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Articles by Daniel Kolitz
Multimillonarios secretos, novias de la mafia, reyes alfa: el demencial mundo de los microdramas
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. Multimillonarios secretos, novias de la mafia, reyes alfa: el demencial mundo de los microdramas Las telenovelas verticales para tu teléfono se han apoderado de la producción cinematográfica y televisiva, y es posible que pronto se produzcan sin necesidad de humanos.
Are 60-Second Microdramas the Future of Hollywood, or the End?
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. Sexy werewolves, boy-toy mafiosos, homeless guys who are secretly billionaires: Welcome to the world of the microdrama. Each episode is short, soapy and over-the-top, and studios are churning them out for cheap. Hundreds of millions of people are watching them. Are 60-Second Microdramas the Future of Hollywood, or the End?
Secret Billionaires, Mafia Brides, Alpha Kings: The Insane World of Microdramas
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. Sexy werewolves, boy-toy mafiosos, homeless guys who are secretly billionaires: Welcome to the world of the microdrama. Each episode is short, soapy and over-the-top, and studios are churning them out for cheap. Hundreds of millions of people are watching them. Are 60-Second Microdramas the Future of Hollywood, or the End?
Paid Phones | Daniel Kolitz
I used to ghostwrite SEO-optimized promotional web content for a living. I thought the good times would never end. Each morning, people I’d never met, flacks for various midsize B2B tech startups, would put in their orders. A Forbes editorial on improving business practices “during times of economic uncertainty.” A press release for a high-performance modular battery solution. A LinkedIn post, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, about the challenges faced by black women in STEM.
Perverse Exhilaration
Of all the niche communities birthed by the modern internet, “gooners” might be the most alien, and to many, the most repellent.
The Goon Squad, by Daniel Kolitz
This past January, a few dozen young men in hoodies and baggy jeans congregated outside a coffee shop in Tempe, Arizona, to mourn the death of a twenty-seven-year-old man named Nautica Malone. They arrived on foot and riding shotgun in parents’ cars; they carried flowers and votive candles, homemade placards and shirts printed with Malone’s smiling face. The café where they were gathered, Bikini Beans, was part of a chain whose baristas wear bikinis.
‘AI is not your problem’: Media product in transition
Yesterday, product professionals from publishers across the country gathered at Current at Chelsea Piers for WordPress VIP and The Rebooting’s Media Product Forum. At the heart of the event was the question of what comes after the article page as we’ve known it. Fragmented tech teams are rapidly trying to spin up forms of content that stand a chance of competing with ChatGPT and vertical video’s endless scroll.
The Polymath of Pittsburgh
Books & the Arts / January 28, 2025 The Polymath of Pittsburgh Garielle Lutz is one of America’s great writers. Why has her literary genius gone unnoticed? Ad Policy (Courtesy of Hobart Pulp) When Garielle Lutz’s name first began circulating on prediction lists for the Nobel Prize in Literature two years ago, almost no one was surprised, for the simple reason that almost no one knew who Garielle Lutz was.
Do Animals Practice Revenge?
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Do Animals Practice Revenge? Original
Over the years, we at Giz Asks have probed countless aspects of animal behavior and psychology. Which animal is the horniest? The filthiest? The most inclined towards monogamy? Which one kills the most people? Do any of them exercise? And so on. Today, we extend this venerable tradition with a new question, one sure to delight anyone whoâs ever daydreamed about a monkey cackling maniacally as he plots the dismemberment of the monkey who killed his fatherânamely, do animals take revenge?
Why Does Skin Itch?
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Why Does Skin Itch?
The problem with having skin is that it’s not blemishless and can burn very badly and is liable to develop rashes or sores, not to mention cancers, and—at once more benign and, in the moment, just as miserable as any of these things—it can itch. Some itches, of course, are perfectly pleasant, particularly those that can be easily scratched. But all itches, low-level or consuming, present the same question: why? Why do we itch? What is its evolutionary purpose?
How Do People Actually ‘Die From Old Age’?
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How Do People Actually 'Die From Old Age'?
15 Foods Every Senior Should Avoid, Says the Latest Research What we eat has a significant impact on health aging as we get older, especially when you take into account all the changes your body goes through …
How Do People Actually 'Die From Old Age'?
