Business Insider (November 15, 2024): The United States has had 60 presidential elections starting in 1789. New parties have come and gone, while new states expanded the electoral map.
Video timeline: 0:00 – Intro 0:28 – First Party System (1792-1824) 1:30 – Second Party System (1828-1854) 2:40 – Third Party System (1854-1895) 5:46 – The Early 1900s (Progressive Era) 7:14 – Fifth Party System – FDR/New Deal Coalition 9:48 – Sixth Party System (1964-present) 16:42 – Credits
Maps show us how each state has voted over time — and who have been the winners and losers along the way.
The Local Project (November 12, 2024): Inside an iconic mid-century home designed by Steven Harris Architects, Palm Springs Residence is a study in restraint, honouring both the existing structure and the work of those who came before. This sensitive renovation reimagines the original house, known as Charney House, designed by Donald Wexler in 1956.
Video timeline:00:00 – Introduction to the Iconic Mid-century Home 00:52 – The Original Plan and Inspiration 02:18 – A Minimal Layout 02:48 – The Afternoon Light and Vibes 03:46 – A Very California House 04:05 – Proud Moments
“Wexler was brilliant, with an extraordinary sense of syntax and grammar; everything lines up with everything,” says Steven Harris, partner at Steven Harris Architects. Interestingly, Harris and his partner bought the house accidentally. “We were helping another friend with their house and fell in love with the place,” recalls Harris. After spending time inside an iconic mid-century home designed by Wexler, Harris’s vision was rooted in preserving as much of the original as possible. “Almost everything here is original to the house,” he notes. “For me, the greatest liability would be for someone to drive by on the street and immediately say, ‘oh! that’s a Steven Harris house.’”
Alterations inside the iconic mid-century home designed by Wexler were largely stylistic and inspired by a Wassily Kandinsky painting. “If you look at it from the air, you will see flashes and curves and various shapes, which on one hand is quite graphic, and on the other, almost every view is perspectival because the things you’re looking at are only oblique. Things shift off of each other in a very curious and interesting way.” Stepping inside an iconic mid-century home designed by Wexler, the front door is indicated by a covered passage, flanked by an oblique terrazzo sidewalk extending from the driveway.
0:15 Finfluencer financial advice revolution – A finfluencer is a content creator on social media who shares information on budgeting, saving and financial investments, among other topics. Finfluencers use blogs, podcasts or videos to get their message out. They help widen financial access to groups who didn’t have it before.
3:49 These vegetables grow in-store without soil – Instead of soil, they use plugs of rockwool, irrigated with nutrient-rich water in a method called hydroponics. They come in different sizes producing from 2,000 to 15,000 plants monthly. These farms have a tiny environmental footprint. The largest models can grow as much as a 3-hectare farm.
5:44 Telehealth platform empowers millions – Altibbi offers 24/7 access to online doctors along with accessible, up-to-date medical information. It offers a cheaper, more accessible alternative to in-person consultations but it also aims to ‘change the narrative’ around the patient-doctor relationship.
8:43 ‘Underwater tractors’ replant seagrass – They were created by Reefgen, an UpLink Top Innovator. The robot scoots over the seabed, steadily and carefully restoring the ecosystem. Reefgen’s technology aims to aid conservation efforts by augmenting the efforts of human restorers.
The National Gallery (November 8, 2024): The National GalleryEpisode 1 of ‘200 Years of the National Gallery’. Travel back through 200 extraordinary years of our history – from our origins in a private house in Pall Mall to our current home in bustling Trafalgar Square. ‘200 Years of Your National Gallery’ is a three-part documentary miniseries.
Stream for free exclusively on YouTube. Through the eyes of the staff, past and present, who care for the nation’s collection, and with rarely seen and newly digitised archive footage and images, we go exclusively behind-the-scenes to see the role the Gallery plays at the heart of cultural life of the UK.
The Local Project (July 26, 2024): Inspired by structures found near New Zealand’s Southern Alps, The Shepherd’s Hut is the worlds most secret home. The minimalist house – designed by Fearon Hay in collaboration with interior designer Paul Kennedy – sits comfortably in the landscape while offering a flexible set of interiors.
