Democracies die in two ways: gradually, then suddenly. If Trump represents top-down oligarchy, Bloomberg is the bottom-up version.

Want to eat and drink well for free? Attend a Bloomberg event.

John Oliver kicks off the latest season of his talk show by analyzing the pros and cons—and siding with the pros—of Bernie Sanders’s Medicare-for-all.

On campus, 92% of conservatives say they would be friends with a liberal. A quarter of liberals say they wouldn't have a conservative friend.

"There are some flashing red lights on the dashboard." In 2017, a professor started tracking signs of autocracy in the White House. He’s getting concerned.

Today commemorates FDR's internment of Japanese-Americans. Front pages from a Japanese-English newspaper at the time.

Who killed Malcolm X? State violence. But the media at the time and the media of today only want to hear “black-on-black crime.”

Btw, the Boy Scouts’ bankruptcy filing? It’s so they can limit how much they have to pay to settle sexual abuse cases.

Tech to protect you from tech is on the rise. E.g., a microphone-jamming device that disables microphones in its surroundings, all to thwart Siri and Alexa.

Breadcrumbing, submarining, caspering, pocketing: a podcast episode explains the lexicon of contemporary breakups.

In case "grail" isn't in your fashion vocabulary yet: A round-up of the 20 most sought-after sneakers.

English-language pop songs are sadder than they used to be. Blame it on a more decentralized record industry.

"Because outside of the raw materials needed, its supply chain is non-existent." In praise of Tesla, automaking disruptor.

A cutting-edge waste-to-energy facility is said to have some of the best skiing in Denmark.

Did the drought in California ever really end? A climatologist thinks Southern California is mired in a two-decade dry spell.

What a piece of ice sounds like when it’s dropped down a 450-foot-long hole in Antarctica: Lasers.

Swarms of locusts plaguing Ethiopia and East Africa are now the size of major cities (!), thanks to the climate crisis.

Related/unrelated: “Human sacrifice, dogs and cats sleeping together, mass hysteria.”

Bean lovers worry their increasingly-loved staple is going to become the avocado toast of 2020.

Maple syrup makes its debut among pro tennis players as a recovery drink.