National Geographic sent illustrator Christoph Niemann to Cambodia and Vietnam and he returned with this series of dra
A Writing Shed of One’s Own
In the first couple of minutes of this video, Roald Dahl introduces us to the writing hut behind his house that he used
What Time Is the Super Bowl? (According to a Theoretical Physicist)
Ever since the Huffington Post struck SEO gold in 2011 with their post about what time the Super Bowl started, pretty m
The Making of an Iconic Photograph: Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother
At the end of a long day in March 1936, Dorothea Lange stopped in a migrant workers camp in California for just 10 minu
Creating Saturday Night Live’s Cue Cards
As part of their YouTube series on how the Saturday Night Live sausage is made, this short video details how the cue c
Scenes from the Anthropocene, an Earth Forever Changed by Humans
These are photographs by Edward Burtynsky from The Anthropocene Project, a multimedia undertaking that showcases the
El Chapo, Master of the Drug Tunnel (and Escape Tunnel)
In this video, Vox takes a look at how El Chapo leveraged his use of tunnels for transporting drugs into the United St
“Closeness Lines”: Lovely Visualizations of Relationships Over Time
I *love* these simple visualizations of how different kinds of relationships change over time by writer and cartoonist
It’s So Cold Out! Where’s the Global Warming?!
In what is now an annual tradition, when the temperatures in some part of the US plunge below zero degrees on the Fahre
It’s Time for Some Queueing Theory
Queueing theory is the scientific study of waiting in line. It can apply to familiar lines like those at the grocery st
In a Race to the Edge of the Solar System, Which Star Trek Ship Would Win?
These visualizations of the speed of light I posted last week somehow demonstrate both how fast light speed is and how
Trailer for “Apollo 11”, a Documentary Based on Pristine 65mm Footage of the Mission
We’re coming up on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, which means an increase in Apollo 11 media. This is
“Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth” Exhibition in NYC
The “Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth” exhibition at NYC’s Morgan Library & Museum is “the most extensive public disp
“Ask a Native New Yorker” in Book Form
One of the most popular recurring features on Gothamist is Jake Dobkin’s “Ask A Native New Yorker” column (which I’ve m
American Football Commentary, Animated!
For this video, freelance animator Nick Murray Willis took the audio from football commentators and made these little
The Lure of the Spider-Tailed Horned Viper
Meet the spider-tailed horned viper, native to western Iran. As the name suggests, the snake has a tail that, when move
The Amazon Chronicles
My pal and collaborator Tim Carmody is launching a newsletter all about Amazon called Amazon Chronicles. You can subscr
Life Without the Everything Store
Kashmir Hill is a remarkable and inventive reporter. She came up with a great concept called “Goodbye Big Five”: one by
Thirty Years of Spike Lee
Spike Lee’s first film, She’s Gotta Have It, came out in 1986, but the writer/director/actor’s best film, the one that
Roald Dahl: Not Vaccinating Your Kids Is “Almost a Crime”
Roald Dahl’s oldest daughter Olivia died from the measles when she was seven years old. She died because there wasn’t a
The World of Sneaker-Buying Bots
Buying vintage and collectible sneakers online has become so complicated that a secondary industry has sprung up. Prog
Visualizing the Speed of Light
Light is fast! In a recent series of animations, planetary scientist James O’Donoghue demonstrates just how fast light
How the Relentless Robert Caro “Turns Every Page” in Pursuit of Powerful Prey
Since 1976, Robert Caro has been writing a multi-volume biography of former US President Lyndon B. Johnson — the first
The Evolution of the Alphabet
From Matt Baker of UsefulCharts, this chart traces the evolution of our familiar alphabet from its Proto-Sinaitic root
Meet the Yamabushi Monks, Who Commune with Nature to Find Themselves
Mountain Monks is a short film by Fritz Schumann about a group of Japanese monks called the Yamabushi who regularly co
A Cyborg Artist Who Feels All of the World’s Earthquakes
Moon Rivas, a cyborg artist, has sensors implanted in her feet that vibrate whenever an earthquake is detected anywhere
Video: A Meteorite Hit the Moon During the Recent Eclipse!
Something incredible happened during the super blood wolf moon eclipse that took place on Sunday night: a meteorite st
Universe, a Short Documentary from 1960 that Inspired Kubrick’s 2001
In 1960, the National Film Board of Canada released a short documentary called Universe. The film follows the work of
AeroMexico Trolls Xenophobic Americans with “DNA Discounts” Commercial
This commercial from Mexican airline AeroMexico cleverly reminds some Americans of the melting pot nature of our natio
The Layers of Motherhood
In what she calls a “time-tunnel artwork”, photographer Annie Wang has been taking a periodic photo of her and her son
A Brief History of Cheese (aka Immortal Milk)
Featuring the ideas of cheese expert Paul Kindstedt, this TED-Ed video is a quick animated look at the history of chee
Swimming with the Largest Great White Shark in the World
A group of divers with One Ocean Diving recently swam with Deep Blue, a great white shark that is believed to be one o
A Delightfully Fourth-Wall-Breaking “Nancy” Comic from Olivia Jaimes
Comics fans and the internet at large have been enchanted by the new author of the classic Nancy comic, Olivia Jaimes.
How to Fix Social Media by Injecting A Chunk of the Blogosphere
Not all hour-long podcasts are worthwhile, but I found this one by The Atlantic’s Matt Thompson and Alexis Madrigal to
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