Annalee Newitz, Author at Gizmodo

Best team-up ever, on Person of Interest

Last night’s episode of Person of Interest was holy crap amazing, bringing together three subplots in an extravaganza of crypto-libertarian homicidal corruption. Plus, Root and Shaw team up at last! Spoilers ahead! The group formerly known as Anonymous is back, now known as Vigilance, and still headed by the privacy-loving revolutionary Collier. If you’ll recall,…

Television Annalee Newitz

Possibly one of the weirdest geological formations in the world

How did this happen? In Norway, there is a bizarre rock formation known as Kjeragbolten, which is a huge block of stone that has become lodged in a 984-meter-deep crevice over a gorgeous lake. It’s so sturdy that sheep like to stand on it — and so do humans. Photo by Deeds Photo by 7ty9…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Sometimes a dinosaur just has to roll in the mud

When you’re a Triceratops, you have to teach your babies how to take a bath — especially on a hot day. Maybe your feathers will get a little dirty, but it’s a small price to pay when you need to cool down on a hot, late Cretaceous afternoon. This is just one of the many…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Check out the gorgeous collectors edition covers for Discworld

Terry Pratchett’s incredible series Discworld is getting a new set of incredible covers for 12 hardback collectors editions in the UK. Here are some of the most striking ones. Pratchett said: The truth is that even big collections of ordinary books can distort space, as can readily be proved by anyone who has been around…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

This is how scientific romances should be done

I can’t help myself anymore – I have to talk about my obsession with the Showtime series Masters of Sex. It is the epitome of a scientific romance, exploring the messy overlap of science and social science, as well as personal and professional passions. Plus, it’s about sexology. https://gizmodo.com/11-works-of-sexology-that-will-blow-your-mind-with-sci-5985191 This series is based loosely on…

io9 Annalee Newitz

The io9 Book Club is in session! Let’s talk about Oryx and Crake

Welcome to the monthly meeting of the io9 Book Club. In September, we read Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake. Jump into comments to get started talking about it! For those unfamiliar with the io9 book club, here’s how it works: You read the book. We create a special book club post on io9 when the…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

Tell NASA how you feel about human spaceflight today on Twitter

NASA wants your ideas about how the United States can build a sustainable human spaceflight program. That’s right — the space agency wants to hear from you! Today! Ariel Waldman, who is part of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Human Spaceflight writes in to tell us more: On Tuesday, October 29, any tweets…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Home never looks better than after a long day of dragon training

After flying all day on dragonback, you just want a hot dish of nasi goreng and some beer. That’s exactly what I was thinking as my mount glided above the lights of our little town, its golden windows matching the color of the lava ponds that power it. Feng Zhu is a concept artist who…

io9 Annalee Newitz

This manual of psychological disorders is actually a dystopian novel

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the premiere reference book for psychiatrists and mental health workers. But critics have often called it monstrous, wrong-headed and unscientific. Now, at last, one writer has discovered that it’s actually a dystopian scifi novel. https://gizmodo.com/the-future-of-nymphomania-5468365 https://gizmodo.com/traditional-psychological-diagnoses-are-going-out-of-st-493966169 The latest edition of the manual, DSM-V, was published…

Books & Comics Annalee Newitz

Computer Chess is the most realistic movie about AI ever made

An odd, off-kilter film, Computer Chess, has managed to pull off something that no other science fiction story ever has. With its tale of an early 1980s computer chess tournament, it reveals the mundane, silly way that a truly dangerous artificial intelligence might emerge. Famed indie director Andrew Bujalski has put together a collection of…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Noam Chomsky has officially become a science fiction character

This is a documentary about nothing less than how we perceive reality. It’s from Michel Gondry, who directed the mind-melters Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep, and it stars controversial linguistics professor Noam Chomsky. Called Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?, the movie is also animated by Gondry, with…

Trailers Annalee Newitz

Tech company claims “major breakthrough” in developing AI

A company called Vicarious sent out a press release last week claiming they had a technology that could be the bedrock of a true artificial intelligence system. Is it a breakthrough or a bunch of hype? Right now, Vicarious’ technology is just an algorithm that breaks CAPTCHAs, those online tests that require you to read…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Behold the mysterious polar bear of the lake

Technically, there should be a lady in the lake to meet you with a glittering sword made of some kind of otherworldly steel. But we got you a polar bear instead. He’s brought you some salmon, which is sort of like a sword, only made of fish. Paul Souders is one of the winners of…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Why Are Thousands of People Dreaming About This Man?

