If science is an objective means of seeking truth, it’s also one that requires human judgments. Let’s say you’re a psychologist with a hypothesis: People understand that they may be biased in unconscious ways against stigmatized groups; they will admit this if you ask them. That might seem like a pretty straightforward idea—one that’s either…

It’s the nightmare of travelers sitting near the emergency exit and the inevitable fate of bad guys tussling on a plane with James Bond—the door erupting open mid-flight, sucking them into the cold blue and white.This scenario was no doubt running through the minds of the passengers of a BA flight to Riyadh this week,…

I've watched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 multiple times, but I never noticed this awesome physics scene before. Rocket, the cyborg raccoon, is being chased through a forest at night by Ravagers, and he sets a bunch of traps, including some sort of antigravity mine or repulsor device. When the pursuers approach, he hits…

Much like trolls or the blockchain, the term influencer is one of those words that ubiquity has rendered meaningless. It is simultaneously an insult and an aspiration, the scourge of small business owners and the future of marketing, and a moniker for kids with middling social followings and megacelebrities alike. It’s how the Pope describes…

Perhaps the most bewildering quality of adulthood is that even when you’re feeling like the most godawful sad piece of shit, you’re still expected to work. Meeting invites demand your immediate confirmation, bloated email threads require your input, deadlines aren’t pushed back. All the while, your existential crises and personal issues thrum on, the sound…

Atomico is among the most widely respected venture firms in Europe, ranking right up there with friendly rivals like Accel London and Index Ventures. It’s also just 13 years old…

After a three-day trial, Elon Musk was found not liable for defamation in a federal court today in Los Angeles, where Musk reportedly owns a cluster of six homes as…

Brian Ascher is a partner at Venrock, where he invests broadly across enterprise and fintech and serves on the boards of several companies, including Personal Capital, 6Sense, Socrates AI, Dynamic…

Boeing and launch partner United Launch Alliance (ULA) completed a key step today in pursuit of launching U.S. astronauts aboard their commercial spacecraft. The Boeing CST-100 Starliner crew capsule was…

Bird has laid off less than two dozen employees, The San Francisco Chronicle first reported. The layoffs affect employees Bird brought on board as part of its ~$25 million acquisition of…