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Tom Kartsotis made a fortune by tapping into a sense of nostalgia with Fossil watches, and has now created a new company, Shinola, which has grounded its sense of manufactured nostalgia in Detroit. Inc. has an in-depth profile of the company. h/t Tod Rathbone.

Long-running Star Wars podcast TheForceCast is closing down. Run by TheForce.net for a decade, the podcast has been a major touchstone of Star Wars Fandom. Behind the scenes changes and uproar over the show’s new direction brought it to a halt. Tosche Station has an in depth look. Contact the author at [email protected].

We really dig translated science fiction, and fortunately, it seems as though there’s a whole bunch of new books being translated into English for the first time this year. SF Signal has a great roundup of books coming in from Russia, Cuba, Japan and China. Contact the author at [email protected].

1950s America relied on a greater share of renewable energy than the present day. The reason for that was that the nation’s lower demand for energy meant that the nation’s hydroelectric dams could supply most of that demand. Contact the author at [email protected].

The Flint Water crisis has been a major wake-up call about the water quality in municipalities across the country. The Verge takes a deep dive into history behind the disaster in Michigan. Contact the author at [email protected] and on Twitter at @andrewliptak.

It’s one of the most iconic film props of all time: the Maltese Falcon. For years, collectors have sought them out, but finding the original, screen-used props were difficult. Over on Vanity Fair, Bryan Burrough takes a look at the story behind the statues. Follow the author on Twitter at @andrewliptak

Bill Watterson has been notoriously reluctant to license his famous comic, Calvin and Hobbes. So when an artist began mashing up the comic and Frank Herbert’s Dune, the lawyers came out. What happened next might surprise you. Follow the author on Twitter at @andrewliptak

Micah Hayman figured out that the best way to get his son to stop crying was Imperial March. Parenting done right. [Nerdist]

Science fiction has been huge this year with books like Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson and movies like The Martian. NPR takes a look at the new crop ofscience fiction stories that shoot for realism.

Ray Bradbury has long said that his education came from libraries. It’s fitting then, that the Carnegie Library in Waukegan Illinois might become home to a museum devoted to the famous author.

Space is big. Really really big, and despite science fiction stories that rely on interstellar travel, in all likelihood, we’re probably never going to colonize the stars. Over on Boing Boing, Kim Stanley Robinson outlines why Earth will be our only home.

It used to be that you’d know if a show would be cancelled after just a couple of weak episodes. With the enormous amount of new television shows out there, networks are more reluctant to give programs the ax, opting to give them a bit more time to find an audience.

As dystopias have proliferated throughout science fiction, more optimistic authors such as Kim Stanley Robinson have tackled a brighter future for humanity. The New Republic has a fascinating article on the subject that’s well worth reading.

Our biggest planet in the solar system is also one of the best: it’s got crazy weather systems, it’s probably saved Earth from enormous impacts, and it’s got hundreds of moons orbiting it. The Atlantic goes over all the ways Jupiter is their favorite planet.

In 2014, the King County Library system of Seattle distributed over 21 million items between 48 branches. As library systems grow, they’re increasingly turning to technology to manage the logistics of getting materials to patrons.

There’s always been some level of tension between genre and literary fiction, but according to novelist David Mitchell, avoiding genre is a “bizarre act of self-mutilation”.

Halo and XBox have long been synonymous: the former is credited with the blockbuster success of the latter. Now, with Xbox One struggling against competing devices, all eyes are Halo 5. Over on Bloomburg Magazine there’s a great profile of Bonnie Ross, 343 Industry’s CEO.

Go to Amazon.com right now, and you’ll probably find a book that you’re looking for for $.01. Even with shipping, that’s a steal. The New York Times takes a look into the industry of buying books in bulk (sometimes from the trash) and reselling them for a penny.

Thousands of films have been made that haven’t been seen in years: they remain locked away in studio vaults. With the advent of streaming and on-demand services, they’re starting to figure out ways to release more and more of these films to the public.

In 1900, a ship arrived at the island of Eileen Mor off the coast of Scotland. There, they were to deliver supplies to a lighthouse crew, only to discover that the three men had mysteriously vanished. Mentalfloss looks back on the 115 year old mystery.