Lab Leak: A Scientific Debate Mired in Politics—and Unresolved
More than a year into the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, some scientists say the possibility of a lab leak never got a fair look.
More than a year into the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, some scientists say the possibility of a lab leak never got a fair look.
Charles Schmidt Undark Mar 2021 20min Permalink
The country’s hacking software is recognized the world over. Not everyone thinks it’s a good thing.
Amos Barshad Rest of World Mar 2021 Permalink
While political leaders trade threats, the pandemic has made Americans even more reliant on China’s manufacturers.
Peter Hessler New Yorker Mar 2021 35min Permalink
Tech giants like Google and Facebook appear to be aiding and abetting a vicious government campaign against Indian climate activists.
Naomi Klein The Intercept Feb 2021 15min Permalink
In the small coastal country, an exploding industry has led to big economic promises, and a steep environmental price.
Ian Urbina New Yorker Mar 2021 Permalink
We stopped at a service station where there were old truck drivers, their vehicles festooned with red banners: “All-out war against the virus, weather hard times together.” The drivers wore their masks down around their chins as they smoked. I asked for water at the only open shop, and the assistant pulled his jacket up to cover his mouth before saying “over there.”
Lavender Au New York Review of Books Mar 2020 15min Permalink
Survivors of China’s campaign of persecution reveal the scope of the devastation.
Ben Mauk New Yorker Feb 2021 30min Permalink
Although femicide is a recognised crime in Mexico, when a woman disappears, the authorities are notoriously slow to act. But there is someone who will take on their case.
Meaghan Beatley Guardian Feb 2021 Permalink
On Feb. 19, 2020, a right-wing extremist murdered nine young people in Germany. Because the gunman shot himself, there will be no trial. But those left behind have questions for the country they call home.
Özlem Gezer, Timofey Neshitov Der Spiegel Feb 2021 45min Permalink
While the virus has ravaged rich nations, reported death rates in poorer ones remain relatively low. What probing this epidemiological mystery can tell us about global health.
Siddhartha Mukherjee New Yorker Feb 2021 25min Permalink
Her life in South Korea seemed perfect: new friends, a burgeoning career, reality-TV fame. But she was about to become notorious—disappearing without a trace, only to reappear pledging allegiance to North Korea. What happened to Lim Ji-hyun?
Abigail Haworth Marie Claire Feb 2021 30min Permalink
On oil spills in Colombia.
Jessica Camille Aguirre Harper's Feb 2021 15min Permalink
During a decade when Cascadia’s governments flouted their carbon emissions goals, activists fighting fossil fuel exports exceeded their wildest expectations.
Robert McClure Investigate West Jan 2021 15min Permalink
A Buenos Aires hacker haven produced some of Argentina’s most valuable crypto companies. Then it suddenly disappeared.
He was born Linda, but ten years ago Daniel came out as a transgender man. He changed his name to Daniel Valter Jensen, got a new social security number and grew a full beard.
Line Vaaben Dagbladet Information Jan 2021 20min Permalink
A climate scientist spent years trying to get people to pay attention to the disaster ahead. His wife is exhausted. His older son thinks there’s no future. And nobody but him will use the outdoor toilet he built to shrink his carbon footprint.
Elizabeth Weil ProPublica Jan 2021 15min Permalink
Mexico City has one of the most ambitious and sophisticated video surveillance systems in the world. But it hasn’t stopped crime.
Madeleine Wattenbarger Rest of World Jan 2021 25min Permalink
Inside a Michelin-starred chef’s revolutionary quest to harvest rice from the sea.
Matt Goulding Time Jan 2021 20min Permalink
On the rescue in July of two children from a burning apartment in southern France.
Myriam Lahouari BBC Jan 2021 10min Permalink
She was once the “world’s most exclusive madam.”
William Stadiem Vanity Fair Sep 2014 25min Permalink
Observers have long warned of rising forced labor in Xinjiang. Satellite images show factories built just steps away from cell blocks.
Alison Killing, Megha Rajagopalan Buzzfeed Dec 2020 20min Permalink
A trip to Batumi, Georgia.
A German officer is facing trial on terrorism charges. At a volatile time for Western democracy, his story mirrors the story of Germany itself.
Katrin Bennhold New York Times Dec 2020 20min Permalink
Amid coronavirus outbreaks, migrants face the starkest of choices: Risking their lives in U.S. detention or returning home to the dangers they fled.
Hannah Dreier Washington Post Dec 2020 20min Permalink
When it comes to data from India’s 500 million daily internet users, everything is for sale.
Snigdha Poonam, Samarth Bansal Rest of World Dec 2020 Permalink