We are entering the century of China. Our collective future is dependent on its future, and China’s future is highly constrained by its past. By far the best history of China so far is a 6-part BBC experience now running on Amazon Prime by the peripatetic historian Michael Woods. The Story of China boasts incredibly high production values, filmed in China. A thousand-year history is grounded in visits to the actual places where it happened, making it visible and intimate. More importantly this program presents an understandable history that sadly even most Chinese today are ignorant of. Woods is a likeable host who will make you smart. I consider The Story of China essential viewing. (His Story of India is likewise great.) — KK

Deep in the basement of Netflix is a very funny Swedish movie called The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. Subtitled in English, I found the humor translated well into American. It’s sort of a Swedish version of Forrest Gump meets Mr. Bean. This big hit in Sweden was playing on Netflix streaming but now is on Netflix DVD only. However, last year they made a sequel that is almost as good, The 101-Year-Old Man Who Skipped Out on the Bill and Disappeared, and this one is currently streaming on Netflix. — KK

I’m eagerly looking forward to season 3 of Colony, a science fiction thriller about a world under lockdown after aliens arrive and take over. We never see the aliens — the oppressors are the humans who have cut a deal with the aliens to administrate repressive and cruel martial law in exchange for better living conditions. The story centers on a family trying to survive in a militarized, walled-off Los Angeles, where the smallest infraction is punishable by death. — MF

The best science fiction series now going is The Expanse. It’s set in a plausible 200-year ahead horizon, a period where Earth, Mars, and Asteroid Belters are in conflict. The everyday details of life in 2200 are well defined and worn convincingly; the characters nuanced and realistic, with no glaring villains. The science is sound, the production values high, and the plot is a detective thriller. The first two seasons are free to watch on Amazon prime. — KK 

In a sleepy Australian town, a group of long dead people come to life and dig themselves out of their graves. Unlike traditional zombies, they are intact, both mentally and physically. They are as confused as the good natured sheriff who becomes their protector against people who wish them harm. Can’t wait for the next season of Glitch, this intriguing Netflix original series. — MF

The Mask You Live In is a heartbreaking glimpse into how the media and ideals of masculinity are affecting young boys in America. The most poignant part of the documentary for me were the interviews with San Quentin’s Juvenile Lifers. They shared their experiences, and regret, about how being unable to articulate and share emotions as a child contributed to their rage and subsequent crimes. — CD

I am not worried about much, but I do worry about cyber war. There is no consensus on what is acceptable in cyber warfare and all countries, including the US, are deploying cyber attacks. The best documentary to inform this worry is Zero Days, available on demand on Amazon, iTunes, GooglePlay, etc. Shows what cyber war is. Not sci-fi, but what is already here yesterday. With more to come! — KK

A few years ago, two gringos travelled to Central America and attempted to survive for 2 months on a dollar a day — as the locals do everyday. A diary of the visitors’ struggle is available on Amazon as a pretty eye-opening documentary, Living on One Dollar. Turns out it requires great skill to live on this little; the attempts illuminate the lives of the world’s majority in a vivid way I’ve seen nowhere else. — KK

A series I am binging on is Silicon Valley. I know all these people and every detail of their lives and situations is pitch perfect right on. The producers get the tiniest details exactly right, from the technology to the mannerisms, as well as their bigger narrative. I haven’t laughed so much in ages. At the same time, it’s a remarkably fantastic advanced class in what technology companies are really like. Whether you want to work in one, or start one: watch this series. — KK

When you sign up for Nextdoor it’s like instantly joining your neighborhood watch group. Plus you get local business recommendations from neighbors, classifieds and events. — CD 

Reddit’s “Futurology” subreddit features news stories that point to our future. Stories such as “New antibiotic found in human nose,” “Singapore Scientists Grow Mini Human Brains,” and “Should a human-pig chimera be treated as a person?” I visit it daily. — MF 

This no-graphics version of CNN’s website looks like the web circa 1993, and I love it. I think they should run a couple of text ads to monetize it, because I don’t want them to stop. — MF

Smartnews is a free, lightweight, mobile app for iOS and Android. It presents the top news stories in different categories and is updated frequently. You can add your favorite news sites to it, too. When I want to find out what’s going on, it’s the first place I go. — MF

I’ve come to appreciate blogs more and more. They are reliable sources of informed enthusiasm and news that stays new. I’ve been surprised how few people use a RSS reader to subscribe to their select choices of blogs because a great RSS reader like Feedly is a tool I use every day. With Feedly, I can read the newest posts of any blog I subscribe to on my laptop or phone in a smooth, intelligent form. It is MUCH easier to read a blog on RSS than it is to go to the website, and it also strips away all ads and other marginalia, so I only see the core text and images. Feedly isn’t the only RSS reader, but it’s stable and highly evolved and I love it. — KK 

I’m enjoying this stream of old science fiction art, mostly from the heydays in the 1970s. Comes as an Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, or RSS feed. — KK

My favorite newsletter right now is from actress Emma Roberts’ female-focused, book of the month club called Belletrist. Weekly emails include interviews with women authors who share their favorite books and articles, among other things. Here’s a link to their archive to check out. I’m also loving the Belletrist Spotify playlists featuring songs that inspired authors while writing their books. — CD

The crowdfunding platform Kickstarter has become so successful that it’s also become a big deal to succeed by it. Big projects, big production to launch, and big sums raised. To scale back things, Kickstarter launched the “Make 100” campaign to encourage makers to simply make one hundred of something. A multitude of makers have responded with limited editions of low budget cool things, without a lot of fuss. I’ve backed a handful of them. It has also inspired me to make my own 100 of something. – KK

This page lists every contestant who’s been on Shark Tank, along with a link to their website. Useful if you want to find out more about one of the products or services pitched on the show. — MF

I follow a lot of blogs on Feedly, the RSS reader. A favorite blog that reads well in RSS is Futurism — it’s a steady stream of new ideas, inventions, and experiments from a wide range of sciences and technology. Their headlines are long and descriptive (often sufficient) rather than click-baity.— KK

One of my favorite Instagram follows is Esteban Diácono. He’s a motion graphics designer who posts spellbinding “animation experiments” of humanoid dancing figures made of feathers, metal plates, outrageously long fur, and vegetation. They look real and impossible at the same time. — MF