Best World Articles & Videos on the internet • Discoverology

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Read the best world and travel articles from around the internet, or watch the most insightful world videos from platforms like Youtube, Vimeo or leading world publishers like BBC, The New York Times, The Guardian, Atlas Obscura, Washington Post and many more.

Ferry Tales In Japan

Ferry Tales In Japan

Photos, World

Far removed from the ultra-fast Shinkansens and myriad of metro lines that dominate Japan’s major cities, photographer Arnaud Montagard focuses his lens on a much more leisurely commute – Japan’s ferries.

Behind The Global Race To Contain China’s Killer Bug

Behind The Global Race To Contain China’s Killer Bug

Health, World

President Xi Jinping’s government has cordoned off much of the central Chinese province of Hubei, practically blockading more than 50 million people, in the biggest large-scale quarantine in the modern era. The Politburo Standing Committee, the nation’s top decision making body, has taken charge of the crisis.

Is An Island Off Cuba The Last Surviving Piece Of East Germany?

Is An Island Off Cuba The Last Surviving Piece Of East Germany?

History, World

The Unification Treaty signed in August 1990 re-Germanied the Germanies, and that West Germany (now known as “Germany”) inherited East Germany’s territories. But there may have been a tiny oversight. Turns out, there could still be a sliver of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik remaining in the Caribbean, just west of Cuba’s Bay of Pigs.

Why The French Don’t Show Excitement

Why The French Don’t Show Excitement

World

Not only is ‘Je suis excité’ not the appropriate way to convey excitement, but there seems to be no real way to express it at all. “The French don’t appreciate in conversation a kind of positive, sunny exuberance that’s really typical of Americans”

How India's Richest Man Fought To Build An Empire

How India's Richest Man Fought To Build An Empire

Business, World

Mukesh and Anil Ambani inherited their father’s fortune. But while Mukesh’s wealth made him India’s richest man, his brother’s net worth tumbled to less than $2B. The story of their diverging fortunes is steeped in a family feud that has captivated India for over a decade.

Behind The Chinese Internet Wall

Behind The Chinese Internet Wall

Tech, World

What is happening on the other side of the barrier? There we find people who respond to state controls with creativity and spunk. While some spend their days trawling cat videos, others create oases of subversion within the reality that they’ve been dealt.

Bashir Sultani

Inspiration
Bashir Sultani
"I Live Alone In An Island Paradise"

"I Live Alone In An Island Paradise"

Videos, World

In 1989, Mauro Morandi’s boat docked on Budelli Island off the northern coast of Sardinia, Italy. Discovering that the island’s caretaker was retiring within the next two days, Mauro decided to extend his stay indefinitely and step into the role himself.

The Man Who Walked Backward

The Man Who Walked Backward

History, Long Reads, World

When the Great Depression put Plennie Wingo’s bustling Abilene, Texas, cafe out of business, he tried to find fame, fortune, and a sense of meaning the only way he knew how: by embarking on an audacious trip around the world on foot. In reverse.

"Campesinos", The Lives Of Patagonian Cowboys

"Campesinos", The Lives Of Patagonian Cowboys

Videos, World

Campesinos explores the lives of Patagonian Cowboys (Gauchos) living in Chile, at the end of the world in isolation. It is a portrait of sacrifice, tradition and endurance in extreme conditions, identifying what it truly means to be alone.

The SoftBank Effect: How $100 Billion Left Workers In A Hole

The SoftBank Effect: How $100 Billion Left Workers In A Hole

Long Reads, Tech, World

Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s chief executive, was hailed as a kingmaker in 2016 when he unveiled the Vision Fund. Using the cash hoard, Mr. Son poured money into fledgling companies across the world, many of which have a business model of hiring contractors who deliver their services. Above all, he urged these start-ups to grow as fast as possible.

Macau: The Story Of China's Golden Child

Macau: The Story Of China's Golden Child

Videos, World

On December 20th, 1999 the 25 square kilometer Portuguese colony on China’s southern coast was returned to China becoming the Macau Special Administrative Region. In the 20 years since the handover, Macau has transformed into the gambling capital of the world while some call it the Las Vegas of the East.

China's Vanishing Mosques

China's Vanishing Mosques

Videos, World

The BBC has found new evidence of the increasing control and suppression of Islam in China’s far western region of Xinjiang – including the widespread destruction of mosques. Authorities provided rare access to religious sites and senior Islamic officials to support their claim that their policies only target violent religious extremism, not faith itself.

Why Are Millions Of Chinese Kids Parenting Themselves?

Why Are Millions Of Chinese Kids Parenting Themselves?

