The World Is Half-Prepared for a Different Energy Future
Humanity’s energy plans have two giant gaps.
This Is No Way to Be Human
We now occupy a nearly natureless world.
How Did We Get So ‘Cringe’?
Early cringe culture was about empathy and secondhand embarrassment. Today, being “cringe” is a serious infraction.
The Subversive Genius of Extremely Slow Email
A revolution against Big Tech may never come. Could a series of smaller interventions take its place?
Is [REDACTED] a Christmas Movie?
No one realizes that their own take on Die Hard as a Christmas movie helps sustain a powerful curse on the internet. Not even the guy who started it all by accident.
K-pop Fans Have a New Nemesis
Young, progressive listeners are making a stink about carbon-torching NFTs. But will greener versions be enough to get them on board?
The Absurdity of Renting a Car Will No Longer Be Tolerated
Supply is low, demand is high—but that alone cannot explain the weird indignity of renting a vehicle.
‘No, Like, Everyone Has COVID Right Now’
New York City, again!
Corner Stores Are the New Darlings of the Global Tech Industry
A billion-dollar effort to turn these unassuming shops into mini–tech hubs is only just beginning.
The Great (Fake) Child-Sex-Trafficking Epidemic
Dispatches from a moral panic
The Tech Moguls Are Looking for a New Playground
Jack Dorsey’s decision to leave Twitter, like Mark Zuckerberg’s pivot to the metaverse, shows us where the internet is heading.
When Multilevel Marketing Met Gen Z
Amelia Whelan used social media as an accelerant for her sales community. Then things blew up.
Real Men Drive Electric Trucks
How much will American men have to adapt to help keep the planet from roasting?
I Made the World’s Blandest Facebook Profile, Just to See What Happens
My new Facebook account had the most generic interests possible, and still it brought me to a place no one should ever have to go.
‘Thank You, Brandon’ Is Just Embarrassing
The first big meme battle of the Biden presidency is here, and it’s uncomfortable to watch.
Facebook Is Hiding the Most Important Misinformation Data
Billions of people have apparently encountered vaccine lies on the platform, but that number means nothing without a denominator.
A Tiny Outrage Machine, Sucking the Exhaust From a Giant One
You can’t even fight a social network without a social network.
Hey, Facebook, I Made a Metaverse 27 Years Ago
It was terrible then, and it’s terrible now.
The Art of the Boyfriend ‘Soft Launch’
In the age of Instagram, starting a new relationship means coming up with a public-relations strategy.
Gossip Bloggers Caught Canoodling With QAnon
Is it ever okay to speculate that Hollywood celebrities are drinking the blood of children?
How Facebook Fails 90 Percent of Its Users
Internal documents show the company routinely placing public-relations, profit, and regulatory concerns over user welfare. And if you think it’s bad here, look beyond the U.S.