Brian Kahn, Author at Gizmodo

Please Don’t Do This

The world is full of resistance grifters preying on people’s fears about the death of democracy, equality, and a whole host of other things being chipped away at by President Donald Trump. Given the Trump administration’s climate denial, it’s shocking we haven’t had a scheme tied to climate change. But that niche is now filled,…

Environmental Justice Brian Kahn

We Finally Know What ‘Hot As Balls’ Really Means

Tired: the age old fight of Fahrenheit vs. Celsius. Wired: a new scale of temperature ranging from ‘colder than Mars’ to ‘hot as dick’. Just in time for summer, computer scientist Jim Webb has blessed us with a curse word-based temperature scale using science. From here on out, 84 degrees Fahrenheit will be known as…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

Pakistan May Have Just Set a World Heat Record

High temperatures are forecast to reach the mid-80s this week in New York, and I’m dreading it. But I have a plan to stay cool: just thinking of how much hotter it is in Pakistan, which is in the middle of a blistering heat wave. Temperatures reported to have cracked 50.2 degrees Celsius (122.3 degrees…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

Let’s Meet Jim Bridenstine, Trump’s NASA Administrator

Politicizing NASA is the final frontier. Or I guess I should say, it was. When the Senate confirmed Jim Bridenstine as the agency’s administrator last month, it confirmed the first politician to ever hold the post. The vote broke along party lines, and in many ways, the selection reflects the yawning chasm that defines American…

Earther Brian Kahn

You’ve Never Seen a Map of Antarctica Like This Before

Our planet is a cool and good planet. To prove this point, I would simply point you to the map above. The ethereal black and white image shows the thickness of all of Antarctica’s ice. It speaks to both the grandeur of the seventh continent and human ingenuity. Why humanity is on a course to…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

Oh God, Ryan Zinke

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is a man of pomp, circumstance, and the mountains. He has a big boy flag he makes staff raise when he’s in his office, rode a horse to his first day of work, and calls himself a geologist. I don’t know if you heard, but he also used to be a…

Conservation Brian Kahn

Scott Pruitt Was Never Going to Bring Back the EPA Climate Change Website

Tomorrow, it will have been one year since the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) climate change website was taken offline. And all signs are pointing toward it never coming back under the Trump administration. On April 28, 2017, visitors who arrived at the EPA’s climate website were redirected to a page with this: Thank you for…

Environmental Justice Brian Kahn

It Looks Like the US Just Set a New Daily Rainfall Record

Though it didn’t garner as much attention as the never-ending string of nor’easters, the biggest weather story of 2018 so far was Kauai’s epic deluge earlier this month. According to a preliminary analysis, the storm could’ve set an all-time record for the U.S. In the span of just 24 hours between April 15-16, 49.69 inches…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

‘Pollution Pods’ Show Londoners the Toxic Air They’re Helping Create

Pictures of the air pollution in developing countries have gone viral, and stories about toxic fog have proliferated for years. Yet they can feel unreal and divorced from the everyday experience in Western countries, where huge strides have been made to clean up the air (for wealthy people anyways). A new art exhibition in London transports…

Environmental Justice Brian Kahn

Scott Pruitt Announces EPA to Be More Transparent, Doesn’t Invite Press

Environmental Protection Agency administrator and noted luxury travel enthusiast Scott Pruitt made a big announcement about his commitment to transparency on Tuesday. There was just one little hitch: The press wasn’t invited to attend. Pruitt proposed a rule dubbed “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science,” which the agency said in a press release, “will ensure that…

Climate Change Brian Kahn

Microplastics Have Invaded the Arctic—and Climate Change Could Make It Worse

Climate change and a never ending stream of plastics are two of humanity’s worst legacies that will reshape the planet for eons. Now, they’re getting to work in tandem in the remote stretches of the Arctic. New findings published in Nature Communications shed light on how ocean currents are steering more and more plastic into…

Conservation Brian Kahn

Scientists Are Fed Up With This

The first 16 months of Donald Trump’s presidency have been pretty ugly for science. The administration has kicked inconvenient research to the curb in its decision making, pulled out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, removed sound science from public websites, and muzzled federal scientists. Scientists are sick of it, and they’re letting the…

Climate Change Brian Kahn

Climate Change Will Only Make California’s Weather Whiplash Worse

When it comes to California, the concept of an average winter wet season is as useless as a bike on Los Angeles’ 405 freeway. Witness the recent multi-year drought, followed by one of the wettest winters on record in 2016-17. Or just check out this past winter, which started out bone dry before a wild…

