Writing About the Dead
Someone recently asked me if my parents’ deaths freed me to write about them. If anything, I feel an even greater sense of responsibility to our story.
The Strongest Evidence Yet That an Animal Started the Pandemic
A new analysis of genetic samples from China appears to link the pandemic’s origin to raccoon dogs.
What Have Humans Just Unleashed?
Call it tech’s optical-illusion era: Not even the experts know exactly what will come next in the AI revolution.
Climate Activists Are Turning Their Attention to Hollywood
If TV can change Americans’ views on gay marriage, why not the environment?
John Wick and the Tragedy of the Aimless Assassin
The hit man faces off with his scariest foe yet: his own weariness.
Israel’s Tectonic Struggle
Both those protesting in the streets and those remaining at home believe they’re defending democracy.
The January 6 Deniers Are Going to Lose
Just look at what happened with the Ku Klux Klan.
Why Are 1 Million People Playing Brotato?
An odd new group of games is challenging the conventions of its industry.
Republicans Are Targeting Drag Shows. This Congressman Loves Them.
Representative Robert Garcia is expanding what it looks like to be gay in Congress.
How Far-Right Movements Die
The decline of the John Birch Society offers possible strategies for containing the MAGA movement.
You Should Be Outraged About Silicon Valley Bank
Average Americans should let their displeasure be known.
The Great Defenders of the Status Quo
Environmental laws are being used to justify oil drilling in Los Angeles, single-family zoning in Minneapolis, and the construction of the border wall.
Make a To-Don’t List
When you’re feeling stuck, focusing on the things you hate can help.
Don’t Be Misled by GPT-4’s Gift of Gab
OpenAI’s new language program reveals a flaw in society’s understanding of “smart.”
What Stanford Law’s DEI Dean Got Wrong
Tirien Steinbach’s approach to a recent free-speech conflict on campus disempowered students.
The Rogue Theory That Gravity Causes IBS
Our bodies are constantly coping with the force. What if that ability can somehow go haywire?
How Please Stopped Being Polite
The phrase if it please you has been shortened and shortened over time—until it’s become more brusque than courteous.
Nora Ephron’s Revenge
What right do women have to tell their side of the story?
‘Financial Regulation Has a Really Deep Problem’
Federal agencies’ assessments of banks’ stability leave a lot out, a former Treasury Department official explains.
The Librarians Are Not Okay
“I’ve been called a pedophile. I’ve been called a groomer. I’ve been called a Communist pornographer.”
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