What Happens at an MIT Hackathon

On a Saturday night in Cambridge, students can choose from any number of activities. At MIT, Hacking Arts—whose mission is to “ignite entrepreneurship and innovation within the creative arts”—is one of them. In this short film, The Atlantic followed students at the all-nighter as they tried to improve the arts through technology. Notably, the hackathon participant pool came from a variety of backgrounds: 60 percent were women and 15 percent were people of color. This is the fifth episode in The Atlantic’s video series “Saturday Night in America,” which uncovers pockets of nightlife across the nation. Subscribe to The Atlantic on YouTube: http://bit.ly/subAtlanticYT