The Michigan microcosm: another Senate primary, another outsider v the establishment. But do the usual categories hold? Listen to the latest episode of “Checks and Balance”

Michigan’s messy primary

Our weekly podcast on America. This week, what’s at stake in Michigan’s Democratic primary

bit.ly

Journalists: We are offering special grants for in-depth reporting on democracy in the U.S. We're looking for projects that examine issues including: - Voting rights - Civil and free-speech rights - Election transparency - Government accountability Apply by August 31! https://bit.ly/4bpmMvV

Our weekly podcast on America. This week, no exit in Iran

The endgame in Iran

Our weekly podcast on America. This week, no exit in Iran

bit.ly

“Each generation remakes ‘The Odyssey’ in its own image: you get the version you deserve.” (Side note: It doesn’t get much better than O Brother Where Art Thou? does it?) economist.com/culture/2026...

A very silly adaptation of “The Odyssey”

Sir Christopher Nolan’s film is emblematic of its time

economist.com

"A woman looking for REI-branded pants ahead of a trip to Idaho was out of luck. 'We’re heading to Jones Beach for the Dave Matthews Band concert and thought they would have a rain jacket,' one woman tells me." www.curbed.com/article/rei-...

The Final Days of the Soho REI

Shoppers mourned the loss of a place to buy last-minute ice cleats. And the lack of deals.

curbed.com

“The ordinary day-to-day workings of this department have changed.” Charlotte Howard assesses the state of the DoJ under Donald Trump, on “Checks and Balance”

The degradation of the Department of Justice

Our weekly podcast on America. This week, Donald Trump reinvents an institution

bit.ly

Open call! Haringey has been named Borough of Culture for 2027 and one cultural​ initiative involves audio storytelling​ celebrating Haringey "rebels" who have made a difference, challenged expectations, or shown resilience. Read more and nominate here: www.haringeycollective.com/news-and-pro...

Nominations for Haringey's “Rebel” Storytellers are now open | Haringey London Borough of Culture 2027

Do you know someone in the Borough of Haringey with an incredible story to share? Nominations close at Friday on 31st July 2026, and selected Storytellers will be notified by mid-August 2026.

haringeycollective.com

"But, strangely, when he and a co-author further analyzed the results, they found that participants had spoken an estimated twelve thousand seven hundred words a day—twenty per cent less than in the earlier study. 'We thought we must have made a mistake'" www.newyorker.com/culture/anna...

What Scientists Learned by Eavesdropping on Thousands of People

After researchers found that we’re speaking less and less each year, Shayla Love spent a week collecting audio recordings from her own life.

newyorker.com

Hello “slop ceiling”: "Audiences appear to have a limit on how much AI-generated work they are willing to consume." www.fastcompany.com/91568818/our...

Our interest in AI slop is hitting a ceiling

A new analysis of the creative economy, published in the online repository arXiv and part of a new book, suggests AI-generated content may now account for 44% of uploads on some platforms, while drawi...

fastcompany.com

"Although We Are Not Machines looks to the future, many of the threats AI poses to workers’ dignity and safety look a lot like reconfigurations of old battles" -- For @theguardian.com, I reviewed @sarahoconnorft.ft.com's timely new book about our robot overlords: www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...

We Are Not Machines by Sarah O’Connor review – can dignity at work survive the tech revolution?

A Financial Times journalist ponders the future of labour in world increasingly dominated by AI and automation

theguardian.com

The founders wanted an energetic executive to steer the country, but presidential historian Lindsay Chervinsky tells our podcast they would be surprised at how that’s turned out. Listen to “Checks and Balance” to find out why

250 years of America

Our weekly podcast on America. This week, a health-check on the American system of government

econ.st

New episode! Hear my @intelligence2.bsky.social conversation with barrister @drproudman.bsky.social about her new book “He Said, She Said: Truth, Trauma and the Struggle for Justice in Family Court”: open.spotify.com/episode/2Zrf...

Is Our Justice System Failing Women? With Barrister Charlotte Proudman

Intelligence Squared · Episode

open.spotify.com

Resharing this one to add to your 🇺🇸 July 4th weekend listening queue ...

Mythili Rao@mythili.bsky.social · 9mo ago

New episode! On @intelligence2.bsky.social, I spoke with Simon Jenkins about why he wrote this new short history of America, why he hopes for the American experiment’s success, and what Britain might learn from the history of its wayward progeny across the pond. open.spotify.com/episode/4wUY...

New by me —> Now we're getting AI fake news complaining about how AI fake news is the death of real news! How a fake news site splits its energy between (a) the imagined closure of real US newspapers and (b) Chinese-friendly takes on Taiwan www.niemanlab.org/2026/07/now-...

