Scientists Like Me Are Studying Your Tweets–Are You OK With That? As researchers, we have a responsibility to acknowledge that factors like the type of data, the creator of that data, and our intended use for the data are important when it comes to using public information.

    How We Got To: The Smart Fridge From Francis Bacon to the Large Hadron Collider.

    Does Siri Believe in God? A theological guide to chatbots and the world’s major religions.

    Red Planet: How We’ll Govern Mars Technical and engineering obstacles are solvable when it comes to interplanetary colonization–the real challenge is governance.

    The Most Subversive Way to Travel Perhaps the humble bicycle, a transportation mode that puts people in contact with one another and gives them back that control they seem to crave, offers a unique opportunity to remake those realities for the better.

    The Power of Play: A Reading List A crash course on how fun and leisure can change the world

    A vast stack of containers on a ship

    Postcards From a Supply Chain

    A series that traces consumer goods back through the global shipping system to their source.
    Dan Williams
    Jan 21, 2015

    Fowl Plague

    Pandemics have threatened humanity in the past–and avian influenza may well be the next one due.
    Duncan Geere
    Aug 4, 2017

    The ID Question

    Who decides who you are? You, or the world around you?
    Anjali Ramachandran
    Nov 22, 2017

    Beats: Space

    Space is where we project our dreams–and our nightmares–of the future.

    Beats: Food

    Food structures our day, and food systems shape our world

    Beats: Disability

    “Disable” is an active verb, and disability describes the social and environmental barriers that prevent access just as much as an individual body’s physical reality.

    Beats: Health

    Access to health care is as much a matter of public policy as it is the size of a person’s pocketbook; within a doctor’s office, many factors affect the quality of treatment.

    The Rebirth of the City-State

    Are technological, cultural, and environmental factors combining to disrupt the nation-state in favor of an ancient alternative?
    Corin Faife
    Apr 12, 2016 7 min read

    Sugar Batteries and Fake Leaves Will Light Up Your World

    We could combine technology and biology to produce clean, renewable energy–and lots of it.
    Claire Asher
    Feb 23, 2016 5 min read

    A Brief Explainer of Why Everyone Seems to Hate Gluten, in GIFs

    The facts and mysteries behind the health fad.
    Ian Steadman
    Jun 24, 2016 3 min read