Have you dreamed about this man comforting or befriending you over the past five years? Then you are one of thousands across the world who have dreamed “this man.” And they have a website to describe their experiences. According to the This Man website, set up to bring together the people who have dreamed about…

io9 Annalee Newitz

What is the Anthropocene, and are you living in it?

Humans have had such a dramatic impact on the planet that we’ve changed geological history. Future scientists will be able to find humanity’s distinctive chemical signature written into the rocky record of Earth’s crust. That signature marks the beginning of the Anthropocene, or the new human age. It sounds dramatic, but the Anthropocene has humble…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Further evidence that nature is not the opposite of technology

As we move into a clean tech future, it’s becoming more obvious that the old distinction between machines and nature is a false one. This sophisticated filter, made by researchers at MIT, is a perfect way to remove bacteria from drinking water — and its main component is xylem, or the connective tissues of a…

io9 Annalee Newitz

The friendliest fuel station in this layer of the atmosphere

There isn’t a lot of civilization above the gas giant’s warm clouds, but the locals have planted trees on the floating chunks of carbon fiber that serve as dry land up here. And Kim’s fuel station always has delicious, hot coffee. I have no idea where he gets it. But I recommend a pit stop…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Person of Interest goes Harriet the Spy

Last night’s Person of Interest gave us some backstory on Shaw, filling in her tragic past while she rescued the youngest spy we’ve met in this series. Plus, Carter pulled some badass moves. Overall, this was a great number of the week episode. Spoilers ahead! When I realized that this week’s number was a precocious…

Television Annalee Newitz

How science fiction could get climate change right

We’ve all seen how terrible things can get when science fiction tries to tackle environmental issues. There’s The Day After Tomorrow, with its super ice-hurricanes, and The Host, starring fish monsters created by pollution. Still, there’s no reason you can’t have disaster porn and accurate representations of climate change at the same time. Here’s how.…

io9 Annalee Newitz

io9 Book Club reminder: Meeting 10/29 to discuss Oryx and Crake

In October, the io9 Book Club is reading Oryx and Crake, the first novel in Margaret Atwood’s now-complete Craker trilogy. We’ll meet October 29 to discuss it, and we hope Atwood will join us later that week for a chat! Illustration via Jason C. Still not decided? Here’s our review of the whole trilogy. https://gizmodo.com/margaret-atwoods-apocalypse-trilogy-dares-to-imagine-g-1440845239…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Annalee Newitz

Best team-up ever, on Person of Interest

Possibly one of the weirdest geological formations in the world

Sometimes a dinosaur just has to roll in the mud

Check out the gorgeous collectors edition covers for Discworld

This is how scientific romances should be done

The io9 Book Club is in session! Let’s talk about Oryx and Crake

Tell NASA how you feel about human spaceflight today on Twitter

Home never looks better than after a long day of dragon training

This manual of psychological disorders is actually a dystopian novel

Computer Chess is the most realistic movie about AI ever made

Noam Chomsky has officially become a science fiction character

Tech company claims “major breakthrough” in developing AI

Behold the mysterious polar bear of the lake

Why Are Thousands of People Dreaming About This Man?

What is the Anthropocene, and are you living in it?

Further evidence that nature is not the opposite of technology

The friendliest fuel station in this layer of the atmosphere

Person of Interest goes Harriet the Spy

How science fiction could get climate change right

io9 Book Club reminder: Meeting 10/29 to discuss Oryx and Crake

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

This California Billionaire Wants to Tax AI Tokens to Create a Sovereign Wealth Fund

Artemis 2 Crew Become First Humans to Travel Beyond Earth Orbit Since the 1970s

Artemis 2 Day 2: Follow the Mission With Our Live Updates 🔴

Labubus Might Be Labu-Bust After Pop Mart Posts Record Share Loss

Cursor’s New Tool Lets Users Delegate to a Team of Coding Agents

Nvidia Needs to Remind Itself What PC Gamers Actually Want

Iran Says It Hit Oracle Facilities in the UAE

‘Invincible’ Season 4 Is Doing Right By Debbie

New Theory Says We’ve Been Overcomplicating the Big Bang

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?