The Catastrophes Issue
New Jersey Fashion Week
In the past year or so my home state of New Jersey has become a punchline for reality TV.
Et Spiritus Sancti
On a recent trip to predominantly Muslim Chechnya, photojournalist Olga Kravets found an Islamic medical centre in Grozny where women suspected to be possessed by the devil go through a violent procedure to "get rid of their demons".
Socialist Child Beauty Parlour
German-Norwegian photojournalist couple Ben Speck and Karin Ananiassen recently spent ten days depicting one of Venezuela's most prestigious beauty academies, the castings, and the wildly popular TV-broadcasted "Miss" competitions.
Karen Russell Interviewed By Rivka Galchen
If ever there was someone whom I’d be happy to see at my own funeral—meaning I guess that I wouldn’t really mind that it was my funeral—it would be Karen Russell, or Karen’s prose.
Bring It On Home
The morning after Richard Kern and I arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the call came in from the publicist at HBO. “The guys are shooting scenes with Kenny at the mansion.”
Paul Virilio
Cultural theorist Paul Virilio has been repeating essentially the same thing over and over for the past 30 years. Maybe it’s time for everybody to start listening to him.
Lisa
Come on,” Teryn whispered. She had opened my window from the outside, and was on her hands and knees.
Archival Catastrophes
In my day job, I work as an archival-image researcher. I always keep an eye out for things that I think typify the American experience, like banjo players, crazy preachers, hobos, and disasters.
Powers Of Ten
9:45 AM, August 28, 2007, 11th hole of Odana Hills Golf Course, Madison, Wisconsin. Lightning strikes Francis Adams, killing him instantly.
Doomsday Scenarios, Considered
Mark Reid is senior radio astronomer at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Powers Of Ten
9:45 AM, August 28, 2007, 11th hole of Odana Hills Golf Course, Madison, Wisconsin. Lightning strikes Francis Adams, killing him instantly.
Letter From The Guest Editor
You can make a pretty good argument that if you’re an apocalyptic you’re both fucked up and plugged into the zeitgeist. I was an apocalyptic kind of guy before I even understood what the word meant—some of my earliest obsessive...