October 2, 2026
Sharks and Station Pubs
Some weeks are about big headlines. This one was about wandering: animals drifting into places they had no business being, travelers lingering in spots they couldn't bear to leave, and a few very patient artists finally finishing what they started, all rounded up for you here at Slow News Co..
Sharks in Driveways and Canals
Nature spent the week cheerfully ignoring the rules. During a nor'easter on Long Beach Island, A Shark Takes a Joyride Down a Flooded Jersey Driveway, giving one Surf City resident the strangest home video of his life before it swam off toward Barnegat Bay. On the very same day, halfway around the planet, A Giant Shark Circling a Busan Canal Becomes South Korea's Newest Celebrity, and instead of panicking, locals basically adopted it. Two sharks, two neighborhoods, one surprisingly warm reception. The oddities didn't stop there: A Two-Headed Baby Turtle Turns Up on Cape Cod, a tiny diamondback terrapin with a patterned shell and exactly one more head than expected. And for anyone who thought the world's most famous tomb had given up all its secrets, new scans suggest Hidden Spaces Near King Tut's Tomb Could Point the Way to Nefertiti. Turns out the map still has blank spots, even in the Valley of the Kings.
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When a nor'easter flooded Surf City on Long Beach Island, a shark came along for the ride. A resident caught it on video cruising up his driveway before it headed west toward Barnegat Bay.
A huge shark has been slowly looping a canal in Busan, South Korea's biggest port city. Rather than panic, locals have warmly embraced their unexpected new neighbor.
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A tiny diamondback terrapin hatched on Cape Cod this summer with four legs, a patterned shell and a short tail. It also had one more head than expected.
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New scans have detected mysterious anomalies beyond the boy king's burial chamber, reviving hopes of finding the long-lost queen.
Cinnamon Buns, Kölsch and Departure Boards
If you prefer your adventures at a gentler pace, the travel desk had you covered. A brand-new rail line means Scandinavia's Newest Train Serves Up Saunas, Cinnamon Buns and Seaside Views, linking Malmö to Oslo in about six hours with a gloriously retro pink and turquoise dining car. Then, in a twist that feels almost like a dare, the very next day brought a case for staying put: England's Best Station Pubs Make Missing Your Train a Treat, complete with Victorian waiting rooms turned taprooms and live departure boards for the easily distracted. Beer pilgrims got their own quest when One writer bar-hops across Cologne in pursuit of the perfect kölsch, and anyone dreaming of sunshine can drift off to Sifnos Is the Greek Island Where Every Day Revolves Around the Table, a three-hour ferry from Athens and apparently one long, delicious lunch.
A new direct train now links Malmö in Sweden's far south to Oslo in just over six hours, with tempting stopovers in seaside Varberg or lively Gothenburg. The dining car has a retro 90s German look, all pink and turquoise, and smells of cinnamon buns and strong filter coffee. It's slow travel at its coziest, and the selfie-happy passengers seem to agree.
Housed in former Victorian buffet bars, ticket offices and waiting rooms, these railway pubs serve real ales alongside a generous helping of history. Some even have live departure boards so you only linger a little too long.
In Cologne, kölsch isn’t just a beer, it’s practically a religion brewed only in and around the city. A day spent touring its storied brewhouses reveals which pour reigns supreme.
Just a three-hour ferry ride from Athens, this under-the-radar Cycladic gem serves up some of Greece's most delicious and distinctive cooking.
A Decade for a Novel, a Day for 2006
Patience paid off big this week. Nearly ten years in the making, Min Jin Lee's 'American Hagwon' Might Just Outshine 'Pachinko', and on a similar timeline, John Green Opens Up About Fame, Censorship and His First Adult Novel, his first book in nine years. A 1952 classic got its own long-awaited moment too, as Florence Pugh Delivers a Career-Best Turn in Netflix's Stunning East of Eden. The longest wait of all belonged to a band: U2 Heads Back to School to Celebrate Half a Century of Rock, playing the Dublin school where it all began. For the funniest contrast of the week, though, look to Manhattan, where A Midtown Steakhouse Is Partying Like It's 2006 With Throwback Prices. Novelists spent a decade moving forward, and one steakhouse rewound twenty years for exactly one day. Bring your flip phone.
That's the wrap. Pour something nice, let the alarm clock sleep in, and when you're ready for another round of the strange and the lovely, Slow News Co. will have the next batch waiting.
Nearly a decade in the making, Min Jin Lee's new novel is overflowing with lives, pain and love. NPR's Maureen Corrigan says it was worth every year of the wait.
Nine years after his last novel, the king of YA returns with a book for grown-ups and some candid thoughts on book bans and 'Twilight' slander.
Netflix's take on Steinbeck's classic captures a turn-of-the-century America hungry for room to breathe. At its center, Florence Pugh gives the performance of her career.
The Irish rock legends marked 50 years together with a concert at the Dublin school where the band first came together.
One New York steakhouse is rolling back the clock and charging what it did back in 2006. It's a one-day-only deal, so carnivores with a nostalgic streak should mark their calendars. Consider it the rare chance to eat like the flip-phone era at Midtown's fanciest tables.