Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: 'Free Speech' and Open Dialogue
This week, we discuss "free speech," keeping stupid thoughts in one's own head, and cancel culture.
News
The Signal Clone the Trump Admin Uses Was Hacked
TeleMessage, a company that makes a modified version of Signal that archives messages for government agencies, was hacked.
The Abstract
These Tardigrades Have Tiny Tattoos
Tardigrades, tiny microscopic animals, woke up from suspended animation with body art.
News
U.S. Denies Picking Bombing Targets From Random Twitter Accounts
An anonymous OSINT sleuth mis-identified a quarry as an underground Houthi base. Days later, the Pentagon allegedly struck the site and killed eight people.
Tariffs
Your Children’s Children Will Die in Our Factories
The small, pathetic technofeudalist dystopian vision of Howard Lutnick and the Trump administration.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: The News Hits Different
This week, we discuss eyebrow-raising apps, more media mess, and lovingly gazing at AI slop.
News
Mike Waltz Accidentally Reveals Obscure App the Government Is Using to Archive Signal Messages
A photograph of Trump administration official Mike Waltz's phone shows him using an unofficial version of Signal designed to archive messages during a cabinet meeting.
News
Army Will Seek Right to Repair Clauses in All Its Contracts
A recent memo detailed a future where soldiers can repair their own equipment.
News
Polygon Acquired by Porn Mogul Who Co-Founded Brazzers
Before he founded Valnet, Hassan Youssef started one of the biggest porn sites on the internet.
Meta
Mark Zuckerberg Thinks You Don't Have Enough Friends and His Chatbots Are the Answer
The CEO of Meta says "the average American has fewer than three friends, fewer than three people they would consider friends. And the average person has demand for meaningfully more.”
Tourism
Recession Indicator: Bookings for the German Tour Bus in Los Angeles Are Down 30%
Donald Trump: "Tourism is way up."
News
Researchers Say the Most Popular Tool for Grading AIs Unfairly Favors Meta, Google, OpenAI
Chatbot Arena is the most popular AI benchmarking tool, but new research says its scores are misleading and benefit a handful of the biggest companies.
XBAND
The Infamous ‘You Wouldn’t Steal a Car’ Anti-Piracy Font Was Pirated. But By Who?
You wouldn't download an illegal font ... unless you wanted to use it to sell a modem for the Sega Genesis?