Thousands are currently engaged in solving the problem of death. Maybe they’ll succeed, and out of sheer boredom I’ll reread this sentence when I’m 900 years old, reflecting fondly on the first wasted century of my life. In the meantime, billions are going to die—some from disease, some in freak accidents, and a substantial number from what we generally call “old age.” That last sounds like a pleasant way to go, comparatively—a peaceful winding-down. But what exactly does it look like?
What Was the First Recreational Drug? Original
Sex, war, and getting insanely high: Society mightâve changed in the last 60,000 years or so, but these interests have remained constant.
Will It Ever Be Possible to Share Dreams?
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Will It Ever Be Possible to Share Dreams?
Tech News Tube is a real time news feed of the latest technology news headlines.Follow all of the top tech sites in one place, on the web or your mobile device.
Will It Ever Be Possible to Share Dreams?
People say other people’s dreams are boring, but what if the problem is technology? As a sense-conveying device, human speech is subpar, prone to gaps, stutters and falsifications, intentional or otherwise. If you could just literally show someone your dreams—suck them out of your skull and toss them onto the nearest screen—people might not roll their eyes when you tried to talk about them.
He was obsessed with Saddam—obsessed in a way that defied all reason. No one could talk him out of it. If Paul Wolfowitz was your friend, you'd take him aside and say: Wolfowitz, I’m worried about you. All Wolfowitz's friends were war-crazed neocons. They egged him on. One of them—a Harvard professor named Laurie Mylroie—published a book-length screed placing Saddam at the center of nearly all the world's terrorist attacks, up to and including the Oklahoma City bombing.
A Metaphysical Memoir of Heroin
Books & the Arts / Michael Clune’s White Out is among the most intense and intellectually thrilling books on opiate addiction. Ad Policy The addiction memoir once occupied a space in the culture not far removed from the celebrity tell-all or the polygamous-cult exposé. These books were popular insofar as the experiences they described—the first hits, the rock bottoms, the fragile redemptions—were comfortably remote from the median American experience.
the best gadgets for student living
What did kids from the year 1904 think would happen by the year 1919 or even the year 2019? They imagined fancy …
Which Animal Kills The Most Humans?
Animals fatally maul, sting, trample and chew about a million humans per year. Pretty nice of them, given the numbers on our side – the average of 551 million chickens killed in Australia every year, for instance. In an ideal world, no one would ever get mauled by a bear, or contract rabies from a feral squirrel. But for this Giz Asks, we’re asking which creatures are most desperate for our blood (or, in fairness to the animal kingdom, which are most likely to kill us by accident).
Why Does Your Face Change Shape as You Get Older?
Two decades of healthy growth, followed by four to eight decades of slow-motion physical and mental collapse — that’s life, for most of us, despite the efforts of various deluded cranks and tech billionaires. Time spares nothing, and seems particularly to have it out for our faces, paying just as much attention to skin-level deformations (worry-lines, wrinkles, tumorous outgrowths) as it does to the large-scale hollowings and saggings which, over time, change the actual shape of our faces.
Does Your Cat Actually Hate You?
Dogs wear their hearts on their sleeves. Cats – or at least some cats, some of the time – can spend years at your side without making it totally clear that they know, or care, who you are. An expression vaguely resembling contentment flits across their face and you think, triumphantly, “See! My cat doesn’t despise me.” Which it very well might not. But if it did, wouldn’t you want to know?
Will There Ever Be a 'Cure' for Addiction?
Illustration: Vicky Leta/Gizmodo Up top we should note that there are many different kinds of addiction, and many different kinds of people, and many complicated and contradictory theories re: addiction’s psychological/physiological mechanisms. There are various approaches to treating addiction as well. Proponents of a “harm reduction” strategy aren’t necessarily interested in reducing people’s drug use, for instance, but rather managing the negative health impacts that come from that use.
Will There Ever Be a 'Cure' for Addiction? Original
Illustration: Vicky Leta/Gizmodo Up top we should note that there are many different kinds of addiction, and many different kinds of people, and many complicated and contradictory theories re: addiction’s psychological/physiological mechanisms. There are various approaches to treating addiction as well. Proponents of a “harm reduction” strategy aren’t necessarily interested in reducing people’s drug use, for instance, but rather managing the negative health impacts that come from that use.
What Do Animals Dream About?