Videos, World

Generations of Wang Ying’s family farmed the misty mountains of Liangshan, one of China’s poorest regions. But now, the 14-year-old girl lives on her own as the sole caretaker of her two younger siblings. They are among an estimated 9 million “left-behind children” raising themselves in the Chinese countryside.

The True Story Of The White Island Eruption

The True Story Of The White Island Eruption

Long Reads, World

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.

Nikolay Schegolev

Inspiration
Nikolay Schegolev
Donald Trump’s Worst Deal

Donald Trump’s Worst Deal

Long Reads, Politics, World

The President helped build a hotel in Azerbaijan that appears to be a corrupt operation engineered by oligarchs tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The Trump Tower Baku never opened.

Repopulating A Japanese town

Repopulating A Japanese town

Cities, Videos, World

As the Japanese populace shrinks and ages, and young people leave the suburbs and rural areas for cities, more and more communities are becoming ghost towns. The municipality of Okutama, on the outskirts of Tokyo, has come up with a novel solution: Give away houses to young families for free.

The Tragedy On Great Slave Lake

The Tragedy On Great Slave Lake

World

Paddling alone on the 31st day of his expedition, Frenchman Thomas Destailleur tried to “attack the waves” of mercurial Great Slave Lake. But the planet’s 10th-largest lake struck back, soaking Destailleur and flooding his 13-foot kayak with ice water, forcing the paddler ashore.

The Parents Raising Their Kids On The Road

The Parents Raising Their Kids On The Road

Life, World

What is it like to raise your kids on the road? Two families describe how they changed their children’s lives by showing them the world, while a mum-to-be explains why she plans to do just that with her six-month-old baby.

They Tried To Save The Lives Of Immigrants Fleeing Danger. Now They’re Facing Prosecution.

They Tried To Save The Lives Of Immigrants Fleeing Danger. Now They’re Facing Prosecution.

Crime, Politics, World

On the afternoon of Jan. 17, 2018, immigration agents descended on a building on the outskirts of Ajo known to be a staging area for aid workers. The agents bundled Scott Warren, an aid worker, into a vehicle and drove to the Ajo Border Patrol station. The next day, he was driven two hours to Tucson, where he was charged with three felony counts.

Chaos At The Top Of The World

Chaos At The Top Of The World

Long Reads, Nature, World

It was one of the most arresting viral photos of the year: a horde of climbers clogged atop Mount Everest. But it only begins to capture the deadly realities of what transpired that day at 29,000 feet. These are the untold accounts of the people who were there.

Rhys Frampton Captures Two Unique Communities In America

Rhys Frampton Captures Two Unique Communities In America

Photos, World

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.

A Trans Judge Fights For India's Disenfranchised

A Trans Judge Fights For India's Disenfranchised

Crime, World

Swati Bidhan Baruah is Assam State’s first transgender judge, and the third in all of India In recent months, she’s been consumed with fighting the Supreme Court of India on behalf of at least 2,000 trans people who were left out in the controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC) list.

Michael Crichton

Inspiration
Michael Crichton
The Strange Persistence Of First Languages

The Strange Persistence Of First Languages

Life, World

Czech was the only language I knew until the age of 2, when my family began a migration westward, from what was then Czechoslovakia through Austria, then Italy, settling eventually in Montreal, Canada. Along the way, a clutter of languages introduced themselves into my life.

Is This A Chinese City In Malaysia?

Is This A Chinese City In Malaysia?

Architecture, Cities, Videos, World

Forest City is being built in the Malaysian state of Johor in the southern part of the country. Here, the Johore Strait acts as a natural border between Malaysia and the independent city-state Singapore. It is one of the most ambitious urban development projects currently underway. An entire new city built from scratch.

Days of Night/Nights of Day

Days of Night/Nights of Day

Photos, World

Daily life, work and play, in the northernmost city in the world, Norilsk, Russia (also the 7th most polluted city in the world) — a fascinating, detailed photo report with 45 exquisite images by Elena Chernyshova.

A Tribute To North Korea’s Air Koryo By Arthur Mebius

A Tribute To North Korea’s Air Koryo By Arthur Mebius

Photos, World

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.

Human Population Through Time

Human Population Through Time

Explainers, Videos, World

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?

The Madness Of Airline Élite Status

The Madness Of Airline Élite Status

Business, Economics, World

When you fly a lot for work, as I do, you check your frequent-flier mile balance often, to provide data for competitive commiseration. Frequent fliers sometimes go to great lengths to keep their airline élite status, and those efforts are often completely out of proportion to the perks.

The Last Ship To St. Helena, A Remote Island In The Atlantic

The Last Ship To St. Helena, A Remote Island In The Atlantic

Videos, World

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.

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