science fiction
The impossible cool of Cowboy Bebop
The 1998 hit is making a comeback. Stop what you're doing and watch the original.
How sci-fi helps humanity avoid species-level mistakes
Technology of the future is shaped by the questions we ask and the ethical decisions we make today.
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Best. Science. Fiction. Show. Ever.
"The Expanse" is the best vision I've ever seen of a space-faring future that may be just a few generations away.
13 books everyone should read and why—as voted by you
Add these great titles to your wish list or secure copies for yourself.
Why San Francisco felt like the set of a sci-fi flick
But most city dwellers weren't seeing the science — they were seeing something out of Blade Runner.
Five weird thought experiments to break your brain
Thought expriments are great tools, but do they always do what we want them to?
Massive ‘Darth Vader’ isopod found lurking in the Indian Ocean
The father of all giant sea bugs was recently discovered off the coast of Java.
The biology of aliens: How much do we know?
Hollywood has created an idea of aliens that doesn't match the science.
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11 min
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What does the red pill really show you?
Neo's superhuman powers were only inside of The Matrix. The outside world offered a different reality.
The future of space travel is starting right now
Astronaut Garrett Reisman talks NASA, SpaceX, and where we're headed next.
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4 min
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Ask Sophia the Robot: What can AI teach humans?
Through experiencing time in a nonlinear way, can artificial intelligence provide us more perspective?
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3 min
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What the third Star Wars trilogy was supposed to be about
Spoiler: Microbiomes in space!
9 of the best Star Wars gifts not named Baby Yoda
Baby Yoda merch is on the way, but these Star Wars gifts are available right now.
Experts decide to try knocking an asteroid off course
Before the next big, dangerous, incoming rock arrives.
99.99% of species go extinct. What is humanity’s future?
Mother Nature and the laws of physics have a death warrant out for humanity, says Michio Kaku. Can we escape it?
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Researchers successfully sent a simulated elementary particle back in time
Don't start investing in flux capacitors just yet, though.
Confessions of a nerd
The Avengers movies have done a marvelous job melding science and story.
10 Golden Age science fiction novels
Transport yourself to other worlds and states of mind.
The government’s secret UFO reading list is revealed. Wow.
FOIA release sheds light on the DOD's own struggle to understand UFOs.
How will we travel to another star?
Proxima Centauri, our closest star, is more than 4 light years away. Reaching it under 10,000 years will be challenging; reaching it with living humans will be even harder.
In 1983, Isaac Asimov predicted the world of 2019. Here’s what he got right (and wrong).
Some of them were surprisingly astute.
7 of the most interesting fictional drugs
From the cosmic blast into another being's mind, to rolling bliss or obedient mind-slavery, fictional drugs have it all.
A $100-million startup shares incredible plan to propel spacecraft with giant lasers
Breakthrough Starshot is moving ahead with an audacious vision for space exploration.
Matrioshka Brain: How advanced civilizations could reshape reality
Future or extraterrestrial civilizations could create megastructures the size of a solar system.
4 psychological techniques cults use to recruit members
Hint: They hold off on talking about their alien god until much later.
7 of the scariest monsters from Lovecraftian horror books
Who doesn't love a little existential fear every once in a while?
7 most important horror movies: Double-feature edition
Feeling the urge to scare yourself this Halloween? Here are seven important horror films you have to see.
‘Brave New World’ predicted today’s world better than any other novel
His book warns us of the dangers of mass media, passivity, and how even an intelligent population can be driven to gladly choose dictatorship over freedom.
Why is Le Guin’s hand-drawn map not as famous as her book?
Like Stevenson, Tolkien and other creators of fantasy worlds, Ursula K. Le Guin was a cartographer as well as a writer