Illustration: Vicky Leta/Gizmodo An enormous playroom filled with prancing pups, above which are suspended dozens of tubes dispensing treats at a rate of 10 beef-flavored bones per minute. A real adult human who plays tug of war for hours and hours instead of getting bored and giving up after three minutes. A large, comfortable bed that is only for dogs. These are just some of the things that a dog might dream about. But what are dogs actually experiencing while they sleep?
What's the Most Dangerous Emerging Technology?
Those inclined to think apocalyptically know that tech, in its purest form, spells civilizational disaster. It is true that we might never see a world filled with violent hypertrophic CRISPR babies, and uncontrollable self-driving cars, and AI intent on twisting humans into paperclips. Our tech-hastened end, if and when it does arrive, will probably look a bit different and will probably suck in ways we cannot yet imagine.
Do Dogs Forget Their Humans?
Let’s say your long-term relationship totally implodes. Browsing for a new apartment, or a therapist, you hear your dog bark in the other room and realise, with a start, that it isn’t actually your dog. Once you’re all moved out, the dog will be out of your life, too.
Can You Really Tell the Difference Between 4K and 8K?
Samsung 8K NEO QLED. Image: Samsung Some time ago I came to feel, in a very literal way, the speed of semi-recent technological progress. My roommate — a gamer — had gotten it into his head, possibly via some other gamer, that ‘90s video games look best when played on ‘90s televisions. This led him to secure one on Craigslist, which led in turn to my assisting him in hauling it up the stairs. And it was just, let me tell you, the heaviest fucking thing. I could not believe how heavy that TV was.
¿Puede el ojo humano diferenciar entre 4K y 8K?
Hace algún tiempo llegué a sentir, de manera muy literal, la velocidad del progreso tecnológico reciente. A mi compañero de cuarto, gamer, se le había metido en la cabeza, posiblemente a través de algún otro gamer, que los videojuegos de los 90 se ven mejor cuando se juegan en televisores de los 90. Esto lo llevó a comprar uno de segunda mano, lo que a su vez me llevó a ayudar a subirlo por las escaleras. Y pesaba como un demonio. No podía creer lo pesado que era ese televisor.
Can You Really Tell the Difference Between 4K and 8K?
"We would need to get right up close to the TV (quite an unnatural thing to do) to tell apart a 4K screen from an 8K one." Some time ago I came to feel, in a very literal way, the speed of semi-recent technological progress. My roommate—a gamer—had gotten it into his head, possibly via some other gamer, that ‘90s video games look best when played on ‘90s televisions. This led him to secure one on Craigslist, which led in turn to my assisting him in hauling it up the stairs.
Will Nuclear Fusion Ever Power the World?
AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File If funding for fusion energy development continues to increase, then yes, fusion will power the world in the future. Since the 1990s, funding for fusion research in the United States has been for the science of fusion, not for the development of an energy source. The rest of the world has a wide portfolio of fusion research as well, and we are all racing to harness the power of fusion.
Why Scientists Think Fusion Power Will Work
Only an unusually naive child, or a fossil fuel executive, could sincerely argue that our current energy situation is sustainable. For over 50 years now, well before the scope of the climate crisis was clear, scientists have been working toward an alternative: fusion power (i.e., using the heat from nuclear fusion reactions to generate electricity). Read Full Article »
Will Nuclear Fusion Ever Power the World?
Image: Benjamin Currie (Gizmodo) Only an unusually naive child, or a fossil fuel executive, could sincerely argue that our current energy situation is sustainable. For over 50 years now, well before the scope of the climate crisis was clear, scientists have been working toward an alternative: fusion power (i.e., using the heat from nuclear fusion reactions to generate electricity).
What's the Oldest Sport?
Hello and welcome to the third instalment in Giz Asks’ ongoing investigation into Firsts. Having opened with the first recreational drug, progressed to the oldest disease, and moved from there to the earliest music, we now turn our attention to the oldest sport.
What's the Oldest Sport?
Illustration: Vicky Leta/Gizmodo Hello and welcome to the third installment in Giz Asks’ ongoing investigation into Firsts. Having opened with the first recreational drug, progressed to the oldest disease, and moved from there to the earliest music, we now turn our attention to the oldest sport.
What Will Smartphones Be Like in 10 years?
Illustration: Benjamin Currie/Gizmodo If you’d asked a panel of experts 10 years ago what smartphones would look like in a decade, you’d have gotten all kinds of wild responses. Recall that in 2001 the biggest thing in cell phone technology was the Nokia 8250, the chief selling point of which was its colourful display. Instead of black-and-white, this phone’s screen was blue. At the time, this was huge. Looking back, it’s startling that we went from that to the iPhone in just six years.
