Technology

I Figured Out Wordle’s Secret

It took me four guesses.

The IRS Should Stop Using Facial Recognition

Taxpayers should be wary of the U.S. government for pushing ID.me’s face-based biometric technology on them.

The New Personal Website Isn’t Really a Website at All

Instagram and TikTok stars are helping transform simplistic “link-in-bio” pages into sprawling, interactive displays.

The Simplest Way to Sell More Electric Cars in America

Decades-old laws that protect car dealers are keeping the U.S. stuck in the gas-powered past.

This Is No Way to Be Human

We now occupy a nearly natureless world.

How Did We Get So ‘Cringe’?

Early cringe culture was about empathy and secondhand embarrassment. Today, being “cringe” is a serious infraction.

The Subversive Genius of Extremely Slow Email

A revolution against Big Tech may never come. Could a series of smaller interventions take its place?

The World Is Half-Prepared for a Different Energy Future

Humanity’s energy plans have two giant gaps.

Is [REDACTED] a Christmas Movie?

No one realizes that their own take on Die Hard as a Christmas movie helps sustain a powerful curse on the internet. Not even the guy who started it all by accident.

K-pop Fans Have a New Nemesis

Young, progressive listeners are making a stink about carbon-torching NFTs. But will greener versions be enough to get them on board?

The Absurdity of Renting a Car Will No Longer Be Tolerated

Supply is low, demand is high—but that alone cannot explain the weird indignity of renting a vehicle.

‘No, Like, Everyone Has COVID Right Now’

New York City, again!

Corner Stores Are the New Darlings of the Global Tech Industry

A billion-dollar effort to turn these unassuming shops into mini–tech hubs is only just beginning.

The Great (Fake) Child-Sex-Trafficking Epidemic

Dispatches from a moral panic

The Tech Moguls Are Looking for a New Playground

Jack Dorsey’s decision to leave Twitter, like Mark Zuckerberg’s pivot to the metaverse, shows us where the internet is heading.

When Multilevel Marketing Met Gen Z

Amelia Whelan used social media as an accelerant for her sales community. Then things blew up.

Real Men Drive Electric Trucks

How much will American men have to adapt to help keep the planet from roasting?

I Made the World’s Blandest Facebook Profile, Just to See What Happens

My new Facebook account had the most generic interests possible, and still it brought me to a place no one should ever have to go.

‘Thank You, Brandon’ Is Just Embarrassing

The first big meme battle of the Biden presidency is here, and it’s uncomfortable to watch.

Facebook Is Hiding the Most Important Misinformation Data

Billions of people have apparently encountered vaccine lies on the platform, but that number means nothing without a denominator.