The Internet Is a Crime Against HumanityJustin E. H. Smith’s new book, “The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is,” shows how the human dream of telecommunication has been twisted into a nightmare....JOSHUA JUDD PORTERSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
The Mother Hen Who Scratches Your Soul: An Appreciation of Paul FarmerA tribute for a man who wanted to treat health as a human right....SOPHIE COUSINSSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Oncology’s Darwinian DilemmaA young doctor ponders oncology’s latest dilemma: uncertainty rooted in variation....BOBAK PARANGSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Digital OligarchyRobert Gorwa reads Jillian York’s “Silicon Values” on digital content moderation in the context of the Ukrainian War....ROBERT GORWASCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Surveillance Gone ViralEvan Selinger lauds David Lyon’s “Pandemic Surveillance” while quibbling with its lack of grounded analysis....EVAN SELINGERSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Rescuing Utopianism in a Climate-Changed WorldMathias Thaler argues that utopian thinking has a role to play in addressing the climate crises....MATHIAS THALERSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Womb with a View: On the Science of Maternal EffectsMeredith Reiches lauds Sarah Richardson’s “The Maternal Imprint.”...MEREDITH REICHESSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Arguing About the Origins of ScienceMichael Bycroft addresses the latest scholarly rows about where science originated....MICHAEL BYCROFTSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Sietchposting: A Short Guide to Recent Work on “Dune”The “dunescourse” — or “sietchposting,” as it is affectionately called — is vast....HARIS A. DURRANISCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
ProphecyThe power of Dune, of its Fremen, is rooted in the prophecy....AHMED RAGABSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Ethnography"Dune" itself is a work of ethnography — a gateway into a new world....TAYLOR M. MOORESCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
HarvestingThe question of “peak oil” or “peak spice" has always been a proxy for a paramount existential concern: whether we control anything at all....CHRISTOPHER DIETRICHSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
ComputersIn the "Dune" universe, despite their ostensible absence, the computers and artificial intelligences of Herbert’s time are palpably present....STEPHANIE DICKSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Pharmacology"Dune" marked a moment when this approach to experimental drugs entered pop culture....BENJAMIN BREENSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, A Philosophy, A WarningJulien Crockett talks with Justin E. H. Smith about his new book, “The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is.”...JULIEN CROCKETTSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
On Floating UpstreamIn a review of Markoff’s biography of Stewart Brand, W. Patrick McCray notes that Brand’s ability to recognize and cleave to power explains a great deal of his career....W. PATRICK MCCRAYSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Dark Transparency: Hyper-Ethics at Trump’s EPAMario Biagioli and Alain Pottage get to the bottom of how scientific norms were radicalized by Trump’s EPA to turn against themselves....MARIO BIAGIOLI, ALAIN POTTAGESCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Weird ScienceFrom anti-vaxxers to Flat Earthers, the public’s (and scholars’) perception of science shifted sometime between 1990-2010, writes Michael Gordin....MICHAEL D. GORDINSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Putting California Buddhism to Work in Silicon ValleyFred Turner describes “Work Pray Code” as a fine-grained map of the traffic between religion and profit-seeking in Silicon Valley....FRED TURNERSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Take Nobody’s Word for It: A Conversation with Wes JacksonWes Jackson, who won a MacArthur for the idea of perennial grains grown in mixtures, is quite sure we are getting less intelligent....ROBERT JENSENSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
The World Is a Strange Madhouse: 100 Years of RelativityPaul Dicken marks the centenary of “The Meaning of Relativity,” Einstein’s attempt to explain his runaway theory and correct its “mad” cultural appropriations....PAUL DICKENSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY