Society

For the next few posts, I want to take a look at how some ‘tribal’ peoples raised armies, in contrast to the way that ancient (or later) states raised armies. As moderns, we are so fami…

Image via Wikimedia Commons Most of the twentieth century's notable men of letters — i.e., writers of books, of essays, of reportage — seem also to have, literally, written a great deal of letters.

Silicon Valley tech billionaire politics: authoritarianism, fascism, plutocracy, weirdness

Statesmanship in a post-Constitutional moment

My father, Allen H. Searls, was an archivist. Not a formal one, but good in the vernacular, at least when it came to one of the most consequential things he did in his life: helping build the Georg…

If you enjoy this post, why not subscribe to my podcast Better Offline? This week's a two parter that further expands on the Rot-Com Bubble, coming out Wednesday and Friday. The noxious growth-at-all-costs mindset of the Rot Economy sits at the core of every issue that I've ever written about.

We talk to the famed futurist about his new book, 'The Singularity is Nearer,' and why he's doubling down on his prediction that humans will merge with machines by 2045.

Thoughts on how capitalism intersects with work, art, technology, urban planning, life and love from around the internet - Notado: Content-first bookmarking

To understand the right-wing legislative attacks on higher education, follow the money, Isaac Kamola writes.

Loops, explore and share short videos on the fediverse. Available soon!

Last week, someone behind the @AmazonNews Twitter account took a fistful of pills, washed them down with a handle of Old Grand-Dad, and started tweeting.

Kevin Carson Credit As an Enclosed Commons 2020 Originally published on 23 March 2020 (Part I) and 1 September 2020 (Part II).

Who should do the heavy, tricky, fraught work of making and keeping our networks good? How should they work? To whom should they be accountable, and how can “accountability” be redeemed from its dissipated state and turned into something with both teeth and discretion?

Can this policy bring bicycle manufacturing back to the US?

Bellingcat is the world’s biggest citizen-run intelligence agency, investigating everything from the 2014 shoot-down of MH17 to the various plots to kill Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. The person behind it all? Eliot Higgins.

Investor Marc Andreessen called tech ethics and safety teams “the enemy” in his “Techno-Optimist Manifesto” last year. Today he clarified he’s in favor of online guardrails for his 9-year-old son.

Understanding what makes Tokyo so special is noticing the aspects of Tokyo’s urban design that make the city so easy to be in.

Segmentation, Signaling and Stratification

Romney was born a line-cutter, but even a jaded Democrat, if he waits long enough, can realize that Obama wants us to be the line

It is good to make powerful people participate in public systems.

In a recent salary-focused poll conducted by researchers at The University of Wisconsin–Madison, 75% of respondents indicated that, yes, they think employees should be paid. While a majority of respondents were pro paying employees, the poll was still met with mixed reactions, with some indi

A group of experts met to discuss the images that have best captured — and changed — the world since 1955.

Rebuilding American infrastructure requires a focus on common sense ways to address common needs through a new political consensus.

Every person has their own idea of the things that keep them alive, and conversely, the things that slowly drain their lives away. Finding…

Fable, the studio behind the viral AI-generated 'South Park' clips, has announced a streaming platform that allows users to create their own content.

Fable Studio, a San Francisco-based startup that gained fame for demonstrating the ability to create an episode of South Park with a brief prompt, is making headlines …