Thin History

Of Thin Ice

Katie Ives | Alpinist | 15th March 2022

Lyrical account of what it's like to climb when the ice has yet to form thickly over the rock. "A tiny oval gap between half-congealed icicles just large enough to hook an axe point, a crystal lattice just strong enough to bear the force of my pull — such details appear both marvellous and necessary. None of them exists for my sake, and yet, pieced together, their fragments create an upward path" (1,756 words)

History’s Soundtrack

Maria Golia | Engelsberg Ideas | 11th March 2022

During the Cold War, the US's poor record on civil rights was a useful propaganda point for the Soviet Union. The solution, devised by a jazz-loving congressman, was to send out "jazz ambassadors" like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong to show that Uncle Sam wasn't so bad. When Ellington played in Moscow in 1971, he was welcomed as "the second coming" by young Russians (1,590 words)

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