Inside The Queen’s Gambit: Exploring the unknown Bay Area origins of the Netflix hit

Addiction, obscurity and how Walter Tevis’ childhood experience at Stanford shaped Beth Harmon’s backstory. (Original 650 illustration by Kaz Palladino / Awkward Affections) If you’re having a hard time purchasing a chess set for Christmas this year—blame Walter Tevis. Yes, the surge of interest in the age-old game (and the ensuing retail run on chess sets) has been squarely attributed to the recent success of the Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit, which is based ...

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The Stanford alum behind Netflix’s “The Social Dilemma” wants you to stop scrolling

Jeff Orlowski’s must-watch doc is an urgent wakeup call for a nation consumed by technology (Screenshot from The Social Dilemma via Netflix) Jeff Orlowski’s must-watch doc is an urgent wakeup call for a nation consumed by technology Director Jeff Orlowski (Chasing Ice; Chasing Coral) spent the better part of his early film career focused on the fossil fuel industry: amazed by the vast power its executives wielded, horrified by the consequences it was ...

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