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Places Field Notes
Weekly notes from Simon Whistler on remarkable locations, hidden histories, and maps worth following.
One issue per week. No filler.
Latest Field Notes
Browse Places93 articles across 6 categories.
Afghanistan is Now So Much Worse Than You Think.
Five years after the Taliban's return to power, Afghanistan faces economic collapse, mass hunger, women's rights erasure, ISIS attacks, and rising tensions with Pakistan. Here's how the country descended into its worst crisis yet.
Alnwick Poison Garden: The Deadliest Plants in the World
Explore England's Alnwick Poison Garden, where deadly plants require government permission to grow and visitors risk fainting among nature's most dangerous killers.
The Boötes Void: The Biggest, Emptiest Thing in the Universe
Discover the Boötes Void, a 330 million light-year expanse of near-nothingness that changed our understanding of cosmic structure, and explore the theories behind this mysterious region of space.
Cactus Dome: The Nuclear Tomb in Paradise
The Cactus Dome on Runit Island contains 111,000 cubic yards of radioactive waste from US nuclear testing. As sea levels rise and concrete cracks, this Cold War tomb threatens to release its poison into the Pacific.
The Caribbean Capital City... That is a Ghost Town
How Mariupol, Ukraine's tenth-largest city, was besieged, destroyed, and rebuilt as a Russian city—erasing its people, culture, and identity in one of the most brutal urban campaigns of the 21st century.
Cartel Country: Where Drugs Rule All
An in-depth exploration of Mexico's devastating cartel conflict, examining how drug syndicates control territory, terrorize civilians, and challenge the Mexican government's authority across vast swaths of the country.
CECOT: The Alcatraz of Latin America
Explore CECOT, El Salvador's maximum-security mega-prison built to house 40,000 gang members. Discover how President Nayib Bukele's controversial crackdown transformed the nation from one of the world's most violent countries to one of the safest.
The Central Asian Region Where People Can't Stop Fighting...
Explore the Fergana Valley, Central Asia's most volatile region, where Soviet-drawn borders, ethnic diversity, and resource competition have fueled decades of brutal conflict between Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, and Tajiks.
China's Rotting Mansion Cities.
Explore China's ghost cities and rotting mansion developments—65 to 80 million vacant homes built for speculation rather than people, trapping millions in a broken system.
Chukotka: Russia's Most Inhospitable Region.
Discover Chukotka, Russia's most isolated and inhospitable region. From Soviet boom to post-collapse decline, explore how this vast Arctic territory became a place where hope goes to die.
Darvaza: Turkmenistan's Eternally-Burning Crater
The story of the Darvaza gas crater, a Soviet-era engineering mishap that became one of the world's most bizarre tourist attractions, and its possible imminent extinction.
This is the DEADLIEST Mountain Peak in the World...
Discover why Annapurna, not Everest, holds the grim title of the world's deadliest mountain peak, with a fatality rate of roughly one in five successful ascents.