Doomsday Machines

The idea of post-apocalypse does not seem universal or disconnected from history. Different cultures, at different times, have embraced the idea, particularly as a literary genre, and the different apocalypses contemplated all feel very of their time and place. Post-apocalyptic stories tend to be about how people react once civilized society has collapsed, and are usually com...

The concept of a “dirty bomb” has two distinct and different technical meanings in the nuclear literature: a weapon that uses conventional explosive (like TNT) to distribute a radioactive contaminant, or a nuclear weapon that derives a significant proportion of its energy from nuclear fission (as opposed to nuclear fusion, which is “cleaner”). Both use the metaphor of “dirt” ...

If you’re wandering around a ruined post-apocalyptic landscape, who do you want at your side? You have a few options:

Nobody, you are truly the Last Person on Earth: A depressing state of affairs, once you get bored of running around through the ruins, particularly if they are inhabited by zombies or aliens or sentient apes. Or if you, god forbid,

Oregon Road ‘83 is a video game (in progress) about, among other things, driving around the western United States after a full-scale nuclear war in 1983. To drive a car

Our present moment is one of promises and warnings — sometimes at the same time — about what artificial intelligence holds for our human future. The promises are about how a world of high productivity, high leisure, and incredible discovery is just around the corner. The warnings talk about disruption, joblessness, new threats from other states, and the fear that the creation...