The Asian American Women Who Fought to Make Their Mark in WWII
history.com · 6 minThey worked as pilots, translators, guerrilla fighters and more.
Politics
Curated by our editorsStories to fuel your mind
How a University of Iowa Reply-All Email Became Ground Zero for the Cancel Culture Wars
Vanity Fair · 16 minIt was the reply-all no one wanted, and it came on a Friday in October just after lunch, when the students at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry were in clinical rotations with patients or had checked out for the weekend.
Inside Biden’s bubble: How an insular White House has kept drama and leaks at a minimum
POLITICO · 9 min100 days into the Biden administration, the White House is a tight ship run by a cadre of longtime Biden loyalists.
Inside the ‘Tartarian Empire,’ the QAnon of Architecture
Bloomberg · 14 minOn YouTube videos and Reddit boards, adherents of a bizarre conspiracy theory argue that everything you know about the history of architecture is wrong.
How the Pentagon Started Taking U.F.O.s Seriously
The New Yorker · 59 minFor decades, flying saucers were a punch line. Then the U.S. government got over the taboo.
Popular with Pocket readersStories from across the web
How New York Was Named
The New Yorker · 13 minWhen it comes to memorialization, nothing beats a martyr—even when your culture has done the martyring.
“I Do Not Trust People in the Same Way and I Don’t Think I Ever Will Again”
Slate · 6 minWorkers are really, really not ready for offices to reopen.
The road from Rome
Aeon · 16 minFor an empire that collapsed more than 1,500 years ago, ancient Rome maintains a powerful presence. About 1 billion people speak languages derived from Latin; Roman law shapes modern norms; and Roman architecture has been widely imitated.
Amsterdam Is Embracing a Radical New Economic Theory to Help Save the Environment. Could It Also Replace Capitalism?
Time · 12 minThe so-called true-price initiative, operating in the store since late 2020, is one of dozens of schemes that Amsterdammers have introduced in recent months as they reassess the impact of the existing economic system.
Making sense of conspiracy theorists as the world gets more bizarre
The Guardian · 10 minIt is 20 years since Jon Ronson wrote Them, his eye-popping investigation into conspiracy theorists. Now, in a world awash with tales of paedophile elites and puppet masters, is he any closer to understanding it all?
The U.S.’ lost, ancient megacity
BBC · 7 minIn the ancient Mississippian settlement of Cahokia, vast social events – not trade or the economy – were the founding principle.
How to Put Out Democracy’s Dumpster Fire
The Atlantic · 32 minOur democratic habits have been killed off by an internet kleptocracy that profits from disinformation, polarization, and rage. Here’s how to fix that. This article was published online on March 8, 2021.
America Ruined My Name for Me
The New Yorker · 9 minSo I chose a new one.
How Prince Philip and the Queen Fell in Love, All According to Plan
The Daily Beast · 10 minThe start of a world war was only two months away. Yet the setting could not have been better imagined in a pulp romance as the spark of a great love unclouded by horrors to come.
Don’t Go Down the Rabbit Hole
The New York Times · 10 minCritical thinking, as we’re taught to do it, isn’t helping in the fight against misinformation.
Scientists Talked To People In Their Dreams. They Answered
NPR · 3 minResearchers say two-way communication is possible with people who are asleep and dreaming. Specifically, with people who are lucid dreaming — that is, dreaming while being aware you're dreaming.
The Rise of Therapy-Speak
The New Yorker · 9 minHow a language got off the couch and into the world.
‘I was addicted to the high’: I became an influencer as a joke – then it nearly broke me
The Guardian · 16 minComedian Bella Younger thought wellness Instagrammers were ripe for parody. Soon she was drawn in herself. Could Deliciously Stella find her way back to reality?
The pandemic forced a massive remote-work experiment. Now comes the hard part
CNN · 7 minWe've learned many lessons as a result.
The Grim Secret of Nordic Happiness
Slate · 6 minIt’s not hygge, the welfare state, or drinking. It’s reasonable expectations.
The Repressive Politics of Emotional Intelligence
The New Yorker · 17 minDaniel Goleman’s pop-psychology blockbuster, now twenty-five years old, turned self-control into a corporate management tool.
How to have better arguments online
The Guardian · 19 minThe troubled times we live in, and the rise of social media, have created an age of endless conflict. Rather than fearing or avoiding disagreement, we need to learn to do it well.
A Counterintuitive Way to Cheer Up When You’re Down
The Atlantic · 5 minWhen you most need to get happier, try giving happiness away.
Lessons from all democracies
Aeon · 14 minDemocracy is not a torch passed from ancient Athens but a globally common form of government with much to teach us today.
Stop talking about AI ethics. It’s time to talk about power.
MIT Technology Review · 10 minWe need to acknowledge both the politics and the physical impact that AI has on the planet, says scholar Kate Crawford in her new book.