Matt Novak, Author at Gizmodo

One World Government and the War of Tomorrow

A bright rainbow hangs in the sky, descending just over the horizon. The many people of Earth march slowly toward it, leaving behind the crumbling fist of war, oppression and international borders. Nothing less than the future is over that horizon; a future that is defined by a new world order where people are able…

Tech News Matt Novak

TV Will Tear Us Apart: The Future of Political Polarization in American Media

Imagine a world where the only media you consume serves to reinforce your particular set of steadfast political beliefs. Sounds like a pretty far-out dystopia, right? Well, in 1969, Internet pioneer Paul Baran predicted just that. In a paper titled “On the Impact of the New Communications Media Upon Social Values,” Baran (who passed away…

Tech News Matt Novak

Disney Kills LucasArts, My Childhood

Yesterday the most important company of my childhood killed the second most important company of my childhood. This past October, Disney purchased LucasFilm which included their venerable video game division LucasArts. But recently Disney decided that LucasArts no longer made financial sense for them to keep alive and just yesterday laid off all of the…

Tech News Matt Novak

Nikola Tesla and the Myth of the Lone Inventor

Who invented the Internet? To answer that seemingly simple question you basically have two options: you can go on for hours explaining the hundreds of people and institutions that contributed crucial advancements to the way that the Internet operates, or you can just say Vint Cerf. Or Leonard Kleinrock. Or Tim Berners-Lee. People have been…

Tech News Matt Novak

The Jetsons Get Schooled: Robot Teachers in the 21st Century Classroom

This is the last in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. The final episode of the first season (and only season until a mid-1980s revival) of “The Jetsons” originally aired on March 17, 1963, and was titled “Elroy’s Mob.” In the opening sequence of…

Tech News Matt Novak

Ban Everything: Concern Over Future Blue Laws During the Lead Up to Alcohol Prohibition

Anytime the government tries to ban something there are usually loud warnings about slippery slopes and guesses as to what perfectly reasonable American past-time might be banned next. If New York City bans trans fats (as it did in 2007), what’s next? Smoking in its parks? Oversized sodas? Oh, right. It banned those things too,…

Tech News Matt Novak

Sad Jetsons: Depression, Buttonitis and Nostalgia in the World of Tomorrow

This is the 23rd in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. The 23rd episode of “The Jetsons” originally aired on March 3, 1963 and was titled “Dude Planet.” In the year 2063, the people in the Jetsons’ universe work just a few hours a…

Tech News Matt Novak

Postwar Dreams of Flying in Style

During World War II, many Americans had high hopes for what life would be like in the future. Sometimes this was fueled by advertisers who promised that great things were just around the corner. Sacrifice for your country now they said, and all of your wildest high-tech dreams would come true after the war. As…

Tech News Matt Novak

Projection Chic: Jane Jetson Tries on Clothes in the Future

This is the 22nd in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. The 22nd episode of “The Jetsons” originally aired on February 24, 1963, and was titled “Private Property.” Like many that would come before it, this episode of “The Jetsons” centers around the business…

Tech News Matt Novak

The Newspaper of Tomorrow: 11 Predictions from Yesteryear

Many of us here in the 21st century like to think of the newspaper as this static institution. We imagine that the newspaper was born many generations ago and until very recently, thrived without much competition. Of course this is wildly untrue. The role of the newspaper in any given community has always been in…

Tech News Matt Novak

Mid-21st Century Modern: That Jetsons Architecture

This is the 21st in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. The 21st episode of “The Jetsons” originally aired on February 17, 1963 and was titled “TV or Not TV.” Much like both “Elroy’s Pal,” and “Elroy’s TV Show,” this episode ostensibly gives viewers…

Tech News Matt Novak

Say Goodbye to Video Stores, Mailmen, Pennies…

The February 1989 issue of Life magazine predicted that, by the year 2000, many staples of modern American life might find themselves on the scrapheap of history. Life predicted that by the year 2000 people would need to say goodbye to everything from film (pretty much) to all-male clergy in the Catholic church (not so…

Tech News Matt Novak

The American Plan to Build Nuclear Power Plants in the Ocean

A new nuclear power plant hasn’t been built in the U.S. in over 30 years. But in the 1970s nuclear power was still in many ways a low-emissions dream of the future. In 1975, nuclear power accounted for about 4 percent of the electrical energy generated in the United States. But some people at that…