Video timeline:00:00 – Introduction to the World’s Most Secret Home 01:07 – Behind the Design and Name 02:31 – The Arrival Sequence 02:58 – A Playful and Relaxed Brief 04:29 – The Floor Plan and Layout 06:25 – The Interior Material Palette 07:59 – The Exterior Material Palette 08:48 – Proud Moments
Settled on the Wānaka lakefront, the worlds most secret home is often in the path of cold wind crossing from Makarora. “When there are storms, you can feel very alone, but with the warmth of the fires, my two dogs rugged up with sheepskin, you essentially become a shepherd,” says Matt Chapman, custodian of the property. “When we created the home, I didn’t want too much space for an abundance of possessions. I’d reached a point in my life where minimalism and simplicity were the ways I wanted to exist.”
While maintaining a minimalist focus, the design brief for the project proposed a spatially flexible home that enables new experiences. “When we encountered the site, it was an opportunity to build a structure with length,” says Tim Hay, architect at Fearon Hay. “We liked the idea of a very simple silhouette … we wanted the building to have a sense of retreat and integration with the landscape.”
National Geographic (November 7, 2024): Mark Wiens travels to a Karen village in the remote mountains of Mae Hong Son Province, in Northern Thailand, to reunite with his friend Mook. Mark’s challenge is to fish and forage for ingredients to cook a traditional Karen meal.
This will serve as the culminating flavor feast for a wrist tying ceremony, a Karen tradition to mark the planting and harvesting cycle of rice. But first, Mark and Mook must trek through the jungle to collect things like bitter melon leaves and broken bones pods. Once the sun goes down, they will join Mook’s brothers on a nighttime fishing expedition which doesn’t quite go as planned.
EPIC FOOD JOURNEYS WITH MARK WIENS Famed food traveler and flavor enthusiast Mark Wiens embarks on a culinary adventure in search of the most authentic eats. From 24-hour street food marathons in bustling cities to fishing and foraging in idyllic countryside regions for a traditional meal, he is on a mission to unlock the secrets of local cuisines while learning about the culture. Exciting tuk-tuk rides, charming boat cruises, and good old mountain trekking: Wiens will do what it takes to share with you these tasty and unique food journeys around the world.
RIBA Architecture (November 1, 2024): The Hall by TaylorHare Architects is shortlisted for RIBA’s House of the Year 2024.
Situated in the Kent Downs, this Grade II listed 16th century residence has been extensively and sympathetically refurbished into a sustainable home. Interiors have been both restored and modernised, with finely crafted detailing and considered new interventions that work in harmony so that the historical compliments the contemporary.
The house is an exemplar of green living, while simultaneously restoring the surrounding listed outbuildings and adding a pool, pool house, tennis court, stable block, and a new lake. The end result is a demonstration of how to extend the life of a historic building, while creating elegant living spaces for the future. Presented by the Royal Institute of British Architects, the House of the Year is a prestigious annual award for the best example of a one-off house designed by an architect in the UK, celebrating excellence and innovation in home design.
The Wall Street Journal (October 29, 2024): While polls show former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in a dead heat in the final stretch of the 2024 election, the GOP nominee is dominating the Democratic candidate in the betting markets.
Chapters: 0:00 Election betting is legal 0:36 How it works 2:39 Prediction markets vs. polls 3:58 The reliability of betting markets
Once banned by federal regulators, Americans can now legally gamble on elections in prediction markets. Platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket have emerged as websites to place yes-or-no contracts. WSJ reporter Alexander Osipovich explains how these markets work, what they could tell us about the outcome of the election and the implications of trading on the future of the country.
CBS Sunday Morning (October 27, 2024): Acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns, renowned for his documentaries on such topics as the Civil War, baseball, jazz and the Statue of Liberty, has now focused on 15th century Italian artist and intellectual Leonardo da Vinci.
Correspondent David Pogue talks with Burns and his producing partners, daughter Sarah Burns and son-in-law David McMahon, about their PBS documentary on the man Burns calls “one of the most incredibly interesting human beings who has ever walked the Earth.”
CBS Sunday Morning (October 20, 2024): We leave you this Sunday morning under the sea in Quintana Roo, Mexico, where the Manta rays are enjoying breakfast. Videographer: Mauricio Handler.
Quintana Roo is a Mexican state on the Yucatán Peninsula. On its Caribbean coast, the town of Tulum offers seaside Mayan ruins, sandy beaches and undersea caverns. To the northeast, the resort city of Cancún is known for its nightlife, Nichupté Lagoon nature reserve and long beaches with coral reefs.
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