Dreaming Up Inventions for an Afrofuturist World Three magical tools necessary for both liberation and laughter.

    Beats: Health Access to health care is as much a matter of public policy as it is the size of a person’s pocketbook; within a doctor’s office, many factors affect the quality of treatment.

    Was Gamification a Terrible Lie? Turning work into play was sold as a miracle for increasing productivity–but was that ever really plausible?

    Let Robots Handle Your Emotional Burnout at Work But as robotics and computing evolve, some researchers foresee a future where technology can relieve the long-held emotional burden of some of these professions. They think we owe it to the service workforce to offer a new frontline of robotic protection. In fact, they think it’s far overdue–but does that actually mean just automating these jobs away?

    To Board a Cruise Ship–and Never Get Off Meet the retirees who never stop moving.

    How We Got To: The Smart Fridge From Francis Bacon to the Large Hadron Collider.

    A vast stack of containers on a ship

    Postcards From a Supply Chain

    A series that traces consumer goods back through the global shipping system to their source.
    Dan Williams
    Jan 21, 2015

    The Roots of an Epidemic

    From apartheid labor policies to everyday sexism, socio-political issues influence the spread of TB disease and the effectiveness of health responses. To tackle the epidemic, we need systemic changes.
    Paula Akugizibwe
    Apr 11, 2019

    Breaking the Cycle

    The future of reproductive health in India, from early ideas about population control to on-the-ground interventions happening now, to a world where men and women share contraceptive responsibility.
    Hannah Harris Green
    Sep 26, 2018

    Beats: Space

    Space is where we project our dreams–and our nightmares–of the future.

    Beats: Food

    Food structures our day, and food systems shape our world

    Beats: Disability

    “Disable” is an active verb, and disability describes the social and environmental barriers that prevent access just as much as an individual body’s physical reality.

    Beats: Health

    Access to health care is as much a matter of public policy as it is the size of a person’s pocketbook; within a doctor’s office, many factors affect the quality of treatment.

    Afrofuturism and Outsider Tech

    Afrofuturists, like hackers, get their strength from working and innovating outside traditional institutions.
    Florence Okoye
    Feb 2, 2016 4 min read

    WhatsApp Wants You To Stop Sharing Fake Stories

    WhatsApp has key differences with platforms like Facebook and Twitter: it is private social media, which makes it harder to study its impact on democracy.
    Samira Shackle
    Jul 27, 2018 3 min read

    Refugee Innovation

    Technology that’s changing the lives of people fleeing persecution.
    Duncan Geere
    Sep 25, 2015 1 min read