Society

No.376 — Fungi as your Futurist ⊗ Offshoring automation ⊗ Solid state batteries for electric vehicles ⊗ Fast and tiny probes for interstellar travel

Trump's corporate and billionaire supporters are emboldening him as he pursues his path of destruction. History proves the future does not bode well for them.

Prized pieces held by the Okada Museum of Art in Japan are being auctioned to settle a $50 million legal bill owed by the museum’s “Pachinko King” founder.

The thing I learned from Elon Musk that changed the way I think about life.

JD Vance just proved he meant it.

Electric bills were already rising. AI data centers are making it worse.

The administration’s antagonistic entry to the platform is best understood as a game of chicken, writes Erin Kissane.

Without one, America may sink into autocracy for decades.

As Democrats reflect on the 2024 election, talking about the "planetary emergency" is out, and "cheap energy" is in.

The neo-reactionary dream meets the law of the strong.

A case study in how sophisticated cowards attack truth-tellers while serving power

Ten walking-minutes from where I live in Oslo, Norway, there's a large pool that opened at the start of this year. I love this pool; I wa...

I had had my head down all day working when I heard them shooting the hell out of the place over at the gun range up the hill. Which is how I knew there must have been a bad one earlier.  They do this every single time. Preparing for a

A meditation on Vlad Vexler's thoughts on Michael Ignatieff's essay

From the Wilderness of a Recovering Technocrat

With just $800 in basic equipment, researchers found a stunning variety of data—including thousands of T-Mobile users’ calls and texts and even US military communications—sent by satellites unencrypted.

Internet of Lying Things; Dieselgate for TVs; Apple kills Chinese RSS readers.

In 'The American Slave Coast: A History of the Slave-Breeding Industry,' Ned and Constance Sublette offer a radical re-interpretation of American history. It’s brutal and uncompromising, and, for better or worse, it’s how we should understand the country.

My syllabus is a mess of half-remembered intentions. I re-use icebreakers that I know don’t work. I forget to grade the first assignment until Week Four. I write emails that begin with “So sorry for the delay!” and I mean it. I use “This reminded me of something I once read—” as a stall tactic. I say “I don’t know” more times than I should. I also say “I love that” when I don’t. Because I want to encourage them. Because I do love that they showed up. Because showing up is a miracle.

As AI asserts its power to shape social evolution, regulation is decried as ‘state control’ rather than the expression of our collective will

“Winning” means prioritizing independence from outside influence over being right.

Why choosing what we want is not a technical problem requiring expert solution

Inside Trump’s second term, Silicon Valley’s surrender, and the moral awakening that followed.

Keeping the tent open, the light on, and the work honest