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The Weekender: glowing string, stressed astronauts, and the best audio you'll ever hear

The Weekender: glowing string, stressed astronauts, and the best audio you'll ever hear

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The best of the week gone by

By Jacob Kastrenakes, a deputy editor who oversees tech and news coverage. Since joining The Verge in 2012, he’s published 5,000+ stories and is the founding editor of the creators desk.

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Welcome to The Verge: Weekender edition. Each week, we'll bring you important articles from the previous weeks' original reports, features, and reviews on The Verge. Think of it as a collection of a few of our favorite pieces from the week gone by, which you may have missed, or which you might want to read again.

  • Review

    'Arrested Development' Season 4 review: 'am I crazy, or is this good?'

    After nearly seven years off the air, Netflix brought Arrested Development back from the dead. Is the new season everything that the cult series' fans had hoped for?

  • Feature

    Where the richest music nerds go to play: the High End show

    There’s a world of ultra-high end audio equipment, and there’s a world of obsessive fans with deep pockets who have to hear it. We sent Trent Wolbe into the thick of things at the High End trade show in Munich to see what it's like to listen to the finest audio equipment around. Day two of Trent's journey continues right here.

  • Report

    How to prevent an astronaut bloodbath on Mars

    Astronauts will spend around three years in a cramped, kitchen-sized space on their way to Mars. That could lead to some stressful situations, and now NASA is funding the development of a psychosocial sensor to help ease the strain — and to avoid potentially dangerous breakdowns.

  • Review

    Nokia Lumia 928 review

    Verizon’s in need of a flagship Windows Phone. The Lumia 928 comes with a fancy flash, a PureView-branded camera, and a simple new design. But without any major software changes to back it up, can hardware alone make Nokia's latest stand out?

  • Feature

    Online classes can be enlightening, edifying, and engaging — but they're not college

    Online courses known as MOOCs are becoming all the rage in education, but no one's certain if they're a viable way forward for education. Maria Bustillos took a seven-week class to find out what they're like, if they make sense for students, and what the future of online courses could be.

  • Report

    Remaking Rio: turning an urban dystopia into an Olympic playground

    Rio de Janeiro is remaking itself for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. Property values have already skyrocketed in some areas, but residents fear for what will become of the city when the games are over.

  • Review

    Acer Aspire R7 review

    What happens when you re-think everything about laptop design? Acer made some bold choices with the Aspire R7, a portable computer that can morph into something closer to an all-in-one PC. We checked it over to see if Acer has figured out how to build a better laptop.

  • Feature

    Practical magic: Lumarca is a mesmerizing 3D sculpture made of string and light

    Matt Parker turned a few common, inexpensive materials in a gorgeous, glowing art instillation, but he's not finished yet. He wants to use the installation's simplicity to turn it into something easy for the masses to make.

  • Report

    Is the new 'bible of psychiatry' a weapon for the courts?

    The DSM is the go-to book for diagnosing mental illnesses. It was never meant to enter the courtroom however, but it’s been showing up there more and more often. Now, recent changes to the DSM could be making some legal issues go a bit better for the "ill" — but for others, it could make matters even worse.

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