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Merry Across The Mersey: Tom Wood’s Visions Of Liverpool

Merry Across The Mersey: Tom Wood’s Visions Of Liverpool

Art History Photos

Known affectionately as the ‘photie man’ across Merseyside, Tom Wood worked in the region at a time of great social and political change. From buzzing match days at Anfield to couples snogging during nights out on the Wirral, a new retrospective of his work highlights his bond with the city.

Why Waking Up Earlier Isn't Necessarily Better

Why Waking Up Earlier Isn't Necessarily Better

Health Psychology

The bias that people who rise early are morally superior to evening people doesn’t just loom large in scientific research. It’s at the very heart of the U.S.’s founding principles of industry and hard work.

New York vs. Tokyo’s Subway: How Japan Got So Far Ahead

New York vs. Tokyo’s Subway: How Japan Got So Far Ahead

Explainers Videos World

Japan’s train system is ranked the most efficient in the world, according to Statista. The United States is tied with Azerbaijan for 11th best. Part of this is because Japan’s railway system has more points of connection allowing for easier commutes. Why does the MTA operate at a loss while Tokyo Metro is profitable?

The Ticking Time Bomb In America’s Downtowns

The Ticking Time Bomb In America’s Downtowns

Business Cities Economics

The sad state of office buildings could cause something called the “doom loop.” $1.5 trillion in commercial real estate debt, is owed to banks, pension funds, and insurance companies before the end of 2025, and secured by properties that may not be worth what they were five or 10 years ago when those loans got made.

Searching For Meg White, The Elusive White Stripes Drummer

Searching For Meg White, The Elusive White Stripes Drummer

Media

The White Stripes played their final show in 2007 and officially called it a day in 2011. Jack White continued performing, but it’s been over a decade since we heard from Meg White. Could renewed attention over a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination coax her back into the spotlight?

Data Compression Drives the Internet. Here’s How It Works.

Data Compression Drives the Internet. Here’s How It Works.

Explainers Science Tech

With more than 9 billion gigabytes of information traveling the internet every day, researchers are constantly looking for new ways to compress data into smaller packages. Cutting-edge techniques focus on lossy approaches, which achieve compression by intentionally “losing” information from a transmission.

Rewilding The Planet

Rewilding The Planet

Long Reads Nature World

This is some of the newest land on the planet: Marker Wadden. Taking sand and mud from the lake floor, ecological engineers created seven islands enveloped by dunes and beaches. Now, a rich variety of plants, fish and insects have settled into that protected environment, along with vast numbers of breeding birds.

The Future Of Coffee

The Future Of Coffee

Food Innovation

Over the past few years, the world of coffee has kickstarted a movement of cultural and creative influence. From unique jute bags, logos, or merchandise—cafes, roasters, and coffee shops around the globe are experimenting with new ways to provide spaces and product packaging that stand out from the crowd.

Virginia Mori

Inspiration
Virginia Mori
How Drought-Struck Spain Is Becoming a "Desert"

How Drought-Struck Spain Is Becoming a "Desert"

Nature Videos World

Spain is running out of water. It suffered a long ‘mega drought’, lack of rainfall and record temperatures. Now their water reservoirs are depleting. Over-exploitation and climate change are causing it to turn into a desert. 75% of their land is under the process of desertification. Can Spain come out of this?

When Chinese Industrial Espionage Goes Wrong

When Chinese Industrial Espionage Goes Wrong

Business Crime Videos

Shannon You’s story is about so much more than just Coca-Cola’s other secret recipe. Her get-rich-quick scheme cast new light on how industrial espionage has become a big part of China’s economic growth, and provided fuel to those who accuse the country’s Thousand Talents Program of incentivizing technology theft on an unprecedented scale.

The War on Poverty Is Over. Rich People Won.

The War on Poverty Is Over. Rich People Won.

Economics Life Politics

Why do so many Americans live in poverty? Because so many rich people benefit from it. This is the thesis of the lauded sociologist Matthew Desmond. He shows how employers, financial institutions, and landlords extract money from low-income families while rich families hoard opportunities for themselves.

This Is Catfishing On An Industrial Scale

This Is Catfishing On An Industrial Scale

Apps Crime Tech

Hired as customer service reps, these freelancers were instead tasked with luring in the lonely and lovestruck through a network of dating and hookup sites. The niche dating portals funnel users into the system and usually include lengthy terms and conditions.

