Link About It: This Week’s Picks

Ginormous diamonds, living robots made from frog stem cells, and more from around the web

Preserving the Scents of Everyday Life Researchers at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage are working double-time to identify and catalog scents that exist all around us—from the smell of an old book, to a pub at a particular time of night, and worn-in leather. Many of these are disappearing right under our noses. For example, as we collectively move deeper into a digital age, …

Year of the Rat Gift Guide

An animal that's respected for its resourcefulness, the little rodent is celebrated in each product here

According to the Chinese lunisolar calendar, 2020 is the year of the metal rat. Beginning 25 January, this lunar year promises various things depending on your astrological sign and birth year, but it’s believed that since the rat is the first year of the 12-year cycle (and it’s the beginning of a new decade), this year can be used to set the tone and pace …

Listen Up

A posthumous single from Mac Miller, a live performance by Mykki Blanco, magnetic folk-pop melodies and more new music this week

Albon: Big Sur Theme The warm, folk-pop melody of LA-based singer-songwriter Albon’s “Big Sur Theme” evokes sun rays on the mountainous strip of Californian coast. Albon (aka Alexander B Lappin) wrote the song on a trip through the area and took inspiration from the orcas in the water beside. Woodwind instruments join strings and light percussion to build the beautiful soundscape, ribboned together by Lappin’s …