The New Yorker - Elements

E-mail Is Making Us Miserable

Fri, 26 Feb 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In an attempt to work more effectively, we’ve accidentally deployed an inhumane way to collaborate.

The Awful Uncertainty of the Coronavirus Death Toll

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 22:55:15 GMT

The new number—half a million Americans dead—is only an approximation of the pandemic’s real effects.

The Activists Who Embrace Nuclear Power

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 11:00:00 GMT

In the face of climate change, some environmentalists are fighting not to close power plants but to save them.

Who Should Stop Unethical A.I.?

Mon, 15 Feb 2021 11:00:00 GMT

At artificial-intelligence conferences, researchers are increasingly alarmed by what they see.

Inside the Making of Facebook’s Supreme Court

Fri, 12 Feb 2021 11:00:00 GMT

The company has created a board that can overrule even Mark Zuckerberg. Soon, it will decide whether to allow Trump back on Facebook.

How the Biden Administration Can Expand Rural Broadband

Wed, 10 Feb 2021 01:33:32 GMT

Millions of Americans lack access to high-speed Internet, a digital divide that the coronavirus lockdown has laid bare.

The Strangeness of Our Animal Bonds

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 11:00:00 GMT

We see them as our parents, our children—but rarely as themselves.

Trump’s Been Unplugged. Now What?

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 20:46:22 GMT

The platforms have acted, raising hard questions about technology and democracy.

The Origins of Video-Chat Voice

Sun, 10 Jan 2021 11:00:00 GMT

We sound strange on Zoom, Skype, and FaceTime. Why?

How Joe Biden Could Help Internet Companies Moderate Harmful Content

Fri, 04 Dec 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was intended to prevent the Internet from becoming home to all kinds of unsavory, offensive, and possibly illegal content. What parts of the law are worth saving?

The Rise and Fall of Getting Things Done

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 11:00:00 GMT

How personal productivity transformed work—and failed to.

The National-Security Case for Fixing Social Media

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 11:00:00 GMT

Disinformation threatens our national well-being—and, as a nation, we can do something about it.

How We Discovered Water on the Moon

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 16:08:20 GMT

NASA’s interest in lunar water is not purely academic.

An Ad-Hoc Group of Activists and Academics Convene a "Real Facebook Oversight Board”

Thu, 15 Oct 2020 10:00:00 GMT

Sue Halpern writes about the Real Facebook Oversight Board, an activist body that plans to help safeguard the U.S. election by applying broader oversight to Facebook’s activities.

What Will Cold-and-Flu Season Mean for the Coronavirus Pandemic?

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 18:58:57 GMT

Carolyn Kormann on the coronavirus pandemic and how cold weather, seasonal flu, lack of federal leadership, and refusal to follow public-health experts’ guidelines could lead to more daily deaths and a chaotically dangerous winter.

Scientists Advance on One of Technology’s Holy Grails

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 17:41:02 GMT

Matthew Hutson writes about the growing field of de-novo protein design, led by David Baker, the founder and head of the University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design.

Jonathan Rothberg’s Race to Invent the Ultimate Rapid At-Home COVID-19 Test

Sat, 29 Aug 2020 10:00:00 GMT

Gideon Lewis-Kraus writes about the inventor and entrepreneur Jonathan Rothberg and his work during the coronavirus pandemic toward a more convenient test for COVID-19.

What Can America Learn from Europe About Regulating Big Tech?

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 10:00:00 GMT

Nick Romeo writes on the Dutch politician Marietje Schaake’s arrival in Silicon Valley, to join Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center, and the stark differences between American and European tech regulations.

How Vulnerable Is G.P.S.?

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 18:19:36 GMT

Greg Millner on the engineering professor Todd Humphreys, who has proved that the proliferation of G.P.S interference is a major reckoning for the country’s military and defense systems.

How Harvard’s Star Computer-Science Professor Built a Distance-Learning Empire

Tue, 21 Jul 2020 10:00:00 GMT

Eren Orbey on how Harvard’s David Malan has worked to perfect online teaching, and what lessons his introductory course, CS50, might hold for the future of higher education, both during and after the coronavirus pandemic.