Alec Nevala-Lee, author of Astounding, a forthcoming book on the history of science fiction, digs into the writing career of L. Ron Hubbard, gaining new insights into the life of the controversial founder of dianetics and the origins and nature of Scientology itself.
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Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
Pulse Nightclub Was My Home
On the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Edgar Gomez reflects on what a safe haven the club was for him and others — maybe even shooter Omar Mateen.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Children of the Yuan Percent
Why everyone hates China’s second-generation rich kids.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Quotes
The U.S., China and the ‘Financial Balance of Terror’
This month, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, South Korea, and a handful of other U.S. allies announced plans to join the new China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, despite American pressure not to. The multilateral fund is essentially China’s answer to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, organizations where the U.S. has long had more influence than China. China has […]
Posted inNonfiction, Story
Playing with History: What Sid Meier’s Video Game Empire Got Right and Wrong About ‘Civilization’
Twenty-five years ago, Meier turned human history into a video game, and sold 33 million copies along the way. With the launch of Civilization VI, Kanishk Tharoor takes a closer look at its impact.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction
Mass Extinction: The Early Years
A quick rundown of the ecocidal empires that came before us.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction
What Ever Happened to Planet Vulcan?
The story of the planet closest to our sun, aptly named Vulcan, which accidentally existed for half a century.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Story
Mass Extinction: The Early Years
A quick rundown of the ecocidal empires that came before us.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Battery Breakthrough That Could Juice U.S. Manufacturing
In a new report, McKinsey describes a broad new age of manufacturing that it calls Industry 4.0. The consulting firm says the changes under way are affecting most businesses. They are probably not “another industrial revolution,” it says, but together, there is “strong potential to change the way factories work.” For decades, the US has watched […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The ‘Quasi-Celebrity’ Gene Editing Pioneer
The controversial genome editing technique Crispr-Cas9 has sparked some fascinating recent deep-dives, including Backchannel’s “Editing the Software of Life, for Fame and Fortune” in June, and Wired’s July cover story “The Genesis Engine,” which inspired the Twitter hashtag #crisprfacts. Jennifer Doudna, the biochemist who helped invent the breakthrough tool, often helps anchor the coverage. Andrew […]
