Jason Kehe
Senior Editor
Jason Kehe is a senior editor and culture critic at WIRED, where he shouts about sci-fi/fantasy, animation, and the philosophy of tech. A California native, he currently occupies the in-law unit of a house in Berkeley.
The TikTok-Tailored Terpsichorean Trauma of Encanto
With song-and-dance numbers optimized for social media, Disney animated films have turned into multiplatform IP factories. It’s kind of disgusting.
The Best Sci-Fi Movies of 2021
From Dune to Little Fish, they’re all love stories—though some are more touching than others.
SPOILER ALERT: Spoiler Alerts Are Making Us All Stupid
If you think they’re protecting the experience of experiencing art, you’re more deluded than you know.
The Secret Sci-Fi Origins of Burning Man
Though almost nobody talks about it, the desert confab owes its existence to Mad Max, Lawrence of Arabia, and—very crucially, somewhat ironically—Dune.
Is Becky Chambers the Ultimate Hope for Science Fiction?
Her gentle, heartwarming stories seek to soothe our troubled souls. They also aim to blow up the entire genre.
The Futuristic Stink of Amazon’s Science Fiction
For years, the megacorporation has churned out sci-fi—Electric Dreams, Upload, Solos—that ranges from obnoxious to just plain noxious.
One Thing Covid Didn’t Smash to Pieces? Monster Movies
If you liked Godzilla vs. Kong, there’s more—and better—where that stupid, mindless clobberfest came from.
Animated Movies Do Not Need to Be ‘Fun for the Whole Family’
This year’s Oscar nominees for best animated feature are safe and childish. But The Willoughbys—not nominated—will mess you up.
A Sexy Theory of Consciousness Gets All Up in Your Feelings
Neuroscience is bad at explaining what it’s like to be alive. Mark Solms thinks he can change that—with help from, of all people, Freud.
The Backward-Looking Futurism of Stewart Brand
In a new documentary about his life, We Are As Gods, the famous tech prophet looks to his—and Earth’s—past.
Who Is R. A. Lafferty? And Is He the Best Sci-Fi Writer Ever?
You’ve never heard of him, but your favorite writers have, and his mad-drunk prose will knock you sideways.
The Wanting Mare Is the Most Visual Fantasy in Recent Memory
It asks you to dig into your past—with the help of some magic horses.
Bliss Is the Worst Kind of Open-Ended Sci-Fi Movie
The director Mike Cahill loves ambiguity—and he used to be good at it.
The No-Good Very Nasty Remastering of The Lord of the Rings
In correcting every imperfection and sharpening every blur of his epic fantasy trilogy, Peter Jackson has violated a fundamental law of nature.
What You Lose When You Turn Into an Animal
In Pixar’s new film, Soul, the protagonist wakes up in the body of a cat. It’s a common enough trope—but it gets messier the more you think about it.
2021 and the Conspiracies of Johnny Mnemonic
William Gibson was wrong about the wetware implants (not that he wanted to make predictions), but you’re still rooting for his dark, techno-druggy future anyway.
2020: The Year of Cancel(l)ed Culture
This year, monoculture floundered, but microculture flourished. Everyone found a niche—and learned what they could live without.
The Best Fantasy Books of an Unfantastic Year
In the midst of a global pandemic, the genre got a lot more real.
Stop Turning My Favorite Antiheroes Into Heroes
Attention Disney and Netflix: Leave Maleficent and Carmen Sandiego alone. My soul needs villains, those perpetrators of change.
Television Like The Boys Is Destroying You
It's not blowing your mind. It's bludgeoning you with shock.