21 votes

What are reliable sites for thoughtful content from a non-American perspective?

I came across a site about Chinese tech and video gaming and found it very Buzzfeed-y with its headlines and writing. It made me wonder what are the websites that curate a standard of thoughtful articles, essays, discussion, etc. and aren't part of the American internet scene.

I don't care what language it's in, what it's about, what country specifically it's centered on, if it's community-centric or not. If you have a suggestion, let's hear it.

Edit: An example I have is The Blizzard. It's really a subscription-model digital magazine (about soccer) but you can read various articles online.

11 comments

  1. [2]
    Greg
    Link
    Sixth Tone has become one of my regular reads - it's a very solid English-language source for opinions/editorials/general news from China.

    Sixth Tone has become one of my regular reads - it's a very solid English-language source for opinions/editorials/general news from China.

    8 votes
    1. EightRoundsRapid
      Link Parent
      That looks to be a nice easily digestible publication. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

      That looks to be a nice easily digestible publication. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

      3 votes
  2. [6]
    EightRoundsRapid
    Link
    One of my most used news aggregators is AllAfrica. It has all sorts, from tabloid-y guff to features and investigations https://allafrica.com/ I also look at France24 and dw.com most mornings for...

    One of my most used news aggregators is AllAfrica. It has all sorts, from tabloid-y guff to features and investigations

    https://allafrica.com/

    I also look at France24 and dw.com most mornings for a different perspective on European news than I get from the BBC and The Guardian.

    4 votes
    1. [5]
      culturedleftfoot
      Link Parent
      Those are always useful for news, but I'm thinking about writing that's focused more on being maybe more opinionated, or curious, rather than journalistic. Any more ideas?

      Those are always useful for news, but I'm thinking about writing that's focused more on being maybe more opinionated, or curious, rather than journalistic. Any more ideas?

      3 votes
      1. [4]
        EightRoundsRapid
        Link Parent
        You could try The Conversation, The Calvert Journal and New Internationalist https://theconversation.com/uk https://www.calvertjournal.com/ https://newint.org/ I'm a bit of a news junkie, so most...

        You could try The Conversation, The Calvert Journal and New Internationalist

        https://theconversation.com/uk

        https://www.calvertjournal.com/

        https://newint.org/

        I'm a bit of a news junkie, so most anything I recommend or suggest is going to have a slant towards current affairs and culture.

        5 votes
        1. culturedleftfoot
          Link Parent
          These are very interesting, thanks! I don't mind the slant at all, these are very much the type of things I had in mind.

          These are very interesting, thanks! I don't mind the slant at all, these are very much the type of things I had in mind.

          2 votes
        2. [2]
          lilium
          Link Parent
          I love the different editions of The Conversation. Choosing the global perspective edition gives a completely different magazine, but with the same “no bullshit” vibe!

          I love the different editions of The Conversation. Choosing the global perspective edition gives a completely different magazine, but with the same “no bullshit” vibe!

          2 votes
          1. masochist
            Link Parent
            The global perspective's RSS feed doesn't contain the content that it should because of a split between how the content makes it to the site versus how the content makes it into the RSS feed. I...

            The global perspective's RSS feed doesn't contain the content that it should because of a split between how the content makes it to the site versus how the content makes it into the RSS feed. I had an email discussion with one of their senior tech people about this. You should likely switch to something else if you want to use RSS with them.

  3. [2]
    Sahasrahla
    Link
    You could try The Economist, a British news magazine. The site has a soft-paywall on print articles (which I think can be avoided with private browsing) and there are also some podcasts and other...

    You could try The Economist, a British news magazine. The site has a soft-paywall on print articles (which I think can be avoided with private browsing) and there are also some podcasts and other content. They do have a very neoliberal bent but even if you don't always agree with them their articles are well written and informative. You can also check out their sister publication 1843 magazine which is worth finding a print edition of for the ads alone if you'd like to see what is being sold to the 0.1%

    For Chinese sites you can check out https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com I get the impression it's a bit like Medium and Quora. I can't read Chinese but a friend of mine writes articles there.

    4 votes
    1. Greg
      Link Parent
      Monocle is another interesting one in the same vein as The Economist and 1843. More private jet adverts and branded pop-ups at Davos (seriously, not an exaggeration), plus business and current...

      Monocle is another interesting one in the same vein as The Economist and 1843. More private jet adverts and branded pop-ups at Davos (seriously, not an exaggeration), plus business and current affairs, combined with remarkably nuanced and well researched pieces on design, urban quality of life, and food.

      2 votes