Culture & Society

Sci-Fi Interfaces

Celebrating interface design in science fiction films. Features The Fritzes awards for best believable and narrative interfaces, in-depth analysis of UI/UX in movies, and lessons for real-world interaction design. Created by Christopher Noessel, author of Make It So. Stop watching sci-fi. Start using it.

Demoscene - The Art of Coding

Documentary and resource about the demoscene, the underground computer art culture that pushes hardware to create real-time audiovisual art.

Lapham's Quarterly

Literary magazine exploring history and ideas through themed essays, primary sources, and contemporary commentary.

Colossal

Art, design, and visual culture blog featuring contemporary artists and creative work. High-quality curation since 2010.

Webrecorder

Open-source web archiving platform for creating high-fidelity, interactive archives of web content. Preserves the dynamic web as it's experienced.

Conifer

Web archiving tool by Rhizome that lets you create interactive archives of web content. Preserves dynamic websites, social media, and complex web applications.

Om Malik

Meditations on technology, science, future, and life. Veteran tech writer and investor.

Interconnected

Kevin Xu on China tech and US-China tech relations. Deep analysis from both sides.

Ludicity

Essays on tech industry dysfunction, consulting, and organizational failure modes.

Noahpinion

Noah Smith on economics, geopolitics, and technology. Former Bloomberg columnist.

computer.rip

Deep technical dives into computing history, telecom, and infrastructure. The stuff they don't teach you.

Chronophoto

Guess when photos were taken. Historical photo dating game.

Parametric Press

Interactive digital magazine. Data journalism you can explore.

Construction Physics

Brian Potter on why buildings cost so much. Industrial engineering.

Works in Progress

Magazine on progress and stagnation. Deep dives into why things work.

SFCiti

San Francisco urban history and architecture. Deep local knowledge.

Failed Architecture

Critical takes on architecture and urbanism. Beyond the pretty pictures.

Places Journal

Public scholarship on architecture and landscape. Deep essays.

CityLab

Urban life and policy. Cities, transportation, and housing.

Strong Towns

Rethinking urban development. Financially resilient communities.

99% Invisible

Design podcast and articles. The unnoticed architecture of our world.

The Textile Atlas

Directory of global textile traditions. Artisan techniques documented.

Existential Comics

Philosophy jokes in comic form. Learn philosophy while laughing.

Low-Tech Magazine

Sustainable solutions through historical technology. Challenging progress narratives.

Resilience

Building a world of resilient communities. Energy, economy, environment.

Global Voices

Citizen media from around the world. Underreported stories translated.

Citation Needed

Media criticism newsletter. Checking sources and debunking viral claims.

404 Media

Tech and science journalism by former Motherboard reporters. Independent and subscriber-funded.

The Baffler

Cultural criticism and political commentary. Challenging conventional wisdom.

Current Affairs

Politics, culture, and ideas. Long-form progressive commentary.

ProPublica

Nonprofit investigative journalism. Deep dives into public interest stories.

Food Timeline

History of food and cooking. When foods were invented and how.

Trains Magazine

Railroad news and history. Coverage of freight, passenger, and model trains.

Broken Pencil

Zine culture magazine. Reviews, interviews, and DIY publishing news.

The Vinyl Factory

Vinyl news and culture. New releases, features, and record store guides.

Long Live Vinyl

Vinyl culture magazine. Collector stories, gear reviews, and release coverage.

Hardcore Gaming 101

In-depth retro game coverage. Series retrospectives and obscure game deep dives.

Shut Up & Sit Down

Board game reviews and videos. Honest, entertaining coverage of tabletop gaming.

Imbibe Magazine

Drinks culture publication. Cocktails, coffee, beer, wine, and spirits coverage.

Punch

Drinks journalism and culture. Cocktail history, recipes, and bar industry coverage.

MessyNessyChic - Secret Adventures

Hidden places and forgotten history. Urbex meets cultural curiosity.

textfiles.com

Jason Scott's archive of BBS-era text files. Thousands of documents from the pre-web internet preserved for posterity.

The Intercept

Adversarial journalism. Investigative reporting on national security, politics, and civil liberties.

Bellingcat

Open source intelligence and investigative journalism. Pioneering OSINT techniques to uncover truth.

