Society

We used to be able to spread out. Now we're locked in with each other.

States are supposed to lose representatives in the House if they infringe on voting rights. So far the Court has ignored that part of the 14th Amendment.

Welcome to The Nightcrawler — a weekly newsletter from Eric Markowitz covering tech, innovation, and long-term thinking.

The politics of left versus right no longer make sense when the future of all earthly life is at stake.

Why everyone saw what they wanted to see—and how we all participated in our own destruction

You finish dinner. The card reader flashes “Payment Complete” and offers two options: text receipt or email receipt. No print option. If you want a record, you have to hand over your phone number or email. A reasonable person might believe the information they provide will be used just to deliver their receipt. But behind the sleek interface is an ecosystem optimized for businesses, not individuals. When you enter your contact information, it doesn’t just vanish after the receipt is sent. Rather, according to this payment platform’s unseen privacy policy, your data may be stored, linked to prior purchases, and used to “personalize your experience,” or “send you marketing communications.” It may be shared with service providers or partners. It may be retained even if you didn’t sign up for anything. None of this is visible in the moment, and that’s by design. The privacy policy isn’t on the screen. There isnt a simple explanation of what happens to your data or even a clear link to a privacy policy. And there’s no real choice. You either hand over your personal information or walk away with nothing. This is the new default: consumer tools designed for the seller’s benefit, not yours. We are witnessing the calculated erosion of our privacy rights through deliberate design. We need federal #privacy legislation in the United States. We shouldn’t have to trade the use of our personal information for a receipt. And we shouldn’t continue perpetuating the fiction that consumers have a real choice in the matter. | 682 comments on LinkedIn

Governance systems can be distinguished by the goals they pursue, and by their competence at achieving those goals.

A new website and API called AI.gov is set to launch on the Fourth of July.

Direct File has been open sourced, and its creators have left government to continue working on the "future of tax filing."

A former Justice Department official responsible for pardons who was fired earlier this year says President Donald Trump’s pardons “have wiped out over $1 billion in debts owed by wealthy Americans.” That's plausible.

Remember Tim Walz’s “weird” comment? He spoke too soon.

But it’s here, and will destroy American science

When providers understand game theory, they can address parents’ vaccine concerns more effectively.

The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) erects the inaugural platform, sets up the necessary seating and fencing on the grounds, and coordinates other activities with the Joint Congressional Committee on the Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) regarding all of the physical arrangements that are necessary to accommodate this event.

The slap fight between Donald Trump and Elon Musk has highlighted the absurdity of keeping so much of our space program and satellite internet infrastructure in the hands of a single oligarch.

A little before five in the morning, Metallica’s ‘Disposable Heroes’ blared on a bluetooth speaker. The rest of Marshall, North Carolina, was asleep. But

When I lost my job, I didn’t just lose income. I lost a part of my identity. As a Latino man, I grew up with the belief that my value came from being a provider. A steady paycheck, respected job title, and the ability to care for my family weren’t just goals—they were the definition of manhood. That mindset ran deep. It shaped how I saw myself and how I thought others viewed me.

A decades-old tax rule helped build America's tech economy. A quiet change under Trump helped dismantle it

The fatal flaw SpaceX can't overcome.

To save the humanities, we need to rethink our assumptions about AI — and education.

"Currently, more than 40 aircraft are known to have been hit, including the A-50, Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3," a source told the Kyiv Independent.

Spreading the first-person drone videos seemed like part of the mission.

The reactionary blogger’s call for a monarch to rule the country once seemed like a joke. Now the right is ready to bend the knee.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/06/09/curtis-yarvin-profile [Ava Kofman in The New Yorker]Curtis Yarvin is a pathetic little man: "As his ideas have been surrealized in DOGE and Trump has taken to

On being proven right about something you desperately hoped to be wrong about

Richard Reisman and Richard Whitt write that interoperability will enable agential relationships that serve individuals and communities faithfully.

I propose an alternate strategy: I shall fight Secretary of Education Linda E. McMahon in a televised cage match, the winner of which gets $2.7 billion in federal grants and the power to uphold or destroy America’s continued technological and economic success. Secretary, I hope you brought your mouth guard.

“Shifting baselines syndrome” means we could quickly get used to climate chaos.

Among a number of things I’ve read online that I think about all the time is David Roberts’ 2020 piece for Vox about shifting baselines. Humans often don’t remember what we’ve lost or demand that it be restored. Rather, we adjus

(I'm interested in questions of agency, and how automation and artificial intelligence serve to undermine this – agents versus agency, I've previously argued. It's particularly striking that "agents" are being marketed as an easy way to optimize one's personal and professional life – totally stripped of the term's history (philosophy, psychology, even