Unexpectedly intriguing: A Japanese appears to have solved one of the most complex problems of Mathematics. Trouble is: No other Mathematician understands his proof.

Every year, a growing number of runners meet in Athens to run all the way down to Sparta. 245 kilometers, almost 6 consecutive marathons, give or take nonstop running, to be completed in under 36 hours (the winner clocks at a cool 26 hours). The Economist has a nice read on the Spartathlon, centered around a British amateur runner who completed the race for the third time last year. Next time, he vows, we’ll come back, but not to run from Athens to Sparta again. But to run from Athens to Sparta – and back.

A man is found dead in his apartment, having hanged himself. The creepy part: It might have been an «accidental suicide», committed while sleepwalking and experiencing a special form of nightmare called night terrors. In a brilliant and captivating article, Doree Shafrir, who herself has had night terrors for quite some time, explores what night terrors are, why people have them and what can be done about them – always driven by the looming question whether dreams can really kill you.

A heartwrenching must-read: On childhood and adolescence in a North Korean prison camp.

In an impressive essay, 30-year-old, award-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas confesses to being an undocumented immigrant to the USA. A very personal account, touching and thought-provoking, of a life in constant fear of being uncovered while putting himself more and more into the spotlight as a standout journalist. “I decided that if I was to succeed in a profession that is all about truth-telling, I couldn’t tell the truth about myself.”