Culture

Vienna Artists Cool Heatwaves With Asphalt Painted Colors
Vienna Artists Cool Heatwaves With Asphalt Painted Colors

Equipped with an infrared thermometer, Austrian artist Jonas Griessler measures the sweltering heat in an inner courtyard in the center of Vienna. Thanks to his collective's artwork covering the black asphalt with a multitude of bright colors, the ground temperature has dropped from 31°C to 20°C. Initiated by the museum showing the private ...

Neither Man nor Woman? Psychoanalysis and the New Faces of Gender
SpotlightNeither Man nor Woman? Psychoanalysis and the New Faces of Gender

For centuries, gender identity was regarded as self-evident. To be a man or a woman seemed obvious. Biological sex was expected to dictate one’s role, tastes, gestures, clothing, and even destiny. One was born a girl or a boy, and society vigilantly preserved this division. Early psychoanalysis did not escape this binary logic. Freud himself ...

Sweden Moves Iconic Arctic Church Amid Mine Expansion
Sweden Moves Iconic Arctic Church Amid Mine Expansion

A historic red wooden church considered one of Sweden's most beautiful buildings resumed its slow move across the Arctic town of Kiruna on Wednesday, inching toward its new home to allow Europe's biggest underground mine to expand. Kiruna's entire town center is being relocated because of the giant LKAB iron ore mine that dominates the region, ...

Fading Faces: Why Young Hindu Women in Pakistan Are Abandoning Traditional Tattoos
Fading Faces: Why Young Hindu Women in Pakistan Are Abandoning Traditional Tattoos

Grinding charcoal with a few drops of goat’s milk, 60-year-old Basran Jogi peers at the faces of two young Pakistani sisters preparing for their first tattoos. The practice of elder women needling delicate shapes onto the faces, hands, and arms of younger generations stretches back centuries in the Hindu villages that dot the southern border ...

Vanished Masterpieces: The Art of the Perfect Crime
WindowVanished Masterpieces: The Art of the Perfect Crime

When a masterpiece disappears, a void opens in collective memory. Visitors pause before the empty frame, whispering stories and imagining the audacity of the theft. The moment art slips into shadow, legend takes over. Disappearance grants a fame no peaceful exhibition could ever match. An art theft is never just another crime. It strikes at the ...

'Ketamine Queen' to Plead Guilty in Matthew Perry's Death
'Ketamine Queen' to Plead Guilty in Matthew Perry's Death

A dealer dubbed the "Ketamine Queen" has agreed to plead guilty to supplying the drugs that killed Friends’ actor Matthew Perry, the US Department of Justice said Monday. Jasveen Sangha, 42, will admit several charges, including one of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury in relation to the late star. Sangha, ...

From Raves to Roots: Saudi Arabia Spotlights its Heritage
From Raves to Roots: Saudi Arabia Spotlights its Heritage

First, deeply religious Saudi Arabia opened its doors to Western raves and music festivals. Now it's turning to long-neglected Saudi traditions as it seeks to draw tourists and reshape its national identity. In Terhal, a lavish stage show in Riyadh, an actor in a red-and-white headdress gallops on a white horse, exploring the kingdom's heritage ...

'Weapons' Rules North American Box Office for Second Week
'Weapons' Rules North American Box Office for Second Week

Buzzy horror film Weapons won the North American box office for a second week running with $25 million in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday. The Warner Bros. movie starring Julia Garner (Ozark) and Josh Brolin (Avengers: Infinity War) tells the story of the mysterious disappearance of a group of children from the same school ...

Terence Stamp, Screen Legend and 'Superman'’s Zod, Died at 87
Terence Stamp, Screen Legend and 'Superman'’s Zod, Died at 87

The London actor from a working-class background, born on July 22, 1938, had his first breakthrough in Peter Ustinov's Billy Budd. His performance as a dashing young sailor hanged for killing one of his crewmates earned him an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe for Best New Actor. Carving out a niche for his alluring depictions of brooding ...

Looking for a New Look? Haircut Trends in 2025
Looking for a New Look? Haircut Trends in 2025

It’s hard to walk through a lively neighborhood, grab a coffee or scroll Instagram without spotting this year’s defining styles. Just look around: fashion is on full display, joyful, diverse and often unexpected. Gone are the days of uniformity. Now, every woman is making the trend her own, adjusting it, reinventing it, claiming it. This ...

Brain Rot: The Word That Defines Our Digital Decay
Word of the weekBrain Rot: The Word That Defines Our Digital Decay

Have you ever tried to swipe a printed page like it’s a touchscreen? Then you may have had your first brain rot moment. The phrase exploded across social media in 2023 and 2024, describing what happens when online habits spill into everyday life. Whether it’s quoting TikTok slang in real conversations, interpreting real-world images like ...