Meer | English edition

Thursday, September 17, 2026

A surveillance camera monitors a public area while police officers patrol in the background

A businesswoman uses facial recognition technology on her smartphone while passing through airport security

Artificial intelligence monitors people through advanced surveillance cameras, illustrating a dystopian world with no privacy or personal secrets

Police officers patrol beneath a mounted CCTV surveillance camera in a monitored public space with a blurred city background

Professional travelers uses smartphone facial recognition during the airport check-in and security process

The remote-controlled global mind

George Orwell, David Icke, and the rise of digital surveillance, algorithmic control, and psychological manipulation

Female English teacher portrait holding an English flag

The power of spoken English in academic success

How communication skills shape confidence, participation, and future opportunities

A ferry crossing the harbour toward Ellis Island at sunset, symbolising the hopes and uncertainties carried by those seeking a new beginning

Insights on our shared humanity

A travel memoir on migration, identity, and the meaning of home

ARVN soldier clings to a departing helicopter while fleeing the Khe Sanh base, March 20, 1971

Ramparts’ depictions of corporations’ war in Indochina

Ramparts Magazine did not merely report on the Vietnam War, it reframed it as the direct product of an alliance between corporations, intellectuals, and state power.

On the Street

A Hindu priest studies a Vedic astrology chart by lamplight, reflecting the ancient Indian tradition of aligning human life with celestial rhythms

Is astrology a religion?

Why Vedic astrology endures as a cultural and symbolic science, not a theology

A boy whose superhero is within him in the shape of Batman

How superheroes shape the world around us

The need to anchor and to remind what truly matters

In 2008, Hashima Island, also known as Battleship Island, located off the coast of Nagasaki, Japan, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list

Architecture & Design

Forgotten utopias: abandoned architectural visions

The untold stories of architecture’s most ambitious dreams

A very long journey unveiling Pre-Raphaelite stained glass

Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite stained glass unveiled

An interview with Alastair Carew-Cox

Gourmet meal with white wine on a white ceramic plate: European cuisine and food pairing for sensory dining experiences

Food & Beverage

Science and art of European food pairing and sensory dining

Discover the innovative techniques and traditions transforming the culinary landscape across Europe

Grand Central Terminal, New York

Economy & Politics

Secret train stories

Α parallel plot?

Architecture & Design

The iconic façade of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, reflecting the role of bold architectural identity in intuitive navigation

Cognitive cartography and intuitive navigation

How playgrounds reveal the secrets of intuitive architectural design

Illustration by Gail Simon Coleman, represented by Susan Gomberg Artists Representative Incorporated. From American Showcase: Illustration 1 of 2 (Vol. 16, p. 514), by American Showcase Inc. (Ed.), 1993, American Showcase Inc. Copyright 1993 by American Showcase Inc. Photograph of print source taken by author. Reproduced under fair use for critical and editorial commentary

The lost seduction of commercial advertising

How twentieth-century poster art transformed colour, desire, and illusion into emotional spectacle

Art

An artist creating graffiti on a wall

What we really mean by “street art”

How a simple label quietly shapes legitimacy, value, and the way we see art in public space

The Sunday Courier, Issue No. 36, September 3–10, 1911. The theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre on August 21, 1911, quickly became a global media sensation, transforming the painting into a world-famous icon. Newspapers around the world, including The New York Times, covered what was widely described as the “art heist of the century,” publishing dramatic headlines and detailed reports on the investigation, the search for suspects, and the painting’s eventual recovery in 1913

The Mona Lisa: a timeless encounter

From Renaissance mastery to modern wonder, exploring the mystery behind the world’s most famous painting

Culture

A grandmother reading a story to her daughters and grandchild, representing the passing of memory, wisdom, and culture across generations

The performance of modern life

When culture stops being lived and starts being shown

A relief on the Arch of Titus depicts Roman soldiers carrying treasures looted from the Jerusalem Temple, including the sacred menorah, during a triumphal procession following the conquest of Jerusalem in 70 CE

