editor's pick
Reducing crime in the coming years is easy—and we actually know how
Will the future include more or less violent crime? It depends on whether we rely on prayer, as many politicians are suggesting, or apply proven solutions.
Why authoritarians love—and hate—an apology
One of the many things we can expect in the next four years is a lot of sputtering demands for apologies for the last four years.
Morality is a technology to build a better world
It’s not just material technologies that make our lives better. Civilization is also a collection of moral technologies.
Good robots, bad robots, and the future of work
You say 'the robots will take our jobs' like it's a bad thing.
One life: Imagining a radical acceptance of death
Could a future religion in which death is final create a real utopia?
The methadone of the people
It's tempting to imagine a future free of the opium of the people. But there's a new addiction right behind it.
It may be time to accept that we're living in a simulation
New religion incoming.
Projecting secular power into future elections
Already influential, secular voters will soon be the dominant voice in US elections, says political analyst Juhem Navarro-Rivera.
The future-history we want, and the future-history we deserve
Is it any wonder that we’re lousy at imagining any futures but complete apocalypse or vague utopia?
Solarpunk humanism: How we dream bigger than despair
Solarpunk offers a potent narrative space for imagining secular worlds to come, and how to get there.
‘Station Eleven’: From this day to the ending of the world
A thoughtful piece of art that could have been so much greater.
Literally building the future: Infrastructure as an act of secular love
When we fix a bridge or give someone better healthcare, we’re saying that this life and this world are worth protecting.