Watch: “How the First World War Created the Middle East Conflicts.” This short documentary from YouTube’s preeminent World War I history producers over at The Great War takes us back to the waning days of the Ottoman Empire to find out just how the Middle East ended up in such a state. When the great powers sought to finish off the “Sick Man of Europe” once and for all, they found the Turks still had plenty of fight left in them. So the British, French, and Russians switched tactics, exploiting the grievances of ethnic minorities to rise against their Turkish overlords. But when the dust settled, the Europeans betrayed their Middle Eastern allies. – Matt
Read: The graphic novel “My Begging Chart,”by Keiler Roberts. It captures all the tiny micro-moments in everyday life that kind of just slip through the cracks in a surreal, darkly funny way. – Riley
Escape: into the night. Freedom’s just another word for Flaco on the loose. A Eurasian Eagle Owl mysteriously jailbroken from its cage at the Central Park Zoo now swoops among Manhattan’s highrises, dodging cops, alighting for magical moments on apartment windowsills, and feasting to his heart’s content on the city’s ample rat population. In the city that never sleeps, Flaco, as he’s known, owns the night sky. But is he lonely? Is he in danger? Is there a little Flaco in all of us? This New York Times profile of Gotham’s latest antihero is a high-flying journey of its own. – Alex
