The Hot-Person Vaccine
The internet has decided that Pfizer is significantly cooler than Moderna—but why?
Elon Musk Is Maybe, Actually, Strangely, Going to Do This Mars Thing
From his private Cape Canaveral, the billionaire is manifesting his own interplanetary reality—whatever the cost.
The Trump Decision Turned Content Moderation Into Shark Week
This is new, and this is bizarre.
The Original Kings of Esports
Black players pioneered what we now call esports. The industry hasn’t paid them back.
Artificial Intelligence Is Misreading Human Emotion
There is no good evidence that facial expressions reveal a person’s feelings. But big tech companies want you to believe otherwise.
Yahoo, the Destroyer
How the historic company became known as a bumbling villain of internet culture
Fish Sticks Make No Sense
How a weird 1950s finger food made it big
You’re Gonna Miss Zoom When It’s Gone
For people like me, who have social anxiety, videoconferencing can be easier than in-person interactions.
The Alt-Right Has Lost Control of Redpill
A classic meme about being radicalized is now so absurd that it means almost nothing at all.
Zoom Court Is Changing How Justice Is Served
For better, for worse, and possibly forever
An Unexpected Boon to America’s Vaccine Towns
Out-of-towners looking for shots are unintentionally lifting local economies after a tough year.
What on Earth Is Amazon Doing?
The company’s social-media aggression is shocking. It shouldn’t be.
There’s a Better Way to Date Online—If You Like Trains
Inside NUMTinder, a Facebook dating group exclusively for people who are really into public transit.
The Big, Stuck Boat Is Glorious
The Ever Given is very big and very stuck.
You Probably Don’t Remember the Internet
How do we memorialize life online when it’s constantly disappearing?
End Meeting for All
When we remember this time, we’ll do so through a bunch of little boxes on a laptop screen. The photographer Thomas Dworzak captured our strange, sad year on Zoom.
The Truth Seekers Are Coming
Conspiracy theorists keep finding new ways to rebrand themselves.
High School Wasn’t Supposed to Be Like This
Freshman year was going to mean sleepovers, new friends, and independence. The coronavirus changed all that.
Who Would Volunteer to Fact-Check Twitter?
The site is hoping that its users will help stem the spread of lies—but first it has to inspire them.
Texas Failed Because It Did Not Plan
What went wrong? The Lone Star State made three fundamental errors.
The Librarian War Against QAnon
As “Do the research” becomes a rallying cry for conspiracy theorists, classical information literacy is not enough.