California’s Homeless Find Peace in Libraries

In a world dominated by the internet and social media, being homeless often means being detached from anything that’s not happening in the immediate vicinity. For many of the homeless people living in California, public libraries serve as a type of sanctuary where many go to learn, imagine and connect with the world. In 2014, National Geographic traveled to several of these Californian libraries, profiling …

“Queens of Kings” Explores Brooklyn’s Drag Scene

Just in time to celebrate NYC Pride Week, Refinery29 and filmmaker Nicholas Heller have debuted a YouTube docu-series that spends a day in the life of various Brooklyn drag queens. Titled “Queens of Kings,” the thoughtful series features five-minute webisodes that follow the borough’s favorite queens as they transform from daytime civilians to glamorous evening divas, performing in many of Brooklyn’s most popular venues.

Creating the World’s First Sentient Sex Doll

The latest episode of The New York Times’ “Robotica” video series explores the science and philosophy behind creating the world’s first sentient, animatronic sex doll. Matt McMullen—whose company Abyss Creations has already sold thousands of silicon sex dolls—is using robotics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality to allow his RealBotix dolls to blink, speak and, one day, think like real humans. His ultimate goal is to …