The Interval at Long Now

05/28/2026

"I saw my first Whole Earth Catalog in a bookstore. I opened it up and it was like, ‘This is for me. He's talking to me. This is exactly everything that I'm interested in.'"

Kevin Kelly, Long Now board member and founding editor of Wired magazine, talks to Substack about long-term thinking, technoptimism, and how he helped shape the early internet. Plus, it’s filmed in a beautiful location if we do say so ourselves.

The radical optimist on starting Wired, stories from the early internet, originating 1,000 True Fans, and why the only way to steer technology is to use it

05/12/2026

Need a new excuse to visit The Interval this month? May’s Short Here is the Velvet Fedora, described as “the whiskey cousin of a margarita,” and a riff on the Ninth Ward.

The Ninth Ward is traditionally a spicy, citrus-forward cocktail made with bourbon, and named after the eastside district of New Orleans. John swapped the bourbon for the floral, velvety notes of Japanese whisky, creating something refreshing and exceptionally smooth.

Ingredients:
Nikka Days Japanese whiskey
Velvet Falernum
Elderflower liqueur
Creole bitters
Elderflower salted rim

On the menu through the end of May.

05/11/2026

This month’s Short Here cocktail is the Velvet Fedora. John describes it as the whiskey cousin of a margarita, and a riff on the Ninth Ward.

The classic Ninth Ward recipe uses bourbon, which John swapped for the floral, silky notes of Japanese whiskey creating a refreshing, super smooth result.

Ingredients:
Nikka Days Japanese whiskey
Velvet Falernum
Elderflower liqueur
Creole bitters
Elderflower salted rim

On the menu through the end of May.

05/08/2026

Most companies operate under the rule of shareholder primacy, a framework that prioritizes short-term financial gains above the needs of employees, customers, and the planet.

Why are all businesses ruled by this logic? says it's time time to rebel.

Watch his full Long Now Talk at the link in bio.

05/04/2026

An orrery takes the vast timescales of planetary orbits and compresses them into relative motion. This was mindboggling technology in the early 1700s.

The gear ratios encode the real astronomical relationships (e.g. Earth takes 365 days to orbit the Sun, Mars takes 687 days, Jupiter takes ~12 years) so when the gears are cranked the viewer experiences all the planetary timescales at once, with the outer planets circling slower and the inner planets spinning faster.

The orrery was an important breakthrough for long-term thinking. The ability to visualize planetary movements in relation to ourselves reminds us that we live inside systems that are intricate, ordered, and interconnected.

Drop by Long Now headquarters at The Interval to see the beauty and precision of an orrery in person.

04/28/2026

Ever tasted gin from a tree that lives 5,000 years?

Our Bristlecone Gin, crafted by our friends at St. George Spirits, was developed exclusively for The Interval’s Bottle Keep. Its botanicals and juniper berries are wild foraged from Long Now’s Bristlecone Preserve in Nevada, home to some of the world’s oldest trees.

St. George Spirits was founded in 01982, making them one of the first craft distilleries based in the USA, and we’re so lucky to collaborate with them. They're based just across the Bay in Alameda, CA.

Master Distiller Lance Winters says, “You can crack open a bottle of our stuff a hundred years from now and it’s going to smell the same way it did as when we distilled it. We’re able to capture an olfactory slice of time.”

You can find more of their fine work on The Interval spirits menu: Botanivore and Terroir gin, green chile vodka, and single malt whiskeys. If you're interested in having your own bottle keep of bristlecone gin, learn more about the program here: https://na2.hubs.ly/H057Xql0

04/23/2026

Thank you to everyone who attended our Long Now Talk at The Interval with mathematician and machine learning researcher Nina Miolane and science historian Claire Isabel Webb. They explored the question of consciousness from an unexpected direction: geometry.

Geometry is the most ancient branch of physics, Miolane said. It’s the language we use to describe the curvature of spacetime and the general relativity of the universe. Might it also map the universe inside us?

Stay tuned, the full Talk will be released on YouTube next week. Huge thanks to our partners for a magical evening.

Photos by Anthony Thornton.

04/21/2026

Happy hours are back at The Interval. This year we're hosting regular member gatherings at our San Francisco headquarters with fascinating guest hosts and world-class cocktails.

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting artist Josie Iselin and science illustrator Ellen Litwiller to discuss their new book 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘒𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵, accompanied by specialty cocktails that incorporated kombu, seaweed, and nori.

Next week, we welcome artist Isabella Kirkland to launch her new limited-edition monograph. Limited spots available, reserve your spot here: https://na2.hubs.ly/H04-mjj0

More gatherings are on the way — become a member to get early access: https://na2.hubs.ly/H04-NFp0

04/04/2026

A cocktail for those who love a creamsicle but love whiskey even more. This month's Short Here is Whisper Room, described by Garrett as a perfect entry point to the old fashioned.

03/19/2026

We’re thrilled to welcome Belle Vance to the team as The Interval’s new rental events manager.

In typical Long Now fashion, Belle has a fascinating and diverse background: she’s a classically trained harpist who has circumnavigated the globe, and spent two decades immersed in Ayurveda and Chinese medicine.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Belle is your new point of contact for creating a one-of-a-kind event at The Interval, San Francisco’s most curious cocktail bar, museum, and library; home to the Long Now Foundation.

Reach out for more info about booking The Interval here:
https://na2.hubs.ly/H04nN7w0

03/14/2026

In his Long Now Talk, "Finally, something good," acclaimed designer urged us to zoom out.

In this visually stunning talk, Sagmeister took us on a journey through his body of work, transforming long-term data on human progress into works of art.

