“He’s trusted to repair some of the world’s most fabled — and expensive — instruments. How does John Becker manage to unlock the sound of a Stradivarius?”
History
Posted inEditor's Pick
In 1848, An Enslaved Couple Fled to Boston in One of History’s Most Daring Escapes
“Risking their lives for liberty and for love, Ellen and William Craft devised a bold plan: They’d don disguises — she as a white man — and embark on the perilous journey north.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Getting Lost in the World’s Largest Stack of Menus
“Menus provide a window into history, a vital connection to our foodways.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The DJ and the War Crimes
“Thirty years after a death squad massacred civilians in Bosnia, none of the infamous Arkan’s Tigers have stood trial for their alleged part in those crimes. And for the past few decades, one of them has been spinning trance records at European festivals and clubs.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Sweet and Sticky History of the Date
“Throughout the Middle East, the versatile fruit has been revered since antiquity. How will it fare in a changing world?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
A Touch of Moss
“Inside a rainforest or on the city pavement, moss asks so little yet offers so much: a tactile encounter with time itself”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Maintenance Race
In this fascinating piece, Stewart Brand recounts the journeys of three sailors competing in an around-the-world race in 1968, their very different approaches, and the important role of maintenance in their voyages. Every piece of equipment on board, and the structure of the boat itself, would be stressed for months on end. Since going ashore […]
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Slave Money Paved the Streets. Now This Posh RI City Strives to Teach Its Past.
Between 1700-1850, the city of Newport in tiny Rhode Island launched more slave trading voyages than anywhere in North America. And in a time when conservative school boards and state leaders around the U.S. are banning lessons about race and racism in schools, Newport is confronting its past: teaching students local Black history, African heritage, […]
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An Art Crime for the Ages
In the second half of the 20th century, Bangkok-based British businessman Douglas Latchford was at the center of an operation that trafficked ancient Khmer sculptures and archaeological treasures out of Cambodia. These pieces of art traveled far, ending up in rich people’s homes and museums like the Met. Matthew Campbell tells an engrossing story filled with […]