I'm from the government, and I'm here to help (stop progress)*
How regulators in league with crony capitalists stymie technological advancement.
Technology
Pope Francis' Address to Congress May Not Have Been What 'Climate Justice' Activists Were Hoping For
The pontiff stopped far short of laying out a concrete environmental policy agenda.
Social Media Helps Food Vendors Dodge Regulators and Find Customers
When what you want is an illegal treat from a favorite underground source, Facebook may be the place to look
Cabbie To Uber Passenger: 'Take a Real Taxi You F***ing Cheapskate'
Violent threat, bald-faced lies, and other recent tales from the Uber wars.
Bitcoin Is a 'Fatherless' Technology. Great Attribute or Fatal Weakness?
Can Bitcoin grow and evolve without a founding figure?
Campaign Against Sex Robots Launches, Because Some People Will Panic About Anything
Two brave researchers tackle the imaginary menace of robot prostitution.
The iPhone Is Already Changing Filmmaking
The smartphone and the decentralization of video production.
The Freeman's Max Borders: Libertarians Should Be More Optimistic About the Future
Bitcoin and other disruptive technologies are having an important impact on developing countries.
Famous Twitter Troll James Woods Asks Service for Info on Less-Famous Twitter Troll
The great actor - and outspoken Obama critic - takes on the First Amendment.
Kim Kardashian Posts a 'Corrective Ad' About Morning Sickness Pill on Instagram
Posted as the VMAs started to minimize exposure. Well played.
What Vox Thinks Tech Nerds Don't Understand About Politics
Mostly that reflexive distrust of it shows you need a smug handholding "explainer."
Two Americans Headed to Prison After Tweeting Support for ISIS
As Reason regulars are all too aware, the feds have been taking a heavier hand lately when it comes to online speech.
What Ashley Madison Teaches Us About Data Hygiene
The real moral of the Ashley Madison hack? Our data is fundamentally insecure.
Hyperloop Project Inches Closer to Becoming a Real Thing
Two tech companies offer services to develop prototype.
The End is Nigh
A majority believes civilization could collapse and humans go extinct in the next 100 years.
Against the Dogmatists, a Review of The End of Doom
Modest self-promotion of my new book
Peak Oilers Shut Up Forever Please
Peak oil is comprehensively debunked in The End of Doom. Just saying.
The Economics of Software-Vulnerability Sales: Can the Feds Encourage 'Pro-Social' Hacking?
The question for cybersecurity-minded lawmakers should not be how to control the zero-day market but how to encourage more "white hat" trades and fewer destructive ones.
Science Works: And The Deaf Hear Video
Art was the first neurotechnology: A feel-good video to start your weekend
Why the GOP Sucks at Courting Millennials: 'The Selfie Vote' Author Kristen Soltis Anderson
The Republican pollster talks to Nick Gillespie about how to win the hearts and minds of a generation that has yet to realize its own political power.
Second Life Creators Have Not Stopped Believing
VR headsets could give new life to the Second Life concept-for better or worse.
Ai Weiwei's Upcoming London Exhibition Will Have Everything But the Dissident Artist Himself
The celebrated Chinese artist was denied a business visa by the British government.
The Government's Latest Attempt to Stop Hackers Will Only Make Cybersecurity Worse
"Cyberweapons" crackdown could be used to criminalize basic software-bug testing.
Hillary's Solar Scheme Is Central Planning at its Worst
Why privilege solar over all the other technologies, including some that may not even be invented yet?
Judge Grants Backpage.com Temporary Restraining Order Against Illinois Sheriff Tom Dart
"It appears that an oft-used tool for identifying lawbreakers will be lost if Backpage were to fold," writes federal judge.
"The End of Doom": Ron Bailey on Why The Future Looks Pretty Damn Great
Advances in technology will address climate change before calamity strikes.
Dressing Room Sex Tape Goes Viral, Police Arrest Five
Filmed at a Uniqlo in China, authorities also looking into the store's involvement
A New Life for Old Food
How technology reduces waste by getting excess edibles to those who can still use them.
If People Could Genetically Modify Their Children to Be Smarter, Would They? Hell, Yes!
So argues Eugene Volokh, albeit with a bit more subtlety.
The Social Media Shaming of Pax Dickinson
The social media outrage wheel keeps spinning
Hackers Installed Sophisticated Malware on U.S. Computers. Why Doesn't Anyone Care?
The worm was designed to gather intelligence on the ongoing Iranian nuclear talks.
How a Crusading Chicago Sheriff Convinced Visa and Mastercard to Screw Sex Workers
Bitcoin is now the only means of paying for adult ads on the popular web classifieds site Backpage.com.
Gawker Media is Fighting for Free Speech—and Its Life
Facing $100 million lawsuit from Hulk Hogan over posting excerpts of and writing about a sex tape featuring the pro-wrestler.
Pope Francis and Naomi Klein Both Hate Free Markets, Technological Progress, and Economic Growth
This coalition of the secular left and the religious left bodes ill for the poor and the climate.
The Supreme Court's Same-Sex Marriage Decision Is Already Being Used to Sell You Washing Machines
From Miller Lite to Maytag, here's how popular brands reacted to the SCOTUS ruling this morning.
The FCC Might Have Just Killed Polling as We Know It—and That's OK
Pollsters like Nate Silver are understandably freaked out, but it's not the government's job to protect their business model.
Libertarian Feminists Ask Facebook to #FreeTheNipple
Petition urges Facebook to stop "censoring artful or political expressions of female bodies."
Pope Francis Really Hates Modern Technology and Economic Progress
Which is unfortunate since only technological progress and economic growth can effectively address environmental problems
Encrypted Social Network 'Minds' Will Protect User Data From Government and Corporate Snoops
Minds excels where other popular social networks, particularly Facebook, fail: transparency and protecting user privacy.
Giving Government 'Backdoor' Access to Encrypted Data Threatens Personal Privacy and National Security
The War on Terror is providing plenty of rhetorical ammunition to anti-encryption officials, but they are dangerously wrong.
No Virtual Reality Porn for Oculus Rift
This week in weirdly futuristic sex: virtual reality porn out, sex robots in
OpenBazaar, an Online Platform for "Censorship-Resistant Trade," Gets $1 Million In Backing From Venture Capital Heavyweights Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures
Investors give a vote of confidence to a libertarian-themed tech venture.
Bitcoin's Long-Term Viability Threatened by Block Size Limits
If unaddressed, an arbitrary protocol quirk implemented by Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto could soon undermine the scalability and long-term viability of the cryptocurrency.
