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AI Could Worsen a Common Cognitive Trap

Almost everyone knows less than they think.

Bait and Switch

Fishermen have always exaggerated the size of their catches. But AI has taken the practice to a different level.

The Strange Power of Coincidence

What chance encounters reveal about the way our minds work

The Mainstreaming of Anti-Indian Bigotry

A Republican schism over a social-media post by a Texas politician revealed that the party’s defense of a color-blind meritocracy has its limits.

I Quit OpenAI Because Its Culture Is Broken

The industry’s approach to safety will guarantee more failures unless something changes.

The Right’s Identity Politics Take a Bizarre Turn

MAGA activists are having a meltdown over a throwaway character in Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s political ad.

Trump Got What He Wanted From the Kennedy Center Honors

For better or worse, the show won’t be able to feature artists who reject him.

Manipulator vs. Manipulator

Nathan Fielder got an up-close look at Elizabeth Holmes and is still unsure whom he really met.

An Argument Against AI Doom

The latest hacks reveal a sprawling cybersecurity crisis.

A Mysterious Literary Pattern

Robert Kolker’s The Vanishing Family joins a growing bookshelf of new works focusing on dementia.

Is There Anything Kash Patel Won’t Do for Trump Before the Midterms?

“The president wants indictments. He wants people in handcuffs.”

Requiem for a Condiment

When Durkee Famous Sauce disappeared from grocery-store shelves, I mourned a piece of my childhood.

Photos of the Week: Mermaid Dance, Medieval Village, Alpaca Café

The world’s tallest wind turbine, in Germany; scenes from Moscow Fashion Week; a procession of judges in London; yodeling in an underground garage in Austria; and much more

What Vienna Lost When It Lost Its Jews

Douglas Smith’s The City Without Jews revisits the decimation of a robust community—and the city that betrayed it.

Ella Langley Can’t Believe Her Success. Many Listeners Can’t Either.

The criteria—and meaning—of a No. 1 hit are always changing.

Time to Consider Becoming a Bricklayer

College degrees hold less value, while jobs in the trades are booming.

The Best Seller That’s Nearly Impossible to Finish Reading

James Patterson and MrBeast wrote a book in hopes of reaching young people.

Tom Cruise’s Return to Serious Cinema Isn’t What It Looks Like

The actor sets action filmmaking aside for a new, bizarre kind of challenge in Digger.

The GOP’s Culture-War Hail Mary

Will it work?

Here’s Who Democrats Want to Impeach Next

There’s little desire to go after President Trump again—but lawmakers want to investigate his administration and family.