Dungeons & Dragons’ Racial Reckoning Is Long Overdue
The tabletop game’s storylines are infused with regressive stereotypes about race and power. Players are on a quest to rewrite the narrative.
How Tech Could Help Us Contemplate Our Own Mortality
Monks stared at skulls to ponder the inevitability of death. We stare at our phones.
After 2020, Live Events Might Not Look the Same. Good!
This year radically changed what live events—at least those that weren’t canceled—look like. It also taught organizers some lessons.
Timnit Gebru’s Exit From Google Exposes a Crisis in AI
The situation has made clear that the field needs to change. Here’s where to start, according to a current and a former Googler.
Yes to Masks. No to Parties. 2021 Will Be a Lot Like 2020
Sorry, folks: Thanks to Covid, next year won’t be much more fun than this one, at least until enough vaccines arrive.
20 Things That Made the World a Better Place in 2020
From record-beating scientific discoveries to an elephant baby boom, this year was about much more than just a global pandemic.
4 Ways to Make Your Home Smart and More Energy Efficient
Smart thermostats, light bulbs, and leak sensors are just a few devices that can help cut your utility bill.
The Most Dangerous People on the Internet in 2020
This year saw plenty of destructive hacking and disinformation campaigns—but amid a pandemic and a historic election, the consequences have never been graver.
30 Years Since the Human Genome Project Began, What’s Next?
Eric Green, head of the nation’s top genomics research institute, looks back on how far the field has come and shares his bold vision for the future.
How My Record Player Helped Me Feel the Music
If streaming can’t cure your stay-at-home blues, a spinning platter just might do the trick.