The Long Now Foundation

10/20/2026

Don’t miss Sara Imari Walker on stage at Entangled Intelligences on Nov 10. Her warm, conversational delivery of cosmic topics is unmatched. Watch this excerpt from her 02025 Long Now Talk, where she casually blows your mind with Assembly Theory ->

Get on the waitlist for the in-person event, or tune-in via livestream: https://na2.hubs.ly/H08wchM0
Walker’s full 02025 Talk is here: https://na2.hubs.ly/H08wc530

10/19/2026

We tend to believe that civilizational change is driven entirely by the invention of superior tools…but consider the washing machine. The technology was introduced in the 01910s but wasn’t widely adopted until the 01950s. Why?

In the early 20th century, laundering was entangled with class signaling, racist labor structures, and plumbing limitations. A fascinating exploration from JSTOR illustrates how the pace layers of commerce and infrastructure can only move as fast as culture allows:

Early electric laundry appliances promised to make housework easier. But convincing American households to buy them was another matter.

10/16/2026

In 01851, Herman Melville opened Moby-Dick with the iconic line, “Call me Ishmael.” In 02014, two readers took him at his word: Stephanie Kent and Logan Smalley set up a real phone number for Ishmael, with a voicemail where callers could leave a message about a book they love.

Thousands of people have called to share stories of books that changed their lives. There’s even a refurbished pay phone where readers can pick up the receiver and listen.

Ishmael is still taking calls: 774-325-0503

The Call Me Ishmael project — named after the celebrated opening line of Moby-Dick — is an award-winning literary initiative that collects and shares anonymous voice messages about books people love.

10/15/2026

Nearly every phone and computer on Earth relies on one plain-text file to know what time it is.

When a country changes its clocks with a few weeks’ notice, or Morocco pauses daylight saving for Ramadan, someone has to update that file. Since 02005, that someone has been Paul Eggert, a computer science professor at UCLA, who does it as a volunteer.

Take a look at this great data visualization to see the full story:

Four billion phones ask one text file what time it is. One lecturer keeps it in his spare time. We counted the rest.

10/13/2026

Join us for an one-of-a-kind experience exploring Entangled Intelligences on Nov 10, 02026. This special event brings together an extraordinary lineup of speakers and performers exploring the frontiers of interspecies intelligence.

Featuring: neuroscientist David Eagleman, founder Aishwarya Khanduja, technologist Jaron Lanier, biologist Michael Levin, theoretical physicist Sara Imari Walker, and space historian Claire Isabel Webb — and more.

Tickets are going fast. Grab yours here: https://na2.hubs.ly/H08hxkb0

10/12/2026

A hopeful and deeply informed account of how to treasure our humanity in a world increasingly driven by AI: a new book by Long Now Council member Esther Dyson.
Preorder here:
https://na2.hubs.ly/H08hwSs0

10/09/2026

Renowned author Amitav Ghosh was the 12th contributor to the Future Library. His sealed manuscript, “Letter to My Grandson” won't be read until 02114.

Read his essay on why this project was so personally meaningful to him, and how it relates to deep time: https://na2.hubs.ly/H08hwPP0

Hold this essay in your hands: preorder Pace Layers, our annual print journal, shipping Nov 5th. https://na2.hubs.ly/H08hwRH0
Photo by Marco Traverso

The Long Now Foundation fosters long-term thinking. Our work encourages imagination at the timescale of civilization — the next and last 10,000 years — a timespan we call the long now.

10/08/2026

In a remote corner of the driest state in the country, Anne Heggli's team has been keeping watch over the Earth’s oldest trees. Since 02012, Heggli’s Desert Research Institute NevCAN network has recorded conditions at the Long Now Nevada Bristlecone Preserve every eight minutes. The result is more than 120 million data points and a high-resolution portrait of how a bristlecone pine thrives.

Accompanied by artist/philosopher Jonathon Keats and paleoclimatologist Adam Csank, Heggli made the case for long science: patient, continuous observation that will help us answer the future’s most urgent climate questions.

Watch the full Talk on YouTube here:

In this Long Now Talk, Anne Heggli, Jonathon Keats and Adam Csank m...

10/07/2026

“Imagine a pitch that starts with, ‘This is going to take 100 years.’ And then, ‘We’ll also need a forest.’ And on top of that, ‘We’ll also need famous writers.’” This is the story of Future Library, a century-long artwork — a forest growing future books that will remain secret until 02114 — and what it will take to keep it alive: https://na2.hubs.ly/H08fCcL0

This piece by Emily Hill appears in Pace Layers 02026 – 02027, the third issue of Long Now's annual print journal, publishing November 5. Preorder and subscribe here: https://na2.hubs.ly/H08fCc80

How to keep a 100-year artwork alive

10/07/2026

Save the date: Alexander Rose in conversation with Neal Stephenson in this new series from Automattic. It's sure to be an amazing discussion covering Stephenson's latest novel + spies, science, and the race for the atomic bomb. Tues 10/13 @ 9am PT

Livestream here: https://www.youtube.com/live/kdw0QmlFTtA