Flesh-Eating and Fetishes: Doing Justice to the Reasonableness of Cannibalism
It sounds like the beginning of a distasteful joke. What do a petty criminal, a Swedish professor, a porn star, and a room full of auctioneers all have in common? The truth, however, is far from humorous: all of them have consumed human flesh. The subject of cannibalism rose to renewed prominence th
Playing Home: How Flatpack Furniture is Changing China
Families sit around dining tables eating out of take-away boxes; a suited businessman taps away at his laptop and rests his feet on a coffee table; an exhausted young mother lies sleeping, tucked into a duvet. Snapshots of everyday Beijing residents getting on with their lives. Except these people a
In a Silent Way
In the Tora Bora of Afghanistan, American soldiers played death metal at the entrances of caves, in a bid to prise out Al-Qaeda fighters. Sometimes they sent F-16s to fly low – earsplittingly so – over enemy camps. Or they used music for interrogation purposes – blitzed prisoners with sound, o
Mass Hysteria: A Cult of Mystery
July 1518 lives long in the memory of the people of Strasbourg. At the height of a hot summer a distraught French peasant stepped out onto the street, and spontaneously and fervently began to dance. In what must rank as one of the strangest social phenomena in history, she was soon joined by over 40
Holy Land: The world’s No. 1 Jesus-themed amusement park
Nuns get free entry into Holy Land but for the rest of us it’s 70 pesos. A trio of smug-faced sisters glides past security while the less godly are crushed together in the sweaty mass of a 20-minute queue. I am wedged in the middle of a group of Mormon missionaries from Utah wearing personalised
The Shaolin: Child warrior-monks of Henan Province, China
If you stand at the foot of the imposingly vertical Mount Song in China’s Henan Province at four o’clock in the morning, you are treated to a curious sight. Dozens of tiny figures crawl down the mountain’s winding steps on their hands and feet, wearing nothing but thin cotton tunics to
I (Don’t) Wanna Hold Your Hand
Walk down the street. As long as it’s a street with a few people in it, there are probably some who insist upon being in relationships. You might feel pleased for them or you might feel bitter that they have what you so desperately crave. Either way, you may not think to pay much attention [&helli
Raising Hell: America’s Religious Rollercoaster Ride
Imagine taking your child to a place where they will watch graphic simulations of abortion, rape and suicide. Alternatively, imagine taking them to a place where they will see demonstrations of charity, forgiveness and faith. In terms of the child’s welfare, the choice seems obvious. In term
For here are the people: Britain by Mass Observation since 1937
“While Europe was tensely watching the crisis over Czechoslovakia, Herr Hitler paid a surprise visit to the French frontier to-day.” So began Britain by Mass Observation, a 1939 Penguin Special by Charles Madge and Tom Harrisson. They were not endorsing this characterization of the start of the