Stuff Matters
Starting 2022-09-23, The Prepared’s Reading Group is reading Mark Miodownik’s Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World.…
Scope of Work
Excellent writing about the physical world.
Local Neon
The quiet crackling sound of a lamp turning on gives way to the hazy but articulated glow of neon, which…
2022-09-19
Anna & Kelly Pendergrast on New Zealand’s Gib crisis, eco-industrial parks, and Bhutan’s experimental postage stamps.…
2022-09-12
Amreeta Duttchoudhury on the value of coaching, spin forming metal, and whether Americans would actually want to work in semiconductor manufacturing.…
On Baltic Birch
We’ve recently been admiring photos of a friend’s new kitchen. The cabinets and drawers are pale, clear-coated plywood,…
2022-09-05
Sean Kelley on the dream of crowd-developed hardware, Boeing’s last 747s, and the ongoing chip shortage.…
2022-08-29
Matt Pogue on the invention of flavor science, fabricating the JWST mirrors, and the Grateful Dead’s cutting-edge sound engineering.…
2022-08-22
Natasha Balwit-Cheung on learning from the landscape of New Mexico, making Miyake’s pleats, and evaluating new technologies' role in climate justice.…
Singing Praise for the String Age
An interview with Virginia Postrel on the history of textiles.
Virginia Postrel’s The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made…
2022-08-15
Ruth Grace Wong on flexible work as an equity strategy, remote incident management, and how a 3D printed titanium part failed during the Olympics.…
On Flight Decks
A deep dive into the complicated controls inside commercial aircraft.
When boarding a commercial flight, passengers often get the chance…
2022-08-08
Shannon Mattern on what we can learn from the enduring legacy of Shaker material culture and the stunning artifacts in the Shaker Museum.…
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