So Begins Core Memory - A New Sci-Tech Media Company

Stories. Pods. Shows. Movies. Yes.

One of my favorite stops at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. has always been the core memory exhibit.

Core memory technology first appeared in the early 1950s, and it transformed computing. Some very clever people figured out a way to create tiny rings of magnetic material and have each one of them store a single bit of information – a 0 or a 1, depending on a ring’s polarity. Many of these rings were then painstakingly handwoven together by threading wires through the miniscule donuts to form a memory mesh. The technology made memory more reliable, larger and faster and paved the way for a new era of much more powerful computers.

(TL;DR – I’m starting a new sci-tech media company called Core Memory. Come aboard!)

The core memory on display at the museum is flat out beautiful to look at, and it represents much of what I love about science and technology. It took curiosity and genius to figure out the underlying principles that make the memory possible and then perseverance, creativity, solid engineering and human touch to form the memory into a working product. All this effort unleashed something new and grand and helped foment an information revolution.

For the last two decades, I’ve been chronicling advances such as these and the people behind them for publications like The Economist, The New York Times and Bloomberg Businessweek. Along with the stories, I’ve written best-selling books like Elon Musk’s biography, made an Emmy-nominated tech TV show watched by millions and produced films for HBO and Netflix. The goal has always been to bring the tales of complex technology and compelling people to the public and give them a path into exceptional and unusual worlds they would not normally have a chance to experience.

Now, it’s time for something similar but also very different.

Today, I’m launching Core Memory - a new, independent media company telling the best stories in science and technology in the best way. Core Memory will give you a straight shot into the world’s most exciting and influential figures in science and technology along with the up and commers and as of yet undiscovered people developing new breakthroughs. It will approach reporting on technology with an open mind and unyielding curiosity and a working assumption that you all want better, smarter and deeper coverage about where the world is heading.

My past work has put me in the very fortunate position of having the best access to the world’s most captivating scientists, engineers, inventors and entrepreneurs. The goal with Core Memory is to transport you all into the same places I’m lucky enough to inhabit. Secret longevity labs. Cutting-edge factories. Rocket launch sites. Fusion power plants. All of it. Only we’re going to do the reporting with some new twists.

In the most practical terms, Core Memory will offer up writing, podcasts and videos. The stories will often be longform pieces that will be my take on a person or company or new technology. We also plan to break stories, if the news is big enough. In addition, we’ll also be providing access to the full underlying interviews and images that went into the creation of the stories. In other words, you’ll be able to peruse the raw reporting materials. This should help satiate the information wants and needs of those readers who desire something more or perhaps desire something unfiltered.

On the video front, we’re making full-on shows and movies. The first Core Memory film will be a documentary about brain computer interfaces. We’ve had exclusive access to what is the most compelling brain implant story imaginable and will have a sneak peek into this movie ready for you in short order.

And we’ll soon be launching a new show that will have seasons dedicated to different areas of technology like longevity science, energy, defense, aerospace and transportation. And another focused on manufacturing. We’re also already developing scripted shows and movies. For example, my next book on artificial intelligence and OpenAI, to be published by Random House and many others around the globe, has been purchased by a major Hollywood producer and is in development for a film.

Want some more sci-fi anime in the world? Or maybe some tales about the most dramatic moments in tech and science history? Yeah, so do we.

So why should you subscribe?

We’re going to be putting out posts and podcasts every week and coming to you with full seasons of TV shows that roll out on a weekly basis. If you’re into, say, brains or manufacturing or AI, we’re going to provide huge collections of interviews and videos on these topics with the very best people in their fields.

The work and productions cost money if we’re going to do this right – and we are. We want to chase all of this with fierce independence and not let large corporations dilute or alter the work. We want to make stuff you will love and need your help to do it.

We’ve already built a small team to go out into the world and bring you these interviews. David Nicholson, the longtime cinematographer of my tech-travel show Hello World (and his own documentary films) has joined Core Memory to lead our video work. So too has Jaye Callahan. She’s a superstar producer who has made numerous films and TV shows, including our recent HBO documentary Wild, Wild, Space. And we’re in the midst of adding new editors and producers. If you buy into the mission, we’ll be able to add writers as well. So let’s do that!

My hope is to create a flourishing sci-tech media company that accomplishes a few things.

1. We are going to tell richer, smarter science and tech stories than you will find anywhere else.

2. We’re going to approach all these stories with our minds open and our curiosity churning. In other words, hating technology/activism is not our starting point, as seems to be the case with much of the media today.

3. We’re going to bring the tech industry’s past to life and also put you on the path to see where science and technology are going.

4. We’re going to be honest and open and transparent.

5. And, for my fellow writers out there, we’re going to provide a home for stories that can be turned into shows and movies. We will help you profit from your work and help you get things made instead of trying to gobble up your intellectual property without proper compensation or credit. So, please, pitch away – ashlee@corememory.com

Core Memory subscribers will receive unfettered access to everything that we make. Much of the rest will be behind the paywall.

A subset of our podcasts and shows will make their way to platforms like X and YouTube, but Core Memory subscribers will get the first, exclusive access to these productions as well.

For the Founding Members - aka The Foundry, of course - who really buy the ticket and take the ride, we’ll be hosting early screenings of our shows and films and holding member-only events where you’ll hear from the people featured in our productions.

If we’re successful, I think we can build a thriving community of forward-thinking folks exploring the edge of what science and technology can make possible.

If you’ve enjoyed or learned from or profited from (Tesla, SpaceX and Rocket Lab investors, I’m looking at you) my work over the years, it would mean a great deal to me to show your support now and get us off on the right foot with this venture. Spread the word. Buy a subscription. Give something extra as a Founding Member. Together we can shape what science and technology coverage can and should look like and educate and inspire people along the way.