Daily Picks

Society & Ideas

Society & Ideas

History, society, ideas and arguments — the long reads about how we live and how we think

Noema Magazine
When The AI Says To KillAI chatbots can steer people toward violence or suicide, the law struggles to assign responsibility, and tech companies often hide behind free-speech claims.
Noema Magazine
The Honest Broker
How Our Leisure Time Got MonetizedHuman leisure was once free and social, but tech companies have commercialized it, harming our well-being.
The Honest Broker
acx
Highlights From The Comments On The Substack Religion DebateDeclaring that you are staying out of a debate is itself a stance and, in effect, a form of participation.
acx
The Conversation
Lactose intolerance is actually the human norm – but racism, the US government and business interests have made it into a conditionLactose intolerance is actually the human norm, yet it was framed as a defect by scientific and commercial interests, reflecting nutritional imperialism and racial bias.
The Conversation
The Conversation
The United States’ human rights practices are taking a nosediveNew data shows the United States' civil and political rights performance deteriorated dramatically in 2025, with record declines on multiple measures.
The Conversation
RogerEbert.com
Sheer Force of Ambition: David Kittredge on “Exorcist II” and “Boorman and the Devil”Exorcist II is not a bad movie but a bold experiment made with enormous ambition and resources, whose failure and value both stem from that risk, and it deserves reappraisal.
RogerEbert.com
404 Media
How a Network of Volunteers Is Liberating Critical Court Records for EveryoneA 2007 court rule makes tens of thousands of habeas corpus petitions in immigration cases inaccessible online, and a volunteer project with 400 members is fighting back by fetching and uploading the records themselves.
404 Media
The Conversation
Many Americans are moving away from congregations, but not necessarily from religion – movies, plays, art and social media fill the gapMany Americans are leaving congregations but not religion — faith finds new life through art, media, and social networks.
The Conversation
Noahpinion
What if our biggest problems aren’t economic?The main problems driving American politics may no longer be economic, but social-psychological needs like belonging, status, and respect.
Noahpinion
RogerEbert.com
We Were Warned: On “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” at 35Thirty-five years later, Terminator 2 shows that the real danger of AI is not Skynet starting a war, but how using machines changes who we are.
RogerEbert.com
Uncharted Territories
Uncharted Territories, the TV SeriesThe author entered the Future Vision XPrize to create a sci-fi TV series that portrays technology positively, aiming to inspire real-world change.
Uncharted Territories
acx
Your Book Review: A Residence Of 21 Years In The Sandwich IslandsRe-reading her ancestor Hiram Bingham's memoir, the author finds 19th-century missionaries and today's effective altruists think alike, and their wins and losses still carry lessons.
acx
ACOUP
Collections: Pre-Modern Armies for Worldbuilders, Part Vb: Pixel Armies for Pixel SocietiesArmies in video games often feel off because they ignore the society behind them; good military design must mirror the political and economic structures of its world.
ACOUP
Pluralistic
Pluralistic: The actual epistemic crisis (20 Aug 2026)AI's epistemic crisis is not new but the natural result of decades of corporate power corroding regulation and weakening public judgment.
Pluralistic
Klement on Investing
It’s not the fault of right-wing newsPolitical polarization stems more from the homogeneity of social circles than from differences in media consumption.
Klement on Investing

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