Every Room Is A Battlefield In Fort Irwin

Every Room Is A Battlefield In Fort Irwin

Architecture Politics

Fort Irwin is a U.S. Army base the size of Rhode Island, roughly three hours outside Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert. Its scale and isolation make it an ideal setting for immersive military training exercises, which are staged in a series of 14 simulated towns and cities.

How Our Brains Distinguish Reality From Imagination — And What It Means For Schizophrenia

How Our Brains Distinguish Reality From Imagination — And What It Means For Schizophrenia

Health Psychology

Perception and imagination trigger overlapping brain networks. A new study suggests that the brain distinguishes between them by measuring the strength of a signal within this network. Further understanding this “reality threshold” could have implications for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Matt Rota

Inspiration
Matt Rota
The Trillion-Dollar Auction To Save The World

The Trillion-Dollar Auction To Save The World

Long Reads Nature Politics

Ocean creatures soak up huge amounts of humanity’s carbon mess. Should we value them like financial assets? Governments could confer legal rights on nature, effectively giving ecosystems the right to sue for damages—and incentivizing polluters to not damage them.

When Digital Nomads Come To Town

When Digital Nomads Come To Town

Cities World

Cities from Canggu to Medellín are welcoming tech workers, but locals complain they’re being priced out. Nomads cluster in safe and prosperous neighborhoods. The income differential between the nomads and the local professional class is immense. The result is runaway price inflation.

The Dutch Solution To Busyness That Captivated The World

The Dutch Solution To Busyness That Captivated The World

Health

Niksen – a Dutch wellness trend that means “doing nothing” – has caught the attention of the world as a way to manage stress or recover from burnout. Whereas mindfulness is about being present in the moment, niksen is more about carving out time to just be, letting your mind wander wherever it wants to go.

The Billion-Dollar Ponzi Scheme That Hooked Warren Buffett And The U.S. Treasury

The Billion-Dollar Ponzi Scheme That Hooked Warren Buffett And The U.S. Treasury

Business Crime Long Reads

Jeff Carpoff was a good mechanic but struggled as a businessman. His machine—a solar generator on wheels—was a sun-fueled alternative. He called it the Solar Eclipse. His invention, he thought, was “crazy, harebrained.” But investors saw the makings of a clean-energy revolution.

Joseph Ford

Inspiration
Joseph Ford
The True Cost Of Tuna: Marine Observers Dying At Sea

The True Cost Of Tuna: Marine Observers Dying At Sea

Food Nature

The harassment, abuse, and sometimes death of the marine observers who uphold sustainable seafood standards are the industry’s worst-kept secrets. Critics say the people and companies that earn the most money on tuna aren’t doing enough to secure their well-being.

The Promise And Peril Of Space Tourism

The Promise And Peril Of Space Tourism

Nature Science

The Overview Effect is a phenomenon chronicled by astronauts to describe a sudden sense of awe or divine recognition that they feel when they depart from the planet and then turn and look back at it. A space tourism industry is being built on the proposition of personal and existential transformation. But at what cost?

The Climate Activists Who Dismiss Meat Consumption Are Wrong

The Climate Activists Who Dismiss Meat Consumption Are Wrong

Food Nature

All too frequently, activists, politicians, and scientists reduce the all-consuming crisis of global warming to a question of greenhouse gas emissions: what drives them up, and how best to bring them down. The natural world and its nonhuman inhabitants are reduced to a series of models and equations.

What Do Political Databases Know About You?

What Do Political Databases Know About You?

Explainers Politics

American citizens are inundated with political messages—on social networks, in their news feeds, through email, text messages, and phone calls. If you live in the US, you’re almost certainly being tracked by political organizations. They know a lot about you—but some data is just guesswork.

Why Do People Go To Restaurants? It’s Not About The Food

Why Do People Go To Restaurants? It’s Not About The Food

Food

In the space of a few months the covid-19 pandemic has brought the hospitality industry to the brink of ruin. It has also prompted us to ponder what we’ve been missing. Why do restaurants matter? Why, after all, do we choose to spend large sums of money to dine among strangers?

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?

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