“The influencer industry has grown to be cozy with some unsavory governments, but its clout might not be as effective as it once was.”
Travel
Posted inEditor's Pick
Honky-Tonk Tokyo
Country music became popular in Japan after World War II. Today, Tokyo has a vibrant underground country music scene.
Posted inEditor's Pick
What I Learned at the Most Instagrammed Outdoor Places
Visiting tourist hotspots like the Grand Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, Lisa Chase explores “the human desire to lose ourselves in the wild and also to extract, despoil, and package it.”
Posted inHighlight, Nonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes, Uncategorized
Japan’s Lonely Cherry Blossoms
Millions of people turn out to see Japan’s famous sakura blossoms. This year, Covid-19 kept the usual crowds at home, though the blossom makes a fitting metaphor for evanescence.
Posted inNonfiction
Your Wilderness Is Not Permanent
At an uncertain time in her life, Sejal Shah does Burning Man her own way.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Feature, Nonfiction, Story
At Mrs. Balbir’s
Jillian Dunham traveled thousands of miles from home to get away from her grief. It found her anyway, in a stranger’s Bangkok apartment.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Feature, History, Nonfiction, Story
Where are the Gay Ladies of Cambodia?
Honeymooning in Cambodia, Lindsey Danis and her wife seek refuge in queer spaces, but struggle to find the acceptance granted to male travelers.
Posted inBusiness & Tech, Culture, Highlight, Quotes
We’re All Tourists Now, So Let’s Stop with the Endless, Tedious Quests for Authenticity
In Iceland, overtourism has transformed the island in a few short years — and locals and visitors alike try to grapple with the change.
Posted inNonfiction
The Shames of Men
An anthropologist on a return visit to a remote village in Papua New Guinea learns that all the village’s young men are terribly wounded.
Posted inNonfiction
How I Became ‘Rich’
During a rare opportunity to vacation in Hawai’i, Stacy Torres is forced to confront her status as better off than where she came from.