What Future: The Year’s Best Writing on What’s Next for People, Technology, and the Planet

In this forward-looking collection of previously published essays, contributors discuss the latest tech innovations, the vanguard of social and political thought, and projections about the consequences of climate change. Ross Andersen’s “Welcome to Pleistocene Park,” originally published in the Atlantic, explores the work of scientists at a Siberian nature reserve who are hoping to reduce the thaw of Arctic permafrost (and possibly one day provide a home for genetically engineered woolly mammoths). In “This is What a 21st-Century Police State Looks Like,” originally published on BuzzFeed, Megha Rajagopalan considers the Chinese government’s disturbing use of digital surveillance in the Muslim-majority city of Kashgar as a “testing ground for big data” and cautions that such tracking methods could be adopted more widely. One of the most memorable selections, Sam Knight’s investigative Guardian piece “London Bridge Is Down,” outlines the highly regimented plans in place for Queen Elizabeth’s death, from official Buckingham Palace announcements to preselected BBC playlists, and astutely defines her symbolic significance to the U.K. as “the last living link with our former greatness.” Showcasing a range of perspectives and tones, from ominous warnings to heralds of liberation, this collection provides an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of tomorrow’s conversations. (Oct.)