How The English Language Is Taking Over the Planet
English is everywhere, and everywhere, English dominates. From inauspicious beginnings on the edge of a minor European archipelago, it has grown to vast size and astonishing influence. Almost 400m people speak it as their first language; a billion more know it as a secondary tongue. Is there any point in resisting?
Rhys Frampton Captures Two Unique Communities In America
His first commission documented the Compton Cowboys, a group of people who created a ranch in a notoriously violent part of Los Angeles. His latest Wrangler commission was in Marfa, Texas, where he was tasked with capturing the Wall of Death group – America’s original extreme motorcycle show.
Inside Belarus, Europe’s Last Dictatorship
In October 2016, Alexander Lukashenko swept to his fifth term as the Belarusian president, marking 22 years in power. The autocratic regime still employs the use of internet surveillance, censorship, and intimidation to exert control over its people and press.
How Shenzhen Is Fueling Ethiopia’s Burgeoning Startup Scene
As Shenzhen companies look to Africa for new consumer markets, African entrepreneurs are turning to Shenzhen for manufacturing partners to turn their ideas into reality. How the movers and shakers in Ethiopia’s burgeoning tech startup scene are tapping into the open source manufacturing ecosystem of China’s most entrepreneurial city.
What Happened To American Childhood?
The percentage of 12-to-17-year-olds who had experienced a major depressive episode in the previous year shot up from 8 percent to 13 percent. Among girls, the rate was even higher; in 2017, one in five reported experiencing major depression. Here’s what we can do about it.
The Spy Who Couldn’t Spell: How The Biggest Heist In The History Of Us Espionage Was Foiled
Being underestimated had been the theme of Brian Regan’s life, a curse he had borne silently since childhood. But for the mission he had now embarked upon, it was a blessing. No one in the intelligence community could have imagined that he of all people was capable of masterminding a complex espionage plot.
What Do We Do With Robert E. Lee?
The president of Washington and Lee University, Will Dudley, understood the depth of his problem the moment he turned on the television and saw hoards of white men in collared shirts and khakis carrying tiki torches as they marched through Charlottesville, Virginia, protesting the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee.
Dark Crystals: The Brutal Reality Behind A Booming Wellness Craze
Demand for ‘healing’ crystals is soaring – but many are mined in deadly conditions in one of the world’s poorest countries, like Madagascar. And there is little evidence that this billion-dollar industry is cleaning up its act.
How Utah Keeps The American Dream Alive
Economic mobility to rival Denmark’s, but without big government. Can the rest of the U.S. emulate Utah’s success? We could offer more, and better, help to people who need it. Why not look for more promising scripts than the ones played out across the U.S. today?
A Mother Journeys Through Grief Across Finland’s Many Islands
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?
The True Story Of The White Island Eruption
In December 2019, around 100 tourists set out for New Zealand’s Whakaari/White Island, where an active volcano has attracted hundreds of thousands of vacationers since the early 1990s. Then the volcano exploded. What happened next reveals troubling questions about the risks we’re willing to take when lives hang in the balance.
‘Angels’ In Hell: The Culture Of Misogyny Inside Victoria’s Secret
Victoria’s Secret defined femininity for millions of women. But inside the company, two powerful men presided over an entrenched culture of misogyny, bullying and harassment, according to interviews with more than 30 current and former executives, employees, contractors and models, as well as court filings and other documents.
What It’s Like To Live Next To America’s Largest Coal Plant
By the late 1960s, Georgia Power had started planning to build the Robert W. Scherer Power Plant. Over a decade later, in 1982, its first unit opened in Juliette. Now, residents worry it’s contaminating their water.
Larry Krasner’s Lonely, Radical Crusade To Solve America’s Gun Problem
Unlike traditional prosecutors, Krasner does not measure success by accumulating convictions and toting up lengthy prison sentences. Instead, he has promised to address abuses by the criminal justice system and imprison fewer people for less time. And he thinks all of that can drive down gun crime.
A Parallel Neighborhood Of Unhoused People Has Grown Up Around The Existing Community
In Koreatown, the homeless live on sidewalks, in alleyways, parks—and anyplace else they can find. Dilapidated tents bound together with rope create strange formations amid the city’s mix of modern and Art Deco architecture. They awkwardly jut from the sidewalks like poorly crafted spaceships.
How One NASA Image Tells Dozens Of Stories
In 2016, NASA used the Suomi NPP weather satellite to create a high resolution image of the earth at night. It can help us better understand the current developments and conflicts underway. The amount of light pollution is most severe in heavily populated areas, as well as in regions of high prosperity.
They Came From Outer Finland: The Town Where Everyone Saw UFOs
Photographer Maria Lax comes from a northern Finnish town where UFO sightings were common – so she set about looking for answers. “I’m from a small town in northern Finland surrounded by a vast, sparsely populated wilderness. Most pass through the town without ever knowing it was a hotspot for UFO sightings in the 1960s.”
Inside The Investigation That Caught Serial Killer Bruce McArthur
June 26, 2017: Another man vanishes from the Gay Village. Part one in a four-part series on the Toronto police investigation and community efforts that caught serial killer Bruce McArthur.
How Facebook Works For Trump
During the 2016 election cycle, Trump’s team ran 5.9 million ads on Facebook, spending $44 million from June to November alone. He won the presidency by using the social network’s advertising machinery in exactly the way the company wanted. He’s poised to do it again.
How An Olympic Hopeful Robbed 26 Banks On His Bike
Tom Justice put the $20 and $100 bills into paper bags and discarded them in alleys where he knew homeless people would find them. He took all the $2 bills and hid them in the bushes outside his apartment, then watched as kids discovered the money and screamed and giggled.
Can A Desert Be Reclaimed For Human Habitation?
Despite horrific sandstorms and arid soil, Han Meifei is among those seeking to rejuvenate the land. His innovative procedures have developed ways of growing plants without water, preventing the dry desert from spreading, and preserving the seeds of plants close to extinction for a greener future.