Mayday, Issue Four

As we face down a constant stream of information, the pressure to decide what to believe or what to care about has radicalised the seemingly simple act of choosing. If you think about it like this, anything can be considered radical. In this fourth issue, we dive into the hyper-polarisation of our times. As we continue to make our choices, we are forced into camps that disregard any shards of truth that might lie within other positions. What’s happened to original thought and compromise?

In Issue Four, we explore radical ideas, technologies and viewpoints in hopes of understanding. We can’t shy away from views or ideas that seem extreme, only by virtue of being different than our own. So we face the future head-on, take stock and work our way forward. The journey takes us from right-wing extremism to Kundalini yoga, and from gene drives to historical eccentrics. Maybe we can find some answers somewhere in between.

In this issue:

Features:
An exclusive interview with Lord Martin Rees,the British Astronomer Royal and author, who discusses future prospects for humanity. He explains that things can go either very well or very poorly for us as we confront the challenges of the next century. His foresight sparks conversations about colonising Mars and biological warfare.

Danish artist Lea Porsagerbrings together elements that don’t fit. By activating her research into tantric technologies, feminist theories and quantum physics, she urges viewers to take a leap into the unknown. Sometimes a misunderstanding can be just as mind-blowing as comprehension.

Irish author and journalist Mark O’Connell tells the story of transhumanism: the belief that humans will surpass our physical limitations with the help of technology. O’Connell visits Alcor, the world’s largest cryonics facility where he meets Max More who oversees the frozen bodies of the patients suspended there.

Has social media today enabled its users more fascistic tendencies?Author & journalist Jamie Bartlett lends his opinion on call-out cultures harmful effects on society. As social media demands action over thought, we separate into camps of “righteous” and “condoning” as we slowly lose the ability to think for ourselves.

The regulars:
Art:Artistic director of the MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome, Hou Hanru, on four contemporary artists responding to their current societal moment.
Colour curation:The colour red examined by two experts and interpreted by three illustrators.
Coffee Dispatch:Double espressos in Rome, Bronxville, Berlin, Paris, London and Copenhagen.Column:Historian and author Bo Lidegaard on the phenomena of democracy and radicalism.
Global Affairs: State of the world in words and infographics.
Photography:Photographer Sara Galbiati takes a tour of the Copenhagen Glyptoteket museum with a LIDAR laser scanner as an investigation into the ways machines seethe human world.