Stranger's Guide

Prisoners of War How conflict changed life for children living with their incarcerated mothers in Ukraine

Check out this week's Long Read, "Prisoners of War" by Nataliya Gumenyuk from our Ukraine guide.

Read more from Musa Okwonga’s powerful eulogy, "Mandela Will Never, Ever Be Your Minstrel" for the South African leader from our Johannesburg guide in our recent Vignette newsletter on Substack.

Mandela Will Never, Ever Be Your Minstrel Musa Okwonga's eulogy for the leader of a nation

“Dear revisionists,
Mandela will never, ever be your minstrel. Over the next few days, you will try so, so hard to make him something he was not, and you will fail. You will try to smooth him, to sandblast him, to take away his Malcolm X. You will try to hide his anger from view.”

Good Sports Athleticism and identity in Irish women's sports

Check out Eimar Ryan's essay, "Good Sports" from our Ireland guide in this week's Long Read here on our Substack.

School Days Celebrating the students in Chicago's public schools

School is back in session!
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Since summer break has come to a close and students around the world transition back to the classroom, we’re revisiting Melissa Ann Pinney’s photo essay, “School Days” from our Chicago guide in our recent Close Up newsletter.

Check it out on our Substack!

King of the Tyrant Lizards Fiction by Malerie Willens

Check out our new Fiction newsletter here on our Substack!

Chicago's Other Mob Story The Don you've never heard of

Check out this week's Long Read, “Chicago’s Other Mob Story” by Hillel Levin from our Chicago guide!

Olympique de Marseille A football team is the face of modern France

Check out Sean Jacob’s essay, “Olympique de Marseille” from our Mediterranean guide on the football team that is the face of modern France in this week's Long Read here on our Substack.

Regardless, this week, we’re taking time to pause and reflect on the ways friendships near and far can enrich our lives. Join us as we explore friendships across the globe in this week’s Field Guide!

A Field Guide to Friendship Chosen families across the globe

In an increasingly interconnected yet often isolating world, the value of real friendship continues to grow. The United Nations recognizes July 30 as International Friendship Day while some countries such as the US and India dedicate the first Sunday of August to celebrating friendships.

Dead and Kicking Writer's haunts—and haunting writers—in Moscow

Check out this week's Long Read!

Each of the photographs in this series, called “Volcano,” are snapshots of Iranians doing everyday tasks with big smiles. But there's a surreal undercurrent of foreboding.

Volcano Gohar Dashti's photo essay about the dangers that lurk

The photographer, Gohar Dashti, is known for operating in a space between reality and fantasy. At first glance, the scenes seem mundane, but a close look will show the tail of a giant mythical beast lurking.

Check it out on our Substack at the link above.

From personal perspectives to historical milestones, we’re taking a closer look at the many ways people connect with Juneteenth and how it resonates for people all around the world.⁠

A Field Guide to Juneteenth Stories of Juneteenth

In honor of Juneteenth, we're sharing reflections and history that show how this holiday came to be and continues to evolve—both in the US and beyond in this week's Field Guide.

Give it a read at the link above!

Despite the excitement of a jail break, most inmates are living a slower kind of life. Katy Reckdahl’s extraordinary article, “Slow Time” from our New Orleans guide, is about an OPJC inmate named Blakk and his daily difficulties of making a call home or waking up at 3 am for breakfast.

The inmates even left a taunting message behind on the wall “to easy LOL.” Nearly a month later, two of the men are still at large.

Slow Time Katy Reckdahl on getting by in the Orleans Parish Prison

The Orleans Parish Justice Center in New Orleans has been in the news for weeks due to the daunting prison break of 10 inmates. The press has been riveted by the story of inmates removing a toilet and sink from a cell and cutting steel bars in order to escape through a rectangular hole in the wall.

Pride and Progress in Ireland Remembering the powerful 2014 speech by the country's most famous drag queen

Check out our recent Vignette to read an excerpt of the speech or watch the video of the speech in its entirety.

Eleven years later, the speech stands as a striking example of courage in speaking truth to power, and the unpredictable paths of progress.

Whether they’re representing collective identities or social movements, flags remain powerful and often complicated symbols in our world. In this week's Field Guide, we take a look at some of the most interesting flags and their histories. ⁠Check it out at the link above!

The vast array of Pride flags have long been a symbol of the diversity of identities and experiences within the LGBTQ+ community.⁠

Sweden, Peru, Romania, Argentina, Armenia and more, also celebrate their nation's flags as symbols of national identity and cultural heritage. In many parts of the world, June is also Pride Month, the annual celebration of LGBTQ+ people and communities around the world.

A Field Guide to Flags Stories behind the symbols

Around the world, many countries honor their national flag in June. June 14 is Flag Day in the US, a celebration of the adoption of the nation’s red, white and blue banner in 1777.

Read this week's Passport newsletter where we share recent highlights and some of our favorite things online at the link above!

Passport: Spring Flowers Recent highlights and 5 favorite things!

Over the last month, we have published new works from Syria, Nigeria, Ukraine, South Africa and New Orleans. As the US seeks to disengage from the rest of the world, we are determined to make space that explores new perspectives and embraces cultural complexities.⁠

Check out the full Vignette and essay above.

Mhlongo’s portrait of his beloved city is nuanced and complicated, while this week we saw his country reduced to caricature by President Donald Trump in his meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.