“Mad Meg,” the Poet-Duchess of 17th Century England
Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, shocked the establishment by publishing poems and plays under her own name.
Can Science Fiction Predict the Future of Technology?
Science fiction isn’t limited to predicting tech developments: It’s more broadly concerned with imagining possible futures, or alternative presents.
Socialist Sci-Fi Reimagined the Future
The 1960 East German film The Silent Star provided a significant cautionary tale for the Cold War era.
The Woman Behind James Tiptree, Jr.
James Tiptree, Jr., was a beloved sci-fi writer known for masculine prose and universal themes. Then her real identity was revealed: Alice Bradley Sheldon.
The Truth about Laser Guns
The U.S. and most other large militaries have been trying to develop laser weapons for decades. Has China created the first portable laser gun?
Remembering Stephen Hawking and Future Science
An original essay about the science of the future by the late theoretical physicist.
RIP Ursula K. Le Guin
"Isn't the 'subjection of women' in science fiction merely a symptom of a whole which is authoritarian, power-worshipping, and intensely parochial?"
Do We Have Moral Obligations to Robots?
The recent film Blade Runner 2049 engages with questions raised by Karel Čapek and Isaac Asimov: What do we owe our creations (and what do they owe us)?
What Star Trek: Discovery Can Tell Us About Tech and Social Progress
What makes Star Trek essential for any contemporary tech user is its role in helping us understand our relationship to technology.
When Science Fiction Becomes Real: Octavia E. Butler’s Legacy
Ten years after her death, the writing of Octavia E. Butler has a persistent influence—one that spans well outside of the science fiction genre.