Skip to Content
Culture

3 things Rhiannon Williams is into right now

MIT Technology Review’s news reporter and author of our daily newsletter The Download shares what she’s thinking about lately.

Rhiannon Williams
Courtesy of Rhiannon Williams

The last good Instagram account

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that social media is a Bad Vibe. Thankfully, there is still one Instagram account worth following that’s just as incisive, funny, and scathing today as when it was founded back in 2016: Every Outfit (@everyoutfitonsatc). Originally conceived as an homage to Sex and the City’s iconic fashion, Every Outfit has since evolved into a wider cultural critique and spawned a podcast of the same name that I love listening to while running. Sex and the City may be over, but Every Outfit is forever.

Glorious Exploits, by Ferdia Lennon

Glorious Exploits is one of those rare books that manage to pull off being both laugh-out-loud funny and deeply moving, which is no mean feat. Set in ancient Sicily, it tells the story of unemployed potters Lampo and Gelon’s grand plan to stage the Greek tragedy Medea with a cast of defeated Athenian soldiers who’ve been imprisoned in quarries on the outskirts of Syracuse. The ancient backdrop combined with the characters’ contemporary Irish dialogue (the author was born in Dublin) makes it unlike anything I’ve ever read before; it’s so ambitious it’s hard to believe it’s Lennon’s debut novel. Completely engrossing.

Life drawing

The depressing wave of AI-generated art that’s flooded the internet in recent years has inspired me to explore the exact opposite and make art the old-fashioned way. My art teacher in college always said the best way to learn the correct proportions of the human body was to draw it in person, so I’ve started attending classes near where I live in London. Pencil and paper are generally my medium of choice. Spending a few hours interpreting what’s in front of you in your own artistic style is really rewarding—and has the added bonus of being completely screen-free. I can’t recommend it enough.

Deep Dive

Culture

Tech billionaires are making a risky bet with humanity’s future

Altman, Bezos, and Musk say they want to save humanity by creating superintelligent AI. Journalist and astrophysicist Adam Becker reveals how these fantastical visions conceal a darker agenda.

How a 30-year-old techno-thriller predicted our digital isolation

In Irwin Winkler’s proto–cyber thriller, a woman’s most reliable companion is the screen in front of her.

OpenAI: The power and the pride

Two new books attempt to tell the story of Sam Altman’s OpenAI, its ambitions, and its growing empire.

Puerto Rico’s power struggles

The island is staring down a dirtier, and potentially darker, future — with little say over what happens.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.