Articles
The real Scandi noir
The Black Swan follows a repentant master criminal as she sets up corrupt clients in front of hidden cameras. But is she really reformed – and is the director up to his own tricks?
Why we need lazier robots
To waste less energy, robots need to do less of everything: move less, and think less, and sense less. They need to be “lazy” like humans.
Hold your tongue
In India, the BJP wants more than a billion people to embrace Hindi. Ganesh Devy, on the other hand, wants to preserve as many languages as possible.
The sports-betting pundits
The real churn of betting happens not in the backrooms of sportsbook businesses but deep within the servers of companies that bettors haven’t heard of at all.
The language of Alfonso Cuaron
Alfonso Cuarón subverted sci-fi and fantasy. With Disclaimer, he has set out to conquer TV in the name of cinema.
The cement giant that paid ISIS
Lafarge began operating in Syria before the civil war erupted. When ISIS took over the region, Lafarge paid them protection money so it could keep selling cement.
The singing breeze of the fans
In many parts of the world, on many days, a ceiling fan is all you’ll need. Leave the ACs to those who really need them.
Digital sleuthing in an AI age
Eliot Higgins and his forensic foot soldiers at Bellingcat have kept a nose for truth in Gaza, Ukraine, and everywhere else atrocities hide online.
The mystery of beautiful batting
In cricket, batting is singular in its evocation of beauty, and even the unbeautiful players know it. But what does it even mean to bat beautifully?