The Italian Town That Always Smells Like Panettone
Since 1922, Pinerolo has been home to Galup, a bakery-factory that specializes in northern Italian enriched breads, an operation that defines this small town—from its aroma to its employment options. The town always smells like panettone.

Can Vertical Farms Reap Their Harvest? It’s Anyone’s Bet.
Food futurists and industry leaders say these high-tech vertical farming operations are the future of agriculture. Indoor-grown produce is available in more than 20 supermarket chains nationwide. But despite massive investment, questions remain about efficiency and costs.

Plane Stowaway: The Man Who Fell From The Sky
It was sunny and warm on 30 June as residents in south London finished their lunch and unwound on a leisurely Sunday afternoon. But the peace was shattered in Offerton Road with a terrifying thump. A man occupied a crater in one of the back gardens after falling through the sky for a kilometer.

Wild Juxtapositions Of Saudi Arabia Modern And Ancient
Few countries in history have experienced as sudden a transformation as Saudi Arabia. The discovery and exploitation of oil brought an unprecedented influx of wealth. Photographer Peter Bogaczewicz captures the past and present of the oil-rich kingdom as it undergoes dramatic transformation.

The Movement To Stop Dollar Stores From Suffocating Black Communities
Some Black residents and elected officials argue the stores stifle economic growth and job creation, and exacerbate food insecurity. The stores are also disproportionately in areas that are low-income, rural, and Black, which experts say is racist.

The Oddly Autocratic Roots Of Pad Thai
In rice-centric Thailand, then known as Siam, the dish seemed more Chinese. But Thailand’s prime minister, who first rose to power as part of a military coup against the longtime monarchy, had spoken. As part of his strident nationalism, he wanted all Thais to eat pad Thai.

The Taste Of America
Joshua Smith, 2019 Iron Viz co-champion, used data provided by Pitney Bowes to create a dashboard about how international cuisine shapes food identity in the US. The visualization tells a story of what is on American tables using tile maps that display the prevalence of international cuisines by state, compared to the national average.

Why China Is Building The World’s Biggest City
China plans to integrate all the cities in the Pearl River Delta (Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou) into one Greater Bay Area – a megacity 58% bigger than the entire Tokyo Metropolitan Area. It hopes to rival both Silicon Valley and Wall Street – at the same time, with an economy already the size of South Korea or Russia.

Secret Trysts And Lost Weekends At The Chateau Marmont
How a run-down Hollywood hotel achieved legend status. The Chateau Marmont is a psychic landmark as well as a physical one: you go there to see it, but you also go to try to use it to see through time.

A Tribute To North Korea’s Air Koryo By Arthur Mebius
Intrigued by the dedication of an airline crew who only fly to two destinations, photographer Arthur Mebius documents the experience of flying with North Korea’s Air Koryo. The photo series ‘Dear Sky’ offers an insight to Air Koryo’s aircraft and crew, from the perspective of Mebius as a passenger.

A Vision For Agriculture
Allowing cows out to harvest their own feed and spread their own manure is the most profitable means of producing meat and milk. But, somehow, agricultural science has encouraged farmers to mount a treadmill of increasing yields of milk or meat by increasing the amount of production per unit input.

Inside The Members-Only Eating Clubs Of San Sebastián
Step into the private kitchens of Basque country’s sociedades gastronómicas, where everything revolves around food. From the three-star restaurants to the napkins-on-the-floor pintxo joints, these culinary clubs, which have been around for about 150 years, still harbor some of the most interesting kitchens of all.

Rewilding The Planet
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.

Investigating The Dangerous New Mafia Taking Control In Italy
The mafia is one of Italy’s most famous international business brands, with an estimated annual turnover of $250 billion a year. But its market share is being challenged by a group of ruthless new players. This documentary is about the growing power of Nigerian organized crime in the birthplace of the Italian mafia.

China’s Man-Made Forest In The Desert
In 1986, the city of Aksu in China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region began an ambitious tree-planting project that looked to turn swaths of desert into forest. The result was over 13 million acres of green that became the Kekeya greening project.

When Digital Nomads Come To Town
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.

How Half A Tonne Of Cocaine Transformed The Life Of An Island
In 2001, a smugglers’ yacht washed up in the Azores and disgorged its contents. The island of São Miguel was quickly flooded with high-grade cocaine – and nearly 20 years on, it is still feeling the effects.

The Divers Rescuing A Drowning Island
Vaan Island in India’s Gulf of Mannar has been rapidly disappearing into the Laccadive Sea. These waters are home to India’s most varied and biodiverse coastlines. But a team of marine biologists is working to save it.

The Ancient Tombs Kept Under Lock And Key
A sense of mystery surrounds the keyhole-shaped kofun tombs in Japan. Although the iconic Mozu Tombs in Sakai city, Osaka have recently been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, surprisingly little is actually known about these intriguing monuments, kept under lock and key by the Japanese government.

Will An All-Meat Diet Kill You Or Cure You?
In anecdotal testimonials, people say that eating an all-meat diet helped them drop 10, 20, 40, 80 pounds and cured them of depression, fatigue, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, joint pain, and insomnia. How is this possible? And what is going on in these people’s intestines and arteries?

A Hero In The Sky (And On The Ground)
Ann Sim lives a double life. A member of Singapore Airlines cabin crew, she is also a volunteer medic with the Singapore Civil Defence Force, which responds to all kinds of emergency situations. While her job offers her the opportunity to see the world, Sim’s volunteer work enables her to give back to her community.