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Clive Thompson

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Computer terminal with BASIC code on screen, surrounded by a cartoon potion, cauldron, and lips wearing a wizard's hat, in a magical lair.

Back to BASIC—the Most Consequential Programming Language in the History of Computing

Coding was a preserve of elites, until BASIC hit the streets.
by Clive Thompson via Wired on July 29, 2024
Early phonograph.

How the Phonograph Created the 3-Minute Pop Song

And how streaming is changing it again.
by Clive Thompson via Medium on February 25, 2023
Advertisement for a gold dredging machine from a 1920's magazine.

The Huckster Ads of Early “Popular Mechanics”

Weird, revealing, and incredibly fun to read.
by Clive Thompson via Medium on August 6, 2022
Illustration of a coal stove with the roof of a house, as if the whole house is a furnace.

When Coal First Arrived, Americans Said 'No Thanks'

Back in the 19th century, coal was the nation's newfangled fuel source—and it faced the same resistance as wind and solar today.
by Clive Thompson via Smithsonian Magazine on July 5, 2022
A 1921 card reading: For Safety's Sake, cross this way, not here, not this way. Quit Jay Walking

The Invention of “Jaywalking”

In the 1920s, the public hated cars. So the auto industry fought back — with language.
by Clive Thompson via Medium on March 29, 2022
Smiley face with game pieces as facial features against a blue background

What the History of AI Tells Us About its Future

IBM’s chess-playing supercomputer Deep Blue was eclipsed by the neural-net revolution. Now, 25 years on, the machine may get the last laugh.
by Clive Thompson via MIT Technology Review on February 18, 2022
Newspaper article titled 'Novel-reading a cause of female depravity'

Why Novels Will Destroy Your Mind

Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, novels were regarded as the video games or TikTok of their age — shallow, addictive, and dangerous.
by Clive Thompson via Medium on September 9, 2021

The Lines of Code That Changed Everything

Apollo 11, the JPEG, the first pop-up ad, and 33 other bits of software that have transformed our world.
by Thomas Haigh, Arthur Daemmrich, Mar Hicks, Charlton D. McIlwain, Chris Noessel, Molly Olmstead, Clive Thompson, Sara Wachter-Boettcher, Elena Botella, Ellen Stofan, Jamie Zawinski, Jane C. Hu, Lav Varschney, April Glaser, Charles Duan, Aaron Mak, Amanda Levendowski, Ethan Zuckerman, Nikki Stevens, David S. Levine, P. W. Singer, Ari Ezra Waldman, Rusty D. Pickens via Slate
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on October 14, 2019

What the Popularity of 'Fortnite' Has in Common With the 20th Century Pinball Craze

Long before parents freaked over the ubiquitous video game, they flipped out over another newfangled fad.
by Clive Thompson via Smithsonian Magazine on November 29, 2018
Stereograph titled 'The Toucans' depicting three toucans and a snake amid plants and rocks

Stereographs Were the Original Virtual Reality

The shocking power of immersing oneself in another world was all the buzz once before—about 150 years ago.
by Clive Thompson via Smithsonian Magazine on September 21, 2017
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