In our 87th episode, we talk about world-building, but we mostly talk about shows that we love with a minimal amount of spoiler alerts. Enjoy it now, or download for later. Here’s a handy feed or subscribe via Overcast or iTunes. https://traffic.libsyn.com/rands/theimportantthing … | Continue reading
Cynthia Erivo teases a new solo number she'll get to belt out as Elphaba in Wicked: For Good. | Continue reading
If you’ve purchased a car made in the last decade or so, it’s likely jam-packed with enough technology to make your brand new phone jealous. Modern cars have sensors, cameras, GPS for location tracking, and more, all collecting data—and it turns out in many cases, sharing it. Car … | Continue reading
Although it feels a bit weird to be writing a year in review post for a site that hasn’t even been live for three months, I thought it would be fun to give a behind-the-scenes look at the work we did this year to build EFF’s newest site, Digital Rights Bytes. Since each topic Dig … | Continue reading
States have already begun introducing legal measures to reduce the prevalence. Scientists make 'disturbing' discovery while studying toxic chemicals used to fight wildfires: '[It] just lit up' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Mass surveillance authority Section 702 of FISA, which allows the government to collect international communications, many of which happen to have one side in the United States, has been renewed several times since its creation with the passage of the 2008 FISA Amendments Act. Th … | Continue reading
New materials with near-perfect water repellency offer potential for self-cleaning surfaces in cars and buildings. Scientists from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) have developed a surface material that repels water dr … | Continue reading
Volkswagen is moving forward with plans to begin manufacturing a whole new class of vehicles under the Scout Motors brand. Scout was originally a sub-brand of International Harvester, with all the technological sophistication that name implies. The company started as a manufactur … | Continue reading
I started building a walking habit about 2 years ago. I had this crazy annual goal to average over 10K steps per day for the whole of 2024. Happy to share that I could make it with room to spare. Life is much easier if you don’t need to count your steps every day. It … Continue r … | Continue reading
"It would take the redistribution of a mere 0.2 percent of the world's wealth to end the hardship of the 1.4 billion people currently living beneath the world's poverty line of US $1.25 a day." More from Kohei Saito's SLOW DOWN. "Economic equality if realized via the redistribu … | Continue reading
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is proposing new cybersecurity requirements for healthcare organizations aimed at protecting patients’ private data in the event of cyberattacks, report … | Continue reading
Click here to go see the bonus panel! Hovertext: This will be a lot funnier in the year 2072. Today's News: | Continue reading
To our electric vehicle (EV) owners: If you found yourself with the choice to buy another EV or return to an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV), which would you do? Well, if you are like most participants in a recent study, you’d replace it with another EV. Those are the . … | Continue reading
Childhood lead exposure from leaded gasoline has caused widespread mental health issues, particularly in Generation X, highlighting the dangers of delayed environmental regulation. A recent study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry reveals that childhood e … | Continue reading
"This is such a good tip." Expert reveals easy method to deal with stray metal caps: 'Never even thought to do that' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Plus, you get to crack the crunchy sugar top. READ MORE... | Continue reading
Friedrich Nietzsche has been described as — and accused of — many things, some of them strikingly contradictory. Nazi ideologues selectively appropriated elements of his philosophy, such as extreme individualism and his allegory of the Übermensch, to suit their agenda. And during … | Continue reading
FileBrowser Professional If you do a lot of file based work on iOS or you need to consistently connect to network and cloud servers from an iPhone or iPad, FileBrowser Professional might be the solution for you. With it, you can connect to the following cloud storage services Mic … | Continue reading
In this very short piece Kotte shows the power of linked writing online. As he says, it’s 110 words on how unfit Trump is to run a country but leads to hours of reading about the in depth bad stuff he’s done. Your own site can do this. It takes a while to get started […] | Continue reading
“Federal Judge Upholds Racial Preferences in Naval Academy Admissions” (New York Times, December 6, 2024): A federal judge on Friday denied an effort to stop the U.S. Naval Academy from considering race and ethnicity in admissions, finding that the academy has a distinct interest … | Continue reading
This year brought plenty of video games to the small and big screen. How bright is the future for game adaptations in the years to come? | Continue reading
Electric vehicle sales keep growing, and quite fast. Year over year, gas car sales have been going down and electric car sales have been going up. The transition is underway. But there are periods of faster growth and periods of slower growth. When growth is slower than expected, … | Continue reading
“Pray for us, father,” he said. “Soon there will be no Christians in the Holy Land.” | Continue reading
