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The Nib

Political satire, journalism and non-fiction on what is going down in the world. All in comics form, the best medium.

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Author: Matthew Francis

Matthew R. Francis is a physicist, science writer, public speaker, and frequent wearer of jaunty hats. His articles have been published in Slate, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, Smithsonian Air & Space, and many others. He once taught college physics and astronomy, before deciding even freelance writing was better than academia. Otherwise, his judgment is relatively sound and his taste in comics is impeccable.

The End of Night

by Matthew Francis

Posted on March 14, 2022April 1, 2022

Our sky is vanishing. Not just due to light pollution – it’s filled with junk.

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Half Life

by Matthew Francis

Posted on May 24, 2021July 21, 2021

We’re using power developed for nuclear weapons to power our probes. What happens when they run out?

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Waiting For Herd Immunity is Not the Answer

by Matthew Francis

Posted on September 14, 2020September 21, 2020

What price are we willing to pay to get rid of COVID-19?

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When “Peanuts” Went All-In on Vaccinations

by Matthew Francis

Posted on September 9, 2019December 4, 2021

Charles Schulz used his culturally monolithic comic strip to advocate for public health. But his approach had some serious shortcomings.

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When Good Scientists Go Bad

by Matthew Francis

Posted on May 15, 2019May 12, 2020

Science doesn’t make you magically objective, and it’s not separate from the rest of human experience.

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Who Owns An Asteroid?

by Matthew Francis

Posted on February 11, 2019October 22, 2020

Celestial bodies like Bennu could help us tell Earth’s origin story. Or they could be strip-mined for resources.

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There Are Hundreds of Billions of Galaxies. Where Are All the Aliens?

by Matthew Francis

Posted on June 25, 2018August 12, 2022

The cosmos is quiet. TOO quiet. Why haven’t we found proof of extraterrestrial life?

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Elon Musk Isn’t All He’s Cracked Up to Be

by Matthew Francis

Posted on March 22, 2018April 2, 2020

He wants to take humanity off-world. But who gets to go? And who decides?

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Are We Living In A Computer Simulation?

by Matthew Francis

Posted on December 5, 2016November 27, 2022

This is not the Matrix… but is our civilization real?

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About The Nib

The Nib is political satire, journalism and non-fiction comics on what is going down in the world. Read More

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