Strangers Guide

Soccer fans celebrate Vietnam’s silver medals at the Asian Football Confederation. Hanoi. 2018. Photograph by Linh Pham/Getty Images. The evenings are never quiet in Vietnam’s two most bustling cities, but on a 2018 night, the cacophony of motorbike horns and whooping voices was unusually deafening. From Hanoi to Hồ Chí Minh City, thousands waved flags and pennants while riding through the streets. An endless sea of red peppered with yellow stars, which combine to make the Vietnam flag.

You can tell within the first 30 seconds what kind of ride it’s going to be. Body language, tone of voice, a smile, how they greet you. The ones who think they’re famous are usually the most work. The actual celebrities? They’re often the easiest. They want to sit quietly and not be bothered. I’m like a therapist on wheels. People tell me things they wouldn’t tell their own family. I’ve had people cry in my car, throw up, propose, break up. The 3 a.m. pickups are different.

New York City Documenting the daily arrests made by ICE agents at immigration courts in Downtown Manhattan PHOTOGRAPHY BY Nicolò Filippo Rosso The work of the state is in full view inside the immigration courts at 26 Federal Plaza and 290 Broadway in New York City, where ICE agents routinely arrest non-US citizens attending hearings. Photographer Nicolò Filippo Rosso spent weekdays over the summer of 2025 documenting the daily arrests at immigration courts in Downtown Manhattan.

Nightclub valet driver, San Francisco, 2014. (From ‘Out Here’ 2014-2026). Photo © Rian Dundon. Even though I have two college degrees, most of my steady employment has been in the service industry. To be honest I do feel like a failure. But in the end I think most of life is determined by chance and timing. They say you are what you do, but I think that’s wrong. You are who you are and what you do is just a byproduct of circumstance and necessity.

We are thrilled to announce our first-ever photography issue! The time we spend working is time spent serving, agonizing, creating, thinking and toiling. In this 22nd print issue of Stranger’s Guide, you’ll find stunning photo essays from Nigeria, China, Venezuela, and New York—all exploring the theme of work and labor.

A few years ago I discovered a collection of vintage photos of my mother as a “white-collar” office worker in New York City in the late 1960s. I looked at the images and pored over every detail of this bygone era, wondering what it might be like if the movie 9 to 5 were remade with women of color? Originally from Panama, my mother migrated to New York City to pursue her dream of a new, American life.

Venezuela A day in the life behind the wheel of one of Caracas' aging giants PHOTOGRAPHY BY Vladimir Marcano The transportation system in Caracas, Venezuela is as anachronistic as it is resilient. Many buses in daily operation are 50 to 60 years old, and are primarily used by the city’s poorest residents, as the metro does not reach many low-income areas.

Self driving cars moving through the city. (Alamy Stock Photo). Kenan steers his rideshare onto Canal Street, into the crazy of the final Saturday before the last day of Carnival. Traffic is backed up to the Gulf of Mexico, which makes sense as seven trillion people are crammed into the city limits, many of them partying on this very road. But as a native of the city, none of this shocks him. He’s had forty plus years of Mardi Gras chaos. Throngs of celebrants make him smile rather than anxious.

Certain professions have traditionally been deemed unsuitable for women based on cultural expectations of femininity. Across Nigeria, where gender has long dictated the boundaries of possibility, women are stepping into roles historically reserved for men. The professional athlete is one such case. Taiwo Aina-Adeokun’s photo series “Game of Confidence” showcases female boxers in Lagos, Nigeria—women who in- habit a sport still strongly associated with masculinity and physical dominance.

Kern County, CA. 2008. Photograph by Inga Spence/Alamy. Apple Park is perfect. A circle of glass and light, there’s a park inside the circle, complete with sports fields, health care facilities, a pond and fruit trees. The lunchroom is so bright and so white they could film a remake of 2001: A Space Odyssey in it. This may be the very center of the Bay Area that invents new things, making the old things into bricks, trash. What hold does history have on the pure light of innovation?