You’ve Done It Again, Michael
Jynne Dilling | n+1 | 20th February 2026 | U
Publisher's fond memories of the late Michael Silverblatt, beloved public radio broadcaster and host of Bookworm, a show that ran for 33 years and comprised "48,000+ minutes of conversations with every canonical English language writer imaginable". "The most well-read individual on the planet" was startlingly humble and now represents a bygone, and better, period of literary discourse (2,100 words)
The Quest For Clean Cargo
Julian Sayarer | Noema | 19th February 2026 | U
Three weeks aboard a cargo ship with no engine, making her way under sail from Copenhagen to La Rochelle. The Tres Hombres might look like a replica for historical naval re-enactment, but she transports real cargo for real businesses, around Europe and occasionally across the Atlantic. The venture is an "experiment" that hopes to inspire competitors. "If the cargo isn’t perishable, it works" (8,600 words)
Slow Trains In A Fast Country
Yuzhe He | 15th February 2026 | U
Dispatches from the Spring Festival rush on China's rail network. During this period, millions of migrant workers make train journeys that take dozens of hours in order to see family and celebrate at home. Many do this in a "hard seat" to save money. Interviewees include a mushroom picker, a miner and a refinery worker. All travel at least 1,000km to see loved ones, some taking unpaid leave to do so (2,400 words)
Bad Lunch
Mishele Maron | Sun Magazine | 31st December 2026 | U
Cooking on a yacht for the rich is hard. Even the best clients love to point out that they paid a lot of money for the experience. The worst actively monitor the workers, leaving dots of lipstick on windows to check how often they were cleaned. One ordered two dozen different desserts for the same meal. No request was too unreasonable: every private chef knows they are "only as good as my last dish" (4,500 words)
from The Browser nine years ago:
How The Soviet Union Disappeared
Branko Milanovic | Global Inequality | 19th February 2017 | U
Gorbachev belonged to the first generation brought up entirely on Marxist dogmas; he believed that socialism was the inevitable future of mankind; so he underestimated the consequences of introducing elements of democracy into the Soviet system. He had no understanding of democracy's disruptive power, nor of how weak and arbitrary the Soviet State would appear once it ceased to rely on terror (1,100 words)
Puzzle: Play Nomido, the Browser’s daily word game.
Podcast: How A Congressional Office Actually Works | Statecraft. Former staffer in Congress explains how business really gets done and who truly has the power — scheduler, chief of staff, legislative assistant, or the elected member (69m 16s)
Video: The Clog Maker's Apprentice | Vimeo | Duncan Parker | 4m 00s
Britain's last master clogmaker passes on his skills to a new apprentice.
Afterthought:
"There are some people that you cannot change. You must either swallow them whole or leave them alone"
―Margot Asquith