Andrea Stoler’s Jewish Vatican tour

A Jewish-perspective tour developed in collaboration with Micaela Pavoncello

Economy & Politics

A lone viewer sits immersed in a flood of polarising digital content, where political outrage and distorted narratives compete for attention on glowing screens

How digital media turned politics into a hyperreal spectacle

Why online ideologies thrive on toxicity, profit, and distorted reality

A firestorm cloud rising over Hiroshima, Japan, in the aftermath of the atomic bombing

From Hiroshima to the edge of armageddon

Eight decades of nuclear memory and a call for reason, peace, and human solidarity

Entertainment

Pauline Oliveros performs live at the Sonic Acts Festival in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on February 24, 2012

Pauline Oliveros and the philosophy of listening

Sound, consciousness, and the possibilities of expanded attention

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and Lisa Kudrow, played iconic characters in the TV show Friends (1994). Photo by © Ron Davis

The evolution of women’s portrayal in stories for the screen

Arc-she-types: how far we have come

Fashion

Jonny Johansson at Acne Studios Women’s Fall/Winter 2026 runway show, presented on 11 March 2026

Acne Studios and the aesthetics of uncertainty

Jonny Johansson’s SS26 collection explores emotional friction, suspended resolution, and the future of ambiguous luxury

Marilyn Monroe’s most iconic black dresses include the beaded fringe dress from Some Like It Hot, a cocktail dress from The Asphalt Jungle (1950), and several of her personal evening gowns

The evolution of the little black dress

From Coco Chanel to contemporary fashion, a century of style, identity, and reinvention

Feature

A woman in a bright dress walks across a field in the glow of sunset

Nothing and everything at once

A poetic reflection on life’s contradictions, growth, and inner stillness

While Darla presented her painful breakup letter to an eager audience as a work of fiction in Florida, her ex-boyfriend Lucio discovered the same letter in Rome

No more running

Allow the words of the past to bring you healing

Food & Beverage

A farmer's market vendor displaying a crate of fresh strawberries, ready for customers to enjoy

The grocery shopping dilemma

How local stores and chain supermarkets meet different consumer needs

An African American woman selects products while shopping in a convenience store, carrying an orange shopping basket

The quiet takeover of private label

How supermarket brands are reshaping the global food and beverage industry

Science & Technology

A person standing at the heart of a vast maze, symbolizing humanity’s struggle to maintain direction during times of uncertainty

Could AI’s “judgment day” come without a machine rebellion?

With machines becoming more capable of reasoning and acting independently, humanity still cannot fully explain or predict how they behave

A man cools down with water as temperatures reach 40 degrees Celsius

Not every body handles heat the same

Menstrual cycles, daily medications, and the hidden risks of hotter summers

Sport

A girl figure skating gracefully on the ice

The science of ice skating performance

How biomechanics, physics, and psychology shape the elite skater

A silhouette of a man standing before a climbing wall, preparing to climb

A beginner’s guide to bouldering

Simple technique shifts and mindful gym etiquette can turn challenge into confidence

Travel

A meteor streaking across the Milky Way above mountains, representing the excitement of peak meteor shower season

The best and worst U.S. states for meteor spotting

How weather, light pollution, and public dark-sky access influence celestial viewing

The Ermoupoli Town Hall in Miaouli Square, Syros, representing the elegance and grandeur of the island's historic civic architecture

Syros: Greece's historic island retreat

Much of this island’s appeal lies in its famous historic mansions

Wellness

Two senior women chatting and smiling while holding yoga mats inside a modern fitness studio

Be old, not useless

Rethinking ageing through purpose, contribution, and lifelong growth

A journey through the hidden landscapes of memory, trauma, and transformation, where the mind and body carry the echoes of the past while searching for a new sense of self

The stories hidden in the body

Trauma, nervous system memory, and the unseen beliefs that continue to shape human behaviour and emotional wellbeing

Explore the Calendar

Worldwide Brussels Munich Pittsburgh Nuremberg Bern Santiago Québec Stockholm Berlin Luxembourg Sofia San Francisco Frankfurt am Main Cambridge Warsaw Vienna Lucca Leipzig Sao Paulo Seoul Washington Cambridge

