The 1850s Response to the Racism of 2017
How the writers of The Atlantic responded to defenses of slavery in the 19th century
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Tim Boyle / Getty The Decline of the American Laundromat
The retreat of a longtime urban staple marks yet another way cities have changed after an influx of higher-earning residents.
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Carlo Allegri / Reuters Trump Tests the F-Bomb Policy at The New York Times
The newspaper is swapping out “barnyard expletives” for truly colorful swears.
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Stephan Savoia / Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP ... Why Zuckerberg and Musk Are Fighting About the Robot Future
It looks like the two tech titans are arguing about AI’s impact on humanity. Really they’re protecting their personal brands.
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Gelpi / Shutterstock / Paul Spella / The ... The Algorithm That Makes Preschoolers Obsessed With YouTube
Surprise eggs and slime are at the center of an online realm that’s changing the way the experts think about human development.
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INSAGO / Shutterstock Snopes Faces an Ugly Legal Battle
The internet’s favorite fact-checkers are caught in a messy dispute.
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Jonathan Ernst / Reuters Why Is Anthony Scaramucci Following Me on Twitter?
Yes, this is probably a Taye Diggs situation.
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Breville Why a Toaster Is a Design Triumph
The “A Bit More” button doesn’t reinvent the appliance’s form. It finds its soul instead.
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The Thanatos Archive / Jack Mord Pictures of Death
When photography was new, it was often used to preserve corpses via their images. An Object Lesson.
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AP / Zak Bickel / The Atlantic How Checkers Was Solved
The story of a duel between two men, one who dies, and the nature of the quest to build artificial intelligence
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Dado Ruvic / Reuters How Twitter Fuels Anxiety
The anxious can often find a supportive community through tweeting, but the nature of the social media site can exacerbate symptoms.
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Emily Jan / The Atlantic How in the World Does Venmo Make Money?
It doesn’t directly bring in much revenue now. But thanks to its silly-seeming social feed, that might soon change.
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Teddy Wade The Military Is Altering the Limits of Human Performance
Breakthroughs in biometric science mean future troops will fight with weapons that understand them—inside and out.
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Gonzalo Fuentes / Reuters Trump’s Wile E. Coyote Approach to Border Security
Smuggling experts say the president needs to listen to the people who understand the complexities of security and drug policy.
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Damien Meyer / AFP / Getty When Companies Get Hacked, Should They Be Allowed to Hack Back?
It’s an idea that resurfaces after high-profile cyberattacks, despite most firms’ lack of enthusiasm about it.
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Thyssenkrupp Can a Sideways Elevator Help Designers Build Taller Skyscrapers?
ThyssenKrupp’s design travels horizontally and diagonally, in addition to up and down, freeing up square footage that would otherwise be commandeered for a shaft.
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Africa Studio / Jaros / ktsdesign / aradaphotography ... The Dark Side of That Personality Quiz You Just Took
Personality tests have captivated people for decades, but their newfound popularity online makes them dangerous.
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Brendan McDermid / Reuters The Awful Decline of the New York City Subway System
The aging infrastructure was already terrible. Overcrowding made things much, much worse.
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Brian Snyder / Reuters But His Emails!
The latest White House scandal brings the nation’s attention back to the inbox.
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University of Washington The Technology That Will Make It Impossible for You to Believe What You See
With these techniques, it’s difficult to discern between videos of real people and computerized impostors that can be programmed to say anything.
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Robert Scoble The News Business Sinks Ever Closer to Rock Bottom
A consortium of newspaper publishers has just asked Congress for the ability to negotiate collectively with Facebook and Google.
