Meer | English edition

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

A couple in bed, illuminated only by their phone screens

Young women lying on a bed, focused on their phones

People absorbed in their smartphones, scrolling through their screens

A couple lying in bed, using their phones with the lights turned off

People resting on a bed, distracted by their smartphone

Seven steps to surrender

The shift from convenience to control in smartphones and AI

A powerful leader addresses a tightly packed crowd as towering screens amplify his image—an unsettling portrait of modern authority fueled by spectacle and collective surrender

Economy & Politics

The comfort of tyranny

Why modern strongmen rise not through force alone, but through our exhaustion with freedom, complexity, and doubt

A black-and-white photograph of people standing in a queue outside a shop, Belgium

The chain we build with every choice

Understanding how our daily decisions shape culture and community

The Monastery of San Agnese in Montone, Province of Perugia, Umbria, Italy

Economy & Politics

Mirco Rinaldi on keeping Montone alive

Culture, local governance, and resisting depopulation in an Italian hill town

On the Street

Laocoön and His Sons in Vatican museum, Vatican

Laocoön: from myth to marble

A few interesting facts about the Laocoön sculpture in the Vatican Museums

A couple in their bedroom sharing a moment of intimacy, a reminder that affection, legality and consent must go hand in hand

A global and historical examination of sexual consent laws

Let us please, turn the light on and drop the stones!

Drop the stones!

I just want to implore forgiveness for all this terrible mess that we bring to ourselves

Wetlands

Science & Technology

How important are the wetlands?

Seats of biological diversity

Fashion acknowledges piña fabric

The revival of an old industry

Traveling, when approached with the intention of reaching toward one's highest nature, becomes the most potent catalyst for such transformation. Not because it “entertains” us, but because it unmakes and remakes us

The way of excellence: what true luxury travel really means

Asking "Who will I become?" instead of "Where should I go?" can recover what luxury has always meant

Architecture & Design

Registan Square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, glowing at sunset as its blue-tiled madrasas shimmer like a doorway into another age

The architectural soul of Uzbekistan

From the Timurid blue domes to the bold lines of modern Tashkent

Standing on the Grasbrook peninsula of the Elbe River in Hamburg’s HafenCity, northern Germany, the Elbphilharmonie (Elphi) symbolizes the city’s maritime spirit, with a design inspired by waves and sails, resting gracefully atop a century-old brick warehouse close to the Speicherstadt

Elbphilharmonie: Hamburg’s icon of modern architecture

Where Hamburg’s maritime past meets its modern architectural future

Art

Simone Ferrero, The Whispering Abyss, 80.2 x 205.3 cm, 2024

Interview with Simone Ferrero

Crossing the visible: the mosaic as an inner threshold

Gottfried Eisenberger (pictured right), World Art Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Gottfried Eisenberger on World Art Dubai’s next phase

The fair’s curator reflects on scale, strategy, and the growing global reach of emerging artists

Culture

Children sitting on the sand in Portugal, enjoying ice cream sticks

It always begins with ice cream

On family traditions, quiet healing, and the sweetness that carries us home

A solitary poet sits lost in thought, his face lit by a soft, amber glow — a quiet reflection of Milan Kundera’s vision of the novel as a search for understanding rather than virtue

Milan Kundera and the novel beyond good and evil

When storytelling reveals truth, not morality

Economy & Politics

A symbolic image of bound hands in chains, illustrating the legacy of subjugation that shaped much of Africa’s past

Neo-colonialism: who is really to blame?

Tracing how colonial history, internal politics, and global power structures continue to influence African nations

$A fractured urban landscape symbolizes the widening divide between prosperity and precarity, as ordinary citizens stand at the edge of an uncertain economic and social future$

America at a crossroad: crisis of trust

Restoring fairness, accountability, and public trust in a deeply divided nation

Entertainment

No Other Choice, featuring performances by Son Ye-jin and Lee Byung-hun

A guide to 2025’s standout cinema

The films that surprised, unsettled, and stayed with us long after watching

Myha'la Herrold as Harper Stern in Season 3 © Simon Ridgway/HBO

The evolution of "Industry"

How a TV show finds its footing

Fashion

Trendy and confident: a stylish woman in sunglasses reflects themes of feminist art and queer identity

The rise of the female gaze on TikTok

How the female gaze is reshaping visibility, identity, and power online

Drawing on old Hollywood glamour and the showgirl as a modern goddess, the collection reframes a familiar cultural cliché. It merges Mugler’s heritage with a personal quest to reconcile contrasting forces and reignite the house’s iconoclastic power

Excavating Mugler: Miguel Castro Freitas ushers in a new era

A debut collection that reinterprets power, glamour, and the house’s iconic dna for a modern luxury audience

Feature

A storm-swept gothic landscape where love, memory, and haunting obsession intertwine—two figures locked in a destructive bond while ghostly echoes of the past linger across the windswept moors

A monstrous young God

A haunted meditation on love, ruin, and the storms of the moors

How did we end up paying for space in the air?

