In Kabul, the bustle of the city – shopping, work, conversation and play – takes place beneath a mysterious US military balloon that has hovered in the sky since 2009. Ominous yet somehow part of the landscape given its omnipresence, the balloon’s precise purpose and capabilities are not disclosed. Part of The Intercept’s Field of Vision documentary series, The Above is both an apt metaphor for the state of global surveillance, and an unsettling glimpse into the increasingly common experience of living with unfamiliar, unwelcome objects overhead.
Why has the US military been flying a balloon over Kabul since 2009?
Director: Kirsten Johnson
Producers: Kirsten Johnson, Marilyn Ness
Editor: Nels Bangerter
18 January 2016
videoPolitics and government
How it looked to Afghan women to see the Taliban return to power
33 minutes
videoInformation and communication
Coverage of the ‘balloon boy’ hoax forms a withering indictment of for-profit news
17 minutes
videoHistory
The amazing and awful outcome of releasing 1.5 million balloons into the sky
7 minutes
videoPoverty and development
Ollies, kickflips and grinds: Afghan kids get passionate about skateboarding
10 minutes
videoHuman rights and justice
When protecting the US Constitution means defending accused terrorists
16 minutes
videoHuman rights and justice
A reporter orphaned by night raids in Afghanistan investigates their cruel legacy
17 minutes
videoBiology
How airborne microbes ride clouds, hop continents and even make it rain
5 minutes
videoDemography and migration
The world’s most illegal game of volleyball was played over the US-Mexico border
3 minutes
videoArchitecture
A whirlwind tour of Hong Kong’s high-rises is an awesome meditation on urbanity
9 minutes