Cal Newport
Cal Newport is a contributing writer for The New Yorker and a professor of computer science at Georgetown University. His scholarship focusses on the theory of distributed systems, and his general-audience writing explores intersections of culture and technology. Newport’s books include “Slow Productivity,” “Deep Work,” “Digital Minimalism,” and “A World Without Email.” He is also the host of the podcast “Deep Questions.” He earned his Ph.D. in computer science from M.I.T.
The Hollow Core of Elon Musk’s Productivity Dogma
Silicon Valley has struggled to measure employees’ effectiveness. So how can Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency expect to fix the federal government?
What Michael Crichton Reveals About Big Tech and A.I.
The author of “Jurassic Park” understood that technologies often wriggle out of the grasp of their creators.
Is Social Media More Like Cigarettes or Junk Food?
Lawmakers attempting to regulate children’s access to social media must decide whether bans or warning labels are the optimal route for keeping kids safe.
What Happened When an Extremely Offline Person Tried TikTok
In 2016, I went viral for telling people to quit social media. In 2024, I ignored my own advice.
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A Lesson in Creativity and Capitalism from Two Zany YouTubers
Some of the optimism of the early Internet seems to live on in the whimsical videos of James Hobson and Colin Furze.
The Frightening Familiarity of Late-Nineties Office Photos
Lars Tunbjörk documented the rise of alienating online work. His images should remind us that it didn’t have to be this way.
What Kind of Writer Is ChatGPT?
Chatbots have been criticized as perfect plagiarism tools. The truth is more surprising.
How I Learned to Concentrate
Twenty years ago, I had an intellectual experience that changed how I think about thinking.
How to Have a More Productive Year
Knowledge work is always changing, and our approach to it needs to change, too.
An Exhausting Year in (and Out of) the Office
After successive waves of post-pandemic change, worn-out knowledge workers need a fresh start.
It’s Time to Dismantle the Technopoly
As technology accelerates, we need to stop accepting the bad consequences along with the good ones.
Solving the Productivity Paradox
Can the arrival of smarter collaboration software help fix knowledge work?
We Don’t Need a New Twitter
It’s time to move beyond the flawed idea of a global conversation platform.
What Kind of Mind Does ChatGPT Have?
Large language models seem startlingly intelligent. But what’s really happening under the hood?
The Year in Quiet Quitting
A new generation discovers that it’s hard to balance work with a well-lived life.
How Can We Make Office Life More Humane? Ask Our Ancestors
Research on early human societies offers lessons about improving our jobs today.
TikTok and the Fall of the Social-Media Giants
Facebook is trying to copy TikTok, but this strategy may well signal the end of these legacy platforms.
The Rise of the Internet’s Creative Middle Class
Fourteen years ago, Kevin Kelly famously proposed that an artist could make a living online with a thousand true fans. Has time proved him correct?
Our Misguided Obsession with Twitter
The social-media platform has become a spectacle driven by a narrow and unrepresentative group of élites.
The Hollow Core of Elon Musk’s Productivity Dogma
Silicon Valley has struggled to measure employees’ effectiveness. So how can Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency expect to fix the federal government?
What Michael Crichton Reveals About Big Tech and A.I.
The author of “Jurassic Park” understood that technologies often wriggle out of the grasp of their creators.
Is Social Media More Like Cigarettes or Junk Food?
Lawmakers attempting to regulate children’s access to social media must decide whether bans or warning labels are the optimal route for keeping kids safe.
What Happened When an Extremely Offline Person Tried TikTok
In 2016, I went viral for telling people to quit social media. In 2024, I ignored my own advice.
A Lesson in Creativity and Capitalism from Two Zany YouTubers
Some of the optimism of the early Internet seems to live on in the whimsical videos of James Hobson and Colin Furze.
The Frightening Familiarity of Late-Nineties Office Photos
Lars Tunbjörk documented the rise of alienating online work. His images should remind us that it didn’t have to be this way.
What Kind of Writer Is ChatGPT?
Chatbots have been criticized as perfect plagiarism tools. The truth is more surprising.
How I Learned to Concentrate
Twenty years ago, I had an intellectual experience that changed how I think about thinking.
How to Have a More Productive Year
Knowledge work is always changing, and our approach to it needs to change, too.
An Exhausting Year in (and Out of) the Office
After successive waves of post-pandemic change, worn-out knowledge workers need a fresh start.
It’s Time to Dismantle the Technopoly
As technology accelerates, we need to stop accepting the bad consequences along with the good ones.
Solving the Productivity Paradox
Can the arrival of smarter collaboration software help fix knowledge work?
We Don’t Need a New Twitter
It’s time to move beyond the flawed idea of a global conversation platform.
What Kind of Mind Does ChatGPT Have?
Large language models seem startlingly intelligent. But what’s really happening under the hood?
The Year in Quiet Quitting
A new generation discovers that it’s hard to balance work with a well-lived life.
How Can We Make Office Life More Humane? Ask Our Ancestors
Research on early human societies offers lessons about improving our jobs today.
TikTok and the Fall of the Social-Media Giants
Facebook is trying to copy TikTok, but this strategy may well signal the end of these legacy platforms.
The Rise of the Internet’s Creative Middle Class
Fourteen years ago, Kevin Kelly famously proposed that an artist could make a living online with a thousand true fans. Has time proved him correct?
Our Misguided Obsession with Twitter
The social-media platform has become a spectacle driven by a narrow and unrepresentative group of élites.