The Markup

Data-driven investigative journalism on technology. Exposing how algorithms affect our lives.

Reveal

Investigative journalism from The Center for Investigative Reporting. Deep dives into systemic issues.

Carbon Brief

Clear on climate. Science-based analysis of climate change and energy policy.

Stratechery

Ben Thompson's analysis of tech strategy and business. The gold standard for tech industry analysis.

BBS: The Documentary

Jason Scott's documentary about bulletin board systems. Free to watch, captures the spirit of pre-internet online communities.

Defacto2

Archive of the PC cracking and warez scene. NFO files, cracktros, and digital artifacts from underground computing.

jwz

Jamie Zawinski, Netscape/Mozilla co-founder, DNA Lounge owner. Tech commentary with a punk attitude since the 90s.

Daring Fireball

John Gruber's influential Apple and technology commentary. Creator of Markdown.

DKB

Sharp analysis of technology trends and industry dynamics. Known for 'Google Search Is Dying' piece.

MuckRock

File, track, and share public records requests. Making FOIA accessible to everyone.

OpenSecrets

Follow the money in politics. Campaign finance and lobbying data made accessible.

Kevin Kelly

Wired founding editor on technology and culture. Cool Tools, 1000 True Fans, and more.

Ribbonfarm

Venkatesh Rao's longform essays on organizations, technology, and thinking.

RogerEbert.com

Continuing Roger Ebert's legacy of film criticism. Thoughtful reviews and essays on cinema.

Atlas Obscura

Definitive guide to the world's wondrous and curious places. Hidden gems everywhere.

Quanta Magazine

Science and math journalism. Accessible coverage of cutting-edge research.

Slashdot

News for nerds since 1997. Tech news and discussion from the old web.

LessWrong

Community blog on rationality and AI. Deep discussions on thinking clearly.

EA Forum

Effective altruism community. Discussions on doing the most good.

Social Cooling

Interactive explainer on how data collection chills free expression. How surveillance changes behavior.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Authoritative, peer-reviewed philosophy reference. The definitive resource for philosophy.

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Peer-reviewed academic resource on philosophy. Accessible yet rigorous articles.

Philosophy Now

Magazine of ideas. Accessible philosophy for the general public.

Daily Stoic

Stoic philosophy for everyday life. Practical wisdom from ancient philosophers.

Library of Congress Collections

Digital collections from the world's largest library. Photos, maps, recordings, and documents from American history.

Europeana

Digital heritage from European museums, libraries, and archives. Millions of cultural artifacts online.

I Sell Onions on the Internet

Story of building a successful e-commerce business selling Vidalia onions. Refreshingly simple business model.

Aeon

Essays on philosophy, science, and society. Deep thinking for curious minds.

Edge

Conversations with scientists and thinkers. Big questions, deep answers.

Brain Pickings

Maria Popova on literature, science, and wisdom. Now The Marginalian.

Arts & Letters Daily

Curated links to essays and reviews. The thinking person's homepage.

London Review of Books

Literary and cultural essays. Some of the best long-form writing.

New York Review of Books

Essays and reviews on books and ideas. Intellectual discourse since 1963.

Internet Sacred Text Archive

Encyclopedic collection of religious, mythological, and folkloric texts. World's religions and esoterica.

The Paris Review

Literary magazine since 1953. Fiction, poetry, and legendary author interviews.

Times Literary Supplement

Book reviews and literary criticism. Intellectual weekly since 1902.

Public Domain Review

Curated essays on public domain works. Rediscovering forgotten treasures.

Old Maps Online

Portal to historical maps from libraries around the world. See how places looked centuries ago.

Computer History Museum

Exploring the history of computing. Online exhibits, timelines, and oral histories from tech pioneers.

Folklore.org

Anecdotes about the development of the original Macintosh. First-hand stories from the team that built it.

The Believer

Literary magazine with long-form interviews and essays. Thoughtful writing on books, art, and culture.

Vintage Computer

Vintage computing community. Forums for classic computer enthusiasts.

The Marginalian

Maria Popova's blog on literature, science, and philosophy. Thoughtful synthesis of ideas across disciplines.

Low-Tech Magazine (Solar)

A solar-powered website about sustainable technology and historical alternatives. Goes offline when the sun doesn't shine.