The Unhackable Email Service
Ladar Levison built an encrypted email service called Lavabit that counted a prominent figure among its users: Edward Snowden. When the FBI demanded Levison decrypt Snowden’s communications, he had two options, either hand over the encryption key or destroy his servers. He chose the latter.
Minimum Wage: A Life Full Of Difficult Choices
Despite Ontario’s recent minimum wage increase, workers are still struggling to make ends meet. Even for those who have full-time jobs, earning minimum wage means they have to make a lot of difficult choices.
The Most Pessimistic Town In The World
Puolanka, a small town in the centre of Finland, had become famous for its particular brand of pessimism. Recurring themes are town’s declining population and lack of much to do.
Iceland’s Big Bitcoin Heist
With its cheap geothermal energy and low crime rate, Iceland has become the world’s leading miner of digital currency. Then the crypto-crooks showed up. The thieves weren’t robbing banks. They were stealing the presses that print digital money.
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.
The Controversy Behind Nike’s Vaporfly Running Shoe, Explained
Nike’s Vaporfly shoes have become a popular choice for both elite and amateur runners. But the shoes may soon be banned in professional competitions if World Athletics, the world governing body of track and field, decides they offer an unfair advantage.
Inside London’s £18BN New Railway
Join Fred Mills inside London’s new Tottenham Court Road (TCR) station – part of the £18BN Elizabeth Line that is being constructed by Crossrail beneath the UK’s capital.
The French Paper Mill That Sold To Dalí And Picasso
For 700 years, the Richard de Bas paper mill has produced some of the world’s finest paper. The French constitution is printed on paper from this mill. And artists like Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall were customers. Emmanuel runs the business today. His great grandfather bought the mill in Ambert, France, during World War II, and it has stayed in the family ever since.
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.
Why Planet Hollywood Went Bankrupt
In the mid 1990’s, two entertainment moguls along with plenty of huge celebrities like Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger came together to create a restaurant business unlike any other. But as quick as this idea grew, the sooner everything came crashing down. This is the story of Planet Hollywood.
I Accidentally Uncovered A Nationwide Scam On Airbnb
An undetected scam created by some person or organization that had figured out just how easy it is to exploit Airbnb’s poorly written rules in order to collect thousands of dollars through phony listings, fake reviews, and, when necessary, intimidation.
How The Resale Revolution Is Reshaping Fashion
We’re buying more clothes than ever, but it’s not all fast fashion. More than half of 25- to 34-year-olds buy secondhand or vintage clothes, and resale apps such as Depop, Stock X and Vestiaire Collective are tapping into the millennial and generation Z market.
The Story Of World’s First Floating Hotel Abandoned In North Korea
In October 2019 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the demolition of the world’s first floating hotel. Docked in North Korea, the hotel is currently owned by a South Korean company that bought it from a Japanese one. It was a major hit in Vietnam but it was originally made for Australia, designed in Sweden and built in Singapore.
The Start-Ups Building ‘Dark Kitchens’ For Uber Eats And Deliveroo
Venture capitalists have all aligned on the best solution: kitchens that only serve delivery customers, known as “cloud”, “ghost” or “dark” kitchens, that use a combination of advanced food preparation, underused real estate and algorithm-driven optimisation to lower overheads and increase output.
Science Fiction Short Film: Others Will Follow
The lone survivor of the first mission to Mars uses his last moments to pass the torch of inspiration. Others Will Follow was inspired by a speech written for President Nixon to deliver in the event that the Apollo 11 astronauts were stranded on the moon.
Human Population Through Time
It took 200,000 years for our human population to reach 1 billion—and only 200 years to reach 7 billion. But growth has begun slowing, as women have fewer babies on average. When will our global population peak? And how can we minimize our impact on Earth’s resources, even as we approach 11 billion?
Meet Emma, Your Work Colleague Of The Future
Say hello to Emma, a life-sized representation of how we could look in 20 years’ time if we continue working with poor posture and inadequately set-up workstations. If left unchecked, by 2040, workers’ will be left with permanently bent backs caused by sitting hunched over a desk with poor posture for prolonged periods of time.
The Last Ship To St. Helena, A Remote Island In The Atlantic
Every third week, a British Royal Mail ship begins its journey from Cape Town to Saint Helena, the remote island in the Atlantic where Napoleon was once in exile. Five days, with a northwesterly course, and only then do the sheer black cliffs appear in front of RMS St. Helena.
The Case For Making Low-Tech ‘Dumb’ Cities Instead Of ‘Smart’ Ones
There’s no concrete definition of a smart city, but high-tech versions promise to use cameras and sensors to monitor everyone and everything, from bins to bridges, and use the resulting data to help the city run smoothly. But what if we ditched the data and embraced ancient technology instead?
The Economic Failure Of Venezuela
In terms of countries that had it easy Venezuela by all counts should be at the top of the list, it is home to the largest oil deposits in the world, easily beating out the typical oil giants like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab eremites. But they squandered it.
Germany’s First Postwar Army
In 1951 Germany’s first postwar armed forces unit was formed – the Bundesgrenzschutz or Federal Border Guard. Until the formation of the Bundeswehr in 1955, it was effectively Germany’s army. Armed and equipped from the old wartime Wehrmacht, the BGS guarded the inner German border between East and West Germany.