On Being
London‑based electronic composer Max Cooper released his new album "On Being," built on a crowdsourced pool of audience‑submitted "unspoken words" that answered personal prompts. He turned these raw emotions into music, partnering with French musician Félix Gerbelot for the title track and Japanese visual artist Masanobu Hiraoka for hand‑drawn animations. The project flips the traditional creative process, letting listeners’ hidden thoughts drive composition rather than the artist’s own narrative. The result is a hybrid audio‑visual experience that blends glitchy electronics with classical viola and evocative pencil art.
How to Thrive as an Adoptee
The guide outlines how adoptees—especially those in transracial families—can move from merely managing their past to thriving. It highlights that roughly 1.8 million U.S. children are adopted, with 44% placed in families of a different race, creating dual‑identity and attachment challenges....
Turn Off Your Sleep Tracker
The essay critiques the wellness boom around sleep trackers, highlighting how they can foster orthosomnia—anxiety over achieving perfect sleep—and often provide inaccurate data. It argues for viewing personality as fluid traits rather than fixed types, which eases self‑criticism and improves...
Rusty’s Ascent
Jordan Halland’s short documentary "Rusty’s Ascent" chronicles the life of Robert “Rusty” Baillie, a mountaineer who dreamed of Everest after watching the 1953 film. It follows his early climbs in Zimbabwe, his role in the 1982 expedition that placed the...
We’ll Soon Find Out What Is Truly Special About Human Writing
The essay argues that large language models (LLMs) are reshaping writing by severing the traditional link between text and a responsible human author. It draws parallels to past disruptions—Gutenberg’s press, typewriters, and word processors—showing how each changed production but not...
The Cure for Body Dissatisfaction that Doesn’t Involve the Body
The article argues that chronic body dissatisfaction—fuelled by thin‑ideal trends like the thigh gap and social‑media fads—can be mitigated by cultivating awe through natural environments. Psychological research links self‑efficacy from enjoyable exercise to healthier body image, but media‑literacy warnings often...
The Strange Story of Phineas Gage
In 1848, 25‑year‑old construction worker Phineas Gage survived an iron rod that blasted through his frontal lobe, a feat that stunned 19th‑century physicians. Early accounts painted him as a dramatically altered, childlike personality, turning his case into a cautionary tale of...
Not All Procrastination Is Created Equal
The piece introduces a three‑tier model of procrastination—negative, neutral, and positive—and cites a University of Virginia study showing that neutral and positive forms do not harm academic performance. It argues that naming and reframing these habits can reduce self‑criticism and...
Ragnar Kjartansson: Realms of the Real
Ragnar Kjartansson, Icelandic visual artist, narrates his journey in a new Art21 documentary that maps the rise of Iceland’s contemporary art scene from a rural, sheep‑farming nation to a vibrant urban creative hub. The film highlights his eclectic, music‑infused practice...
Tip-of-the-Tongue Syndrome
The tip‑of‑the‑tongue (TOT) phenomenon, also known as lethologica, is a temporary retrieval failure where the brain senses a word’s presence but cannot access it. Neuroscientists link the experience to activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus and temporal‑parietal regions, indicating...
I Tested Whether Cannabis Really Can Boost the Runner’s High
A personal experiment tested whether cannabis can amplify the runner’s high, but the author found the experience foggy and physically taxing. While surveys suggest many users report heightened enjoyment, scientific studies show cannabis can increase heart rate, impair coordination, and...
How to Handle a Panic Attack
Clinical psychologist Dr. Julie Smith outlines research‑backed strategies to manage panic attacks in a concise video. She emphasizes recognizing symptoms, using grounding and breathing techniques, and reshaping catastrophic thoughts. The guidance aims to lessen immediate distress and reduce the frequency...
Stargazing Really Is Good for the Soul
The piece weaves together five distinct observations: stargazing in Chile’s Atacama desert illustrates how dark‑sky environments can improve mental health, prompting researchers to propose a Night Sky Connectedness Index. A study on insomnia reveals that most people misinterpret heritability, leading...
Houston’s Whitebeam
Libby Houston, an 80‑year‑old poet‑botanist, has spent decades cataloguing whitebeam trees in England’s Avon Gorge, even discovering a rare silver‑leafed species that now bears her name. A new 13‑minute documentary by Alex Darby and Jake Morris captures her dual passion...
How to Write Yourself Every Day
Write Yourself Every Day (WYED) is a low‑tech journaling method that uses a phone’s voice‑to‑text feature to capture unfiltered inner monologue for ten minutes each day. After recording, the transcript is reread as if it belonged to a fictional character,...