The world’s intelligence agencies send operatives to scientific conferences to collect information and protect themselves.
The Guardian
Immature Architects Built the Attention Economy
The creators of addictive smartphone technology admit they were too immature to consider the downsides of persuasive design.
The Dangers of Being a Tiny Island
After a few rich outsiders bought the Island of Eigg, the islanders bought their island back.
How the 1970s Could Vanish from Vancouver
Brutalist architecture — heavy on concrete and blocky shapes — used to be polarizing. In Vancouver, where land is scarce and developers are bulldozer-happy, it’s in the process of disappearing.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Rana Dasgupta, Whitney Joiner, Jesse Barron, Kiese Laymon, and David Roth.
Why Did a Young Woman Broadcast Her Death?
An 18-year-old Parisian woman streams her suicide on social media.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Bee Wilson, Seyward Darby, Wil S. Hylton, Greg Milner, and Annie Dillard.
If Clean Food Is for Everyone, Why Are Its Gurus All Young, Pretty Women?
How gendered marketing tropes continue to fuel the latest lifestyle fads.
Why We Fell for Clean Eating
On the rise of orthorexia — “an obsession with consuming only foods that are pure and perfect” — and the burgeoning industry that feeds it.
Innocence Abroad
“I’d had no idea that we had ever had to define our identities at all, because to me, white Americans were born fully formed, completely detached from any sort of complicated past.”
