A list of good reads
- Financial Times (splainer gift link) breaks down the curse of ‘Disco Elysium’, the greatest role-playing game (RPG) ever made.
- New York Times (splainer gift link) offers an interactive look into the voyage to bring Norway’s 2,000 light houses into the twenty-first century.
- Ever enjoyed the ‘Sylvanian Drama’ series starring the Calico Critters dolls? The woman behind the social-media account is getting sued by the dolls’ maker, Epoch. Wall Street Journal (splainer gift link) has more.
- Andrew Lloyd in BBC News undertakes a journey into the heart of the ‘forgotten’ internet.
- The Guardian examines architects’ obsession with Solomon’s Temple—a Biblical structure believed to have existed in ancient Jerusalem.
- The Conversation traces the rise of bachata—from Dominican Republic brothels and shantytowns to global dance sensation.
- In Cameroon, Aeon profiles initiated diviners—who read the messages of spiders to untangle possible futures.
- Public Books marks the 25th anniversary of JM Coetzee’s seminal novel ‘Disgrace’ by asking what freshly nuanced perspectives we can bring to the violence of apartheid today.
- The Atlantic (splainer gift link) analyses what’s so bad about nicotine—with alternatives like Zyn and Juul posing hazier risks.
- Arti Das in Good Food Movement hunts for Goa’s wild ‘monsoon greens’—foraged veggies that fed generations but now face ecological threats.