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Essays and videos on the arts, literature, travel, rituals and celebrations

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A man in a white suit and bowtie standing in front of the Mark Twain Riverboat entrance by a river on a sunny day.

videoTravel

Retracing Mark Twain’s path, a filmmaker sets out to understand the mighty Mississippi

28 minutes

A video camera reflected in sunglasses with a scenic view of water and hills in the background.

videoGlobal history

After the fall of the Iron Curtain, a young couple discovers a strange, newly open world

18 minutes

Vintage photo of people erecting tall structures in a tropical setting with palm trees and a thatched building.

videoArt

A young Rockefeller collects art on a fateful journey to New Guinea

7 minutes

Painting of a girl with a pearl earring in an ornate frame, viewed by three people in a gallery setting.

essayArt

The ecstatic swoon

As Stendhal knew, the reason for art is to make you feel. Do not try to grasp the artwork: allow it to grasp you instead

Robert D Zaretsky

A smiling elderly man in a cluttered electronics shop with various gadgets and boxes surrounding him.

essayHome

The joy of clutter

The world sees Japan as a paragon of minimalism. But its hidden clutter culture shows that ‘more’ can be as magical as ‘less’

Matt Alt

Woman standing at the edge of a foggy forest valley, with dense green trees and mist enveloping the background. She is wearing a shawl and bag.

essayAnthropology

A glimpse of the world’s heart

I wanted to visit Colombia’s sacred mountains. But there are some places we cannot go – and some things we cannot know

Nick Hunt

Silhouetted man standing by a large window with a view of Saturn’s rings in a dimly lit, elegant restaurant.

videoFuture of technology

Is this the future of space travel? Take a luxury ‘cruise’ across the solar system

6 minutes

essayArt

Earthly delights

Noticing first one then many parrots, peacocks, owls and more birds in Old Master paintings taught me to truly see the world

Leanne Ogasawara

A vintage photograph of a woman with a hookah, sitting on a couch and dressed in traditional attire, looking into the lens. The colorful image has a worn, aged effect.

videoHistory of technology

See the Mediterranean as it was captured in some of the earliest surviving photographs

20 minutes

A scary figure in a fur-lined hood with a skeletal face and sharp teeth, in black and white against a dark background.

videoRituals and celebrations

Beware the Nalujuit! A rare glimpse into a chilling Labrador Inuit tradition

13 minutes

Watercolour of two large statues in water under a pastel sky, with a small group of people in a boat and cows on the shore in the foreground.

essayThe ancient world

Wanderlust of the ancients

The Roman Empire enabled an early version of globalisation that offered travellers adventure, novelty and opportunity

Fabio Fernandes

A large eagle with outspread wings is flying over a lush green forest, showcasing its feathers in detail against the blurred backdrop.

videoBiology

Journey deep into the Philippine forest in search of the world’s largest, rarest eagle

95 minutes

Ancient glass vessel with engraved text and geometric patterns, featuring the word “OSTRIARIA” prominently. The glass is clear with a greyish tint.

essayThe ancient world

Our trip to Antioch

Ancient Romans bought mementos to commemorate their travels. These speak eloquently of their world, if we care to listen

Maggie Popkin

A large dog rests on cobblestone with three people in the background talking near a map sign and a viewing telescope under a cloudy sky.

videoAnimals and humans

What the ancient city of Kars looks like from the perspective of its stray dogs

9 minutes

A black-and-white photograph of a donkey grazing near old stone by a beach, with mountains in the distance.

essayTravel

Dashing to nowhere

D H Lawrence’s restless travels in Sardinia were a quest for self-knowledge. The real island slipped beneath his notice

William Atkins

Auto rickshaw and black taxi on a road, with drivers conversing through the windows under a clear sky.

videoTravel

A postcard from Mumbai, where there’s poetry in getting from A to B

5 minutes

Person sitting on a mountain ridge beside a backpack and a red flag on a stone cairn, overlooking snowy peaks under a clear blue sky.

essayTravel

The end of travel

Driven by the need for a storied life, I relished the opportunity for endless travel. Is that a moment in time, now over?

Henry Wismayer

A female police officer drinks from a coconut while standing next to a vendor with a cart full of coconuts.

videoTravel

‘My people!’ A Trinidadian’s love letter to his island, just before its 1962 independence

17 minutes

Dozens of small boats filled with people row along a busy river, with a densely built cityscape and a pink tower in the background.

essaySpirituality

Where the rivers meet

Pilgrims have long sought in India’s holiest city an antidote to the modern West, but Varanasi is more dream than reality

Manini Sheker

Elderly man playing a traditional bamboo musical instrument with another man in the background.

videoHome

The rhythms of rural Thailand, where both food and music are sourced from the ground

15 minutes

A rustic house near a lake with snow-capped mountains in the background under a cloudy sky.

videoHome

Eccentrics, artists and Luddites find community on a remote Scottish peninsula

26 minutes

An elderly woman in a blue cardigan and apron sits outside a rustic building with a mug, sign, and window box flowers.

videoMeaning and the good life

Maria’s life work is counting the pilgrims passing by on Spain’s Camino de Santiago

16 minutes

Antique Japanese map, hand-drawn and coloured, showing various regions and islands with Japanese text and illustrations.

videoGlobal history

‘Farcical situations’ and culture clashes – when Japan met modern Europe in 1862

18 minutes

Blurry image of aeroplanes at an airport, with a hazy, indistinct look and soft, streaked lines suggesting motion or low light.

essayTravel

Fly with me

Jet-age glamour was more than just aesthetic: its promise of motionless movement reshaped perception of time and space

Vanessa R Schwartz