What Will Smartphones Be Like in 10 years?
Illustration: Benjamin Currie/Gizmodo If you’d asked a panel of experts 10 years ago what smartphones would look like in a decade, you’d have gotten all kinds of wild responses. Recall that in 2001 the biggest thing in cell phone technology was the Nokia 8250, the chief selling point of which was its colorful display. Instead of black-and-white, this phone’s screen was blue. At the time, this was huge. Looking back, it’s startling that we went from that to the iPhone in just six years.
Can Technology Enhance Your Taste Buds?
This article was originally published on November 29, 2021. People say weed makes things taste better. I never got thatâall weed ever did for me was drain the world of joy or purpose and recast all my past interactions as testaments to my utter fraudulence. In any case, I mention the weed thing here to preempt any comments about weed.
Which Animal Species Get Along the Best?
Illustration: Vicky Leta/Gizmodo We have all come across or actively sought out videos of unlikely animals putting aside their differences to nuzzle one another or engage in similar cute behavior, like when a larger animal gives a smaller animal a piggyback ride.
Which Animal Kills The Most Humans?
Animals fatally maul, sting, trample and chew about a million humans per year. Pretty nice of them, given the numbers on our side – the average of 551 million chickens killed in Australia every year, for instance. In an ideal world, no one would ever get mauled by a bear, or contract rabies from a feral squirrel. But for this Giz Asks, we’re asking which creatures are most desperate for our blood (or, in fairness to the animal kingdom, which are most likely to kill us by accident).
Could We Ever Stop a Hurricane in Its Tracks?
Neutralizing a hurricane as it barrels over the ocean might seem like a dumb idea, but if we refused to indulge seemingly dumb ideas, would we ever have, you know, gone to the Moon, that kind of thing? Yes, hurricanes are unfathomably huge and powerful—but so is, in my opinion, the collective ingenuity of the goddamn human race! Read Full Article »
Could We Ever Stop a Hurricane in Its Tracks?
Illustration: Angelica Alzona/Gizmodo Neutralizing a hurricane as it barrels over the ocean might seem like a dumb idea, but if we refused to indulge seemingly dumb ideas, would we ever have, you know, gone to the Moon, that kind of thing? Yes, hurricanes are unfathomably huge and powerful—but so is, in my opinion, the collective ingenuity of the goddamn human race! And look, we’re really going to need some of that ingenuity given what the climate crisis has in store.
'Morris Worm' First, and 1 of Worst Hacks in History
On some level, all of us are waiting for the big one—the hack that downs the internet, paralyzes infrastructure, maybe launches a couple nukes. If that day never arrives, it will be largely thanks to the legions of malefactors who, over the years, have hacked this or that government or corporation and thus forced those institutions to plug up their vulnerabilities, or at least try to.
Why Do So Many People Believe in Miracle Cures?
Illustration: Vicky Leta/Gizmodo Of all the archetypal American figures that we’ve lost over the last century or so, none is missed more dearly (by me, at least) than the itinerant medicine man. Rushing from town to town with his case of useless elixirs, patiently erecting his wooden platforms, standing atop these platforms and barking outrageous claims on behalf of his various snake oils — it must’ve been quite a sight.
Why Do So Many People Believe in Miracle Cures?
Illustration: Vicky Leta/Gizmodo Of all the archetypal American figures that we’ve lost over the last century or so, none is missed more dearly (by me, at least) than the itinerant medicine man. Rushing from town to town with his case of useless elixirs, patiently erecting his wooden platforms, standing atop these platforms and barking outrageous claims on behalf of his various snake oils—it must’ve been quite a sight.
É possÃvel criar os "campos de força" da ficção na vida real? Perguntamos a especialistas
Se você está tentando desviar de balas, impressionar crianças pequenas e/ou salvar uma grande cidade, um grande e campo de força é exatamente o que você precisa. No entanto, ao que parece, ninguém se preocupou em inventar uma proteção do tipo: até agora, ela ainda é matéria de ficção, como tem sido há décadas. Obviamente, alguém deve corrigir isso o mais rápido possÃvel. Sendo assim, vale a pergunta — como faz o Giz Asks desta semana. E se os campos de força realmente existissem?
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