“Researchers at the company are trying to understand their A.I. system’s mind—examining its neurons, running it through psychology experiments, and putting it on the therapy couch.”
Peter Rubin
Why the Future of Movies Lives on Letterboxd
“If Rotten Tomatoes has become a tool of Hollywood’s homogenizing marketing machinery, Letterboxd is something else: a cinephilic hive buzzing with authentic enthusiasm and heterogeneous tastes.”
The Pie and Mash Crisis: Can the Original Fast Food Be Saved?
“There used to be hundreds of pie and mash shops in London. Now there are barely more than 30. Can social media attention and a push for protected status ensure their survival?”
Carpenter Media’s Ominous Takeover of Local News
“In just a few years, a publisher based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has become the country’s fourth-largest newspaper operator. Some reporters wonder if it isn’t the cruelest.”
It Was the Most Violent Prison in America. Then the Guards Went on Strike
“What happens when a group of men, incarcerated under bleak conditions, are left to govern themselves? In Walpole State Prison in 1973, ‘peace reigned’ for weeks—until the guards were sent back in.”
I Tried to Be the Government. It Did Not Go Well.
“My five-month quest to monitor the weather, track inflation, and inspect milk for harmful microorganisms.”
Acid Blues (Slight Return)
“The music of Jimi Hendrix continues to strike a chord.”
A Bluff City Blues
“The National Guard come to Memphis on the day of the Country Blues Festival.”
