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Gideon Lewis-Kraus
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, a staff writer at The New Yorker since 2020, covers technology, academia, and books, among other topics. Previously, he was a writer-at-large for the New York Times Magazine, a contributing writer at Wired, a contributing editor at Harper’s, and a Fulbright Scholar in Berlin. He is the author of the memoir “A Sense of Direction: Pilgrimage for the Restless and the Hopeful” and the Kindle Single “No Exit,” about tech startups. He has edited collections by Richard Rorty and Philip Rieff, and his work has appeared in publications including The New York Review of Books, the London Review of Books, and n+1. He teaches reporting in the Graduate Writing Program at Columbia University.
Do Androids Dream of Anything at All?
We have tended to imagine machines as either being our slaves or enslaving us. Martha Wells, the writer of the “Murderbot” series, tries to conjure a truly alien consciousness.
Why Good Ideas Die Quietly and Bad Ideas Go Viral
A new book, “Antimemetics: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading,” argues that notions get taken up not because of their virtue but because of their catchiness.
The Finale of “The Rehearsal” Is Outlandish and Sublime
The first season of Nathan Fielder’s mind-bending show seemed to exhaust all possibilities for its conceit. But the second is, somehow, even more berserk than the first.
The Palantir Guide to Saving America’s Soul
Alexander Karp, Palantir’s philosopher-C.E.O., thinks that a restored military-industrial complex can make our country great again.
Sovereignty for Sale
It goes way beyond tax havens and offshore banking. Enterprising countries have figured out how to put their legal systems at the disposal of corporate interests.
Has Bitcoin’s Elusive Creator Finally Been Unmasked?
The identity of the cryptocurrency’s founder, who went by Satoshi Nakamoto, is one of our era’s great mysteries. A documentarian now claims to have solved it.
How a Scientific Dispute Spiralled Into a Defamation Lawsuit
What does a Harvard Business School professor’s decision to sue the professors who raised questions about her research bode for academic autonomy?
The Angst and Sorrow of Jewish Currents
A little magazine wants to criticize Israel while holding on to Jewishness.
Are Flying Cars Finally Here?
They have long been a symbol of a future that never came. Now a variety of companies are building them—or something close.
You Say You Want a Revolution. Do You Know What You Mean by That?
Two new books, by Fareed Zakaria and Nathan Perl-Rosenthal, demonstrate the concept’s allure and perils.
Jewish Identity with and Without Zionism
New books provide sober histories of the conflicts among Jews over Israel and offer alternate ways forward.
Maybe We Already Have Runaway Machines
A new book argues that the invention of states and corporations has something to teach us about A.I. But perhaps it’s the other way around.
Will Sam Bankman-Fried’s Guilty Verdict Change Anything?
The former C.E.O. of FTX now faces up to a hundred and ten years in prison. But, beyond resetting his personal fate, it’s not yet clear what the trial accomplished.
Michael Lewis’s Big Contrarian Bet
Almost everyone in the world believes that Sam Bankman-Fried is guilty. In “Going Infinite,” the writer takes the kind of risk that his characters often do, and asks us to question that assumption.
They Studied Dishonesty. Was Their Work a Lie?
Dan Ariely and Francesca Gino became famous for their research into why we bend the truth. Now they’ve both been accused of fabricating data.
When Dying Patients Want Unproven Drugs
Patient-advocacy groups mobilized to demand access to a controversial new drug called Relyvrio. But hasty approval comes at a cost.
Did Starbucks Really Put Olive Oil in Coffee?
The new Starbucks Oleato is terrible. But somehow there’s pleasure to be had in its existence.
Surveillance and the Loneliness of the Long-Distance Trucker
A new book shows how electronic tracking systems have failed to make trucking safer. But they have helped companies spy on their workers.
Sam Bankman-Fried, Effective Altruism, and the Question of Complicity
Leaders of the social movement had no way to know that FTX would collapse. But they also had every incentive to ignore warnings.
Do Androids Dream of Anything at All?
We have tended to imagine machines as either being our slaves or enslaving us. Martha Wells, the writer of the “Murderbot” series, tries to conjure a truly alien consciousness.
Why Good Ideas Die Quietly and Bad Ideas Go Viral
A new book, “Antimemetics: Why Some Ideas Resist Spreading,” argues that notions get taken up not because of their virtue but because of their catchiness.
The Finale of “The Rehearsal” Is Outlandish and Sublime
The first season of Nathan Fielder’s mind-bending show seemed to exhaust all possibilities for its conceit. But the second is, somehow, even more berserk than the first.
The Palantir Guide to Saving America’s Soul
Alexander Karp, Palantir’s philosopher-C.E.O., thinks that a restored military-industrial complex can make our country great again.
Sovereignty for Sale
It goes way beyond tax havens and offshore banking. Enterprising countries have figured out how to put their legal systems at the disposal of corporate interests.
Has Bitcoin’s Elusive Creator Finally Been Unmasked?
The identity of the cryptocurrency’s founder, who went by Satoshi Nakamoto, is one of our era’s great mysteries. A documentarian now claims to have solved it.
How a Scientific Dispute Spiralled Into a Defamation Lawsuit
What does a Harvard Business School professor’s decision to sue the professors who raised questions about her research bode for academic autonomy?
The Angst and Sorrow of Jewish Currents
A little magazine wants to criticize Israel while holding on to Jewishness.
Are Flying Cars Finally Here?
They have long been a symbol of a future that never came. Now a variety of companies are building them—or something close.
You Say You Want a Revolution. Do You Know What You Mean by That?
Two new books, by Fareed Zakaria and Nathan Perl-Rosenthal, demonstrate the concept’s allure and perils.
Jewish Identity with and Without Zionism
New books provide sober histories of the conflicts among Jews over Israel and offer alternate ways forward.
Maybe We Already Have Runaway Machines
A new book argues that the invention of states and corporations has something to teach us about A.I. But perhaps it’s the other way around.
Will Sam Bankman-Fried’s Guilty Verdict Change Anything?
The former C.E.O. of FTX now faces up to a hundred and ten years in prison. But, beyond resetting his personal fate, it’s not yet clear what the trial accomplished.
Michael Lewis’s Big Contrarian Bet
Almost everyone in the world believes that Sam Bankman-Fried is guilty. In “Going Infinite,” the writer takes the kind of risk that his characters often do, and asks us to question that assumption.
They Studied Dishonesty. Was Their Work a Lie?
Dan Ariely and Francesca Gino became famous for their research into why we bend the truth. Now they’ve both been accused of fabricating data.
When Dying Patients Want Unproven Drugs
Patient-advocacy groups mobilized to demand access to a controversial new drug called Relyvrio. But hasty approval comes at a cost.
Did Starbucks Really Put Olive Oil in Coffee?
The new Starbucks Oleato is terrible. But somehow there’s pleasure to be had in its existence.
Surveillance and the Loneliness of the Long-Distance Trucker
A new book shows how electronic tracking systems have failed to make trucking safer. But they have helped companies spy on their workers.
Sam Bankman-Fried, Effective Altruism, and the Question of Complicity
Leaders of the social movement had no way to know that FTX would collapse. But they also had every incentive to ignore warnings.