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Throughout history, people have been fascinated by automation, technological progress, and how it can change our lives.
In 1956, General Motors made a film about the distant future of 1976, when cars would drive themselves with the help of traffic-control towers. In 1993, AT&T envisioned what sounds a lot like today’s smart home and smart watch technology.
Much of what the companies behind these advertisements promised has come true. The idea, running through all of it, was that technology will set you free. It will connect you. It will give you power over your own life. It will make things better.
We sit down to talk with historian Jill Lepore about whether or not that’s true.
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The current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the deadliest in the country’s history.
With over 2,500 deaths and more than 5,000 confirmed cases, it’s now the second largest ever worldwide. And it’s spreading at record speed. It’s even outpacing the West Africa outbreak that killed more than 11,000 people between 2014 and 2016.
What do we know about why this outbreak is moving so quickly?
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Imagine that the U.S. isn’t a democracy. Instead, it;s run like a corporation. The nation’s leader acts as a CEO and always has the final say.
This would be a world of unchecked capitalism. It’s a world where countries are replaced with privately-owned startups, and technology renders democracy obsolete. It sounds like a setup to a dystopian sci-fi movie.
But it’s a world that some of the biggest leaders in the tech industry are trying to make a reality.
In this installment of “If You Can Keep It,” we dig into the motivations of America’s real-life tech billionaires, what they really want with our system of governance, and what it all means for us.
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The United States’ national debt has now surpassed $40 trillion, a milestone that forecasters thought the country wouldn’t reach for months.
President Donald Trump drew the ire of many military families, lawmakers, and the public when he was asked if the deployment of the USS Lincoln to the Middle East had gone on too long. He responded by saying, “No no no no…not nearly long enough.”
Florida State Rep. Angie Nixon pulled off one of the biggest upsets of this year’s primary season. The Democratic Socialist beat former Army intelligence officer Alexander Vindman by more than 12 points in the state’s Democratic Senate primary.
And, in global news, President Donald Trump started this week by threatening Canada with drastic new tariffs, some as high as 50 percent, if negotiators from both countries didn’t reach a new trade deal.
Reporting from The New York Times indicates that the U.S. Navy is helping tankers sneak through the Strait of Hormuz by turning their ship transponders off. American Officials say around 10 million barrels of oil are now making their way to global markets.
And Trump is also pushing for another meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, potentially as soon as this fall. The two last met in 2019 during the president’s first term.
We cover the most important stories from around the world in the News Roundup.
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On the night of Sept. 27, 2024, Hurricane Helene dropped a historic wall of rain on the southern Appalachian mountains.
Some 31 inches of water fell in three days. The Swannanoa River rose 27 feet. Roads, bridges, and entire communities – very little was left in the storm’s aftermath.
More than 250 people died across the Southeast. More than a hundred of them in North Carolina alone. It was the deadliest hurricane to hit the continental United States since Katrina.
We check in on how much western North Carolina has rebuilt in the nearly two years since the storm. And how far it still has to go.
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If you have a favorite wellness podcaster or influencer, you’ve probably heard about peptides. These injectable compounds are comprised of a string of amino acids and promise effects like weight loss, better sleep, muscle growth and more.
Given the potential benefits, it comes as no surprise that interest has exploded. The market is ready to provide. It’s already valued around $140 billion and by 2033 is projected to reach over $290 billion in value.
Last month, an FDA advisory panel voted to make six peptides more accessible to the public. But scientists warned against this decision, saying there’s not enough data concerning their safety and effectiveness.
Many people are already getting their hands on peptides through what’s been called the gray market. What does the FDA’s decision mean for access? And how safe are they really?
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When was the last time you went to the doctor?
Not necessarily for something big, not for a broken finger or the flu. Just a checkup. A regular annual visit to make sure everything is ok with your health.
For about a third of Americans, it’s probably been too long. In 2024, more than 100 million people did not have a regular primary doctor at all, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers.
The outlook is particularly bleak for young people. More than a quarter of people aged 18 to 29 polled in a national survey this summer said they didn’t have a primary care doctor. And over half of them who did have a doctor said they skipped or didn’t schedule an annual wellness check up in the past year.
But the blame shouldn’t fall solely on the patients. Primary care doctors are getting squeezed by the current healthcare system. There’s a growing shortage of primary care physicians. That can mean wait times of months just to get an appointment.
For today’s installment of our series, “In Good Health,” we’re unpacking the state of primary care—and what to do if you don’t have access to it.
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Donald Trump is adding billions of dollars to his personal fortune while he serves as president.
In 2024, the president made about $600 million. In his first year of his second term in office, that number jumped to more than $2.2 billion. The latest White House disclosures show most of those earnings came from cryptocurrency and crypto-related businesses.
He also continues to make millions from real estate and golf deals, many in foreign countries negotiating with the U.S. government he controls. And he’s received $117 million in legal settlements.
In this edition of our series, “If You Can Keep It,” we take a look at the scale of President Trump’s personal enrichment during his second term. What happens when the line blurs between the president’s personal wealth and the interests of the country?
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Haitians that used to have Temporary Protected Status are facing a new reality in the United States. Immigration operations targeting members of this community are currently underway at the direction of the Department of Homeland Security.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced this week she would be leaving her post within the Trump administration.
And new reporting indicates that members of Congress are relying on AI chatbots to legislate more than ever before.
And, in global news, despite President Donald Trump promising to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for boat traffic, the number of ships traversing the waterway has fallen to a new three-month low.
As his country’s October elections approach, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to find the balance between appeasing Trump as he pushes for a solution in Gaza and keeping the Israeli right-wing happy.
And this Saturday marks the five-year anniversary of the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.
We cover the most important stories from around the world in the News Roundup.
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When Head Start was founded, the idea was simple: give low-income kids a running start before kindergarten — not just with preschool classes and childcare, but with health screenings and support for their families.
Some 60 years later, it serves more than 750,000 children — and their families — every year.
But the Trump administration thinks the program is too costly and inefficient. Last week, it proposed the most significant changes to Head Start in decades. The proposed rules would eliminate many of the federal standards for how programs are run and hand those decisions to the states. They would also cap how much programs can spend on administrative costs.
Officials say the changes would save money and open up new slots for hundreds of thousands of kids. Critics say stripping these standards is the first step towards dismantling the program entirely.
What does the evidence say about whether Head Start works? And what happens if those federal standards go away?
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