Adrienne LaFrance

The Strange Disappearance of an Anti-AI Activist Sam Kirchner wants to save the world from artificial superintelligence. He’s been missing for two weeks.

One of the most fascinating aspects of this @kait.bsky.social story is how much the debate over AI mirrors the debate over political violence and violent rhetoric more broadly. Must-read: www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

Senator Mark Kelly Is in the Wrong Job He should be secretary of defense.

"Hegseth has a point: Maybe Kelly shouldn’t be in Congress."

@radiofreetom.bsky.social argues that Kelly, not Hegseth, should be Defense secretary: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

The Most Underrated Thanksgiving Vegetable Embrace cabbage.

Brb going to put cabbage in a soup.

@giladedelman.bsky.social's latest:
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

And adding his correct handle here! @michaelscherer.bsky.social

Why Is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. So Convinced He’s Right? How an outsider, once ignored by the public-health establishment, became the most powerful man in science

Everyone should read this. @michaelscherer's latest is The Atlantic's new cover story:

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

President Piggy This is what consequence-free misogyny looks like.

Must-read Sophie Gilbert on “President Piggy:” www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...

Advent Calendars Are Totally Out of Control What began as a form of religious expression has morphed into a brand-a-palooza.

"Burger King and Kraft Natural Cheese each do an advent calendar, as does Red Bull, though I gotta say, that one looks suspiciously like a normal 24-pack of cans."

www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...

Pennies Are Trash Now The government has no plan for America’s 300 billion pennies.

This made me laugh. @caity.bsky.social is hilarious. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

The Emergency: A Novel A Novel

What is everyone reading over Thanksgiving break! I need to assemble a stack of excellent books.

To start, I just bought George Packer's new novel, The Emergency—very excited about this one: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

🎁 Forty-one days until Christmas. A perfect day to buy someone a gift subscription to The Atlantic: accounts.theatlantic.com/products/gif...

When Helicopter Parents Touch Down—At College Hovering moms and dads are following their kids all the way to campus.

Helicopter parents are now following their kids to college. (Yikes!) www.theatlantic.com/family/2025/...

Inside the Sandwich Guy’s Jury Deliberations Can a flung sandwich cause bodily harm?

Too many quotable lines in @ashleyrparker.bsky.social’s latest to pick one. Just read it.

www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

Photos: The Northern Lights Put on a Show A powerful geomagnetic storm brought spectacular light displays to night skies across the Northern Hemisphere, with sightings of pink, red, and green lights as far south as Florida and Oklahoma.

These photos are wow www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

🦅🦅🦅 e a g l e s

Why They Mask Veteran ICE officers know face coverings are a bad look. But they’re not coming off anytime soon.

What happens when law enforcement starts masking all the time—important reporting from the great @nickmiroff.bsky.social: www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

The Missing Kayaker What happened to Ryan Borgwardt?

Believe me when I say you have to read this:

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

The Age of Anti-Social Media Is Here The social-media era is over. What’s coming will be much worse.

New from me: I went deep on the way that generative AI and chatbots act as wormholes, pushing us deeper into our own minds. They threaten to compound the problems of algorithmic targeting that have festered unaddressed for years and years—what comes next may be even more alienating and isolating (🎁)

The Age of Anti-Social Media Is Here The social-media era is over. What’s coming will be much worse.

Robots are cool! But you definitely need real friends.

Chatbots "allow you to talk forever to no one other than yourself." And the anti-social media era is only in its infancy...

Must-read @damonberes.com:

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

Trump Is Right: Ditch the Filibuster The tactic is a deformed anachronism. Its demise would benefit the whole country, and Democrats especially.

This is smart, worth reading, by @jonathanchait: www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

The Company Quietly Funneling Paywalled Articles to AI Developers “You shouldn’t have put your content on the internet if you didn’t want it to be on the internet,” Common Crawl’s executive director says.

Well that’s one way to think about intellectual property…

Common Crawl’s Rich Skrenta: “You shouldn’t have put your content on the internet if you didn’t want it to be on the internet.”

Must-read Alex Reisner:

www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

The Nonprofit Doing the AI Industry’s Dirty Work The web archive Common Crawl has been quietly funneling paywalled articles to AI companies—and lying to publishers about it.

This is astonishing reporting from Alex Reisner.

You really have to read the whole thing—but don't miss the part where the head of Common Crawl tells Alex that "robots are people too."

Free to read with this gift link: www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

Patti Smith’s Lifetime of Reinvention Nearing 80, the punk poet reflects on the twists in her story that have surprised even her.

Today is a great day to read about Patti Smith. @amyweissmeyer.bsky.social's latest: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

The Validation Machines Humanity thrives on friction—so why are the tools of the future built to make everything seem so easy?

Wise words from Raffi Krikorian, who has thought deeply about technology and society: "When validation is purchased rather than earned, we lose something vital." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Top Trump Officials Are Moving Onto Military Bases Stephen Miller, Marco Rubio, Kristi Noem, and others have taken over homes that until recently housed senior officers.

And actually astonishing when you think about it: The Trump administration's top officials are choosing to separate themselves from the public—more to the point: separate themselves from any visible protest—and live on military bases.

Gift link here: www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Tremendous reporting this morning with a stunning scoop (link in next post) from @michaelscherer.bsky.social, Missy Ryan, and @ashleyrparker.bsky.social.

Rahm Emanuel … For President? He’d like you to keep an open mind.

Great reporting and fun to read, by the one and only @ashleyrparker.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

No One Actually Knows What a Moon Is The universe has quasi-moons, mini-moons, and moonlets, but no official definition of what counts as a moon.

Rise of the maybe-moon! This is fascinating, by @lilashroff.bsky.social:
www.theatlantic.com/science/2025...

The Pentagon’s Preferred Propaganda Model The Trump administration is trying to muddle reality—and create apathy.  

Here's @anneapplebaum.bsky.social on the Pentagon's Propaganda Corps: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Pentagon’s Preferred Propaganda Model The Trump administration is trying to muddle reality—and create apathy.  

After the Pentagon forced a mass exit of journalists who understood military finance, tactics and technology, their replacements have arrived: cranks, conspiracy theorists and both foreign and domestic propagandists
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

President for Life Donald Trump is trying to amass the powers of a king.

And once you've read that, please read this one, too.

A stirring warning from the former federal judge @judgeluttig.bsky.social:

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...