Climate Change Brian Kahn

Simmer Down About Lyft’s Carbon Neutrality Announcement

Earth Day is nearly upon us, which means it is time for brands to declare their love for Mother Earth in corporate reports and Medium posts. On Thursday, Lyft did the latter, announcing the company was buying carbon offsets for all rides. And thus, a thousand uncritical tech stories were launched. As with Apple’s 100…

Environmental Justice Brian Kahn

Colorado’s Climate Lawsuit Could Be a Template For Flyover Country

Climate lawsuits have been piling up on the coasts. But a pioneering duo of Colorado counties and the city of Boulder have filed the first landlocked lawsuit against big oil earlier this week, suing Exxon and tar sands producer Suncor Energy. It represents a new front in the legal war that’s pitting communities stuck paying…

Environmental Justice Brian Kahn

This Video of a Monk Seal Wielding a Knife Is An Emotional Rollercoaster

Hawaii’s Department of Natural Resources released footage this week of a monk seal pup brandishing a knife. It’s equal parts menacing, adorable, and depressing as hell. The video was shot on the island of Hawaii, and features a recently-weaned monk seal pup, named Manu‘iwa by locals. On first viewing, my heart fluttered a bit because…

Conservation Brian Kahn

Baseball Is a Winter Sport Now, Apparently

Spring baseball is always a bit of a crapshoot weather-wise, but this year has been especially shitty. And we can thank the freaking polar vortex. Frigid weather and repeated bouts of snow have caused games to be postponed from Chicago to Boston. Other games have been played in the cold and even while the flakes…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

Marauding Tumbleweeds Have Invaded California

Humanity’s run as the dominant force on the Earth nearly came to an end on Tuesday, when a tumbleweed uprising gave the 120,000 residents of Victorville, California quite a scare. Stirred by swift winds and a desire to unleash great vengeance and furious anger, tumbleweed poured into the city for a battle royale. The dead,…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

This Experiment With Shrimp and Lasers Could Unlock the Ocean’s Secrets

For years, shrimp and their other tiny, uncharismatic brethren collectively known as zooplankton were deemed too inconsequential to alter the oceans. Sure, they’re important food sources but it’s not like they could actually churn the high seas, right? Wrong, according to the new research published in Nature on Wednesday. To see if tiny creatures—which the…

Earth Science Brian Kahn

Bull Sharks Are Heading North Thanks to Climate Change

Climate change is creating a battle of survival of the fittest. And it appears bull sharks are winning. Research published this week in Scientific Reports documents a new bull shark nursery in Pamlico Sound, just off the shores of North Carolina. It’s basically 500 miles north of the previous northernmost nursery off Florida’s east coast, representing…

Conservation Brian Kahn

Brian Kahn

Please Don’t Do This

We Finally Know What ‘Hot As Balls’ Really Means

Pakistan May Have Just Set a World Heat Record

Let’s Meet Jim Bridenstine, Trump’s NASA Administrator

You’ve Never Seen a Map of Antarctica Like This Before

Oh God, Ryan Zinke

Scott Pruitt Was Never Going to Bring Back the EPA Climate Change Website

It Looks Like the US Just Set a New Daily Rainfall Record

‘Pollution Pods’ Show Londoners the Toxic Air They’re Helping Create

Scott Pruitt Announces EPA to Be More Transparent, Doesn’t Invite Press

Microplastics Have Invaded the Arctic—and Climate Change Could Make It Worse

Scientists Are Fed Up With This

Climate Change Will Only Make California’s Weather Whiplash Worse

Simmer Down About Lyft’s Carbon Neutrality Announcement

Colorado’s Climate Lawsuit Could Be a Template For Flyover Country

This Video of a Monk Seal Wielding a Knife Is An Emotional Rollercoaster

Baseball Is a Winter Sport Now, Apparently

Marauding Tumbleweeds Have Invaded California

This Experiment With Shrimp and Lasers Could Unlock the Ocean’s Secrets

Bull Sharks Are Heading North Thanks to Climate Change

National Film and Sound Archive of Australia Adds ‘Succulent Chinese Meal’ Guy

Feds Sniffing Around Polymarket After Suspicious Bets

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

Don’t Get Too Attached to Any AI App

‘Paradise’ Writer Teases What’s Coming in Season 3 After That Huge Twist

Trump’s New White House App Is Mildly Concerning and Weird for a Lot of Reasons

Bloodsucking Ticks Can Survive Inside Your Home Longer Than You Might Think

The Best New Toys of March 2026

Judge Denies Liking LinkedIn Post Critical of Elon Musk But Reassigns His Cases Anyway

Amazon Slashes 50% Off Keurig K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker, Now a Budget Alternative to Breville and Nespresso Espresso Machines

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?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets