19 2026 January
America’s Data Blind Spot Is Real … and Getting Worse
One way to control the story about what’s happening in the world is to remove any data that can prove otherwise. That seems to be...
Read Now19 2025 December
Why Australia’s Ban on Social Media for Kids Under 16 Isn’t Pointless
Tech-savvy kids born in the mobile generation have lots of ways of circumventing just about any rule you put in front of them. Last week,...
Read Now21 2025 November
The Truth About Toxic Words and Why Word Policing Doesn’t Work
In closed meetings leading up to the G20 Summit happening in South Africa this weekend, early reports note that in addition to the Trump administration...
Read Now06 2025 November
Why Zohran Mamdani Won the NY Mayoral Election
The day after stories of Zohran Mamdani’s meteoric rise and win of the NY city Mayoral election were everywhere this week. The best recap I read...
Read Now23 2025 October
Why Every School Should Teach Vergangenheitsbewältigung
The Flakturm IV bunker building was too sturdy to destroy. The WWII era air raid shelter used thick concrete walls that made it impenetrable during...
Read Now19 2025 September
The Clever Secret Message Behind South Park’s Delayed Episode
There was a new episode scheduled for South Park on Comedy Central last night. It never aired. When the announcement was made, it came alongside this...
Read Now25 2025 July
The U.S. Postal Service Turns 250—So Let’s Celebrate the Innovations They Have Given the World
For over 100 years in the early days of the U.S. Postal Service, the way mail would get sent from small towns involved a crazy...
Read Now27 2025 June
Inside the Relentlessly Cheerful Campaign of Zohran Mamdani
Amidst all the coverage of what some news outlets described as a “political earthquake” with relative newcomer Zohran Mamdani defeating longtime NY politician Andrew Cuomo...
Read Now23 2025 June
Denmark’s Radical Archaeology Experiment Is Paying Off in Gold and Knowledge
It is a beach cliché to see random idiots with metal detectors and sifters trying to find everything from loose change to diamond earrings. Using...
Read Now16 2025 June
How To See Through a Manipulated Headline (A Retailwire Case Study)
One thing I often talk about in this newsletter is honing our media literacy. This week I found a perfect case study to illustrate how...
Read Now06 2025 June
The Doing and Undoing and Redoing and Undoing of American Policy
Being outraged used to be easier. You could look at a policy or an announcement or something happening in the world and if you disagreed...
Read Now22 2025 May
When the Government Refuses to Protect Consumers, Tools Like This Can Fill the Gap
For over thirty years, the EPA’s Energy Star testing and certification program has helped consumers see how energy-efficient an appliance or electronic device is before...
Read Now05 2025 May
The Dangerous Stupidity of “Doing Your Own Research”
In a recent interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested that parents of newborn babies should do their own research before vaccinating their babies. Here’s the...
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