The Martian is Up for Seven Academy Awards Tonight
We spoke with author Andy Weir in September.
Technology
Regulatory Science Fiction
The stories of yesterday provide hints for the lawmakers of tomorrow.
Apple's Involuntary Servitude
The DOJ has persuaded a judge to issue a search warrant for a thing that does not exist, by forcing Apple to create a key that the FBI is incapable of creating.
North America Has the Smallest Unpaid-Labor Gap Between Men and Women Worldwide
Melinda Gates calls on teens to close the unpaid-work gap globally via entrepreneurship and technological innovation.
Apple Versus the FBI
It's possible that the FBI is not primarily concerned with the particular evidence stored on the San Bernardino shooter's phone at all.
Stealing Music Was the Late '90s Version of Drug Experimentation in the '60s
How Music Got Free author Stephen Witt on the creation of the MP3 and the death of the music industry
PBS Paints Rosy—Maybe a Little Too Rosy—Picture of Technology's Future
Documentaries on robots and big data avoid some big issues.
Tasers Are Bad For Your Brain, Especially When Being Interrogated By Police
Are Miranda warnings valid if a person is experiencing dementia?
Bernie Babes Banned From Tinder for Too Much Campaigning
But the "Bernie Sanders' Dank Tinder" campaigners won't stop.
Shut Up, Explained the Businessman: How Consumers Like You Get SLAPPed Down
Free market groups support Federal SPEAK FREE Act opposing "strategic lawsuits against public participation"
Bitcoin Isn't Dead—But It Is Threatened by Tech Infighting
The cryptocurrency's crucial censorship-resistant property is not stewarded as cautiously as it should be by those in the Bitcoin community.
First Farm Run Entirely by Robots to Open in Japan
The fully automated indoor farm will produce 30,000 heads of lettuce per day.
This Is What An Orgy Looks Like in Virtual Reality
Why I'm still skeptical that VR porn will catch on any time soon.
Government Roadblock: Feds Should Just Get Out of the Way of Self-Driving Vehicles
"All government needs to do for the next transportation revolution [is to] get out of the road."
Fighting Global Censorship, ProPublica Joins the Dark Web
The investigative journalism outfit launches hidden service website on the encrypted Tor Browser.
Why Polls Don't Work
After decades of gradual improvement, the science of predicting election outcomes has hit an accuracy crisis.
How to Chat Anonymously Online
A guide to anonymous encrypted communication in 5 easy steps.
Long, Long Ago, in a Galaxy Far, Far Away, a Star Wars Actor Wore an Atlas Shrugged T-Shirt
And people have opinions about that.
Obama's Rainbow of Everlasting Joy: The Year in Presidential Photography
Despite an ongoing media boycott of White House staff photography, the president's image crafters still call the shots.
The Technology That Made Nathalie Cole So Unforgettable
The late singer's massive 1991 "duet" with her dead father foreshadowed a world of musical mashups.
Bioethics: Standing Athwart Science, Yelling 'Whoa'*
I'm a bioethicist, and I am here to help slow down scientific and medical progress
"Welcome Back, Baby!": SpaceX Returns Rocket to Earth
The private spaceflight company brings a reusable booster back from space and sticks the landing.
Good Stuff Comes from the Bottom Up
How culture, economies, technology, and government evolve
Facebook Check Wouldn't Have Stopped San Bernardino Terrorists, No Matter What GOP Candidates Say
Did an Obama-administration policy prevent the feds from looking at Tashfeen Malik's social-media profiles? Yes and no.
Secret Watchlists and Body Searches: Yes. Social Media Post Reviews: No. Our DHS in Action.
Baffling contradictions about privacy or just old-fashioned blame-shifting?
Watch Matt Welch Talk Trump and Muslims and Terrorism and Civil Liberties on Tonight's Kennedy
Be there at 8 p.m. ET, with a midnight re-run, on Fox Business Network
The Hyperloop Is Landing the Private Investment That Eludes High-Speed Rail
Company planning an early test in Nevada soon.
Bringing Biohacking to the Masses Is Latest Aim of Andreessen Horowitz
The savvy venture capitalists at Andreessen Horowitz are now banking on "smart drug" startup Nootrobox.
Google Offers to Defend Against Some Bad YouTube Takedown Demands
Attempting to protect fair use from copyright claim abuse
In Defense of Yik Yak, "The Crack Cocaine" of Social Media!
Demonized as catering to racists and stalkers, the social media service actually provides comfort and the good kind of safe spaces.
Chicago Is Making Coding Education Mandatory. Is That a Good Idea?
A school computer science program developer explains the pros and cons.
Paris Climate Change Conference
Paris Climate Conference Greenhouse Gas Cuts: Almost No Impact on Global Warming
Plenty of economic pain for a likely reduction in global temperature rise of about -0.17°C in 2100
Matt Ridley and Ronald Bailey Talk About The Evolution of Everything This Wednesday in D.C.
Incremental, bottom-up, trial-and-error innovation yields moral progress, superior technologies, and greater wealth
Eyes on the Skies! Google Wants Drone Deliveries by 2017.
Waiting for FAA regulatory framework is the pits.
Shadow-Censorship on Social Media Sparks New Concerns for Open-Internet Advocates
The digital censors of tomorrow will control information by secretly limiting or obscuring the ways that people can access it online.
Are You Better Off Now Than You Were 20, 30, 40 Years Ago?
Declinists who focus on inequality and stagnant wages miss increased freedom and opportunities.
A War on Climate Change?
We are supposed trust government technocrats - what could possibly go wrong?
What Global Food Crisis?: Ronald Bailey's Wall Street Journal Review of The Reproach of Hunger
Neo-Malthusians still get it wrong: Markets and science will feed 9 billion if not blocked.
Today's Big News Won't Be Known for Years
There's a lot of great news happening right now. We just won't know about it for a while.
I Quote This Excellent Essay on Copyright Abuse & Refuse to Pay a Single Dime to Mick Jagger!
FFS, don't authors want to be quoted? Isn't that the whole goddamned point?
