Is Becky Chambers the Ultimate Hope for Science Fiction?
Her gentle, heartwarming stories seek to soothe our troubled souls. They also aim to blow up the entire genre….
Backchannel
Greg LeMond and the Amazing Candy-Colored Dream Bike
The Tour de France legend and anti-doping crusader is building an ultralight ebike that he hopes will be fun as hell to ride—and jumpstart a US carbon-fiber boom….
Rain Boots, Turning Tides, and the Search for a Missing Boy
Last year in Nova Scotia, after 3-year-old Dylan Ehler vanished, online sleuths descended on Facebook groups to help find him. Then they lost their way….
One Woman’s Mission to Rewrite Nazi History on Wikipedia
Ksenia Coffman’s fellow editors have called her a vandal and a McCarthyist. She just wants them to stop glorifying fascists—and start citing better sources….
Artificial Intelligence and the ‘Gods Behind the Masks’
In an excerpt from AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future, Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan explore what happens when deepfakers attack the deepfakes….
Meet the Little-Known Genius Who Helped Make Pixar Possible
Alvy Ray Smith helped invent computer animation as we know it—then got royally shafted by Steve Jobs. Now he’s got a vision for where the pixel will take us next….
Can Robots Evolve Into Machines of Loving Grace?
Perhaps, if we put bots together the right way, consciousness will simply emerge….
Looks That Quill: The Dark Side of Hedgehog Instagram
Beneath the tiny top hats and GIF-able snuggle sessions, I found a sad tale of internet virality….
A Drug Addiction Risk Algorithm and Its Grim Toll on Chronic Pain Sufferers
A sweeping AI has become central to how the US handles the opioid crisis. It may only be making the crisis worse….
A People’s History of Black Twitter, Part III
Joy and pain, harmony and discord, organization and chaos—there’s no single way to define Black Twitter’s complex, ongoing legacy….
Hundreds of Ways to Get S#!+ Done—and We Still Don’t
You want to be productive. Software wants to help. But even with a glut of tools claiming to make us all into taskmasters, we almost never master our tasks….
A People’s History of Black Twitter, Part II
No longer just an online movement, Black Twitter takes to the streets—and finds its voice….
A People’s History of Black Twitter, Part I
From #UKnowUrBlackWhen to #BlackLivesMatter, how a loose online network became a pop culture juggernaut, an engine of social justice, and a lens into the future….
A Son Is Rescued at Sea. But What Happened to His Mother?
Nathan Carman went fishing with his mom. A week later, he was found on a life raft—alone. Tragic accident or murder? Ocean sensors may point to the truth….
Prisoners, Doctors, and the Battle Over Trans Medical Care
Those who are incarcerated are suing for their right to gender confirmation surgery—if deemed necessary. Meet the psychiatrist who almost always says it’s not….
When the Next Animal Plague Hits, Can This Lab Stop It?
A new federal facility in Kansas will house the deadliest agricultural pathogens in the world—and researchers working tirelessly to contain them….