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Culture Archive

Archives for November 2014

Technology
Uber and Spotify Are PartneringUber and Spotify Are Partnering
Technology
By Peter Kafka
Culture
Send a holiday letter about your fictional family to 5 strangers; get 5 letters in returnSend a holiday letter about your fictional family to 5 strangers; get 5 letters in return
Culture

This creative writing prompt could be just what you need to stay sane this holiday season.

By Emily St. James
Culture
A complete guide to every person in the Serial podcastA complete guide to every person in the Serial podcast
Culture

An episode-by-episode guide to help you keep track of the various people mentioned in the Serial podcast — updated weekly.

Inside Peter Thiel’s mind
Technology

“if the NSA bureaucracy actually knew what they were doing, they would probably need way less information.”

By Ezra Klein
Culture
How to Get Away with Murder has the hottest gay sex on television. That’s progress.How to Get Away with Murder has the hottest gay sex on television. That’s progress.
Culture

The sex Connor Walsh is having is as stylized and eroticized as everyone else’s romps — something we usually don’t see on television.

By Alex Abad-Santos
Technology
Super Mario Bros., Bayonetta 2, and nine other games that explain #GamerGateSuper Mario Bros., Bayonetta 2, and nine other games that explain #GamerGate
Technology

Understand the issues and the controversy by playing some video games.

By Emily St. James
Almanac
Video: here’s what it looks likes to live in 80 square feetVideo: here’s what it looks likes to live in 80 square feet
Almanac

The woman in the video above lives in eight square meters of space, seven flights of stairs above the cobbled streets of Paris.

By Kelsey McKinney
Culture
Experiments show this is the best way to win campaigns. But is anyone actually doing it?Experiments show this is the best way to win campaigns. But is anyone actually doing it?
Culture

Going door to door works. So why do campaigns spend so little on it?

By David Broockman and Joshua Kalla
Technology
Amazon is doing the world a favor by crushing book publishersAmazon is doing the world a favor by crushing book publishers
Technology

The industry is right that Jeff Bezos is destroying them. But he’s not doing it by abusing monopoly power. They’re weak because they’re not doing anything useful. People who care about literature and ideas will be better off without them.

By Matthew Yglesias
Technology
Sony’s Web TV Pitch: Old TV, New WrapperSony’s Web TV Pitch: Old TV, New Wrapper
Technology

It’s like cable TV, but you get it on the Web.

By Peter Kafka
Books
Russia’s bizarre obsession with psychics and the occultRussia’s bizarre obsession with psychics and the occult
Books

Some crazy stories about hanging out with Russia’s psychics, including that time a state-sponsored faith healer convinced millions of Russians to put pots full of water on their TVs to absorb “telepathic energy.”

By Zack Beauchamp
Culture
#Pointergate: what happened after the mayor of Minneapolis posed with a black man#Pointergate: what happened after the mayor of Minneapolis posed with a black man
Culture

It’s been called the “most racist news story of 2014.” Here is a brief guide to the scandal.

By Alex Abad-Santos
Culture
What we learned from Marvel’s new Avengers: Age of Ultron trailerWhat we learned from Marvel’s new Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer
Culture

We’re getting to know Ultron, bit by bit.

By Alex Abad-Santos
Culture
Foxcatcher is a chilly, brilliant look at male friendship and inequalityFoxcatcher is a chilly, brilliant look at male friendship and inequality
Culture

Steve Carell is nearly unrecognizable in the film’s central role, while Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo are terrific as well.

By Emily St. James
Technology
NFL Funds Additional Research to Prevent Traumatic Brain InjuriesNFL Funds Additional Research to Prevent Traumatic Brain Injuries
Technology

The NFL and its partners named seven additional winners of the Head Health Challenge.

By James Temple