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.
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Hell.
Explore how humanity's largest shared construction project evolved across 3,000 years—from Mesopotamia's shadowy Kur to the personalized punishments of Greek Tartarus, the Abrahamic revolution, and Eastern approaches to karma and rebirth.
Turkmenistan: The World’s Wackiest Dictatorship?
Explore Turkmenistan's bizarre dictatorship, from rap videos and golden statues to brutal repression. Discover how the Berdimuhamedov dynasty maintains power through eccentricity and fear.
The US Town Blitzed By Two Tornadoes in One Day
In 1974, the small Alabama town of Tanner suffered a natural disaster so unique it may never happen again: two EF5 tornadoes struck within 30 minutes on the same day.
Vietnam: The Nation After the War
Explore the difficult history of post-war Vietnam: brutal repression, Soviet dependency, the boat people crisis, economic transformation through doi moi, and reconciliation with the United States.
Vorkuta: Hell on Earth
Explore the haunting story of Vorkuta, Russia's largest ghost city built on Gulag labor, where 200,000 prisoners perished and survivors now face abandonment in the Arctic.
The Weird World of Ghost Islands...
Explore the mysterious phantom islands that appeared on maps for centuries before disappearing—honest mistakes, deliberate hoaxes, and unexplained vanishings that still puzzle historians today.