Brian Merchant
We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat
Eco-horror has been around forever, and the premise propelling the genre couldn’t be simpler or more primal: Man tampers with nature—or worse, ruins nature—and nature bitch slaps man. But over the years, we’ve been methodically downsizing our eco...
Voting Tech Still Sucks
In next week's election, districts in over a dozen states will rely on glitchy, paperless voting tech. Nothing to worry about. Move along.
Humans Built a Frankenstorm Factory, and Now We've Got to Live in It
A freak occurrence, two storm systems colliding, has thrown the East Cost into turmoil. The term “Franken-X” is now routinely deployed to denote anything that has been stitched together from a foreboding amalgam of parts. But this time the term rings...
Like Alien Organs: A Chat With Jason Hackenwerth
I recently had the chance to catch up with the renowned balloon artist, who told me about his newest piece, 'Bang Bang Boom'.
The Future Is Almost Here
Soon you'll be running your dishwasher with your iPhone - if you can afford it.
We Are Now One Year Away From Global Riots
People riot for many reasons--poverty, oppression, disenfranchisement--but the big one is more primal than any of those. It's hunger, plain and simple.
Global Food Riots Nigh, Says Science
So long as climate change continues to advance and we maintain a global food system perennially subject to volatile price spikes and exploitation from speculators, without reform, our world will be an increasingly restive one. Hunger is coming, and so...
Getting Wet at the Republican National Convention
Of course the GOP gets saved by the hurricane-forecasting system it wants to defund.
Have You Seen This Woman?
Sidling up with Lena Soderberg, titty-mag centerfold and First Lady of the Internet.
Solar-Powered Toilets of the World: A Comprehensive Guide
Bill Gates just gave a $100,000 cash prize to designers of a toilet that has solar panels that break down poop and pee. In honor of their recent success, we present to you the other solar-powered toilets of the world. In the future, this is where we...