Cal Newport
Cal Newport is a contributing writer for The New Yorker and an associate 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 is the author of seven books, including, most recently, “Deep Work,” “Digital Minimalism,” and “A World Without Email.” He earned his Ph.D. in computer science from M.I.T.
Can an A.I. Make Plans?
Today’s systems struggle to imagine the future—but that may soon change.
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.
Can Virtual Reality Fix the Workplace?
The struggle to create a digital alternative to the analog office.
The Great Cubicle Escape
What happens when daydreams about moving to the country suddenly become possible?
The Question We’ve Stopped Asking About Teen-Agers and Social Media
Should they be using these services at all?
Revisiting “The 4-Hour Workweek”
How Tim Ferriss’s 2007 manifesto anticipated our current moment of professional upheaval.
The Return-to-Office Quandary
Ambiguous plans are good for executives but bad for other employees.
Is Going to the Office a Broken Way of Working?
A conversation with Chris Herd, who foresees a future in which most companies are remote-first.
Can an A.I. Make Plans?
Today’s systems struggle to imagine the future—but that may soon change.
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.
Can Virtual Reality Fix the Workplace?
The struggle to create a digital alternative to the analog office.
The Great Cubicle Escape
What happens when daydreams about moving to the country suddenly become possible?
The Question We’ve Stopped Asking About Teen-Agers and Social Media
Should they be using these services at all?
Revisiting “The 4-Hour Workweek”
How Tim Ferriss’s 2007 manifesto anticipated our current moment of professional upheaval.
The Return-to-Office Quandary
Ambiguous plans are good for executives but bad for other employees.
Is Going to the Office a Broken Way of Working?
A conversation with Chris Herd, who foresees a future in which most companies are remote-first.