Politics

Want to bring peace to the Middle East? Use some science

In which international organization do delegates from Israel and Iran sit side-by-side in harmony? Hint: It’s not the U.N. SESAME, or Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East, has united several countries in the quest to bring a light synchrotron to the Mid-East. Top image of SESAME facility: SESAME.org.jo In a light…

io9 Sophie Bushwick

The Neil DeGrasse Tyson Book You Should Give To All Your Friends

Astrophysicist and advocate Neil DeGrasse Tyson is someone that more people should listen to — and with his new book, you have a chance to win over your friends who haven’t yet heard his pro-science message. His latest book, Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier, is an excellent collection of essays gathered from numerous sources…

io9 Andrew Liptak

Could we create a perfect society by tweaking two areas of the human brain?

Want to create an egalitarian utopia? A rigid hierarchical hellscape? (Or an egalitarian hellscape and hierarchical utopia, depending on your politics?) You might just need to stimulate or suppress two crucial parts of the human brain. We’ve long since outgrown the idea that the mind is an ephemeral presence that can’t be tampered with physically.…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

Hillary Clinton Makes Fun of Herself on Viral Site

Text from Hillary is a web site that makes fun of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, captioning one single photo of her looking at her Blackberry phone with a badass I-am-the-most-powerful-woman-in-the-world face. Does she hate it? No. Actually, she submitted the last entry herself. On the photo above you can see Hillary Clinton with Stacy…

Tech News Jesus Diaz

Netflix Now Officially Trying to Influence the Election

From the bright minds that (briefly) brought you Qwikster comes FLIXPAC, Netflix’s very own political action committee. What’s this mean? Netflix starts handing out cash to candidates. https://gizmodo.com/qwikster-is-a-terrible-name-so-netflix-bought-dvd-com-5897867 In what is sure to be a Gritty, Upbeat, Cerebral, Political Thriller of a PAC, Politico reports the fund will be able to sling $5,000 to any…

Tech News Sam Biddle

Al Franken Endorsed By Stock Photography

It’s always embarrassing for politicians when their supporters turn out to be stock photo models. Except when its done knowingly, like this genius pitch from Senator Al Franken. http://gawker.com/5864689/now-even-the-stock-photo-ladies-are-ditching-herman-cain Senator Franken fired off an email to his supporters asking for a donation, because that’s what politicians do. And in the email, he included some stock…

Tech News Mat Honan

The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books for Libertarians

Science fiction features lots of characters who find their own way in the universe, regardless of what megacorps or governments try to tell them. So it’s not surprising that one of the best ways to find some of the most exciting new reads is to pay attention to the Prometheus Awards for the best libertarian…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Here’s Barack Obama flashing the Vulcan salute with the original Lieutenant Uhura

When actress Nichelle Nichols stopped by the White House in February, she managed to score the ultimate photo op — the Commander-in-Chief brandishing Mr. Spock’s iconic salute. Serving as the Enterprise’s chief communications officer definitely opens doors. Nichols also stopped by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center while in the neighborhood. Related: Maybe the most magical…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

Local politician promises that his 9-foot-tall alien mother will not affect his civic duties

When Simon Parkes was elected to the town council in Whitby, England last month, nobody was aware of his lifelong conviction that his real mother is actually a nine-foot-tall, eight-fingered space alien with a kite-shaped face. Which is rather odd, given that he’s incredibly forthcoming about his extraterrestrial parentage. It was just last year that…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar

How do you buy organs on the black market?

Organ donors are scarce. Waiting lists are long. And life is short — especially if you really need a new heart or liver. So it makes sense that there’s a black market for organs out there. But how would you go about scoring an illicit pancreas if you desperately needed one? Follow the threads people…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

China’s most popular science fiction is about a world ruled by China

In the West, you commonly hear science fiction authors claiming that it’s impossible to write about the near future — the march of technology and the rise of new advances make predictions a futile endeavour. But Chinese science fiction has no such inhibition, according to a new article in the L.A. Times — and for…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Obamaville: Rick Santorum’s insane dystopian vision of the year 2014

Apparently taking a page from the dystopian fiction craze, Rick Santorum’s latest campaign ad transports us to the year 2014, where the world looks less like present-day America and more like a hallucinatory version of The Hunger Games. It’s also just plain crazy pants. This video was uploaded yesterday by the Santorum team, and is…

io9 Lauren Davis

Stop pretending that social media will democratize the world

Are you sick of hearing tech pundits trumpeting that the democratic successes of Arab Spring can be attributed in large part to Twitter, Facebook, and other social media? Maybe you’re a little suspicious of the idea that social media is freedom’s greatest ally, especially given that Facebook is being used increasingly for workplace surveillance. If…

io9 Annalee Newitz

Teacher who read from “pornographic” Ender’s Game won’t face criminal charges

Sanity appears to have prevailed in the case of an Aiken, SC teacher who read to his students from three books, including Orson Scott Card’s award-winning Ender’s Game. A student and his/her mother complained to the school and to the cops that this novel was “pornographic,” and the teacher was suspended — and even faced…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

What do you do when you find weird racism in old science fiction books?

