The Immigrants Fueling the Gig Economy
The short-term promise of easy cash can trap individuals in bad long-term conditions.
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Projects
Metropolis Now
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Jack Taylor / Stringer / Getty Brexit Could Cripple Britain’s Ports
Technology has streamlined Dover, the busiest port in the United Kingdom. But nothing has prepared it for the Brexit transition.
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New York Public Library The Meaninglessness of the Stock Market Index in a Digital World
It’s not a good snapshot of the economy, which is incomprehensible anyway, and we now have far more information to understand the country’s companies.
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Josh Cochran What Petty Nextdoor Posts Reveal About America
The hyperlocal social-media platform highlights small grievances—and proves that neighbors have more in common than they think.
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Kiichiro Sato / AP Elon Musk’s Long Obsession With Sabotage
For the Tesla and SpaceX founder, the acts of rogue employees are not just fireable offenses—they’re treason.
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U.S. Customs and Border Patrol The Making of an Online Moral Crisis
How the many-chambered heart of the internet turned the Trump administration’s family-separation policy into a different kind of scandal.
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Emilija Manevska / Getty Shops Aren’t for Shopping Anymore
Retail stores used to be places to buy things. Smartphones changed that, and retailers are struggling to invent new reasons, and methods, for shopping.
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Dmitri Popov / Unsplash The Cities That Never Existed
What if the urban visions of famous architects and planners had actually been built?
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Taylor Lorenz / The Atlantic YouTube Star Jake Paul’s Fame Is Fading
The 21-year-old became enormously popular for his outrageous prank videos—but if his recent New York show is any indication, it may not last forever.
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Edmon de Haro The Dangers of Distracted Parenting
When it comes to children’s development, parents should worry less about kids’ screen time—and more about their own.
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Elaine Thompson / AP How Amazon Helped Kill a Seattle Tax on Business
A levy on big companies to fund affordable housing awakened the ire of corporations.
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Simon Dawson / Bloomberg / Getty The Unbearable Awkwardness of Automation
The machine age is changing the nature of work. In the process, it is also transforming buildings, and making them less hospitable for human use.
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Shutterstock / Blue Planet Studio Instagram’s Wannabe-Stars Are Driving Luxury Hotels Crazy
Hotels are being forced to figure out how to work with a new class of brand-peddling marketers.
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Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP Apple's Airpods Are an Omen
The company’s slick, wireless earbuds work great, but they foreshadow startling changes to the social fabric.
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Reuters The World Needs Netflix Minis
To understand how viewing habits have changed, consider the difference between the couch show and the phone show.
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Jasper Juinen / Getty ‘Cargo-Bike Moms’ Are Gentrifying the Netherlands
In Rotterdam, the bakfiets utility bike has become a symbol—and a tool—of urban displacement.
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Nacho Doce / Reuters The Most Honest Out-of-Office Message
What if you deleted all your emails during vacation and never looked back?
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Jesco Denzel / Handout / Reuters That Merkel Photo Is More Like a Meme Than a Renaissance Painting
The viral image from the G7 summit is powerful, but it also resembles something mundane: Yanny vs. Laurel.
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Lucas Jackson / Reuters The New York City Subway Is Beyond Repair
Forget trains. It’s time for something radically different.
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Angie Smith Drone Cops Take Flight in Los Angeles
The L.A. County Sheriff has deployed a quadcopter drone for rescue and reconnaissance. But will the public accept that these aerial officers come in peace?
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Daniel Becerril / Reuters The Tipping Point When Minority Views Take Over
A new study says that small groups can overturn established norms if they reach a critical mass of 25 percent.
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Lucy Nicholson / Reuters Will Uber and Lyft Become Different Things?
Ride-hailing companies are diversifying away from their core business, but right into more direct competition.
