Ian Bogost

Ian Bogost is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and the Director of the Program in Film & Media Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. His latest book is Play Anything.

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America Will Sacrifice Anything for the College Experience

The pandemic has revealed that higher education was never about education.

Ian Bogost
October 20, 2020

The Atlantic

The Silence of the Never Facebookers

Even fed-up tech workers are paralyzed by Silicon Valley’s culture.
- Ian Bogost
- June 10, 2020
How Facebook Works for Trump

Donald Trump won the presidency by using the social network’s advertising machinery in exactly the way the company wanted. He’s poised to do it again.
- Ian Bogost and Alexis C. Madrigal
- April 17, 2020
John Dominis / Getty

The Supermarket After the Pandemic

The coronavirus will change grocery stores, and probably not for the better.
- Ian Bogost
- April 17, 2020
Nintendo / Vectorpocket / rangizzz / Shutterstock / …

The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing

In the midst of a pandemic, it’s delightful to imagine doing whatever you like without worrying about making a living.
- Ian Bogost
- April 15, 2020
Alex Halada / Getty

When the Checkpoints Come

How will Americans react when restrictions on their movements are no longer voluntary?
- Ian Bogost
- March 19, 2020
Vahram Muradyan

Now Is the Time to Overreact

If the measures we're taking to fight the coronavirus work, they'll look excessive later on. But the alternative is worse.
- Ian Bogost
- March 16, 2020
Arsh Raziuddin / The Atlantic

You Already Live in Quarantine

Being holed up at home has never been more pleasant.
- Ian Bogost
- March 4, 2020
Mike Hill / Getty / thispersondoesnotexist / Katie …

It Doesn’t Matter If Anyone Exists or Not

What a website that generates infinite fake humans tells us about modern life
- Ian Bogost
- February 24, 2020
The Atlantic

Every Place Is the Same Now

With a phone, anywhere else is always just a tap away.
- Ian Bogost
- January 16, 2020
Farknot Architect / Romolo Tavani / Shutterstock

A New, Meme-Fueled Nostalgia for War

On TikTok and Twitter, anxious posts about World War III recall a simpler era of global conflict.
- Ian Bogost
- January 4, 2020
Michael Cohen / Getty

Bill Gates’s Fortune Isn’t Going Anywhere

Even if Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax were to become a reality
- Ian Bogost
- November 7, 2019
House House / Ian Bogost / The Atlantic

Video Games Are Better Without Gameplay

Untitled Goose Game is fun. The problem is, all games are also work.
- Ian Bogost
- October 22, 2019
Simoul Alva

Technology Sabotaged Public Safety

Without us even noticing
- Ian Bogost
- October 10, 2019
Timothy Sean O’Connell

Sandra Boynton’s Captivating Universe

Her picture books have sold 75 million copies in the past four decades. What’s the secret to her far-reaching appeal?
- Ian Bogost
- November 2019 Issue
Mat Hayward / Getty

The Wildly Appealing, Totally Doomed Future of Work

WeWork was supposed to reinvent office life. Unfortunately, it did.
- Ian Bogost
- September 26, 2019
Ian Bogost

I Tried to Limit My Screen Time

It didn’t go well.
- Ian Bogost
- September 5, 2019
Beck Diefenbach/Reuters

For members: Trump’s big housing reform, Jay-Z’s NFL deal, Impossible Burger in grocery stores

Atlantic writers look ahead at their beats.
- Annie Lowrey, Hannah Giorgis, Olga Khazan, Ian Bogost, and Matt Peterson
- August 30, 2019
breakermaximus / Shutterstock

Video-Game Violence Is Now a Partisan Issue

For decades, both Republicans and Democrats saw games as cultural dangers. That changed after the Parkland shooting.
- Ian Bogost
- August 5, 2019
Rose Wong

Work Ruined Email

It’s not too late to fix it.
- Ian Bogost
- August 2, 2019
David Dee Delgado / Getty

Revenge of the Power Grid

Infrastructure doesn’t only exist when it fails.
- Ian Bogost
- July 15, 2019