‘The Worst Internet-Research Ethics Violation I Have Ever Seen’
The most persuasive “people” on a popular subreddit turned out to be a front for a secret AI experiment.
Trump Is Hiding Behind His Lawyers
The president wants to seize new powers, yet he’s also eager to hand off responsibility for hard decisions.
Why Are Young People Everywhere So Unhappy?
Here’s the answer to that—and what we can do about it.
How the World Became Awash in Synthetics
It started in 1934, with a PR crisis.
Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid
It’s not just a phase.
The Comic Who’s His Own Worst Enemy
The Rehearsal takes the prankster’s quest for self-betterment to new extremes.
The Plight of the Eldest Daughter
Women are expected to be nurturers. Firstborns are expected to be exemplars. Being both is exhausting.
The Destruction of the Department of Justice
When people at the department embrace Trump’s scorn for the law, the law, as a practical limitation on government action, ceases to exist.
Parenthood Cannot Be Optimized
Amanda Hess’s new book examines a surplus of experts and gadgets that promise to perfect the experience of raising children.
How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days
He used the constitution to shatter the constitution.
The Texas County Where ‘Everybody Has Somebody in Their Family’ With Dementia
And many people with the condition are cared for at home.
The SNL Sketch That Captured Millennial Anxiety
The guest host Quinta Brunson was the perfect fit to introduce “Forever 31.”
What Parents of Boys Should Know
Daughters tend to receive higher levels of affection and patience at home than sons. But the sons might need it more.
How to Define Old Age
Why would the World Health Organization want to call “old age” a disease?
The Vietnam War, Part II: Losses and Withdrawal
Tactically, the 1968 Tet Offensive was a huge loss for the North, but it marked a significant turning point in public opinion and political support, leading to a drawdown of U.S. troop involvement, and eventual withdrawal in 1973.
We’re Back to the Actually Internet
Fact-checking is out, “Community Notes” are in.
How the Ivy League Broke America
The meritocracy isn’t working. We need something new.
How the U.S. Lost the Canadian Election
Trump’s threats to annex Canada reversed its political trend—but they should not reverse its commitment to free trade.
The Short-Circuiting of the American Mind
A century-old book foresaw Trump’s most basic strategy.
Harvard and the Making of the Unabomber
A series of purposely brutalizing psychological experiments may have confirmed Theodore Kaczynski’s still-forming belief in the evil of science while he was in college.
/media/img/mt/2025/05/HTAU_episode_Template_death/original.gif)
/media/img/mt/2025/05/notes2/original.gif)