Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
In the events series Letters Live, performers read notable letters – old and new, original and written by others – in front of a live audience. In this video, as part of the Letters Live event at the Royal Albert Hall in London in November 2023, the US-born comedian Rob Delaney reads a 1st-century letter by the ancient Roman lawyer and writer Pliny the Younger. Addressing his friend Septicius Clarus, who had stood him up for a meal, Pliny excoriates his flaky dinner mate for the boorishness of his offence, and laments the unrealised joys they surely would have shared. Performed with delightful verve by Delaney, the short is both hilarious and humanising. For, although we might not long for the delicacies of three snails, two eggs and a lettuce, the pain of a social slight still cuts deep.
Via Open Culture
Video by Letters Live
video
Architecture
A 3D rendering of the Colosseum captures its architectural genius and symbolic power
17 minutes
video
Human rights and justice
Surreal, dazzling visuals form an Iranian expat’s tribute to defiance back home
10 minutes
video
Love and friendship
Never marry a man you love too much, and other views on romance in Sierra Leone
5 minutes
video
History of technology
Curious singles and tech sceptics – what ‘computer dating’ looked like in 1966
6 minutes
video
Archaeology
What’s an ancient Greek brick doing in a Sumerian city? An archeological investigation
16 minutes
video
Family life
The migrants missing in Mexico, and the mothers who won’t stop searching for them
21 minutes
video
War and peace
A frontline soldier’s moving account of the fabled ‘Christmas truce’ of 1914
12 minutes
video
The ancient world
Petty squabbles and bloody battles – the life of an ancient Roman soldier
18 minutes
video
Technology and the self
A haunting scene from ‘Minority Report’ inspires a voyage into time and memory
7 minutes