Annalee Newitz

“In the 1920s and 30s, when Radio Shack was young, a much earlier generation of nerds swarmed into these tiny shops to talk excitedly about building radios and other transmission devices. You might say that Radio Shack helped define gadget culture for four generations, from radio whizzes up to smartphone dorks.”

“In many cities, it's become popular to hate 'gentrifiers,' rich people who move in and drive up housing prices - pushing everyone else out.”

“If we look at the past two centuries of economic history in Europe and the United States, we see an astounding pattern. Capital will accumulate in a tiny portion of the population, no matter what we do.”

“Cities are not static objects to be feared or admired, but are instead a living process that residents are changing all the time.”

“When Usenet was eclipsed by websites in the late 1990s, people from that world - many of them programmers - wanted to bring the freewheeling, amazing discussions of Usenet to the web. And thus, RSS was born.”

“Women are being welcomed into science fiction, but it's through the back door.”

“'World War Z' is basically a big-budget B-movie.”

“Reader was by far the most popular feed reader out there, and its user base had been in a steep decline for two years before Google decided to shut it down.”

“Put simply, 'Interstellar' has a strong undercurrent of cheesiness.”

“If you love epic space opera, you shouldn't miss 'Interstellar'.”

“The U.N.'s current projection is that humanity will number 9.3 billion individuals in 2050 and then hit 10.1 billion by 2100. Meanwhile, our energy resources are dwindling, and droughts threaten our food supplies.”

“The first time I saw 'Star Wars,' I got so excited that I threw up.”

“With technology tracking us everywhere we go, 'cosplay' might become our best defense against surveillance.”

“Watching 'Interstellar' is really like watching two movies slowly collide with each other.”

“Economic systems rise and fall just like empires. That's the kind of perspective we need to take if we hope to prosper for centuries rather than for the next quarter.”

“Using predictive models from engineering and public health, designers will plan safer, healthier cities that could allow us to survive natural disasters, pandemics, and even a radiation calamity that drives us underground.”

“When I was a journalist at Wired, I convinced a doctor to implant an RFID tracking device in my arm.”

“When I was a lecturer at UC Berkeley, I wrote a book about monsters.”

“A hard-hitting investigative report that uncovers a nugget of genuine truth is the ultimate viral hit.”

“What can we expect from this latest crop of indie directors who have been sucked into the franchise factory? I'm especially curious about 'Star Wars,' which will feature an all-indie crew after J. J. Abrams finishes with 'Episode VII.'”