BY: JESSICA BEUKER London-based Jasper White works as both an editorial and commercial photographer. He is well known for his photo collections and keen eye for capturing the exact mood and atmosphere of a scene. The following collection, all of…
Expression & Culture
Photos give us a look back at the unique performers who characterized circus life in the 1940s
BY: JESSICA BEUKER Seventy years ago, the circus scene looked vastly different from the big industry it is today. While the show’s staples remain, a lot of the original dazzle has been replaced by what can only be described as…
The “Wholesome” Barbie Doll is based on a German call girl
BY: EDITORS Since March 1959, Barbie became the first sexualized toy marketed to the masses as the paragon of American femininity and wholesomeness. But while Mattel would have little girls believe that Barbie’s origins were Harvard-educated parents and that her…
Meet the trans manicurist exchanging awareness for a free shape and polish
BY: CAROLINE ROLF So you’ve seen a few episodes of Transparent and Orange Is The New Black, but what do you really know about trans men and women? Charlie Craggs is a 23-year-old UK-based trans activist who believes the intimacy…
A female magician cursing patriarchy is the closest thing to Hogwarts reality has to offer
BY: EDITORS Filled with dead bats, rusty medical equipment and a glass eye dislodged from its owner’s socket, Misty Lee’s garage is a collection of everything that rattles in the dreams of an overactive mind. Whereas some may feel imaginary…
High school sweethearts-turned-vagabonds found the meaning of life by picking fruit
BY: BEN SCHUYLER AND DANIEL VOLLAND We were roommates when we decided to set out across the American West this summer for our project, When the Road is Home, never dreaming of all the places we would explore or the…
The spiritual teachings of a part-time hotdog vendor and full-time wizard
BY: AIDAN MACNAB Photos © Eric Zdancewicz & Aidan Macnab / The Plaid Zebra “Before you talk to me,” he says. “Forget everything you know.” I’m not sure how to do that. An empty mind is conducive to awareness of…
I travelled an entire year on $1000 to find out what hitchhikers and train hoppers really think
BY: MIKE QUAIN Like many millennials, I grew up believing I could do anything I wanted. I suppose all children grow up believing they could do anything they want, but I think millennials are special in the way that the…
This map of free food around the globe will help you harvest your local landscape
BY: CAROLINE ROLF There used to be a crabapple tree growing in the back yard of my family home. Every year when the apples would fall to the frosted grass below, squirrels would come running for this bountiful feast. What…
VICE is stepping up their game in the maple-syrup heartland of counterculture
BY: EDITORS There comes a time when you need to hang up your leather jacket and Converse lest you become that middle-aged youth-parasite crashing college freshman house parties. And while some publications have lamented the death of VICE’s brand of…
Incredible female photographer approaches men who catcall her and takes their portrait
Photography: HANNAH PRICE Writing: CONNOR BRIAN Moving from the white picket fences of suburban Colorado to the constant flow of verbal harassment on the streets of Philadelphia was no easy transition, but instead of keeping her head down and briskly…
Employers can now predict the future of your health by tracking your most private information
BY: CAROLINE ROLF We are surrounded by its unstoppable force and the impending possibility that technology will dictate everything humans do. Yes, technological advancements have solved many of our problems, but they have also raised concerns about our privacy and…
The CIA once ran a string of LSD brothels to unlock the secret to mind control
BY: M. TOMOSKI Illustration by: Ryan Garcia / The Plaid Zebra In 1975, law enforcement agents, scientists and prostitutes gathered in Washington to talk drugs. They were brought to the Capitol to testify about a CIA project known as MK-ULTRA,…
The Maori Love Song is the most beautiful thing you’ll hear today
BY: CAROLINE ROLF “Pokarekare Ana”, or The Maori Love Song, is a traditional New Zealand love song thought to be the country’s unofficial national anthem. The song is written in Maori, but has since been translated to English. The Maori…
These untold stories will give you a glimpse into the secret and crazy world of the service industry
BY: EMILY PLEASANCE It was quarter to 10 on a Wednesday night when I found myself sitting alone in a booth at the back of a Golden Griddle. The lights were dimmed to a comforting glow and the only other…
5 countries you should visit to escape Valentine’s Day dreadfulness
BY: CAROLINE ROLF You rubbed your bleary eyes as you awoke this morning, hung over from last night and in desperate need of brunch. You made the mistake of venturing to a brunch spot today and it became painfully obvious…
An ancient volcanic island hid this insect for 80 years while the world thought it was extinct
BY: TREVOR HEWITT The SS Makambo was damaged when it ran aground at Lord Howe Island in 1918. While it was being repaired, some black rats on the ship escaped onto the island. This was devastating to the local food…
Turns out, there’s a scientific explanation for why we can’t resist cuteness
BY: CAROLINE ROLF In the 1940s, an Austrian biologist by the name of Konrad Lorenz developed a formula that would make the human heart melt. Not literally, of course, but the formula known as Kindchenschema (or “baby schema”) is a…
These stunning split images show the contrast and connection between land and sea
BY: JESSICA BEUKER Split images—or over-unders—are a popular type of photograph that depicts both an underwater element and an above water element. This unique type of image showcases the connection between the two different worlds. Some of the shots fit…
Eric Garner’s daughter talking about Bernie Sanders will leave you breathless (video)
BY: EDITORS Bernie’s 50-year track record in activism for civil rights and marginalized peoples spans a fantastic breadth of issues. From being arrested in 1962 for protesting public-school segregation in Chicago, to condemning both Iraq wars and voting against marginalizing…