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Built in and around the town of Taos in New Mexico, the oddball collection of off-the-grid houses known as ‘Earthships’, made from natural and recycled materials, might at first glance look like a gimmick aimed at idealistic hippies or survivalists prepping for doomsday. However, Michael Reynolds, the inventor of these unusual homes, emphases their liveability and practicality, believing that people will choose to live sustainably only when they see it as a viable, cost-effective alternative. Finding inspiration in the ‘Beer Can House’ in Houston, Texas, completed in 1972, Reynolds started building his own structures from recycled materials shortly after. Today, Taos’s ‘Greater World Earthship Community’ features about 65 completed Earthships, each harnessing sunlight for heat as well as sewage and greywater for plant fertiliser. An offshoot of The Adaptors podcast series, Meet the Earthship is an intriguing look at the possibilities of living just outside the norms of tradition and culture.
Directors: Flora Lichtman, Katherine Wells
Website: Sweet Fern Productions
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Music
The peculiar beauty of a song caught between composition and improvisation
3 minutes
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Rituals and celebrations
A beginner’s guide to a joyful Persian tradition of spring renewal and rebirth
3 minutes
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Politics and government
How it looked to Afghan women to see the Taliban return to power
33 minutes
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Love and friendship
Love looks a bit different for a chain-smoking couple in a small apartment
11 minutes
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Biography and memoir
Passed over as the first Black astronaut, Ed Dwight carved out an impressive second act
13 minutes
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The ancient world
The six priestesses who kept the flame of ancient Rome alight at risk of death
5 minutes
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Engineering
A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations
9 minutes
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Architecture
West Africa was once an architectural laboratory. Is it time for a revival?
12 minutes
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Work
A Swedish expat in the Philippines wonders: what’s up with people sleeping at work?
14 minutes