In the Spotlight

In Tété’s Footsteps is now on YouTube!

In April 2023, our inaugural Pathfinder Prize-winning team departed for Greenland to follow in the footsteps of Togo-born explorer Tété-Michel Kpomassie. In Tété’s Footsteps, the first-ever Hidden Compass-backed documentary, follows the team on their award-winning expedition.

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Attempting the Impossible

Often, we find ourselves powerless before great forces: extinction, colonialism, repressed trauma, modernity, apathy. But for some, the only thing more impossible than overcoming such forces is to not attempt to do so in the first place. In the summer 2024 issue of Hidden Compass, five new storytellers have joined us from around the…

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Vigo examines a piece of thread
Vigo examines a piece of thread
Summer 2024

Attempting the Impossible

A Note from the Editors

Often, we find ourselves powerless before great forces: extinction, colonialism, repressed trauma, modernity, apathy. But for some, the only thing more impossible than overcoming such forces is to not attempt to do so in the first place.

In the summer 2024 issue of Hidden Compass, five new storytellers have joined us from around the world to share stories about “Attempting the Impossible.” At the heart of their tales are brave souls — nostalgic repatriates, eccentric artists, courageous survivors, optimistic entrepreneurs, and resilient botanicals — battling the odds.

For two and a half years, journalist Christopher Clark explored what lies behind the perimeter fence of CAFI, the “Welcome Centre for the French of Indochina” — or, simply, “the camp.” In “France’s Forgotten Place of Memory,” our photo feature and Time Travel piece, Clark weaves stories that span nearly seven decades of repatriate life. Alongside intimate photography, he unveils a mix of torment and tenderness, pain and joy, and cultures separated by oceans, decades, and circumstance.

Meanwhile, in our Portrait story, journalist Margherita Bassi takes us to the windswept island of Sant’Antioco, Italy, where past, present, and future collide. She introduces us to a cast of artists weighing the challenges of tradition, adaptation, and mythology surrounding the historic textile of sea silk, or bisso. Though they are often at odds, they all face the difficult task of “Preserving an Ancient Thread” in the face of impending extinction and a modern world.

On picturesque Jeju Island, South Korea, memories of a suppressed past are breaking through. While living on the island for five years, psychologist and author Dr. Anne Hilty witnesses a mix of repressed trauma, Shamanic tradition, and healing. In her Chasing Demons feature, Hilty pays homage to the island’s dark past and introduces us to those who spearhead hope by “Breaking the Silence.”

Then, along the sandy shores of India’s western state of Goa, food writer Joanna Lobo tastes a delicacy that challenges the palate of her country. In this Human & Nature story, Lobo introduces us to Gabriella D’Cruz, the “Seaweed Queen” who’s either at the cutting edge of a revolution in food and conservation — or caught in a whirlpool of her own optimism.

Finally, seeking living remnants of history in the glasshouses of Croxteth hall, writer Genevieve Arlie embarks on a botanical Quest. Centuries of drama burst into bloom in “The Glamor and Tragedy of Orchids,” revealing a world of marvels and conquest. But can the “orchidelirium” that once gripped visitors survive the ravages of colonialism, war, and shifting political winds?

For our readers and storytellers who seek the inconceivable,

Sabine K. Bergmann and Sivani Babu, Hidden Compass Co-founders

Buckaroo Portrait, Photo by: Kim F. Stone

Find your story.

Choose a Theme to Explore
Journey alongside characters in pursuit of elusive truths. Travel through extreme landscapes, to the far reaches of the planet, and into the unknown.
Get to know extraordinary characters from around the world — individuals, cultures, places, creatures, and even objects.
Investigate the relationship between humankind and the planet. Come face-to-face with Nature as an unpredictable danger, a wise teacher, and a precarious organism.
Delve into the dark and difficult aspects of a place, even when the darkness exists only in the narrator. Investigative pieces, historical exposés, and tales of narrators immersed in danger.
Inhabit the past, present, and future of a place. Unearth layers of ancient legends and traditions; probe the transient nature of the current moment; and venture out into prediction, peril, and possibility.

Photo: Dr. Gilad Fiskus

Photo: Sivani Babu

Photo: Kim F. Stone

Photo: Sivani Babu

Photo: Sugato Mukherjee

Photo: Geraint Rowland

Find your story.

Choose a Theme to Explore

Photo: Sivani Babu

01

Quest

Journey alongside characters in pursuit of elusive truths. Travel through extreme landscapes, to the far reaches of the planet, and into the unknown.

Photo: Sivani Babu

Buckaroo Portrait, Photo by: Kim F. Stone

Get to know extraordinary characters from around the world — individuals, cultures, places, creatures, and even objects.

Photo: Kim F. Stone

Investigate the relationship between humankind and the planet. Come face-to-face with Nature as an unpredictable danger, a wise teacher, and a precarious organism.

Photo: Sivani Babu

Delve into the dark and difficult aspects of a place, even when the darkness exists only in the narrator. Investigative pieces, historical exposés, and tales of narrators immersed in danger.

Photo: Sugato Mukherjee

Inhabit the past, present, and future of a place. Unearth layers of ancient legends and traditions; probe the transient nature of the current moment; and venture out into prediction, peril, and possibility.

Photo: Geraint Rowland

Our Philosophy

How It Works

Our business isn’t driven by clickbait or selling your data. Instead, we inspire patrons of journalism to support a future where exploration is about collaboration rather than conquest.

Meet Hidden Compass

Read & Learn

Hidden Compass is a place for stories of exploration — stories that make us question what we think we know, transport us to places we’ve never been, and kindle a fire for us to stoke.

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Supports the incredible people behind our stories — journalists who research the unknown, helicopter in, snowshoe out, dive deep, and help us discover.

50%

of contributions will support Hidden Compass.

How this helps

Allows us to publish articles that aren’t dependent on ads or tracking your habits.

50%

of campaign proceeds will go to each journalist in addition to their pay.

50%

of contributions will support Hidden Compass.

How this helps

Supports the incredible people behind our stories — journalists who research the unknown, helicopter in, snowshoe out, dive deep, and help us discover.

How this helps

Allows us to publish articles that aren’t dependent on ads or tracking your habits.

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Join a movement that believes journalism, science, history, and hope are worth defending — and help shape the stories and discoveries of the modern era.

Our Philosophies

Meet Your Heroes

This Issue’s Featured Journalists and Storytellers
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The Alliance

We’re a global community of like-minded humans who not only celebrate storytellers and explorers, but connect with and support them. We have a voice in modern exploration. We are more than members of an audience — together, we are Allies.

  • Benefit Spotlight: Pathfinder Prize

    Allies help us choose the recipients of our annual Pathfinder Prize and receive exclusive, behind-the-scenes updates from the field.