When The Sahara Was Green
The climate of the Sahara was completely different thousands of years ago. And we’re not talking about just a few years of extra rain. We’re talking about a climate that was so wet for so long that animals and humans alike made themselves at home in the middle of the Sahara.
The Long-Lost Story Of The Longest Book Ever Written
For or a long time, Joe Gould thought he was going blind. This was before he lost his teeth, and years before he lost the history of the world he’d been writing in hundreds of dime-store composition notebooks, their black covers mottled like the pelt of a speckled goat, their white pages lined with thin blue veins.
What’s It Like To Be Among The First To Motorbike In Jordan?
Riding along the Desert Highway, northwest of the famed Wadi Rum on a large-bore, high-powered motorcycle was a joy afforded only by Jordanian royalty for nearly four decades.
“Skater’s Paradise”, A Monochromatic Portrait Of Four Berlin Boarders
Youri Fernandez turns his lens on the art of skateboarding in this monochromatic portrait of four boarders as they make Berlin their playground, soundtracked by a metronomic composition from electronic musician Petit Fantôme.
‘Station Of Being’ Is An Interactive Arctic Bus Stop
Architecture studio Rombout Frieling Lab and Research Institutes of Sweden have created the Station of Being as a prototype bus stop. The bus stop in Umeå, Sweden, was designed to improve the waiting conditions for passengers using public transport in cold weather conditions within the Arctic region.
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.
The Oldest Tattooing Family In The World
Wasim Razzouk is a tattoo artist in Jerusalem’s Old City. Ink runs deep in his family. The Razzouks have been tattooing visitors to the Holy Land for 500 years (and in Egypt for 200 years before that). Christian pilgrims flock to Razzouk Tattoo to get a cross tattoo based on one of the designs on wooden stamps that have been in the Razzouk family for generations.
Iceland Is Growing New Forests For The First Time In 1,000 Years
The landscape of Iceland has changed a lot in a thousand years. When the Vikings first arrived in the ninth century, the land was covered in 25 to 40 percent forest.
Can Eco-Tourism Help Save The Ocean?
Indonesia’s Coral Triangle is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, but destructive fishing practices are threatening ocean life. Meet the conservation pioneers who are reviving these waters—bringing species back from the brink of extinction.
The Magical Realism Of Santa Cruz Del Islote – Photo Essay
Santa Cruz del Islote is a magical place. A population of up to 1,200 live on an island the size of two football fields in the middle of the Caribbean, making it one of the most densely populated islands on the planet.
Brain Man: The Boy With The Incredible Brain
An extraordinary documentary on the brainpower of Daniel T, the young Englishman who could be the world’s greatest mental athlete. Daniel is not just a calculating wizard, but also a memory champion and super linguist. He speaks nine languages.
A Corridor Runs Through It
Imagine yourself as a modern-day alligator in central Florida, where 12 acres of wild land is sacrificed to development every hour. This is a story about what happens when the South’s creatures no longer have room to move — and about a project aimed at preserving the few corridors that connect what remains of the wild land.
“Glacier Exit”, A Portrait Of Rapid Environmental Change
Filmmaker Raphael Rogers stood on the ice dunes of the glaciers of Alaska in the midst of a snowy winter. The silence and majesty of the mountains surrounding us, the bluest ice we had ever seen and the steady rush of ice turned to water.
The Secret History Of Facial Recognition
Sixty years ago, a sharecropper’s son invented a technology to identify faces. Then the record of his role all but vanished. He died on October 4, 1995. His obituary in the Austin American-Statesman made no mention of his work on facial recognition. Who was Woody Bledsoe, and who was he working for?
Social Distancing? You Might Be Fighting Climate Change, Too
“Any time you can avoid getting on a plane, getting in a car or eating animal products, that’s a substantial climate savings.” Many people trying to avoid the coronavirus are already two-thirds of the way there.
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.
Mikhail Gorbachev’s Pizza Hut Thanksgiving Miracle
Since his involuntary retirement, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has raised money for worthy causes, attempted to make a comeback in Russian politics, and, notoriously, made an advertisement for Pizza Hut.
Key Change: How A Shifting Climate Is Transforming Florida
Rahawa Haile grew up surrounded by the beauty and kitsch of South Florida. Now she returns and wonders what happens when the places we love start to disappear.
Drone Photos Capture A Fresh Take On Tuscany’s Iconic Landscapes
Photographer Gabor Nagy took his new drone with him on an adventure to Tuscany, to see if he could capture this instantly-recognizable Italian landscape from a different perspective. The result was a beautiful series of eye-catching aerial photos called “Tuscany from Above.”
The Radical Plan To Save The Fastest Sinking City In The World
Many of our coastal cities are imperiled, but none have plotted an escape quite as audacious as Jakarta’s. President Joko Widodo plans to pick up and move the capital, along with 7 million people.
Design Schemes To Survive Climate Change
A new generation of architects, designers, and experts is creating infrastructure and buildings that respond to both extreme conditions and ongoing stress. Here’s a look at some of the most innovative approaches to living in a increasingly apocalyptic world.