Over at the Straight Dope messageboard, there’s a fascinating conversation about the perils of reading old books, especially science fiction novels, in which some very off-kilter racism is tossed out casually. The discussion kicks off with Cyril Kornbluth’s “The Marching Morons,” in which the main character just randomly hates Africans and African Americans — and…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Another Update on the Teacher Suspended for Reading from “Pornographic” Ender’s Game

We’re continuing to dig into the case of the teacher who was placed on administrative leave after a parent and student complained that he read to the class from two books that contained “pornographic” materials — including Ender’s Game. (The parent also went to the police, who are investigating. We spoke to the local police…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Pacific Nation Must Relocate to Escape A Rising Sea

The 113,000 citizens of Kiribati need a new home. The tiny island nation lies just two feet above sea level in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, so the rising oceans caused by global warming have been catastrophic. We knew this day would come. But so soon? Terrifying. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Kiribati…

Climate Change Mario Aguilar

Conservatives Deeply Outraged by Science Fiction Story From 1992

Derrick Bell’s story “The Space Traders” is one of science fiction’s scariest thought experiments — because of what it reveals about human nature. It’s a misanthropic tale in which aliens arrive on Earth and offer America the solution to all our problems, in exchange for all of our black people. For Bell, who spent years…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

The Government Says It Can Seize Any .Com Domain

For months, the US Government has issued court orders in order to seize and shutdown sites—even when the domain names are registered abroad. Now it has made its position on domains perfectly clear: If it ends in .com, .net, .cc, .tv and .name, we can seize it. Under “Operation Our Sites,” the United States has…

Tech News Mario Aguilar

When Pundits Go Too Far: Return of the Jedi the Best Star Wars Movie?

Kevin Drum is one of the most thoughtful, readable pundits on the web, who seldom takes a position simply to gin up controversy or get people arguing. I’ve been reading him since his Calpundit days. So it was something of a shock this past weekend when he announced his apparently sincere belief that… Return of…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Want to bring peace to the Middle East? Use some science

The Neil DeGrasse Tyson Book You Should Give To All Your Friends

Could we create a perfect society by tweaking two areas of the human brain?

Hillary Clinton Makes Fun of Herself on Viral Site

Netflix Now Officially Trying to Influence the Election

Al Franken Endorsed By Stock Photography

The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books for Libertarians

Here’s Barack Obama flashing the Vulcan salute with the original Lieutenant Uhura

Local politician promises that his 9-foot-tall alien mother will not affect his civic duties

How do you buy organs on the black market?

China’s most popular science fiction is about a world ruled by China

Obamaville: Rick Santorum’s insane dystopian vision of the year 2014

Stop pretending that social media will democratize the world

Teacher who read from “pornographic” Ender’s Game won’t face criminal charges

What do you do when you find weird racism in old science fiction books?

Another Update on the Teacher Suspended for Reading from “Pornographic” Ender’s Game

Pacific Nation Must Relocate to Escape A Rising Sea

Conservatives Deeply Outraged by Science Fiction Story From 1992

The Government Says It Can Seize Any .Com Domain

When Pundits Go Too Far: Return of the Jedi the Best Star Wars Movie?

Pixel Buds Pro 2 Hit Record Low as Google Continues Its Clearance-Like Price Cuts Following Smartphone Deals

DJI Now Has a Cheaper 360 Drone Than Insta360, but the U.S. Won’t Get It

Amazon Clears Out Apple Watch Series 9 With Silver Stainless Steel Case at 48% Off During Spring Sale

What Do You Mean Fox McCloud Is in the ‘Super Mario Galaxy’ Movie

Apple iPad With A16 Chip Is Now as Cheap as It Gets, With Stock Moving Quickly in Amazon’s Tablet Deals

Amazon Echo Spot Is Running at Its All-Time Low, Likely the Last Chance Before Prime Day Arrives in a Few Months

Diablo Cody Has Big Plans for the ‘Jennifer’s Body’ Sequel

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

Apple Studio Display XDR Review: It Looks So Good, I Wish It Were an iMac

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