“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 …

How Valentina Tereshkova Became the First Woman in Space

Yesterday, 16 June, marked the 52nd anniversary of the day Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. At the time, many wondered how the Russians were able to beat the US when NASA already had an impressive roster of highly qualified female astronauts. In a Life Magazine issue headlined “She Orbits Over the Sex Barrier,” writer Clare Booth Luce offers a simple …