From left: David Peterson, Ian Hawkins, Rowan Bissette and Nathan Mosher. Photograph: The GuardianPrograms purport to teach teenagers struggling with mental health problems to learn choice and accountability through powers of nature, with little oversight
by Nicolle OkorenRowan Bissette was 16 when she was transported against her will from Florida to Utah by two men she did not know. This was her first time leaving her home state.
These men were hired by her parents to take her from the psychiatric hospital in Jacksonville, where she had been receiving treatment, to a residential facility for more “intensive care”.
OpinionBlack Lives Matter movement This article is more than 3 years oldToppling statues of bygone tyrants forces British people to face present-day racismThis article is more than 3 years oldOwen JonesBritain has whitewashed its history of slavery and imperialism for too long – as the statues fall, another story is emerging
History is not being erased by those seeking to topple the statues of slavers and murderous white supremacists; it is being remembered.
SexA Reddit forum dedicated to abstaining from masturbation has over 450,000 members – and about 5% of them are female
From a sunny sitting room, 26-year-old Kristel beams at the camera she has set up to broadcast her life to her 49,000 YouTube subscribers. “I struggled with acne and I had body issues,” she explains. “I think I [now] look better and I think more positively … I’ve been told how much more attractive I’ve got.
FitnessBrazilian jiu-jitsu: 'A soul-destroying, ego-clipping sport that's sunk deep into my veins'With its strange outfits and obsessive fans, Brazilian jiu-jitsu can seem cult-like to those on the outside, but for practitioners the martial art is surprisingly compassionate
Three years ago – five months after moving cities and one week after quitting smoking cold turkey – I turned up at a mixed martial-arts gym in Melbourne for the free trial class I’d booked: Introduction to Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Carrie Fisher This article is more than 6 years oldCarrie Fisher had cocaine and heroin in system when she died, coroner findsThis article is more than 6 years oldTests reveal actor’s system contained cocaine, plus trace amounts of heroin and ecstasyInvestigators cannot say what impact drugs had on Fisher’s deathThe actor Carrie Fisher had cocaine, morphine and ecstasy in her system when she died, her autopsy has revealed, but investigators are still unclear whether the drugs contributed to her death.
Our unequal earthFoodBipoc-led local farms in unconventional spaces decentralize systems that have produced food deserts and create food equity
On a recent Sunday morning in South Los Angeles, Crop Swap LA volunteers and staffers harvested bags of freshly picked produce from the front yard of a residence. Located just steps from Leimert Park Plaza, Asante Microfarm is the first of what will be numerous microfarms created by the organization, which is dedicated to growing hyperlocal food on unused spaces “in the neighborhood, exclusively for the neighborhood”.
FictionReviewA'ida writes to Xavier, a political prisoner, sometimes sending the letters, and sometimes not because they reveal too much about her political activities. We see only her side of the correspondence, punctuated occasionally by notes Xavier has written in the margins: quotes, aphorisms, statistics underlining his activism, remarks about prison life. The one-way epistolary format creates a series of short stories about what it is to live in poverty and oppression: outside the prison, women form a human shield to protect hiding dissidents; inside, inmates seek dumbly for meaning in the death of a kitten.
FictionInterview‘It was smart to write when I was so angry’: Bonnie Garmus on the winning formula behind Lessons in ChemistryLisa AllardiceHer best-selling debut has sold 6m copies and been made into a hit TV series. The author discusses how a bad day in the office was the spark for worldwide success
Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus’s hit first novel, came about because of a bad day at the office. A highly experienced copywriter in the tech industry, Garmus gave a presentation for a million-dollar campaign to a room full of male colleagues.
ThailandMan jailed for record 50 years for criticising Thai monarchyMongkol Thirakot receives record sentence under kingdom’s strict lese-majesty laws for posts on personal Facebook account
A Thai man has been given a 50-year prison sentence – the longest jail term handed down under the kingdom’s strict lese-majesty laws – for criticising the monarchy, a legal rights group said.
The record-breaking sentence comes after several years in which Thailand has ramped up use of the legislation against pro-democracy protesters in what critics say is a tactic to silence dissent.
Mean, moody and magnificent: film noir studio portraits – in pictures Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Ava Gardner, Humphrey Bogart and Rita Hayworth were never more glamorous than in the photographs taken by studio photographers to publicise black and white thrillers in the 1940s and 50s. Here is a selection of the most memorable
Film Noir Portraits by Paul Duncan and Tony Nourmand is published by Reel Art Press