Articles by Derek Mead
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Is Anyone Really Surprised the NSA Is Currently Spying on Millions of Americans?
Verizon is currently handing over millions of customer phone records to the National Security Agency, on a daily basis, thanks to a secret court order revealed by a blockbuster 'Guardian' report by Glenn Greenwald. It's proof that the government is spying on regular people without warrants. The question is, are you surprised? Full story
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The Department of Justice Secretly Spied on the Associated Press
In what is being called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into a news organization, the Department of Justice has admitted that it seized two months' worth of phone records from the Associated Press. That's bad. Full story
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With 3D-Printed Gun Files Safely on the Pirate Bay, What's Next?
Yesterday, the US State Department ordered Defense Distributed to take down the CAD files for its fully 3D-printed gun, the Liberator, which had been released just a couple days prior. Of course, over those few days when the files were available online, they were downloaded more Full story
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The Soviet Scientist Who Dreamed of Melting the Arctic
As much as we worry about climate change today, a warm, melted Arctic was actually a dream of geoengineers since the 19th century. At the height of the Cold War, a Soviet scientist proposed a dam spanning the Bering Strait that would redirect the currents of the world's oceans an… Full story
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In China, Tigers Are Being Farmed Like Chickens
Tigers are some of the biggest victims of the wildlife trade, with the rare cats' bones coveted for traditional medicine and their coats prized as rugs. In Vietnam, tiger parts are so valuable that they make better bribes than cash. And in China, they are in such high demand that… Full story
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Hunting Rhino Horns in the Deep Web
Rhinoceros horn trafficking has become a billion-dollar business and the scourge of a threatened species. With law enforcement cracking down in many countries throughout the world, vendors have taken a cue from the drug trade and moved deeper into the internet. Alongside heroin a… Full story
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Cat Got Your Brain?
Toxoplasma gondii, the brain-controlling parasite that lives in cats, might explain why cats are so popular on the internet. Yes, I'm saying that /r/awww is populated by toxoplasma zombies who can't stop obsessing over their cats. Full story
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Where’s Wallace At? Just Where He Needs to Be, in the NBA
Rasheed Wallace is serious about the game when he’s playing it, but he knows it’s just a game and that everyone will go home and smoke blunts afterward. For all the egos and slap fights and psychotic, drooling Kevin Garnetts and CIA-serious Popoviches, he’s always been one to bre… Full story
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Incredibly Humanlike New Species of Blond Monkey Discovered in Congo
A new species of monkey has been described in the still-mysterious rainforests in the central of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Researchers said that it’s only the second new monkey species discovered in 28 years. Full story
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Thanks to Sex, Humans Are Still Evolving
Just because we have incredible access to food and healthcare doesn't mean we're not evolving. Natural selection is always happening thanks to the practice of boning. Full story
The Mare
A New Story by Mary Gaitskill 
Toppling a Delicate World
Being Gay and South Asian In America 
There's No Sex in Prison Showers
We Usually Wore Our Underwear 
Try Not to Destroy Your Life
The First Time I Took Molly 
A Teacher and Her Student
Marilynne Robinson on Staying Out of Trouble 
"Whitey" Isn't Very Popular in Boston
Interviews with Some of His Old Friends 