Now we’re getting AI fake news complaining about how AI fake news is the death of real news

Did 47 Alabama newspapers die on a single day and no one noticed? (Hint: No, they didn't.)

niemanlab.org

New episode! I spoke with the legendary Rebecca Solnit for @intelligence2.bsky.social. Her way of looking at the world is stubbornly, persistently hopeful-- and she brings an arsenal of examples of back up her thinking. Hear our conversation here: open.spotify.com/episode/3eqX...

Reasons for Hope in Turbulent Times, with Rebecca Solnit

Intelligence Squared · Episode

open.spotify.com

Our weekly podcast on America. This week, the vice-president’s conversion and what it means for the American right

J.D. Vance’s Catholicism

Our weekly podcast on America. This week, the vice-president’s conversion and what it means for the American right

econ.st

“There’s something joyful about these campaigns” — on Checks and Balance, a dive into some of the spiciest New York Democratic primaries (with reporting from @thecity.nyc’s peerless @katiehonan.bsky.social: open.spotify.com/episode/7b3t...

The battle for blue America

Economist Podcasts · Episode

open.spotify.com

It's worth reading A.G. Sulzberger's remarks about AI and the future of journalism in their entirety: www.nytco.com/press/a-i-jo...

“If you choose to do this with joy, it doesn’t hurt your fingers as much when your fingers get caught in the gears.” www.vulture.com/article/step...

Stephen Colbert Thanks His Audience for a ‘Reciprocal Emotional Relationship’

“If you choose to do this with joy, it doesn’t hurt your fingers as much when your fingers get caught in the gears.”

vulture.com

Fighting flooding with furry friends: www.npr.org/2026/05/21/n...

As floods get worse, Britain tries a new solution: beavers

About 400 years ago, beavers were hunted to extinction across Britain. Now they're being reintroduced as little climate warriors, as communities harness their dam-building skills to mitigate flooding.

npr.org

“The ether is a public medium, and its use must be for the public benefit”: www.niemanlab.org/2026/05/as-g...

As goes CBS Radio News, so goes the idea that news media should serve the public interest

That the airwaves should be defined by more than a quest for profit was once a bipartisan view.

niemanlab.org

Google Search used to be such a valuable research tool. I realize it’s quaint to care about sources and attribution (and that people using AI are largely unbothered by its inaccuracies) but this is objectively so terrible. techcrunch.com/2026/05/19/g...

Google Search as you know it is over | TechCrunch

Google is transforming Search from a list of links into an AI-powered experience filled with conversational answers, autonomous agents, and interactive interfaces — a shift that could further reduce t...

techcrunch.com

New ep! Hear my @intelligence2.bsky.social conversation with the wise Siri Hustvedt about 80s literary New York, her 43-year love affair with husband Paul Auster, marriage, and grief. Ghost Stories is a surprisingly romantic book; speaking with Siri was a delight: open.spotify.com/episode/77RN...

Love, Loss and Mourning Paul Auster, with Siri Hustvedt

open.spotify.com

"It’s fine to just ignore these stupid projects but maybe also we should mention sometimes that this is all part of the systematic hollowing out of news institutions that once did very good work that people cared about."

At Least We Know the Washington Post Isn't Buying Views

Jeff Bezos learns being good at YouTube is not so easy.

404media.co

“Not only are we preserving this radio sound, this institutional history, this cultural history, we’re also, in some ways, providing families with the sound of someone’s voice that may or may not be with us anymore.” Really cool: www.theguardian.com/culture/2026...

In the 60s and 70s, Black students demanded a voice on radio. A new project ensures that history isn’t lost

The HBCU Radio Preservation Project celebrates stations that were an outgrowth of the civil rights movement, to help people understand their importance

theguardian.com

I wrote about Brandon Taylor's Minor Black Figures and the "millennial novel" for the May issue of @litreview.bsky.social: literaryreview.co.uk/brushes-with...

Mythili Rao - Brushes with Fame

Mythili Rao: Brushes with Fame - Minor Black Figures by Brandon Taylor

literaryreview.co.uk

For the latest episode of the @intelligence2.bsky.social podcast, I spoke with Daniel Hahn about the creativity and ingenuity involved in translating Shakespeare. open.spotify.com/episode/4pLM...

How Has Translation Transformed Shakespeare? With Daniel Hahn

open.spotify.com

I reviewed The Beginning Comes After the End by Rebecca Solnit in today’s @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/books/2026/a...

“You look amazing, you look beautiful,” Victor Glover, the pilot of Artemis II, said: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/s...

NASA Unveils 1st Earth Photos From Artemis II: ‘You Look Beautiful.’

nytimes.com

It’s very funny, really. You do hope the shame of it all will be a deterrent for anyone tempted to try this kind of thing! www.thewrap.com/media-platfo...

New York Times Cuts Ties With Book Review Writer Over AI Use | Exclusive

The New York Times has cut ties with a freelancer of his reliance on AI.

thewrap.com