When I Took My Zipcar Into the Wilderness
In an area without cellphone reception, I was unable to open the car.
The Rise of the Urban Tattletale
Apps that track bike-lane offenders help cyclists feel a sense of agency. But they also encourage city residents to surveil one another’s movements.
Why Hong Kongers Are Toppling Lampposts
For protesters, claims of Chinese surveillance are politically useful, even when they can’t be proved.
An 11-Year-Old Takes on a Nuclear Power Plant
Sam faces a dilemma as he comes of age in the shadow of Britain's largest power plant.
The Gift-Card Budget
Strapped for cash, state governments are plugging holes using unspent gift cards. Not everyone thinks it’s a good idea.
Facebook Wants a Do-Over on News
This time around, the company would rather you focus on the humans.
It’s 10 p.m. Do You Know Where Your Friends Are?
Constant location sharing is now the norm for some friend groups.
Why It’s So Hard to Stop Marketing Guns in Video Games
Video games don’t cause mass shootings, but they do serve as insidious advertisements for weapons.
Games Boys Play
How Gears of War helped me come out
People Are Starting to Realize How Voice Assistants Actually Work
The secrecy surrounding AI products makes even basic information about them a scandal.
America Has Never Been So Desperate for Tomato Season
A mundane joy in a season fraught with despair
Why Washing Machines Are Learning to Play the Harp
Appliance makers believe more and better chimes, alerts, and jingles make for happier customers. Are they right?
Twinfluencers Are Taking Over the Internet
Why so many famous YouTubers and Instagram stars are twins
When Is a Caption Close Enough?
YouTube’s notoriously nonsensical auto-captions are improving. But there’s a deeper problem.
The Amazon Publishing Juggernaut
What does the e-commerce giant want with the notoriously fickle world of publishing? To own your every reading decision.
The People Who Love to Watch Other People Clean
The world is a mess. “Cleanfluencers” are here to help.
Instagram Wants Memers to Like It Again
After a series of account purges, meme pages are at war with their platform. Now Instagram is trying to smooth things over.
Video-Game Violence Is Now a Partisan Issue
For decades, both Republicans and Democrats saw games as cultural dangers. That changed after the Parkland shooting.
The Military-Style Surveillance Technology Being Tested in American Cities
In the eyes of the law, there’s no difference between a photo taken by a smartphone through an airplane window and one taken by an ultrapowerful camera in a helicopter hovering over your backyard.
The Endless, Invisible Persuasion Tactics of the Internet
Online shopping turns your brain against you, but you can fight back.