The Present

Jeffrey Sachs, from the Rust Belt himself, shares his thoughts on Trump’s economic plans and shares some red flags to watch for as new policy proposals surface.

Exterior mapping – like GPS maps – is part of daily life, but in the coming decades prepare to have your private, interior spaces mapped to assist with future technologies.

Google’s DeepMind artificial intelligence learns what it takes to win, making human-like choices in competitive situations.

Mathematics professor Po-Shen Loh has created Expii, a free education tool that democratizes learning by turning your smartphone into a tutor.

Can’t the U.S. be a little more like Scandinavia in its ethos? Fixing inequality in America will take more than economic reform, it will also need a cultural shift.

While often compared to the Roman Empire, the United States is not likely to collapse in the same way.

Nothing reflects the complex mood of our era like gaming, says Nato Thompson, where the establishment has worked its way into the anti-establishment ethos.

While Kellyanne Conway spoke of a nonexistent massacre, there was a real, historical massacre that took place at Bowling Green – in New York City.

Universal Basic Income (UBI) and the movement towards a shorter work week is not just a solution to inequality, but one also aimed at stabilizing the environment.

“If all that liberals can do in response is continue to lie about the causes of terrorism and lock arms with Islamists, we have some very rough times ahead,” writes Sam Harris. 

When you take off a virtual reality headset, you don’t remember seeing things, you recall experiencing them, says Kevin Kelly. VR will create a world of amazing opportunity – for us and for advertisers.

What should have killed Trump’s political career, only made him stronger. Matt Taibbi marvels at Trump’s immunity to scandal and baffling resilience to normal media strategies.

A ban on fast food would save multitudes more than the travel ban ever could.   

While pejorative stereotypes have been properly cast aside, the question remains whether there is a fundamental difference between how Eastern and Western societies are configured.

If Indiana Jones and Google Earth had a love child, it would be GlobalXplorer, a “space archaeology” software by TED Prize winner Sarah Parcak.

America has a split personality, and the country it wants to be is constantly being foiled by the country that it is. In an ideal world, says Jelani Cobb, there is a way of using power that does not entail the oppression and exploitation of other people. But how do we get there?

David Miliband has said that the hardest way into the US is to enter as a refugee. Is he correct?

Journalists were once outsiders looking in, says Gay Talese, but today their proximity to Washington makes them myopic; they’d be wiser to disperse and keep their eyes on the horizon.

A new risk analysis shows how the danger of terrorist attacks compares to other causes of American deaths.

Universal Basic Income an expensive system to be sure, but social justice commentator Eva Cox argues that the societal returns will be worth the investment.  

Elon Musk’s growing relationship with President Trump can result in revolutionizing the country’s aging infrastructure.   

The first week of Donald Trump’s Presidency features a flurry of activity and a flurry of warnings, like the resetting of the Doomsday Clock.

The world economy is often measured in terms of money, but is this the best method?

Elon Musk’s cryptic messages about a mysterious tunneling project in California are getting more substantive.

In a world afraid of embarrassment, asking dumb questions is a super power, says Tim Ferriss. It takes a secure intellect to risk looking silly, but the rewards are there for the taking.

A careful analysis by two economists finds that phony journalism had little influence on voters and the outcome of the election.

A universal basic income (UBI) policy could change how we evaluate the meaning and quality of work in our society.

A new genetic study sees us getting gently stupider over time.

Nowhere is anti-intellectualism more warmly incubated or does misinformation spread faster than in the online community, which is why Facebook – the third most-visited website in the world – has such a weighty responsibility.rn

The feud between some of the Rockefellers and ExxonMobil has intensified.