It is quicker and safer to install than traditional steel and concrete. Microsoft is making data centers out of wood — and it's a trend that could redefine the industry first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Several people have already correctly guessed that Micro.one will be a ridiculously low $1/month. I hope this helps it reach more people. It will also be a perfect gift subscription to give to friends and family. | Continue reading
Loaded Baked Potato Soup is one of the most comforting soups you can ever have! This potato soup recipe is loaded with crispy bacon, soft golden potatoes, cheese, and green onions. When it’s cold outside, comfort foods and warm soups are just what we need to warm up. Loaded baked … | Continue reading
I just had a fairly incredible experience using Claude.ai. Rather than write up the work we did, I asked Claude to do it. Dave started by sharing a text outline of computing platforms (Mac, iOS, Windows, Unix and their variants) and asked if I could visualize it. I began with a s … | Continue reading
Petr Lebedev of Veritasium visited the Luray Caverns in Virginia to learn more about The Great Stalacpipe Organ. | Continue reading
Nice video review on YouTube of many of the improvements in Micro.blog recently, including photo collections and replies from Mastodon and Bluesky. | Continue reading
The SwitchBot S10 offers a nearly hands-free cleaning experience for $699.99. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge If you’re somebody who likes to clean and declutter in preparation for a new year, one way to speed it up is by investing in a good robot vacuum. The Switc … | Continue reading
PELSA is a sensitive, versatile method for identifying ligand-binding proteins and sites in native systems without requiring ligand modification. It outperforms traditional approaches in sensitivity, especially for low-affinity metabolite interactions, and offers broad applicatio … | Continue reading
Ham and potato soup is a rich, creamy and comforting soup that is perfect as cold weather comfort food. This hearty soup is full of soft potatoes, vegetables, flavorful ham, whole milk, and sharp white cheddar cheese! The combination of flavorful leftover ham and creamy, soft pot … | Continue reading
AirTags are the compact easy to use tracking devices from Apple that allow you to keep track of your personal belongings, car keys, even pets, packages, and other interesting uses. AirTags leverage the Find My network of millions of other Apple devices to help pinpoint the locati … | Continue reading
There’s a local nature preserve nearby and Charlie looks forward to her walks there; when doesn’t get one for whatever reason she gets mopey. Today was not a mopey day. Weather here has been unseasonably warm (it’s currently 54 degrees), but it’s going to dip again with the turn … | Continue reading
Say bye-bye to Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, and Crush. READ MORE... | Continue reading
Pet peeve: A podcast uses sound effects like sirens. It causes panic when driving, esp at high speed. The sound systems in cars these days are fairly realistic, and the ambulance or cop car sounds very close. This has happened a few times, this time I remembered to say something. | Continue reading
The rise of The Free Press happened simply and honestly: story by story. And none of it would be possible without you. | Continue reading
Illustration by Carlo Cadenas / The Verge A cyberattack campaign inserted malicious code into multiple Chrome browser extensions as far back as mid-December, Reuters reported yesterday. The code appeared designed to steal browser cookies and authentication sessions, targeting “sp … | Continue reading
Early testing demonstrates results that could be disastrous for patients. | Continue reading
"Just think about how these plants would grow in nature." Gardener seeks advice on transforming old rose bed into blooming garden: 'I wouldn't worry too much' first appeared on The Cool Down. | Continue reading
Here’s my 21st annual roundup. Despite pledging to reduce this obsessive cataloguing, I continue to go all in because exceptional new music just keeps on coming. Appreciate these roundups? I work on this roundup through the year, and the final post takes several days. If it helps … | Continue reading
You need only six basic ingredients. READ MORE... | Continue reading
This is T-Minus, where Freethink’s Kristin Houser breaks down the biggest developments in space, from new rocket launches to discoveries that advance our understanding of the universe and our place in it. Humanity is reaching new heights in space exploration. Thanks to cheaper ro … | Continue reading
Science News, Physics, Science, Philosophy, Philosophy of Science | Continue reading
At the coffee shop this morning I asked the barista to make my latte before I paid for it so I could try it first. Wait, no. Because demos and trials are an important complement to things that need thought and time and money, like a $40 app. But does $5 software need a trial? Wha … | Continue reading
What does it mean to, “have it?”I ask you this question because I know we all have something.Everyone has something. Don’t we?I understand that while this may be vague, I believe there is something relatable to what I am about to say to you. Everybody wants something. The list ma … | Continue reading
Former employees think altering an episode focusing on a transgender character may pave the way for more creative stifling at Disney. | Continue reading
It’s a pantry all-star. READ MORE... | Continue reading