Science
It Was Not Supposed to End This Way
The Anthropocene challenges liberalism’s vision of permanent progress. So why has it become another technocratic tool of liberal bureaucracy?
Is There a Human Blueprint?
A revival of the “nature vs. nurture” debate about what makes people different from one another.
Overdosing in Appalachia
Harm reduction strategies have their roots in 1980s HIV activism, but they are starting to spread in rural America in response to the opioid crisis.
A World of Electric Children
Science fiction author Ted Chiang wrote the story for the Academy Award–winning film Arrival. Now his new collection of short stories gives us further glimpses of possible futures.
The Mismeasure of Minds
Twenty-five years after The Bell Curve, debates about racial inequality continue to appeal to biology—on both sides.
The Sins of “Smart” Cities
What happens when we reframe complex social and political issues as technical puzzles? Two new books challenge modern cities' over-reliance on data and technology.
Climate Gut Check
Beneath the jargon, a UN report serves up a revolutionary response to climate change.
No Collision
In the face of climate apocalypse, the rich have been devising escape plans. What happens when they opt out of democratic preparation for emergencies?
Defensible Space
“Megafires” are now a staple of life in the Pacific Northwest, but how we talk about them illustrates the tension at the heart of the western myth itself.
The Digital is Political
The political ideas we have held for centuries are ill-equipped to respond to today's challenges.
Programming My Child
Through the experience of parenting his daughter, a software developer came to see Google and Facebook as the first digital children.
Hoverboarding While Black
In the era of digital neighborhoods, social networks embolden a new kind of racial surveillance.
Nature Defends Itself
A new book on climate change deploys an old theme, pitting man against nature. This is not only wrong; it stands in the way of a just future.
Going to Work in Mommy’s Basement
From laundry to meal prep, apps tend to mimic maternal care. Is this good for women?
The Defeat of Reason
Two new books—one on quantum physics, one on Thomas Kuhn—seek to reestablish the authority of reason and evidence.
Cambridge Analytica Is Dead, Long Live Our Data
Were data crimes perpetrated against U.S. voters? We are about to know a lot more.
Haneke and the Technology of Intimacy
‘Happy End’ is the culmination of Haneke’s obsession with how technology mediates our desires.
Elon Musk’s Fall from Grace
The public has paid for Musk’s vision. So why is the green economy still not here?
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