Technology

Americans Have No Idea What the Supply Chain Really Is

Behind shipping delays and soaring prices are workers still at mortal risk of COVID-19.

It Has Come to Subscription Tacos

Even Taco Bell is a tech company now.

Ebooks Are an Abomination

If you hate them, it’s not your fault.

The Third Revolution in Warfare

First there was gunpowder. Then nuclear weapons. Next: artificially intelligent weapons.

How Long Will Twitter Cling to Its Dumbest Feature?

People love to hate the site’s “What’s happening” tab. Why won’t the company just let it go?

Maybe You Missed It, but the Internet ‘Died’ Five Years Ago

A conspiracy theory spreading online says the whole internet is now fake. It’s ridiculous, but possibly not that ridiculous?

People Liked Malls

Amazon appears to have discovered that the fastest, freest shipping is picking stuff up in person.

Pfizer Gang Is Pfinished

Was a fun internet culture around vaccines ever going to last?

The Vaccine Cards Are the Wrong Size

Seriously, why can I not fit this thing in my wallet?

Facebook Cares About Privacy—But Only If You’re an Advertiser

The social giant kicked off researchers studying how political ads can encourage targeted voter suppression, leaving citizens with little insight into how they’re manipulated on the platform.

What Are Stores Even Thinking With All These Emails?

Your inbox is now a shopping mall.

It’s August, and No One Knows What Kind of Summer It Is

For a moment it was hot vax summer; then the vibe sort of shifted.

Left-Wing Activists Are Bringing Back MAGA Twitter

An anonymous social-media account claims to “combat right-wing threats” to democracy, and recently started fundraising through a PAC.

Millennials, What Will It Take for You to Buy Life Insurance?

Start-ups are going to ridiculous lengths to rebrand an industry in desperate need of some younger customers.

Move to Berrien County, Michigan, for the Beaches—And the $15,000

Some of America’s shrinking towns are trying to lure remote workers with cash. It’s not going so great.

To Be Honest With You, No Influencer Has Been Treated More Unfairly Than Donald Trump Jr.

The most furious and oddly compelling of the Trumps is developing a personal brand as a victim of the platform he loves.

Why Are Gamers So Much Better Than Scientists at Catching Fraud?

A pair of recent cheating scandals—one in the “speedrunning” community of gamers, and one in medical research—call attention to an alarming contrast.

Meet the Anti-MAGA Trolls

Inside the Reddit communities that can’t leave the right-wing internet alone

The Internet Is Rotting

Too much has been lost already. The glue that holds humanity’s knowledge together is coming undone.

The UFO Trap

Whenever UFOs make the news, standards of skepticism start to slip.