61 m. ago Trump may be the beginning of the end for ‘enshittification’ – this is our chance to make tech good again | Cory Doctorow

The US president is weaponising tech, but his tariffs and Brexit provide a surprising opportunity to gain back digital control of our livesIt’s been 25 years since I started working for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an American nonprofit dedicated to preserving and promoting human rights on the internet. I’ve found myself in dozens of countries working with activists, politicians and civil servants to untangle the complex technical questions raised by the internet, and every one of our discussions ended in the same place. “OK,” they’d say, “you’ve definitely laid out the best way to regulate tech, but we can’t do it.”Why not? Because – inevitably – the US trade rep had beaten me to every one of those countries and made it eye-wateringly clear that if they regulated tech in a way that favoured their own people, industries and national interests, the US would bury them in tariffs.Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of dozens of bo...

Politics

21 h. ago The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – review roundup

Godfall by Van Jensen; The Salt Bind by Rebecca Ferrier; The Poet Empress by Shen Tao; A Hole in the Sky by Peter F Hamilton; Hello Earth, Are You There? by Brian AldissGodfall by Van Jensen (Bantam, £20)The debut novel by a popular comic-book writer is set in a small town in Nebraska, after the landing of a three-mile-long alien figure dubbed “the Giant”. Local sheriff David Blunt is struggling to do his job following the sudden boom in population: in addition to scientists, government agents and soldiers at the highly classified research area established around the mystery from outer space, many more enthusiasts flood to the town, possibly including a serial killer. Two people have been killed in a horrifically brutal way when the FBI takes over and tries to shut him out. But when the next victim is a man he’s known all his life, Blunt is more determined than ever to catch the killer. His investigation draws him to infiltrate a doomsday cult and to discover more about the tangled ...

Events

4 d. ago Joan García goes back to Espanyol: Barça’s ‘science fiction’ keeper saves the day | Sid Lowe

Goalkeeper who swapped city rivals in the summer proved pivotal on his return with a stunning series of saves“I hope people don’t get angry but he’s my friend.” There wasn’t long until the Barcelona derby and Jofre Carreras had briefly abandoned the warm-up to talk to the TV. There on the touchline, talk inevitably turned to his former roommate, housemate and teammate Joan García, now in goal for their greatest rivals. Carreras’s answer was just about audible over all the noise and then he was off again: he had something else to do before it all started, accepting a shirt marking his 100th game for Espanyol. Behind them as club legend Rafa Marañón presented it, the team captains lined up for a photo of their own with the first Catalan to referee this fixture in 80 years and, way off to the left out of shot, García clapped. Like everything else he did, except actually play, he did so discreetly.Joan and Jofre, both 24, have known each other “for as long as I can remember”, in Carrera...

Politics

7 d. ago 'Best Netflix show ever' fans wish they could watch all over again now streaming

Fans claim 'you'll be glad' you watched the science fiction thriller

Sport

7 d. ago New year, old warnings: what can films set in 2026 teach us?

From Doom and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes to Metropolis, Hollywood hasn’t predicted the most stable of years ahead2025 sounds more futuristic. Maybe it’s the “f” sound on “five.” But 2026 is one step beyond, and it’s where we are now, with every science-fiction-style development – principally the widespread adoption of AI – looking dystopian, or maybe worse. (Doesn’t it feel like in a proper dystopia, the brain-numbing corporate-backed anti-human technology would actually work a bit better?) Didn’t anyone warn us about this?The answer, at least with regards to our sci-fi movies years ago (or occasionally months ago) positioned in 2026, is yes and no. Some of those warnings are broadly applicable (global catastrophe) but specifically far-fetched (when mankind is inevitably decimated, we will almost certainly take the ape population with us). Some of them are visionary; others just look like bad green screen. But it’s worth examining where various film-makers, from geniuses to grun...

Events

9 d. ago 10 best streaming shows of 2025 you need to catch up on from Wayward to Severance

From gripping mysteries to thrilling science fiction and side-splitting comedy - 2025 saw the release of a huge number of incredible streaming shows you won't want to miss

Events

3 w. ago Donald Trump's new event for High School students draws dystopian 'Hunger Games' comparisons

The Patriot Games will feature 'one young man and one young woman from each state', echoing the dark science fiction film franchise in which Jennifer Lawrence's protagonist takes on President Snow

Politics

3 w. ago Teen rapist lived in 'fantasy world' of porn and launched horror attack on child

Sebastian Robinson, 20, committed rape and sexual assault against a child victim when he was a teenager after developing a 'toxic' pornography habit that saw him 'plummet into a fantasy world'

Events

4 w. ago Astonished locals spot strange plane bigger than football field soaring above

In a series of dramatic videos that emerged online, eagle-eyed witnesses filmed a huge aircraft, likened to that which you might find in a "science fiction novel"

Sport

4 w. ago Surprised locals look up and see strange plane bigger than football field flying above

In a string of dramatic videos that came to light online, eagle-eyed witnesses filmed a huge aircraft, likened to that which you might read about in a "science fiction novel"

Politics