Oussama Diab, Middleeastern Guernica, Guernica After Picasso (detail), 2026. Courtesy of Artbooth Gallery

17 Sep — 31 Oct 2026 at the Artbooth Gallery in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Pablo Picasso, Bacchanal with the black bull (detail), 1959. Courtesy of Art Encounters Foundation

Picasso in visite

17 Sep 2026 — 17 Jan 2027 at the Art Encounters Foundation in Timișoara, Romania

Girolamo Di Benvenuto, Kreuztragung, kreuzigung und beweinung (detail), um 1500. Courtesy of Museum Städel

Sin. Pray. Love

17 Sep 2026 — 17 Jan 2027 at the Museum Städel in Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Keerthana Kunnath, Not what you saw. Courtesy of Foam

Not what you saw

18 Sep — 27 Nov 2026 at the Foam in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Relic of the so-called staff of Moses, mediterranean region. Courtesy of the Jewish Museum

Sacred splendor

18 Sep 2026 — 7 Feb 2027 at The Jewish Museum in New York, United States

Xevi Solà, Coupe de monde, 2026. Courtesy of Opera Gallery

Thoughts of a bigger splash

18 Sep — 15 Oct 2026 at the Opera Gallery in Monaco, Monaco

Jason Kowalski, Live music (detail), 2026. Courtesy of LewAllen Galleries

Notes from the west

18 Sep — 7 Nov 2026 at the LewAllen Galleries in Santa Fe, United States

Graciela Iturbide, Mujer ángel (detail), Sonora-Wüste, Mexico, 1979. Courtesy of FOMU Foto Museum © Graciela Iturbide

Eyes to fly with

18 Sep 2026 — 8 Jan 2027 at the FOMU Foto Museum in Antwerp, Belgium

Léonard Pongo. Courtesy of FOMU Foto Museum

Léonard Pongo's exhibition

18 Sep 2026 — 17 Jan 2027 at the FOMU Foto Museum in Antwerp, Belgium

Lola Pertsowsky, La fourmi ailée l'éponge et celle de Claude, 2024-2026. Courtesy of FOMU Foto Museum © Lola Pertsowsky

Lola Pertsowsky's exhibition

18 Sep — 8 Nov 2026 at the FOMU Foto Museum in Antwerp, Belgium

Luz Lizarazo, La madre (detail), 2026. Courtesy of Casas Riegner Gallery

Embracing my beasts as I am just passing through

18 Sep — 7 Nov 2026 at the Casas Riegner Gallery in Bogotá, Colombia

Franz Gertsch, Patti Smith I (detail), 1978. Courtesy of Museum Franz Gertsch

Franz Gertsch. Blow-up (Part II)

19 Sep 2026 — 28 Feb 2027 at the Museum Franz Gertsch in Burgdorf, Switzerland

Ángeles Agrela, Chesca y Corina (detail), 2026. Courtesy of Nicodim Gallery

Ángeles Agrela: Camino y Paz

19 Sep — 7 Nov 2026 at Nicodim Gallery in Los Angeles, United States

Bashar Khalaf, Junk garden no. 3 (detail), 2021. Courtesy of Zawyeh Gallery

The field of dreams

19 Sep — 8 Nov 2026 at the Zawyeh Gallery in Ramallah, Palestine

Ulrich Seidl, Im keller (detail, video still), 2014. Courtesy of Eye Filmmuseum

Über das leben, die liebe und den tod

19 Sep 2026 — 31 Jan 2027 at the Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sol Calero, La escuela del sur (detail), 2015. Courtesy of Groninger Museum

The architect and the housewife

19 Sep 2026 — 9 May 2027 at the Groninger Museum in Groningen, Netherlands

Mercedes Azpilicueta, CaccHho cucchhA, De Appel Amsterdam (detail), 2025. Courtesy of Groninger Museum

19 Sep 2026 — 10 Jan 2027 at the Groninger Museum in Groningen, Netherlands

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