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‘The conceit of the American suburb is that we’re all in a great park together.’
Front lawns are unnatural and generally serve little practical use, and yet they’re a staple of suburban culture, carefully manicured by their owners and so ubiquitous that they’re the largest irrigated crop in the United States. In this brief video, the US food and nature writer Michael Pollan ponders the ‘peculiar institution’ of the American lawn, taken for granted as natural by many Americans when, technically, it’s anything but.
Video by RadioWest
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Nature and landscape
California’s landscapes provide endless inspiration for a woodcut printmaker
10 minutes
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Love and friendship
Never marry a man you love too much, and other views on romance in Sierra Leone
5 minutes
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Virtues and vices
Why Bennie tried to disappear, and what happened when he was found decades later
16 minutes
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History of technology
Curious singles and tech sceptics – what ‘computer dating’ looked like in 1966
6 minutes
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Cognition and intelligence
A father forgets his child’s name for the first time in this poetic reflection on memory
4 minutes
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Animals and humans
Join seabirds as they migrate, encountering human communities along the way
13 minutes
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Stories and literature
Two variants of a Hindu myth come alive in an animated ode to Indian storytelling
14 minutes
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Technology and the self
The commodified childhood – scenes from two sisters’ lives in the creator economy
14 minutes
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Food and drink
The passage of time is a peculiar thing in a 24-hour diner
14 minutes