Watch the full episode at the link in bio.

03/05/2026

Equinox is this month's Short Here cocktail, a meditation on renewal, balance, and recalibration. Herbal. Floral. Softly sweet.

Key ingredients:

Roku Gin
A Japanese spirit built around six botanicals chosen to represent each season at its peak: sakura flower for spring, sencha and gyokuro green teas for summer, sanshō pepper for fall, yuzu citrus for winter. All twelve months in a single spirit.

Butterfly pea tea
lending Equinox its striking violet-blue hue

Dolin Blanc Vermouth
Almond, elderflower, and citrus notes, steeped for 24 hours with dehydrated apple for an added fruit sweetness

Shawn, this month’s cocktail creator, said it’s one of his top three favorites, like a semisweet, vibrant martini.

Come find it at the bar this month only.

03/03/2026

As humans, we can't know everything. But there’s a freedom in embracing our limitations, as explained in his recent Long Now Talk.

Watch his full talk at the link in bio. Want free tickets to events like these? Sign up to be a Long Now member at The Interval and you'll get two free tickets to each talk at the Cowell Theater, plus a free cocktail on the spot.

02/12/2026

“Hey, do you guys have Fireball?” We do now. Sort of...

February's Short Here, our speciality cocktail of the month, aims to capture the spice of everyone’s favorite cinnamon shot in refined cocktail form.

Built with:
- Cinnamon-infused Legendario mezcal, for smoky warmth

- Becherovka liqueur, a 220-year-old Czech recipe of herbs and spices, for layers of clove, ginger, and even more cinnamon

- Cinnamon black pepper syrup for a final kick

It's bright, sharp, a little dangerous; a dream cocktail for fans of Red Hots and Big Red.

Named for Fort Mason’s occasionally over-enthusiastic fire alarm system, which interrupts our otherwise cozy evenings and sends us outside until the SF Fire Department arrives and declares the inevitable "false alarm!"

$2 from every False Alarm goes to the San Francisco Firefighters Cancer Prevention Foundation, supporting cancer prevention, early detection, and care for firefighters and their families.

Available through the end of February. See you soon!

02/09/2026

[Ticket announcement] Author and professor Jue asks: Does the ocean remember? Can the ocean's memories teach us to better Steward our planet? Tickets now on sale for her Long Now Talk, March 18th, live in San Francisco at the Cowell Theater or streaming online.

Honored to welcome guest host professor Margaret Cohen of Stanford University. Tickets and more info at the link in bio.

Long Now members check your email for your free ticket code! Not a member? Join us: longnow.org/join

02/06/2026

Warm weather and sunlight reflecting off the Bay. The perfect atmosphere to kick off your weekend.

01/05/2026

For those looking for a cozy nook this season: come find us at The Interval at Long Now, our bar, cafe, and community space in San Francisco. Whether you’re in search of critical conversation on the intersection of ecology and technology, a good book, or a world-class craft cocktail, you’ll find community here.

After Long Now Talks and at our lively events and happy hours, The Interval buzzes with conversation and inquiry, carrying the spirit of long-term thinking out into the community.

Named best cocktail bar in San Francisco this year, and the “only-in-San Francisco Long Now futurist society” (New York Times, “36 Hours in San Francisco”), you can explore the “mysteries and inevitabilities of deep time headquartered at The Interval...like the coffee houses of the Enlightenment Age” (7x7 magazine).

12/30/2025

We hosted a monumental season of Long Now Talks this year—and 02026 is another unmissable season.

02025 highlights included Benjamin Bratton, Blaise Agüera y Arcas, Ahmed Best, Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson, Kate Crawford + many more extraordinary thinkers.

In 02026, we will welcome architect Indy Johar, designer Stefan Sagmeister, environmental scholar Melody Jue, artist Katie Paterson, and philosopher Bayo Akomolafe. Plus, more announcements to come!

Members receive 2 complimentary tickets to every Long Now Talk at the Cowell Theater + the afterparty at The Interval. If you haven’t joined our community yet, now is the time -> https://na2.hubs.ly/H02KR_g0

12/19/2025

The Long Now community is really something special. A group of people who are interdisciplinary, intergenerational, and intellectually curious. You feel this at The Interval: a sense of togetherness that pushes back against polycrisis and short-term thinking. It feels curious, imaginative, and hopeful.

With an incredible season of Talks, cocktail releases, and events coming in 02026, now is the time to join us → https://na2.hubs.ly/H02JQHk0

12/18/2025

Wow, what a year at Long Now!
– 11 Long Now Talks
– 262-page print journal
– 25 new Council members
– 3 new Board members
– 1 monumental arboreal clock
– 400+ talks and essays added to our redesigned living archive

Highlights from the year:
– Hosted 11 extraordinary Long Now Talks, featuring Benjamin Bratton, Ahmed Best, K Allado-McDowell, Kim Stanley Robinson & Stephen Heintz, Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson, Sara Imari Walker, Kim Carson, Blaise Agüera y Arcas, Lynn Rothschild, and Kate Crawford

– Published the second issue of 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴, our annual journal of long-term thinking

– Unveiled 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘦, a monumental arboreal clock and land-art installation by Jonathon Keats commissioned by the Nevada Museum of Art

– Launched Long Now’s living library of over two decades of civilization-scale thinking at longnow.org. The new site makes it easier than ever to navigate the Talks archive, featuring more than 400 leading thinkers, and our ongoing projects

Thank you to all the Long Now members and donors that made this programming possible. If you’re not a member, join our community at longnow.org/join

02026 has even more in store!