Politics

Unpaid Members of the NSA Probe Refuse to Meet Because of the Shutdown

So, you know how the federal government all shut down because Congress failed to come up with a budget to pay the employees? Well, the members of the special committee set up to investigate the intelligence community just threw in the towel, too. But they weren’t even getting paid in the first place. In what…

Tech News Adam Clark Estes

Does Political Belief Make You Suck at Math?

A recent study seemed to suggest that political ideology can have a profound effect on how good you are at math. But how accurate is that finding? In this video, Cambridge University mathematicians do a great job of breaking down the research and picking it apart. Turns out the findings are accurate—and they could be…

Tech News Jamie Condliffe

China Is (Kinda) Loosening Its Web Censorship

China has a rich—and occasionally odd—history of censoring the web. Now, though, it seems it may be loosening its iron grip, at least a little. https://gizmodo.com/how-chinas-web-censorship-is-driving-traffic-to-a-miami-5964199 A report by the South China Morning Post explains that bans on a number of globally popular social and news services have been lifted, at least in the special…

Social Media Jamie Condliffe

NSA Honcho built Enterprise bridge replica to sell Congress on spying

How did the National Security Administration sell Congress on its controversial spying program? Apparently by building a replica of the U.S.S. Enterprise bridge and letting lawmakers sit in the big chair and “play Picard.” (Update: Added a picture. Update #2: This wasn’t the NSA, but Alexander’s prior job. Sorry for the mix-up.) As Foreign Policy’s…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

How the pseudoscience of Social Darwinism nearly destroyed humanity

Following the publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species in 1860, many political theorists and opportunistic politicians applied his findings to human society. In the 20th century, these ideas were put into practice — and it nearly destroyed us. Here’s why Social Darwinism was one of the worst ideas ever. Charles Darwin’s theory of…

io9 George Dvorsky

Kazakhstan’s megalomaniac expo will be as ludicrous as its dictator

The world may still be in crisis, but not Kazakhstan—a big exporter of oil and uranium. “President” since 1990 Nursultan Nazarbayev keeps wasting the country’s money in ridiculous megalomaniac projects like their 2017 Expo. Naturally, there’s plenty of shameless Western architects eager to sell out their principles to become his very own Albert Speer+Partners. Look…

Sploid Jesus Diaz

Zack Snyder explains why he wanted mass deaths in Man of Steel

Why did so many people have to die in the climax of Man of Steel? Even in a summer full of disaster porn and murder porn, the Superman reboot stands out in its bloodthirstiness. But now at last, director Zack Snyder is explaining: the deaths are necessary to make it connect to myths and legends.…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

The map that can solve the Middle East problem

Back in 2006, Ralph Peters came up with this fascinating map of the Middle East. It reorganized countries and territories attending to “organic” criteria rather than the leftover arbitrary frontiers of 19th century imperialism. He thought that this may solve many of the conflicts that constantly torment the region. It makes sense, as Jolly Bengali‘s…

Sploid Jesus Diaz

The NSA Has No Idea What “Transparency” Means

Back in June after the first reports based on Edward Snowden’s leaks were published, President Obama boldly defended the NSA spying programs. He even called them “transparent.” But boy oh boy have the folks over at the NSA let him down on that count. Before getting into the latest with the agency, it’s important to…

Privacy & Security Adam Clark Estes

Scientific Proof that Having Money Makes People More Evil?

Research published a while ago shows that people who have lots of money behave less ethically — and are less generous — than people who have less. This video from the PBS Newshour makes a pretty alarming case that money actually erodes your morals. Among other things, drivers of luxury cars are way less likely…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

These Are the Floating Airports of Our Dreams

The Avengers dazzled us with the airborne Helicarrier — but if some visionary designers had had their way, we could have had airplanes landing on structures high in the air. Airports raised above cities, airports floating on the water… the 20th century had many schemes, but no success. Check out some of the wildest concept…

io9 Vincze Miklós

The Greatest Libertarian Novel of the Year… and of All Time?