Tech News Matt Novak

George Jetson Navigates a Series of Tubes

This is the 20th in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. “We may take it for granted that every well-equipped business office will be in direct communication, by means of large-calibred pneumatic tubes, with the nearest post-office. And however rapidly and however frequently the…

Tech News Matt Novak

Robot Vanna, Trashy Presidents and Steak as Health Food: Samsung Sells Tomorrow

Advertisers love to use futurism as a way to position their products as forward-thinking. Often, that connection to futurism comes with a healthy dose of humor — jokes that from the vantage point of the future look less ridiculous than they were probably intended. In 1988, Samsung’s ad agency (Deutsch) produced a tongue-in-cheek magazine ad…

Tech News Matt Novak

Automating Hard or Hardly Automating? George Jetson and the Manual Labor of Tomorrow

This is the 19th in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. “Yesterday, I worked two full hours!” George Jetson complains. “Well, what does Spacely think he’s running? A sweatshop!?!?” Jane replies. The 19th episode of “The Jetsons” first aired on February 3, 1963, and…

Tech News Matt Novak

Libra: The 21st Century (Libertarian) Space Colony

There’s nothing hotter right now than starting your own libertarian-minded community from scratch. Or at least threatening to do so. Glenn Beck imagines building a community/theme park somewhere in the United States called Independence Park which would celebrate entrepreneurship and sustainable living. Others envision Idaho as the perfect spot to build a fortress-like libertarian utopia…

Tech News Matt Novak

Jane Jetson and the Origins of the “Women Are Bad Drivers” Joke

This is the 18th in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. “The problem with these skyways is that by the time they’re built they’re obsolete. This traffic is the worst I’ve seen yet,” George Jetson proclaims as he zips around in his flying car.…

Tech News Matt Novak

Reckless Breeding of the Unfit: Earnest Hooton, Eugenics and the Human Body of the Year 2000

In the early 1950s, many people speculated that the average American’s body would look dramatically different by the early 21st century. Some thought that the average woman of the year 2000 might be over six feet tall, incredibly athletic and just as strong as the average man. Others believed that modern conveniences like the automobile…

Tech News Matt Novak

Viva Las Venus: The Jetsons and Wholesome Hedonism

This is the 17th in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. The January 20, 1963, episode of The Jetsons was titled “Las Venus” and along with the second episode of the series, “A Date With Jet Screamer,” is a great futuristic example of what…

Tech News Matt Novak

Matt Novak

One World Government and the War of Tomorrow

TV Will Tear Us Apart: The Future of Political Polarization in American Media

Disney Kills LucasArts, My Childhood

Nikola Tesla and the Myth of the Lone Inventor

The Jetsons Get Schooled: Robot Teachers in the 21st Century Classroom

Ban Everything: Concern Over Future Blue Laws During the Lead Up to Alcohol Prohibition

Sad Jetsons: Depression, Buttonitis and Nostalgia in the World of Tomorrow

Postwar Dreams of Flying in Style

Projection Chic: Jane Jetson Tries on Clothes in the Future

The Newspaper of Tomorrow: 11 Predictions from Yesteryear

Mid-21st Century Modern: That Jetsons Architecture

Say Goodbye to Video Stores, Mailmen, Pennies…

The American Plan to Build Nuclear Power Plants in the Ocean

George Jetson Navigates a Series of Tubes

Robot Vanna, Trashy Presidents and Steak as Health Food: Samsung Sells Tomorrow

Automating Hard or Hardly Automating? George Jetson and the Manual Labor of Tomorrow

Libra: The 21st Century (Libertarian) Space Colony

Jane Jetson and the Origins of the “Women Are Bad Drivers” Joke

Reckless Breeding of the Unfit: Earnest Hooton, Eugenics and the Human Body of the Year 2000

Viva Las Venus: The Jetsons and Wholesome Hedonism

‘Scream 7’ Just Won’t Stop Making Money as ‘Scream 8’ Gets Started

The Curtain Has Closed on Meta’s Movie Rating-Inspired Content Filters

Good News! You Can Finally Change That Ridiculous Gmail Address

ExpressVPN Just Launched ExpressAI: Your Prompts Are Now Invisible

VR Just Took Another Massive Body Blow

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

‘Supergirl’ Will Feature David Corenswet’s Superman in a Sort of Big Brother Role

Report: FDA Set to Unban RFK Jr.’s Favorite Peptides

Source Code for Anthropic’s Claude Code Leaks at the Exact Wrong Time

SpaceX Starlink Satellite Malfunctions, Breaks Apart in Orbit

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?

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