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“Living in NYC, our government is honestly so beautiful,” says Environmental Activist Heeta Thakkar, who founded Zero Waste Schools (ZWS), a student-run organization that provides waste management solutions to NYC schools. Thakkar’s appearance is unassuming—a pair of blue jeans and a black winter coat hardly indicative of the fire in her belly. But her ambition […]
Features
Sammy L. Coffee Becomes NYU Student Hotspot Below Third North
At a hole-in-the-wall cafe on the edge of the East Village, a wall of Asian snacks and ice creams faces a beautiful display of Italian- and French-inspired desserts and pastries. Sparkling rows of Chinese coffee mugs up for sale line the wall beside it, a rack of clothes from Korean designers just below them. A […]
VIDEO DEEP DIVE: Asian Jazz in America
Jazz is often defined as a musical genre in the United States that incorporates a fusion of American, African, and European musical influences. Yet, a new wave of artists is pushing the boundaries of this genre by integrating traditional Asian instruments into jazz. This deep dive explores the fascinating world of this fusion genre in […]
Muse Gallery Celebrates Women’s History Month With Pop-Up Event Featuring Women Artists in NYC
A pop-up show at a Brooklyn gallery this weekend highlighted women artists from across New York City. Visitors enjoyed a variety of artistic talents, shopped from vendors, and networked with fellow artists. “Everyone here has such unique styles and you can really tell how personal all of the artwork is to these people who are […]
Let me tell you what Joan Didion means to me
I own more books by Joan Didion than I can count. Some are in my dorm room, piled on my window sill overlooking East Tenth Street. Some are on my IKEA bookshelf at my family home in the suburbs of New York. It’s as if these books are children living in a split custody situation. […]
Mongolia’s Tuvan reindeer herders
Photos by Andrew Califf There is a small section of taiga [boreal forest] surrounding the Darkhad Depression in northern Mongolia that is home to a niche community of Tuvan reindeer herders. The border cuts them off from the Russian Tuvan Republic, which has exponentially better herding conditions, less hunting restrictions and more land for larger […]
Afro-Costa Rican’s history of inequality & long road to Pura Vida
(Costa Rica) — For native Costa Ricans, the phrase “Pura Vida” loosely translates to “living life to the fullest” in English. However, Costa Ricans with African ancestry have been subjected to a far darker experience because of their hidden history, advocates say. For more than a century, the Afro-Costa Rican population has been subjected to […]
Kendama: Why is a traditional Japanese wooden toy getting so popular in the US?
Austin Donovan encountered a kendama for the first time when he was 14 years old in 2008. A friend in his art class took one to school and attracted a line of people who wanted to try a basic trick on this traditional Japanese wooden toy. Everyone, except for Donovan, just stared at the line […]
Finding A Community in the Village’s Bookstores
On Carmine Street in Greenwich Village, inside Temperance Wine Bar, sits two bookshelves, lined with various rare and niche books. They aren’t for decoration, nor are they sold by the restaurant. Instead, they belong to Jim Drougas’ Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bookstore. After 31 years of business, the landlords of Drougas’ store increased the rent to […]
Yukako Satone: Queen of the loom
On Sept. 11, 2001, Yukako Satone stepped out of her house to take her daughter to school. When she opened her front door in Jersey City, she was greeted by the view of the twin towers in flames. After witnessing this terror attack from so close by, she decided to move further from the city […]