Cory Doctorow has managed to win the Libertarian Futurist Society’s Prometheus Award for libertarian science fiction for a second time, with his novel Pirate Cinema. He also won this award in 2009 for Little Brother. Meanwhile, Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon won a special “Hall of Fame” award. Here’s the full press release: Cory Doctorow won the…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

GOP anti-Obamacare ad tries to capitalize on your love of Sharknado

The GOP is hoping your manifest adoration for Syfy’s Sharknado will make you not want to have guaranteed health insurance. Hence this “Obamacarenado” ad, which says health coverage will slice your arm off, spraying blood everywhere. So did it work? Have your political views changed completely, because you realize subsidized health coverage is like a…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Kid Sentenced to One Year in Jail for Hacking School Election

Unfortunately for one ambitious, young new resident of the California State Prison System, it seems there actually might be some justice in politics—at least for a 22 year-old caught stuffing a college election ballot box, that is. In Matthew Weaver’s bid to be student body president at California State University San Marcos, he decided to…

Tech News Ashley Feinberg

The NSA Spying Scandal, as Explained by Pixar

Check out this hilarious spin on the traditional Pixar opening-credits thing, except that it explains clearly and simply what’s going on with the NSA. That’s not the only awesome pop culture mash-up addressing the NSA’s PRISM program. Here’s a teaser for RED 2, coming out next week, where President Obama has some thoughts about Bruce…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Could the Ender’s Game boycott actually sink the movie?

Usually when people organize a boycott of a big Hollywood movie, you sort of assume they’ll barely make a dent. But with Ender’s Game, it actually seems somewhat possible that the fan boycott of the film could generate enough static to keep the studio from getting the word out. A bit of backstory: Ender’s Game…

Movies Charlie Jane Anders

Person of Interest wants to remind you they predicted this NSA sh-t

At Comic Con, TV shows and movies create special room keycards for some of the big hotels, and it’s just an extra bit of promotional shwag. But this year, Person of Interest is using its keycard to point out how prescient a lot of its surveillance themes have turned out to be, in a somewhat…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Why Harry Potter Won’t Have as Much Staying Power as Luke Skywalker

Where are all the new heroes? This summer, in particular, it feels like we’re drowning in reboots. And a big part of our summer malaise has to do with the “copy of a copy of a copy” problem. But why is it so hard to create a new hero who gets some traction? I think…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Is Superman the Antichrist?

It’s hard not to feel a bit of schadenfreude here. Warner Bros. hired a Christian marketing company to pitch The Man of Steel to churches, on the grounds that this was really a movie about Jesus. And apparently, this strategy has backfired, somewhat. As in, people are calling Superman “the Antichrist.” https://gizmodo.com/is-man-of-steel-all-about-jesus-warner-bros-hopes-chri-513484485 Sometimes pandering to…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Do geek stereotypes keep women out of computer science?

The media is full of geek stereotypes, everywhere from Big Bang Theory to episodes of CSI and NCIS. These images of geeks as antisocial, immature dorks may seem harmless — but a new study suggests these media images help keep women out of computer science. https://gizmodo.com/the-unbelievable-wretchedness-of-mainstream-tvs-nerd-e-5974830 A team of researchers at University of Washington decided…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Unpaid Members of the NSA Probe Refuse to Meet Because of the Shutdown

Does Political Belief Make You Suck at Math?

China Is (Kinda) Loosening Its Web Censorship

NSA Honcho built Enterprise bridge replica to sell Congress on spying

How the pseudoscience of Social Darwinism nearly destroyed humanity

Kazakhstan’s megalomaniac expo will be as ludicrous as its dictator

Zack Snyder explains why he wanted mass deaths in Man of Steel

The map that can solve the Middle East problem

The NSA Has No Idea What “Transparency” Means

Scientific Proof that Having Money Makes People More Evil?

These Are the Floating Airports of Our Dreams

The Greatest Libertarian Novel of the Year… and of All Time?

GOP anti-Obamacare ad tries to capitalize on your love of Sharknado

Kid Sentenced to One Year in Jail for Hacking School Election

The NSA Spying Scandal, as Explained by Pixar

Could the Ender’s Game boycott actually sink the movie?

Person of Interest wants to remind you they predicted this NSA sh-t

Why Harry Potter Won’t Have as Much Staying Power as Luke Skywalker

Is Superman the Antichrist?

Do geek stereotypes keep women out of computer science?

Why ‘For All Mankind’ Season 5 Is the Key to the Rest of the Series

ASUS ZenScreen 15.6-Inch Portable Monitor Is Now Cheaper Than Black Friday in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

Early Wildfires Are Surging Across the US—and Trump’s New Fire Agency Isn’t Ready

INIU Brings Another Power Bank to the Spring Sale as SnapGo Keychain Portable Charger Drops to Its Lowest Price

Attorney Hit With Historic Fine for Citing AI-Generated Cases

Travelers Experiencing the Longest Security Lines in TSA History

Could There Be a ‘Project Hail Mary’ Sequel?

Meta Has More Smart Glasses Coming Whether You Want Them or Not

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

Let us help find what you are looking for...