Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
The audiovisual poem How to Be Alone (2010) was a viral hit for the Canadian musician and poet Tanya Davis and the Canadian filmmaker Andrea Dorfman. Their sequel How to Be at Home updates the original for our age of COVID-19 lockdown, pairing Dorfman’s charming animations – a distinctive melding of stop-motion and illustration – with Davis’s lyrical musings on the isolation that she and much of the rest of the world has endured over the past eight months. The resulting short is an artful – and, depending on your current degree of solitude, perhaps cathartic – meditation on the many conflicting emotions inspired by being forced to spend time at home during a crisis.
video
Stories and literature
Robert Frost’s poetic reflection on youth, as read in his unforgettable baritone
5 minutes
video
Sex and sexuality
After a sextortion scam, Eugene conducts an unblushing survey of masturbation
14 minutes
video
Language and linguistics
Closed captions suck. Here’s one artist’s inventive project to make them better
8 minutes
video
Anthropology
Why are witchcraft accusations so common across human societies?
4 minutes
video
Subcultures
Drop into London’s eclectic skate scene, where newbies and old-timers find community
5 minutes
video
Technology and the self
A deepfake porn victim confronts the pain of having her likeness stolen and vandalised
19 minutes
video
Wellbeing
Born in China, Zee seeks a gender-affirming life in the American Midwest
11 minutes
video
Rituals and celebrations
A beginner’s guide to a joyful Persian tradition of spring renewal and rebirth
3 minutes
video
Love and friendship
Love looks a bit different for a chain-smoking couple in a small apartment
11 minutes