Don’t Believe the Ross Douthat Hype Don’t Believe the Ross Douthat Hype
The New York Times columnist is being touted as the latest conservative even liberals can love. But his actual work doesn’t live up to the fanfare.
Apr 15, 2026 / Will Meyer
How Iran Won the Meme Wars How Iran Won the Meme Wars
While Donald Trump panders to MAGA, Iranian satire is reaching a global audience.
Apr 13, 2026 / Jeet Heer
The AI Sector’s Crass Bid for Media Domination The AI Sector’s Crass Bid for Media Domination
When you’re a galactically rich tech mogul upset with adverse press coverage, you just buy yourself more flattering media outlets.
Apr 6, 2026 / David Futrelle
The Anti-Intellectualism of the Silicon Valley Elite The Anti-Intellectualism of the Silicon Valley Elite
How the self-styled know-it-alls atop the knowledge economy want to dismantle the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake
Apr 1, 2026 / Elizabeth Spiers
The Bad-News Echo Chamber of Pro-Democracy Substack The Bad-News Echo Chamber of Pro-Democracy Substack
How many pro-democracy Substack authors over-focus on gloom and doom and ignore organizing, and who’s bucking that trend.
Mar 27, 2026 / Micah L. Sifry
A Landmark Suit Against Meta and YouTube Opens the Floodgate for AI Litigation A Landmark Suit Against Meta and YouTube Opens the Floodgate for AI Litigation
A jury finds big tech liable for programming addictive features into platforms—and that’s basically the business model for companion bots.
Mar 27, 2026 / David Futrelle
Marc Andreessen’s Dangerously Unexamined Life Marc Andreessen’s Dangerously Unexamined Life
The tech mogul has declared himself an enemy of introspection, and that conveniently erases considerations of conscience from his amoral investment empire.
Mar 23, 2026 / David Futrelle
Trump’s Threats to Free Speech Aren’t New to Black Journalists Trump’s Threats to Free Speech Aren’t New to Black Journalists
Two years after Trump’s infamous invitation to the National Association of Black Journalists’ convention, the organization is adapting and bracing for escalating hostility.
Feb 20, 2026 / StudentNation / Atarah Israel
The Deep Harms of Deepfakes The Deep Harms of Deepfakes
AI porn is what happens when technology liberates misogyny from social constraints.
Feb 12, 2026 / Column / Katha Pollitt
How Big Gaming Is Swallowing Up the Big Game How Big Gaming Is Swallowing Up the Big Game
The Super Bowl will showcase the lords of legalized betting, even as they’ve already colonized every other reach of human experience.
Feb 6, 2026 / Matt Alston