A Letter From the Norwegian Village of Å, Where COVID Lockdown Forces a Dramatic Escape

A Journalist Watches the Open Arctic Turn Cold as Its Borders Close 

On a stormy day in mid-March, I found myself the very last man outside in the Norwegian village of Å.

Located on a remote island in the North Atlantic, the village of just 100 people had closed its schools the week before; restaurants and hotels never reopened after the new year holiday season. And now my last glimmer of hope for a hot coffee this morning—the “Bakeriet på Å”—had closed.

As the Northern European Correspondent for the Swiss Broadcasting Company, I must rove around a reporting area that extends from the far …

Why the 2020s Were California’s Golden Decade | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Why the 2020s Were California’s Golden Decade

A Letter From the Future Explains How a Series of Disasters Transformed the State

January 1, 2030

To My Sons:

I’m so proud of all three of you. I especially appreciate that, now that you’re 21, 18, and 16 years old, you no longer fight with …