Science and Technology
GMOs Are Safe—So Let’s Label Them
Genetically engineered foods are safe, but there are still good reasons to label them.
For Americans, Science and Religion Are Largely Compatible
It is when science directly touches faith that the conflict flares up.
The Neighborhood Effect
A bad environment can worsen the life chances not only of a child, but that of the child’s child.
Why This Ebola Outbreak is Different
The real reasons this outbreak has turned into an epidemic are weak health systems and lack of workforce.
When Epidemic Hysteria Made Sense
From a historical view, there was a time when alarm, even a run-to-the-hills psychology, made sense in reaction to a disease appearing on our shores.
Burning China’s Garbage
Protests against a new waste management system signals a turning point in Chinese environmentalism.
Don’t Lose Track: Here’s What’s Going On with the NSA
The newest report sees nothing illegal about warrantless collection of Americans’ international calls and e-mails.
Privacy is Not Dead—It’s Inevitable
The internet has become an environment of total tracking and total control.
Stop and Look
Geocaching invites you to consider spaces normally relegate to the blur of background scenery.
The Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement Can Succeed Where Politics Failed
The divestment movement’s moral clarity entails a risk if advocates shift from demonizing fossil fuels to demonizing the people who dig them up.
Censored by Google
Any literate person could recognize that the essay was a work of art. But Google’s family-friendly algorithm decided it was porn.
What’s Wrong with Technological Fixes?
Evgeny Morozov answers questions about his new book, To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism.
The Day Wikipedia Went Dark
The free Internet will rise or fall on the involvement and ingenuity of the people, not on courts or lawmakers.
Computer Science and Civil Courage
Are the questions we seek to answer to be dictated by the powerful few, or are they to be open to debate among citizens and scientists?