The Social Critic Who Predicted Big Tech’s Dark Turn The Social Critic Who Predicted Big Tech’s Dark Turn
Theodore Roszak and the perils of technocracy.
Jan 31, 2025 / Peter Richardson and Michael J. Kramer
Why DeepSeek’s Surprise Breakthrough Shouldn’t Have Come as a Surprise Why DeepSeek’s Surprise Breakthrough Shouldn’t Have Come as a Surprise
While America was busy with stock buybacks and quarterly profits, China spent decades building an integrated system linking research, manufacturing, and innovation.
Jan 30, 2025 / Corbin Trent
High-Tech Militarists Are Hijacking the Trump Administration High-Tech Militarists Are Hijacking the Trump Administration
Breathtaking conflicts of interest are lining oligarchs’ pockets with our tax dollars.
Jan 22, 2025 / William D. Hartung
Automation in Retail Is Even Worse Than You Thought Automation in Retail Is Even Worse Than You Thought
New technology is not just making shopping more challenging for workers and consumers—it’s poised to rip off the most vulnerable.
Jan 22, 2025 / Ann Larson
Beijing Calls Washington’s Bluff on Strategic Metals Beijing Calls Washington’s Bluff on Strategic Metals
China’s latest export restriction lays bare the complex geopolitics behind President Trump’s proposed tariffs—and the green energy transition.
Jan 2, 2025 / Nicolas Niarchos
Medical Technology Makes Doctors Less Skillful. Should You Care? Medical Technology Makes Doctors Less Skillful. Should You Care?
Technological advances are transforming medicine, but it may be making your physician less creative.
Dec 30, 2024 / Zoya Qureshi
Novelist on a Deadline: Barry Malzberg, 1939–2024 Novelist on a Deadline: Barry Malzberg, 1939–2024
A speed demon at the typewriter, Malzberg wrote quickly and brilliantly in a variety of genres including mystery, thrillers, and erotica, but his core work was in science fiction....
Is It Possible to Suspend Disbelief at Ayad Akhtar’s AI Play? Is It Possible to Suspend Disbelief at Ayad Akhtar’s AI Play?
The Robert Downey Jr.–starring McNeal, which was possibly cowritten with the help of AI, is a showcase for the new technology’s mediocrity.
Nov 14, 2024 / Books & the Arts / Rhoda Feng
Elon Musk Gives Democrats a Chance to Run Against Oligarchy Elon Musk Gives Democrats a Chance to Run Against Oligarchy
Donald Trump’s richest supporter has been busy finding new ways to corrupt democracy.
Oct 21, 2024 / Jeet Heer
Copper Colonialism Is Wrecking Zambia’s Farmlands and Waterways Copper Colonialism Is Wrecking Zambia’s Farmlands and Waterways
Zambia is just one of several nations experiencing a new type of colonialism, this time with a green capitalist veneer.
Oct 17, 2024 / Joshua Frank