Commentary

Cultural criticism and essays

48 sites
Sci-Fi Interfaces scifiinterfaces.com

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.

Colossal thisiscolossal.com

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

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

Interconnected interconnected.blog

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

Ludicity ludic.mataroa.blog

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

Noahpinion noahpinion.blog

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

Parametric Press parametric.press

Interactive digital magazine. Data journalism you can explore.

Construction Physics construction-physics.com

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

Works in Progress worksinprogress.co

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

Failed Architecture failedarchitecture.com

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

Places Journal placesjournal.org

Public scholarship on architecture and landscape. Deep essays.

CityLab bloomberg.com

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

Strong Towns strongtowns.org

Rethinking urban development. Financially resilient communities.

99% Invisible 99percentinvisible.org

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

Low-Tech Magazine lowtechmagazine.com

Sustainable solutions through historical technology. Challenging progress narratives.

Resilience resilience.org

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

Global Voices globalvoices.org

Citizen media from around the world. Underreported stories translated.

Citation Needed citationneeded.news

Media criticism newsletter. Checking sources and debunking viral claims.

404 Media 404media.co

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

The Baffler thebaffler.com

Cultural criticism and political commentary. Challenging conventional wisdom.

Current Affairs currentaffairs.org

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

ProPublica propublica.org

Nonprofit investigative journalism. Deep dives into public interest stories.

Broken Pencil brokenpencil.com

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

The Vinyl Factory thevinylfactory.com

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

Long Live Vinyl longlivevinyl.net

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

Shut Up & Sit Down shutupandsitdown.com

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

Imbibe Magazine imbibemagazine.com

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

Punch punchdrink.com

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