Buyers Club: The Network Providing People With Affordable Hepatitis C Medicine
In 2013, a cure was found for hepatitis C. It could save millions of lives, but its price tag of between $40,000 and $84,000 for 84 pills puts it far out of most patients’ reach. Greg Jefferys defied the US pharmaceutical company that holds the patent to set up a worldwide supply network for the generic version.
Building Egypt’s $58BN New City In The Sand
Following a period of political instability that affected the progression of infrastructure projects, the country’s government took the decision to construct an entirely new capital in 2015. Located 45 kilometers east of the original Cairo, the as-yet-unnamed city has been under construction ever since.
Dubai: Expectation vs Reality
Dubai – perhaps the best-known city of the United Arab Emirates, with a reputation for attracting the glamorous and the wealthy. Less than 5% of its GDP comes from oil, but it essentially has made its success through diversifying into property real estate, aviation, trade, banking and finance. But what’s going on beneath the surface?
The Dutch Solution To Busyness That Captivated The World
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 Behavioral Economics Diet: The Science of Killing a Bad Habit
Diets don’t work. Studies show that temporary fixes to old habits actually make people gain weight. Essentially, the dieter’s brain is trained to gorge when off the diet and inevitably the weight returns. Putting some skin in the game makes people more likely to accomplish their goal of stopping a bad habit.
The Lost Neighborhood Under New York’s Central Park
A story that goes back to the 1820s, when that part of New York was largely open countryside. Among them was a predominantly black community. It became known as Seneca Village. And when Irish and German immigrants moved in, it became a rare example at the time of an integrated neighborhood.
“Different”, Award-Winning Short Film
A deaf girl comes across a boy who is paralyzed from the waist-down, but neither of them know about each other’s differences. Winner for “Best of Show” and “Audience Choice” at the 2017 Reel Short Teen Film Festival in Orlando, Florida. Directed by Tahneek Rahman.
Living Off The Grid In Paradise
Warrick Mitchell lives deep in one of the world’s most remote locations: Fiordland, New Zealand. His home in the country’s oldest national park is nestled in a vast wildness accessible only by boat or airplane, a four day’s walk from the nearest road.
“Locker Room”, Thought-Provoking Short Film About Teenage Friendships
A teenage girl discovers her male friends’ secret group chat, forcing her to question her friendship with them. Through the lens of neither a perpetrator or survivor, Locker Room draws attention to the social responsibility of bystanders to bad behavior and the pressures that can cause them to turn a blind eye.
Gun Shop, America’s Love Affair With Guns
This film shows 2,328 firearms, out of the 393 million currently in the US. Arranged in a dizzying 24 frames per second progression, from handguns to semi-automatic rifles, “Gun Shop” encourages viewers to critically examine America’s love affair with guns.
Why US Economists Are Obsessed With ‘Japanification’
Economists are terrified of how slow growth, low inflation and low interest rates could hit the economy. The Financial Times’ US economics editor Brendan Greeley explains why.
The Birth-Tissue Profiteers
How well-meaning donations end up fuelling an unproven, virtually unregulated two-billion-dollar stem-cell industry. An industry has sprung up in which specialized clinics offer miracle remedies from poorly understood stem-cell products.
The Daring Journey Inside The World’s Deepest Cave
The Veryovkina Cave is the deepest known cave on Earth. It took half a century and about 30 expeditions for Russian cave explorers to reach its record depth of 2,212 meters. Speleologists still think there is more to be discovered.
Offices Can Be Hell For People Whose Brains Work Differently
Work spaces today come with strong smells, harsh light, lots of chatter, and constant messages on email or Slack. For neurodivergent people, this can be a big ask.
Polygamist Mafia: Escaping The Kingston Clan
Although the mainstream Mormon church abandoned polygamy over 100 years ago, many splinter groups across Utah still practice plural marriage. One such group is the Kingston Clan, known to members as The Order. The Kingstons live in Salt Lake City and run their religion like a secretive business empire.
The Secret Soviet Radar Hidden In Chernobyl’s Shadow
In a remote forest, a few kilometres from the Chernobyl power plant, the huge Duga-2 radar tower stands as relic of Soviet mismanagement.
The Great Vape Debate: Are E-cigarettes Saving Smokers Or Creating New Addicts?
Behind the outright ban on sales of e-cigarettes in San Francisco is a panic about teenagers vaping. More than one in four American teens have tried vaping. In the UK, meanwhile, the medical establishment is endorsing vaping as an aid to giving up smoking. Where does the truth lie?
How Ultra-Processed Food Took Over Your Shopping Basket
Ultra-processed foods now account for more than half of all the calories eaten in the UK and US. These foods are convenient, affordable, highly profitable, strongly flavored, aggressively marketed. But is ultra-processed food making us ill and driving the global obesity crisis?
How Rwanda Is Becoming The Singapore Of Africa
Rwanda is now the 15th fastest growing economy in the world as its government has set out a clearly defined mission—they want to become the Singapore of Africa. To understand what this means, though, you have to understand what Singapore is.
The Desert Soil That Could Save Lives
Chile’s desiccated Atacama Desert was once considered a dead zone, but it hides great riches that could help us tackle a major threat to human health. “The premise was that since the conditions are so harsh in the Atacama Desert, organisms become adapted to those conditions.”
Rubber Tires — A Dirty Business
The booming global tire market is worth billions – but this comes at a high price, both to humans and the environment. Over 50 million car tires are sold each year in Germany alone. But where does the natural rubber for them come from?