In the early 1990s, when personal computing was just becoming widespread and the Internet was still in its infancy, a group of hackers and artists in Berlin created one of the first “planet browsers.” The goal was novel: allow users to explore the world from their desk. Did Google steal the idea for Google Earth from the German company Art+Com? The story of this innovation and the ensuing legal battle is the subject of The Billion Dollar Code, a new Netflix series. Similar in tone to David Fincher’s The Social Network, the show is structured around a sequence of flashbacks told at a deposition. Equal parts legal thriller and critique of Silicon Valley, The Billion Dollar Code is the perfect drama for our Big Tech–dominated times. —Jacob Robbins
The Arts Intel Report
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler