Where I Go: The Best Basketball Court in Lisbon

At Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, There’s Only One Shared Language, and Everyone Is Welcome

When I arrived in Lisbon in late 2016, I was in the best basketball shape of my life. I had just finished a master’s degree in Scotland, where I had started for the university’s second team (and rode the bench for the first). So one of the first things I did after unpacking was to seek out what I’d heard was the best basketball court in the city.

I’d moved to Portugal after securing some remote freelance work. My plan was to add a language to my lopsided resume—I already spoke …

by Jeremy Klemin | April 14, 2022

What If We Used Play to Solve the World’s Biggest Problems?

From Foxes to Footballers, Animals Love Games. Let’s Use Competition to Everyone’s Advantage

by Janet O’Shea and Daniel T. Blumstein | January 28, 2021

Ours is a time of reduced civility, heightened political partisanship, and decreased faith in institutions. If we don’t figure out how to engage respectfully, we will all lose out. COVID …

The Game of Non Existence

By Justin Rigamonti | July 8, 2016

Did you ever play at non-existence?

My brother and I taught ourselves to play the game
no one else would’ve shown two kids:

how to lean forward under the counter,
under our …

Seniors Belong on Playgrounds

For Many Southern Californians, the Secret to Eternal Youth Lies in Constant Play

by Steve Hymon | June 8, 2015

Beth Molnar of Pasadena has been fascinated with figure skating since she was a child. She returned to the sport seriously at 30 and now, at 66, is a regular …

Why Kids Need to Dig in the Dirt Again

What I Learned About Freedom and Imagination, in an Era Before the Screens Took Over

By Manuel H. Rodriguez | June 1, 2015

Kids today have it all, it seems, except time to be themselves. Their lives are so intensely choreographed from one activity to the next, and their scarce downtime so consumed …

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