National Geographic Magazine - UK May 2018

YOU’LL PROBABLY FEEL the redesign of National Geographic magazine before you see it. Did you notice the heavier paper on the cover and the more luxurious touch of these pages? We hope so. They’re just two of many changes introduced in this issue, to bring you a better way to read the most compelling and visually stunning stories in the world. In its 130th year, this magazine is beloved by intellectually curious people around the globe—so we took care in updating it. Please tell us what you think of the changes; our email is editor@natgeo.com. And as ever, thank you for reading National Geographic. WHAT WE’VE CHANGED New front sections Three distinct sections in the front of the magazine are densely packed with accessible information. Proof is a story told…

You might imagine that overseeing a national and international art collection as director of Tate is different from editing a magazine, but I’ve discovered some similarities. Revealing the arbitrary nature of disciplinary divisions is something of a theme, both in my role and in this issue. As a teenager, I respected the way National Geographic challenged these kinds of hazy divisions, most obviously in showcasing photography’s role as both documentary and a fine art. More recently I’ve seen how discoveries in environmental science have mobilized artists to champion new causes in their work. And I’m reminded that scientists live and work in a cultural context in this issue’s article about the #metoo movement. On page 98 Claudia Kalb writes about Picasso, the subject of a current Tate Modern exhibition, and…

OF ALL OF PABLO PICASSO’S PAINTINGS “The Three Dancers” is widely considered to be one of his greatest masterpieces. The artist painted the intertwined dancers in 1925 following the death of a friend that left him devastated. Picasso was already among the most celebrated contemporary artists of his time, and this work was immediately revered. The story and composition were scrutinized by scholars who generated a large volume of work detailing their analysis and insights. With so much knowledge amassed about the painting, could there be anything new left to gain? Enter the conservator. “Conservators perform technical examination and research on a painting, which basically means looking at the painting in as many ways as we can using technology as an aid,” explains Annette King, Tate paintings conservator. She and…

ON HER FIRST DAY in the sprawling South Sudanese settlement of Bidibidi in Uganda, home to almost 300,000 refugees, Swedish-German photographer Nora Lorek approached a woman and asked what she’d brought from home. “Nothing,” she replied, “except for some clothes wrapped in my bed-sheet.” Lorek scribbled, “bedsheet???” in her notebook. In 2011, South Sudan became the world’s newest country. Soon after, in 2013, it plunged into civil war. When a peace deal fell apart in 2016, more refugees streamed across the border into Uganda, where they’re allowed to work, farm, and go to school. For some it was their second, third, or fourth time fleeing home. In August 2017 the millionth refugee arrived, stretching the neighboring country’s hospitality. When Lorek asked around about the sheets, Bidibidi’s residents pulled out their…

I HAVE WATCHED THE #METOO campaign as avidly as anyone. I have gone to bed each night wondering who will be outed as a sexual harasser in the morning, whether it will be another one of my political heroes or someone we all recognize from mainstream media or Hollywood. We’ve seen many of these perpetrators lose jobs, be forced to resign, and face economic difficulty because of their abhorrent behaviors. But I have not gone to bed a single night in all these months wondering what scientist would be sacked in the morning because of his transgressions—let alone be publicly outed—because scientist-harassers rarely lose their jobs. Allow me to explain. For the past six years I’ve conducted research on sexual harassment in the sciences and worked to raise awareness of…

THE ANTHROPOCENE. That’s the name that is starting to be used to describe the current epoch of Earth’s history. The “anthro,” of course, refers to how people have altered the planet. The dire effects of human activity—climate change and pollution, to name a couple—are well-known. But we are also learning how to make the planet a better place, as the examples to the right demonstrate. Advances in technology have enabled people to farm more efficiently, reclaim water more effectively, and replenish distressed land. In his “Anthropocene” series, photographer David Ellingsen combines relics of the human and natural worlds (above). The works reflect both hope and concern about how our species is remaking the planet. —DANIEL STONE 1. TREE DELIVERY FORESTS Can drones fight deforestation? Engineers at U.K.-based BioCarbon Engineering have…