How I Helped L. Ron Hubbard to ‘Take Over the Planet’
Back when queer activist Kate Bornstein was a boy named Al, she was a leading member of the Church of Scientology. She served aboard L. Ron Hubbard’s flagship, and even worked directly with Hubbard on a campaign to control Scientology members more completely. Bornstein’s new memoir A Queer and Pleasent Danger explains why she found…
The Bullseye of America’s Internet
As much as we might prefer to think that the internet just happens, the fact is that it comprises a massive physical infrastructure. In an exclusive excerpt from his new book Tubes, Andrew Blum takes us on a tour of the internet’s most important US hideout. Ashburn, Virginia is a small town that Internet people…
In 10 days you’ll be aboard the USCSS Prometheus
June 8 is almost here, which means that you are thisclose to seeing the USCSS Prometheus in all its future-tastic glory. For the official countdown clock and an exclusive premiere red carpet cam, head here. And there’s more. Verizon has teamed with Twentieth Century Fox to bring you an online Prometheus mini-game in which you…
This rock could spy on you for decades
America is supposed to wind down its war in Afghanistan by 2014. But U.S. forces may continue to track Afghans for years after the conflict is officially done. Palm-sized sensors, developed for the American military, will remain littered across the Afghan countryside — detecting anyone who moves nearby and reporting their locations back to a…