U.S. military. They worked in special zones surrounding U.S. bases—areas licensed by the South Korean government.

"The Paper Boy", An Award-Winning Touching Short Film

"The Paper Boy", An Award-Winning Touching Short Film

Videos

The City of Joy is that melting pot where dreams are served everyday freshly cooked. This is a tale of a little boy whose world revolves around the by-lanes of old Calcutta where he delivers the latest headlines and then spends the rest of his day simmering dreams at a tiny tea stall.

Michael Crichton

Inspiration
Michael Crichton
The Great Whiskey Heist

The Great Whiskey Heist

Crime, Food

A police investigation rippled throughout greater Frankfort, Kentucky, revealing a web of theft that ensnared husbands and wives, fathers and sons, CrossFit instructors and jealous ex-girlfriends — and lots of locals with stolen whiskey on their shelves.

Former FBI Agent Explains How To Detect Lying & Deception

Former FBI Agent Explains How To Detect Lying & Deception

Crime, Explainers, Videos

There are a number of myths about detecting deception. Fidgeting, looking away, touching your mouth, all of these things are commonly thought to be practices that indicate deception. Jim Clemente, former Supervisory Special Agent for the FBI, explains why that isn’t always the case and how people like him can decipher what these indicators really mean.

The Sickness In Our Food Supply

The Sickness In Our Food Supply

Business, Food

A series of shocks has exposed weak links in our food chain that threaten to leave grocery shelves as patchy and unpredictable as those in the former Soviet bloc. The very system that made possible the bounty of the American supermarket suddenly seems questionable, if not misguided.

How Air Pollution Is Doing More Than Killing Us

How Air Pollution Is Doing More Than Killing Us

Cities, Health, Nature

Emerging studies show that air pollution is linked to impaired judgement, mental health problems, poorer performance in school and most worryingly perhaps, higher levels of crime. These findings are all the more alarming, given that more than half of the world’s population now live in urban environments.

Hard Truths: Will Museums’ Digital Plans Make Curators Obsolete?

Hard Truths: Will Museums’ Digital Plans Make Curators Obsolete?

Art, Innovation, Tech

As art institutions continue to raise ticket prices and roll out blockbusters, we may come to see shows that will be curated entirely by optimized algorithms. What happens when a museum becomes curator-less? Will this be the end of art history as we’ve known it, or the dawn of a techno renaissance?

When The Sahara Was Green

When The Sahara Was Green

History, Nature, Videos, World

The climate of the Sahara was completely different thousands of years ago. And we’re not talking about just a few years of extra rain. We’re talking about a climate that was so wet for so long that animals and humans alike made themselves at home in the middle of the Sahara.

The Mystery Of The Millionaire Hermit

The Mystery Of The Millionaire Hermit

Health, Politics

He spent years scrimping and saving. But without a will, where’s his money going? When someone dies without a will, family trees dictate where the money goes. Each state has its own method to determine the line of succession.

The History Of George Laurer And The Barcode

The History Of George Laurer And The Barcode

Business, History

A 67 cent packet of gum has ballooned into an enormous industry, and five billion barcodes are scanned each and every day. But how did we get to this point, and who was responsible for the UPC barcode?

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