happy mutants Empire Games: Charlie Stross starts a new phase in the Merchant Princes series, blending spycraft, Leninist thought experiments, and parallel dimensions Cory Doctorow

religion Church under investigation after worshiper pinned down to ‘pray the gay away’ Xeni Jardin

happy mutants The magic theatre of High Weirdness Ferdinando Buscema

sourpuss neighbors A woman's Christmas dragons on her lawn were called "demonic" by a neighbor, so she added more Carla Sinclair

Art and Design Artist David Henry Nobody Jr. on how impersonating a wealthy Trump fan "kind of drove me insane" Sarina Sinclair and Adam Gelbart

books Cult of Personality: Two crime writers discuss the allure of cults in their own dark fiction Alex Segura

books Folktexts: How to fill your head with free folklore Seamus Bellamy

documentary New documentary is a magic portal into a weird and wonderful library Ferdinando Buscema

religion The Cheesecake Factory has bankrolled a huge temple in an unincorporated California town Cory Doctorow

Robert Anton Wilson A review of Cosmic Trigger, a play based on Robert Anton Wilson's autobiography Ferdinando Buscema

mental illness It’s Mental Health Awareness Month: Trumpcare’s dangerous impact on mental health care Maureen Herman

authors Grant Morrison interview: "Laughter can banish any and all demons" Propaganda Anonymous

History The arc of history is long, but how do we bend it? Cory Doctorow

Gadgets Boing Boing Gift Guide 2016 Gift Guide

gift guide Boing Boing's 2016 Gift Guide: Books Boing Boing

picks Clinton advisor Podesta is a sex magic witch: Drudge Report via Infowars via Wikileaks (seems legit) Xeni Jardin

Weird The weird history of dog-headed men David Pescovitz

economics Roddenberry's Star Trek was "above all, a critique of Robert Heinlein" Manu Saadia

books Read: Strategic Dog Patterning, a story from "Why I Hunt Flying Saucers" Hugh AD Spencer

homophobia 'Atheists, homosexuals and transgender individuals' upset Alabama's chief justice Xeni Jardin