Annalee Newitz

Here’s What Happens When White People Move Into Your Neighborhood

We used to have white flight. Now, in city centers, we have something that one policy researcher calls white infill. So what happens when a bunch of white people start moving in? The changes are a lot more profound than getting a new Starbucks on the corner. Photo by torbakhopper Actually, it probably does mean…

Christians in America have been worried about surveillance technology for the past two centuries. Go read this terrific essay by Daniel Salas in The Appendix, about how Christians connected Satan with surveillance, starting in the mid-nineteenth century.

Scientists Have Found an Algorithm That Could Turn Us All Into Sheeple

By studying the behavior of sheep dogs, scientists have come close to unraveling a mystery that stretches back millennia. How do these dogs get their sheep to go in one direction? The surprisingly complex answer could affect the way we deal with human crowds, too. Photo by A.J. Morton https://gizmodo.com/scientists-found-an-algorithm-to-turn-all-of-us-into-sh-1628074565

In Late Summer, the Alien Ships Gather Their Rare Flowers in Fog

As the light fades, you can just barely see the aliens unspooling long, prehensile fishing lines from their ships. They trail over the grasslands, as sensitive as whiskers, looking for the fuel blooms that power their engines. All they need are a few to make the trip back home to the Oort Cloud. Andreas Zafiratos…

Chinese Government Tries to Quell Unrest with an Animated Princess

Uighers are an ethnic minority in western China, largely Muslim, who have been protesting the Chinese government for its discriminatory policies against them over the past several years. Now the Chinese government hopes to appease the protesters with a bizarre princess story. Historically, China has been ruled by the dominant Han ethnicity. But in the…

Will We Ever Have a “Star Wars Moment” in Pop Culture Again?

A “Star Wars Moment” is when a piece of pop culture manages to change storytelling all around the world, for at least a generation. Have we become too jaded to have a moment like this again? What do you think is a possible candidate for the next Star Wars Moment? Tell us! My opinion is…

With Question Bedtime, MC Frontalot Gives Us a Concept Album

Damian Hess, AKA nerdcore rapper MC Frontalot, is about to turn your afternoon into a fairy tale with his new album, Question Bedtime. It’s a hilarious and gloriously weird cycle of songs (available online now!) retelling the fairy tales you heard before bedtime as a child. Actually, maybe you didn’t hear these folk tales. Strained…

io9 Book Club Reminder: Meeting 9/10 to Discuss The Bees

This month, the io9 Book Club is reading Laline Paull’s The Bees. We’ll meet on September 10 to discuss it. Join us! We’re hoping Paull will join us later that week to talk about the book. What is this io9 Book Club all about? We meet once a month to discuss a book we’ve all…

The First College in the U.S. to Open Without Any Books in its Library

Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland has just opened, with 550 students attending the first day of classes this week. The newly-built campus has a gorgeous library building, but no plans to stock it with books. Instead, it will be the nation’s first all-digital college library. But it gets weirder than that. It’s a scenario that…

Did these earthquake scientists deserve to go to prison for six years? David Wolman has a fascinating article in Matter today about the Italian geologists who were imprisoned for manslaughter after residents of a city sued them for not warning them strongly enough about quake risks.

Insane Video Takes You Inside the Cockpit of a Blue Angels Jet

The Blue Angels are the stunt pilots of the US Navy and Marines, showing off the very best aviation tricks every year at airshows. They soar, swoop, and turn upside down — all in formation. It’s incredible to watch from the ground, and it’s just blisteringly insane from inside the cockpit. I love watching the…

These Are the Silliest Star Trek Reenactments We’ve Seen in Ages

We love these photographs and gifs created by Ken Lin and his friends, who posed for them in many of the same kinds of California landscapes that provided the “alien world” backdrops for the original Star Trek series. The results are crazy and adorable. These pictures are taken from Lin’s “Into California” and “Red is…

What Is the Best Justification for a Plot Twist That You’ve Ever Seen?

There’s nothing better than a well-executed plot twist, especially when you’re able to look back at the story and realize that you’d been given hints all along. What science fiction or fantasy story does this the best? (Warning: We’re going to have to talk spoilers.) My pick is the original Alien film, where we discover…

The Woodpecker’s Guide to Avoiding Head Injuries

How do woodpeckers repeatedly hammer their heads into tree trunks without suffering brain damage? Their skull superpowers are made possible by everything from their unique brains, to their hammering techniques. And a new study of these birds could help humans avoid head injuries, too. Photo by Jean-Jacques Boujot https://gizmodo.com/the-woodpeckers-guide-to-avoiding-head-injuries-1625319496

Disturb Yourself with this Dystopian Music Video Sung Partly in Latin

This is “The Initiation,” the latest single from artist and poet Mykki Blanco, who manages to conjure up an unsettling story of mutants using just one creepy special effect — and an eerie way of walking on all fours while chanting in Latin. There are shades of Mad Max here, as well as gangster movies.…

What kind of undergarments do you need to wear with your cosplay creations? It’s a serious question — how exactly do you get support underneath those plunging necklines and superhero leggings? Over at The Lingerie Addict, all your questions are answered. Even the ones about socks.

Robots aren’t taking our jobs — but they are creating a wider gap between the haves and have-nots. This is the intriguing argument of MIT economics professor David Autor, which you can read about in the Wall Street Journal today.

What Was a Truly Original Story Idea That Degenerated into Clichés?

There is nothing more frustrating than a science fiction or fantasy story that starts out in a brilliantly original way … only to fall apart in a mess of overused, tropey awfulness. What movie, TV series, or book disappointed you in this way? You need to warn the rest of us! Post pictures, video, or…

When 18th Century Scientists Got Everybody Wasted on Nitrous Oxide

Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, hippie crack and whip-its, was around long before Burning Man parties. In fact, it was the subject of a series of mind-blowing experiments by scientists over 200 years ago, who tested the gas on themselves and many delighted volunteers, for “research.” Image of early 19th century nitrous party…

In the sustainable energy future, we could be heating public buildings with sewage. No, “sewerthermal” is not quite what you think. Rachel Kaufman has a great article explaining it in NextCity, and describing how Seattle’s next sports arena might use it.