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Don’t Miss This Eclipse

Right now, a special cosmic arrangement is sliding into place. The moon has positioned itself on the same side of Earth as the sun. The moon has drawn closer to Earth, and its orbit is tilted just so.

21/03/2024

There’s No Such Thing as Good Housing News

The Texas capital built a lot of homes. Now rent is falling, and The Wall Street Journal is unhappy.

21/03/2024

The IRS Created an Actually Good Piece of Technology

During the torture ritual that was doing my taxes this year, I was surprised to find myself giddy after reading these words: “You are now chatting with IRS Representative-1004671045.” I had gotten stuck trying to parse my W-2, which, under “Box 14:…

20/03/2024

Universities Have a Computer-Science Problem

Last year, 18 percent of Stanford University seniors graduated with a degree in computer science, more than double the proportion of just a decade earlier. Over the same period at MIT, that rate went up from 23 percent to 42 percent. These increases…

19/03/2024

Does a Houseplant Need to Glow for You to See It as Alive?

The gallon pot of white petunias I held on an otherwise ordinary subway train, on an otherwise ordinary Thursday in March, would have looked to anyone else like an ordinary houseplant. But I knew better.

19/03/2024

The Pregnant Moms Trying to Get a Miracle Drug for Their Babies

A new treatment for cystic fibrosis can change a person’s life, but is not officially approved for anyone under 2.

19/03/2024

The Worst Argument for Youth Transition

The point of a public intellectual is to make wild arguments with maximum conviction. And in this respect, Andrea Long Chu—transgender woman, Pulitzer Prize–winning literary critic, irrepressible provocateur—always exceeds my expectations.

19/03/2024

AI for the People, Courtesy of … Elon Musk?

Yesterday afternoon, Elon Musk fired the latest shot in his feud with OpenAI: His new AI venture, xAI, now allows anyone to download and use the computer code for its flagship software.

18/03/2024

Why Oregon’s Drug Decriminalization Failed

America’s most radical experiment with drug decriminalization has ended, after more than three years of painful results. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has pledged to sign legislation repealing the principal elements of the ballot initiative known as…

17/03/2024

How Long Should a Species Stay on Life Support?

Decades into their recovery program, black-footed ferrets still don’t have a clear-cut path to leaving the endangered-species list.

15/03/2024

The Wonder and Danger of Nature

Jesse Lenz’s new collection of photographs, The Seraphim, opens with a striking image: A child stands facing away from the camera, hair caught in the wind, gazing out at a forbidding landscape. The frame is caught—about to advance, as if it’s a…

15/03/2024

We’re One Step Closer to Gas Stations in Space

SpaceX’s latest Starship mission flew further than before—and tested technology that could elevate humankind’s spacefaring status.

14/03/2024

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