Views of the aurora borealis should return in a couple of weeks, as the massive solar storm rotates back toward Earth. / BBC
“Some political scientists describe this strategy as ‘state crime,’ violence tacitly permitted or encouraged by the government.” Why did Greg Abbott pardon a racist murderer? / Texas Monthly
Tariffs don’t work, thanks to back channels and loopholes—as well as the industrial lobbyists who shape the policies. / The New York Times [+]
Jia Tolentino: “I decided to try a modest experiment. I wanted to see whether I could hide my pregnancy from my phone.” / The New Yorker
A brief foray into detective work to ascertain the legitimacy of an early Apple employee’s badge that went up for auction on eBay. / Cabel Sasser
“When you print images onto a paper carrier medium, you are adding another layer of mediation to an already loopy transmission.” A history—and appreciation—of LSD blotter paper. / Aeon
Link rot is rampant. A quarter of webpages that existed in the past decade are missing, and the fallout affects everything from news sites to Wikipedia references. / Pew Research Center
“Do you remember what it was like to wake up before you had a smartphone? Perhaps I would smile at my wife, say something sweet or ridiculous to her, judge the light through the window.” / The Point
In 1947, a 10-year-old earned today’s equivalent of a couple hundred dollars, disappeared from home, and spent a week at movie theaters in San Francisco. / Gazetteer
Even when they talk, generative AI “apps, in their current instantiation, are best thought of, like magic tricks, as a form of entertainment.” / Read Max
In a fascinating history of Magic: The Gathering, the phenomenon’s creator discusses how rare cards have threatened the point of the game. / Defector
See also: That time we learned how to play Magic from Jon Finley, one of the game’s greatest-ever players. / The Morning News
