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Future Perfect

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Can ranking candidates fix elections?
Future Perfect

The limitations of ranked choice voting.

By Dylan Matthews
Can ranking candidates fix elections?
Future Perfect

The limitations of ranked choice voting.

By Dylan Matthews
What happens if another pandemic strikes while Trump is president?What happens if another pandemic strikes while Trump is president?
Future Perfect

Donald Trump undermined public health measures during the Covid-19 pandemic. What would he do in a future health emergency?

By Dylan Scott
Future Perfect, explainedFuture Perfect, explained
Future Perfect

Welcome to Vox’s home for stories about changing the world.

By Dylan Matthews
Support Future PerfectSupport Future Perfect
Future Perfect

We are always searching for new and innovative ways to fund the work we do and ensure the health of Future Perfect for years to come.

By Vox Staff

The latest in Future Perfect

AI is powerful, dangerous, and controversial. What will Donald Trump do with it?AI is powerful, dangerous, and controversial. What will Donald Trump do with it?
Vox’s guide to Donald Trump’s 2024 policies

Why the future of artificial intelligence shouldn’t become a partisan issue.

By Kelsey Piper
How to live under rising authoritarianism, according to a philosopher who did it bravelyHow to live under rising authoritarianism, according to a philosopher who did it bravely
2024 Elections

Feeling despair after Trump’s election victory? Viktor Frankl can help.

By Sigal Samuel
What a second Trump term could mean for animalsWhat a second Trump term could mean for animals
2024 Elections

Trump’s corporate-friendly deregulatory tendencies could worsen animal welfare. Plus: Animals lost big at the ballot box on Tuesday.

By Kenny Torrella
The world’s most mysterious psychedelic is already inside your brain
The HighlightMember Exclusive

DMT, “the nuclear bomb of the psychedelic family,” explained.

By Oshan Jarow
What in the world is pink cocaine?
The HighlightMember Exclusive

It’s not cocaine, but it can be just about anything else — except a good idea.

By Celia Ford
I don’t want children. I do want children. What should I do?
Future PerfectMember Exclusive

How can you know if you truly want to be a parent?

By Sigal Samuel
Starbucks won’t charge extra for plant-based milk. Other companies should follow.Starbucks won’t charge extra for plant-based milk. Other companies should follow.
Future Perfect

It’s a big deal for the climate — and for the coffee industry at large.

By Marina Bolotnikova and Kenny Torrella
How to get through election season without despairHow to get through election season without despair
Future Perfect

How to power through election stress and keep your eye on the big picture.

By Kelsey Piper
Inside OpenAI’s multibillion-dollar gambit to become a for-profit companyInside OpenAI’s multibillion-dollar gambit to become a for-profit company
Future Perfect

OpenAI’s transition isn’t what you think. The stakes are tens of billions of dollars — and the future of AI.

By Kelsey Piper
A special investigation reveals the places where farm animals endure “sadistic” abuseA special investigation reveals the places where farm animals endure “sadistic” abuse
Future PerfectMember Exclusive

These marketplaces are the backbone of the meat industry, where cruelty to animals is the norm.

By Jessica Scott-Reid
The $2 billion election betting craze, explainedThe $2 billion election betting craze, explained
Future Perfect

Is it a problem that people are betting on Trump v. Harris?

By Dylan Matthews
Zika is still spreading. Why don’t we have a vaccine yet?Zika is still spreading. Why don’t we have a vaccine yet?
Future Perfect

Preventing the disease can improve the quality of life for thousands.

By Jess Craig
Fish farming was supposed to be sustainable. But there’s a giant catch.Fish farming was supposed to be sustainable. But there’s a giant catch.
Future Perfect

A groundbreaking study suggests your farmed shrimp and salmon might have a much bigger environmental toll than previously thought.

By Kenny Torrella
How progress creates its own obstaclesHow progress creates its own obstacles
Future Perfect

The world really is getting better. So why don’t people believe it?

By Bryan Walsh
How the wealthy are redrawing the world mapHow the wealthy are redrawing the world map
Future PerfectMember Exclusive

A new book explores the world of tax havens and techno-utopias, and asks if they can be used for good.

By Joshua Keating
What went wrong with autism research? Let’s start with lab mice.What went wrong with autism research? Let’s start with lab mice.
Future Perfect

Animal models of autism haven’t helped autistic people enough. So why do scientists still use them?

By Celia Ford
I left my religion. Should I still raise my kid with it?
Future Perfect

My faith gave me my moral values. I want my child to have those — without all the stuff I don’t believe in.

By Sigal Samuel
Sick of AI hype? I have some bad news.Sick of AI hype? I have some bad news.
Future PerfectMember Exclusive

AI is here to stay and the Nobels know it.

