Cities
The peculiar logic behind how metropolises grow, die, and reinvent themselves.
72 articlesLatest Cities
Zheleznogorsk/Krasnoyarsk-26: Siberia’s Secret Nuclear City
Explore the hidden history of Krasnoyarsk-26, a Soviet secret city built to produce weapons-grade plutonium, its luxurious gilded cage existence, and the devastating environmental legacy that outlasted the Cold War.
The Most Extreme Prison in Russia
Discover Black Dolphin, Russia's most notorious supermax prison. From its brutal conditions to its depraved inmates, explore what makes this modern-day gulag inescapable.
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.
More in Cities
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.
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.
Diego Garcia: The Most Controversial Island in the World
Explore the dark history of Diego Garcia, from colonial plantations and forced expulsion of the Chagossian people to CIA black sites, nuclear weapons, and ongoing geopolitical controversy.