I was way off Take a moment to take this one-question test at NYTimes. Trollception Comedian Chris Gethard got in a Twitter argument with a teenager and you won’t believe what happened next! (He invited the teen on his show and they worked it out.) Dot come on, man! Silicon Valley companies often espouse high-minded ideals (Google’s “don’t be evil,” for one), but it’s harder for them to live up to them. Like when a Harvard student lost his Facebook internship for pointing out a…
Read MoreEarth 2.0 The Kepler Space Telescope has identified a very Earth-like planet. (Via Next Draft, which you subscribe to, right?) Sequelstration On the occasion of the release of a National Lampoon-less sequel to National Lampoon’s Vacation, a former Lampoon editor ruminates on the demise of the magazine (and takes some pot-shots at the new film). Hoisted by their own dog food Google employees used Google’s own collaborative document tools to collectively share and compare their salaries. Self referential What my landlord learned about me from…
Read MoreBoldly went The new close-up shots of Pluto from the New Horizons satellite have us all nostalgia for the space age, so here’s a long read about the time Buzz Aldrin punched a guy in the mouth Behind the music I don’t know how much I believe the theory that the Beatles are the hardest band to cover, but the stories behind the three non-Beatles Lennon-McCartney-penned number one hits are pretty interesting. Reddit and forget it At an inflection point for the sometimes-troubled site, Reddit’s…
Read MoreU-S-A! The U.S. Women’s National Team! Amirite? To all the countries wanting a better women’s soccer team, here’s your first step: start treating women equally. Summer reading After a 55-year hiatus, Harper Lee delivers her follow up to To Kill a Mockingbird. Read the first chapter (or have Reese Witherspoon narrate it to you) here. In the red Greece may be flirting with bankruptcy, but Fortune has three reasons why the average U.S. citizen may actually be in a worse debt situation. Personal space be…
Read MoreIt’s pretty unusual that really big news breaks while I’m putting together this post. But, in observance of the Supreme Court’s ruling this morning on same sex marriage, here’s a round up of interesting related stories. The ruling The New York Times gives an overview of the decision, reviewing the arguments in the case and the path to the ruling. The opinion You can read the opinion for yourself straight from the Court. The dissent NPR has a look at the dissenting opinions from the…
Read MoreTony’s on vacation this week, so I’m filling in on the HodgePodge. Cover up Speaking of vacation, do you know what kind of sunscreen you should buy? Help wanted Giving its increasing popularity and rising shipping costs, it’s no surprise that Amazon is getting creative with its courier options. In the groove Whether or not you think vinyl records sound better (they do, by the way), this is how such a tiny needle makes such a big sound. Move over Hamilton The U.S. Treasury announced…
Read MoreSo long Goodbye hipster, hello yuccie? Next time on Big Bang Theory… According to this NYT Op/Ed, there’s some conflict in physics circles about the importance of evidence. Before the listicle The New Yorker looks at how New York Post headlines like “HEADLESS BODY IN A TOPLESS BAR” foreshadowed today’s clickbait. See no evil Ad blocking software is getting more pervasive Are we there yet? Have you noticed the trip home always seems to go faster? Follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our blog…
Read MoreAudiofile From Jay-Z’s high-definition streaming service Tidal to Neil Young’s Pono music player and service, musicians are trying to get us to pay more for higher-quality digital music. But can you even tell the difference? Speaking of hearing When we miss-hear a word or phrase, our brains are quick to come up with a plausible substitute, and thus the eggcorn was born Design thinking Take some time to watch this TED Talk from Tony Fadell, creator of the iPod and the Nest smart thermostat. Best…
Read MoreWhat would you do? With some seats carrying a significant price premium, airplane seat swapping isn’t what it used to be. Good news People still buy books (yes, even those pesky millennials). Bad news Humblebragging doesn’t work, but that’s not going to stop people from doing it. Water under the bridge Art Garfunkel thinks he created a monster. Trumped up The story of the soccer dad who brought down FIFA is fairly stunning. Follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our blog to make sure…
Read MoreFor the office leg-shakers From NPR, in defense of fidgeters: “When I tell a kid, ‘Sit down, don’t move, stop tapping, stop bouncing,’ the kids are spending all their mental energy concentrating on that rule. And that doesn’t allow them to concentrate on what we’re asking them to do, which is their homework.” Or maybe they had too much coffee Although, coffee’s bad reputation is perhaps undeserved. What is he’s smarter that me? Here’s why you’ll never beat Ken Jennings’s Jeopardy! streak. Watchenings I’ve read…
Read MoreNew tricks Casinos are custom engineered to target your brains reward mechanisms. Now tech companies are trying to learn from them. AMCing you Don’t look now, but Mad Men is almost over. The Atlantic looks at the real products and wonders what it’s really showing. A word from our sponsor If you listen to more than one podcast, there’s a good chance you’ve heard a lot of ads from a few companies—MailChimp and SquareSpace among them. FiveThirtyEight and Marketplace listened to the top 100 podcasts…
Read MoreWorry about it later Chances are you’re well familiar with this conundrum: The procrastination loop and how to break it Looking back A compelling argument from Smithsonian for teaching music history backwards. For that matter, maybe we should teach all history that way? Streamavision Streaming TV has overtaken live TV in this consumer preferences study. Speaking of streaming After making a big initial splash, Jay-Z’s music streaming service Tidal seems to be struggling to gain traction. Maybe Jay should take up the tuba If you’re…
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