By Kelsey Piper
Why some economists are skeptical of this year’s NobelistsWhy some economists are skeptical of this year’s Nobelists
Future PerfectMember Exclusive

Did they actually figure out why nations fail?

By Dylan Matthews
Cities face daunting challenges. Mike Bloomberg wants to help them help each other.Cities face daunting challenges. Mike Bloomberg wants to help them help each other.
Future Perfect

The 11 policies that could help the cities of the future.

By Dylan Scott
Your mind needs chaosYour mind needs chaos
Audio
The Gray Area

The human mind is designed to predict, but uncertainty helps us thrive.

By Oshan Jarow
AI companies are trying to build god. Shouldn’t they get our permission first?AI companies are trying to build god. Shouldn’t they get our permission first?
The rise of artificial intelligence, explained

The public did not consent to artificial general intelligence.

By Sigal Samuel
These California and Colorado ballot measures are terrifying the meat industry
Future Perfect

In Sonoma County and Denver, activists are putting animal welfare on the ballot.

By Marina Bolotnikova
Why don’t your psychiatric drugs work better?Why don’t your psychiatric drugs work better?
Future Perfect

Billions of dollars later, neuroscientists are still struggling to address the mental health crisis.

By Celia Ford
An Ebola-like virus is spreading in Rwanda. Why isn’t there an approved vaccine for Marburg?An Ebola-like virus is spreading in Rwanda. Why isn’t there an approved vaccine for Marburg?
Future Perfect

Rwandan public health officials have a strategy that could help prevent further outbreaks.

By Jess Craig
A DNA test upended my family. Do I side with my grandmother — or her secret child?
Future PerfectMember Exclusive

I don’t know what I owe my newfound relative.

By Sigal Samuel
Nitrous, one of the oldest mind-altering drugs, is backNitrous, one of the oldest mind-altering drugs, is back
Future Perfect

Whippets on TikTok are just a re-run of inhaling nitrous on stage in the 1800s.

By Oshan Jarow
How zapping the brain can supercharge meditationHow zapping the brain can supercharge meditation
Future Perfect

New brain stimulation techniques could help scientists understand how meditation changes the mind.

By Oshan Jarow
The world’s spending to fight global lead poisoning just doubledThe world’s spending to fight global lead poisoning just doubled
Future Perfect

1.5 million people die from lead exposure a year. This new global partnership could change that.

By Dylan Matthews
Helene just pummeled America’s chicken farming capitalHelene just pummeled America’s chicken farming capital
Future Perfect

Factory farming makes hurricanes more dangerous, disgusting, and expensive.

By Kenny Torrella
Do animals experience love like people do?
Audio
The HighlightMember Exclusive

Dr. Gregory Berns on his surprising research on the emotional lives of dogs and cows.

By Benji Jones
An alternative to antibiotics could work wonders in Africa. It isn’t being used.
The HighlightMember Exclusive

Bacteria-eating viruses might be able to fight antibiotic resistance where new treatments are most needed.

By Jess Craig
A big fire at a lab near Atlanta spewed chemicals into the air. Here’s what we know.A big fire at a lab near Atlanta spewed chemicals into the air. Here’s what we know.
Climate

The Georgia chemical plant fire, explained.

By Jess Craig and Sam Delgado
California’s governor has vetoed a historic AI safety billCalifornia’s governor has vetoed a historic AI safety bill
Future Perfect

SB 1047 would have been a landmark in AI safety. Gavin Newsom’s veto is a major setback in the fight against AI risk

By Sigal Samuel, Kelsey Piper and 1 more
Yuval Noah Harari on whether democracy and AI can coexistYuval Noah Harari on whether democracy and AI can coexist
Audio
The Gray Area

“If humans are so smart, why are we so stupid?”

By Sean Illing
In defense of the washing machineIn defense of the washing machine
Future Perfect

Rich people debate washing machines for fun. But for billions of poor people, the debate really matters.

By Kelsey Piper
OpenAI as we knew it is deadOpenAI as we knew it is dead
Future Perfect

The maker of ChatGPT promised to share its profits with the public. But Sam Altman just sold you out.

By Sigal Samuel
The ugly reality behind Tim Walz’s farm-friendly imageThe ugly reality behind Tim Walz’s farm-friendly image
Future Perfect

The VP candidate loves to snuggle baby animals. He’s giving factory farming a progressive sheen.

By Kenny Torrella
41 years ago today, one man saved us from world-ending nuclear war41 years ago today, one man saved us from world-ending nuclear war
Future PerfectMember Exclusive

On September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov saved the world.

By Dylan Matthews
Chronic diseases cause 75 percent of all deaths globally. The toll is likely to rise.Chronic diseases cause 75 percent of all deaths globally. The toll is likely to rise.
Future Perfect

How diseases like cancer and diabetes are growing, explained in four charts.

By Jess Craig