For our latest mission, we put a Carnegie Hall orchestra in the middle of New York City and placed an empty podium in front of the musicians with a sign that read, “Conduct Us.” Random New Yorkers who accepted the challenge were given the opportunity to conduct this world-class orchestra. The orchestra responded to the conductors, altering their tempo and performance accordingly. This project was a collaboration with Carnegie Hall and Ensemble ACJW.

A period of relative stability has put the Iranian capital No1 on the list of world cities that have achieved biggest improvements in liveability over the past five years, as calculated by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The “most improved” top 10 contains some unexpected names. So, eg, the fourth place: Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Latest ranking: 128; Ranking five years ago: 131; Five-year index movement: 3.8%. Here: A supporter of Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara campaigns in a market in the city’s Koumassi quarter. (Photo by Sia Kambou/AFP Photo)

Mt.Huanshan, or Mount Hua is one of the five sacred mountains in China. The other four are Taishan in Shandong, Songshan in Henan, Hengshan in Shanxi and Hengshan in Hunan.
Mt. Huashan is reputed as the most precipitous of the five.

Five year-old Fatima plays as women weave a carpet in a home workshop in Peshawar, Pakistan, January 13, 2022. (Photo by Fayaz Aziz/Reuters)

Spunky runs during the third heat of a dog race Monday, September 1, 2014, at Canterbury Park, in Shakopee, Minn. Canterbury Park hosted their annual Labor Day Wiener Dog Wars in which dogs competed in seven races on the horse track for the title of Grand Champion. (Photo by Jeff Wheeler/AP Photo/The Star Tribune)

Canada's Mandy Marchak (R) is taken down by France's Pauline Biscarat during the final match of the Hong Kong Sevens rugby women's invitational cup in Hong Kong March 28, 2014. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

A building burns after an explosion on 2nd Avenue on March 26, 2015 in New York City. The seven alarm fire drew firefighters from across the city. A number of injuries have been reported. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)