Existential dread from a tower in Vancouver

A burnt out tale from a life unfulfilled

Food & Wine

A smiling girl surrounded by colorful Brazilian fruits

Nutrition at the heart of self-care

How nutrition, movement, sleep, and mental well-being work together to build lasting health and resilienc

Hyperlipidemia is a significant factor that contributes to cardiovascular diseases globally. Thankfully, it is one factor that is easy to modify through medications and lifestyle changes

Feeding your microbiome to lower your cholesterol

Focusing on a pro-gut microbiome diet can improve cholesterol and other lipid levels

Science & Technology

The common sense image of a hacker, someone who could cyberattack a corporation

US tech bosses say cyberattacks are a matter of concern

Finding a way to protect corporations in the digital era

A vintage bicycle rests outside a charming shop, evoking a sense of classic beauty

Our little secrets in the age of the synthetic

As AI-generated realities multiply, the rare glow of human emotion and authenticity becomes our most precious truth

Sport

Back view of a shirtless man posing to showcase his muscles and physical fitness

HIIT: the athlete’s secret weapon

From sprints to plyometrics, discover how HIIT transforms fitness and performance across sports

An Adidas soccer ball resting on the grass pitch, ready for the game

From Sialkot to stadiums: the hidden price of football

The impact of football production on workers in Sialkot, Pakistan

Travel

Lovely flowers and a peaceful atmosphere at the hotel's entrance

Inside San Luis Obispo’s most considered hotel

Petit Soleil’s boutique charm fits seamlessly into the snugness of this California town

Airport lounges make it possible for customers to work, rest, and eat, far from the chaotic crowds of airports

Airport lounge access drives airline choice

They offer relief amidst the aviation travel process, which can be bumpy and sometimes chaotic

Wellness

Long before modern medicine, people observed nature closely and learned which plants eased pain, reduced fever, or helped wounds heal

Historical, archetypal and biological roots of healing

A brief look at the healing practices across time

Outdoor yoga practice in Rishikesh, India: where wellness, mindfulness, and cultural diplomacy converge beyond borders

Yoga beyond borders: soft power through wellness

How H.E Dr. Devyani Khobragade is weaving wellness and diplomacy in Tunisia

Explore the Calendar

Worldwide Santiago Thessaloniki Honolulu Amsterdam Chicago Riga Graz Sidney Mexico City Lucca Salzburg Luxembourg Stockholm Ottawa Barcelona Paris Oshkosh Prague London Frankfurt am Main Québec Washington

Marcel Vidal, Umbrella (detail), 2025. Courtesy of Kerlin Gallery

Blue moon shadow

12 Mar — 18 Apr 2026 at the Kerlin Gallery in Dublin, Ireland

John Alexander, Nature observed (detail). Courtesy of Berggruen Gallery

Nature observed

12 Mar — 30 Apr 2026 at the Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco, United States

Rachel Simon Marino, Running on air (detail). Courtesy of Berggruen Gallery

12 Mar — 30 Apr 2026 at the Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco, United States

Hussein Baalbaki, Seaside (detail), 2025. Courtesy of Artbooth Gallery

12 Mar — 26 Apr 2026 at the Artbooth Gallery in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Nathan Fischer, Golden hour (detail). Courtesy of Bonner David Galleries

Nathan Fischer's exhibition

12 Mar — 11 Apr 2026 at the Bonner David Galleries in New York, United States

Monica Stambrini, Friends and family. Courtesy of Maja Arte Contemporanea

Friends and family

12 Mar — 30 Apr 2026 at the Maja Arte Contemporanea in Rome, Italy

Frank Hyder, Wyoming conversation (detail), 2025. Courtesy of Ethan Cohen Gallery

Frank Hyder: then and now, 1970s and today

12 Mar — 11 Apr 2026 at the Ethan Cohen Gallery in New York, United States

Various artists, We refuse_d, exhibition view. Courtesy of Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art

13 Mar — 7 Jun 2026 at the M HKA in Antwerp, Belgium

Dorothy Browdy Kushner, Trees (detail), 1965. Courtesy of LewAllen Galleries

A force of nature

13 Mar — 18 Apr 2026 at the LewAllen Galleries in Santa Fe, United States

Shiva Ahmadi, Kindled crown (detail), 2026. Courtesy of Haines Gallery

Crown of flames

13 Mar — 25 Apr 2026 at the Haines Gallery in San Francisco, United States

Jong Oh. Courtesy of Marc Straus Gallery

Jong Oh's exhibition

13 Mar — 9 May 2026 at the Marc Straus Gallery in New York, United States

Amy Kirchner, Impression 1 (detail), 2025. Courtesy of Heather Gaudio Fine Art

Notions of time

14 Mar — 25 Apr 2026 at the Heather Gaudio Fine Art in Greenwich, United States

Wrona Gall, Ocean glow (detail), 2026. Courtesy of bG Gallery

14 Mar — 14 Apr 2026 at the bG Gallery in Santa Monica, United States

Lola Flash, Self portrait, Washington, DC (detail). Courtesy of Jenkins Johnson Gallery

14 Mar — 22 May 2026 at the Jenkins Johnson Gallery in San Francisco, United States

Daniel Albrigo, Dream sequence. Courtesy of Eleanor Harwood Gallery

14 Mar — 25 Apr 2026 at the Eleanor Harwood Gallery in San Francisco, United States

Joe Ferriso, Shapes and mirrors (detail), 2025. Courtesy of Eleanor Harwood Gallery

14 Mar — 25 Apr 2026 at the Eleanor Harwood Gallery in San Francisco, United States

Nicholas Bono Kennedy, Where there is smoke (detail), 2026. Courtesy of Hashimoto Contemporary

After the dinner party

14 Mar — 4 Apr 2026 at the Hashimoto Contemporary in New York, United States

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