With “The Twilight Zone,” Rod Serling created a durable blueprint for understanding our surreal reality.

Having tried every bad idea, Meta now has the best vision for the future of AI chatbots. I still don’t recommend it. Here’s why.

A new member of the Berens family has arrived, plus Gen Z really does read, advice on AI and writing, funny discoveries, and more! (Issue #224)

From Star Trek to Shakespeare, different kinds of reference create different experiences for fans. Plus, why I’m rooting against the Ducks, trad wife updates, terrific TV, and more! (Issue #223)

A decade ago, I made a decision about my daughter’s education that I hoped would challenge New York City’s separate and unequal school system. Now 16, she thinks I made the wrong choice.

How to get around the volume problem with AI sales pitches, septuagenarian stand-up, the Gen-Z stare, and more! (Issue #222)

We spend so much of our lives split between our digital and analog worlds, but that changes when somebody dies.

A viral video about a mom not wanting her kid to have Oreos is marketing for an AI app.

It’s time to rethink the metaphor of AIs as monsters out to eradicate or colonize us. Plus, Oreo-Gate, NSFW videos, storytelling advice from the pros, and more! (Issue #219)

The Facebook and Instagram owner agreed to block its apps for children during the night. The deal puts pressure on YouTube and TikTok to do the same.

Plus, an update on social media companies in court, designer babies, Harrison Ford and Cookie Monster, GLP-1s pressuring Big Food, and more! (Issue #218)

Plus “Simple Gifts,” the difference between “bat shit” and “ape shit,” quick hits, a new local social network in Chicago, and more! (Issue #217)

In language, a double negative and a positive are not the same thing. Plus, the big verdict against Meta, a Hollywood roundup, funny videos, and more! (Issue #216)

What kind of thinker are you? Knowing the difference between when you’re a hedgehog & when you’re a fox can be empowering. Plus, La Profesora’s book! A satirical piece from “The Daily Show,” & more!

People decide with their hearts and justify with their heads. Knowing what to do with that can make you a more effective communicator. Also, a persuasion lesson from my old boss, Rick Parkhill.

Art and other stimuli exist to nudge us out of automatic recognition into seeing things afresh, which is more important now than ever. Plus, things worth your attention, the lighter side, and more!

Is the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity today’s holy pilgrimage? Plus, books, earworms, two tributes, and more! (Issue #211)

Welcome to Doonesbury's web site, which features not only each day's strip (easily enlargeable for your easy-viewing pleasure), but also the daily SayWhat? quote, a constant flow of reader Blowback, a...

Annals of Disruption: will a new initiative from Sal Khan change college forever? Plus, dueling tradwife articles, “Spider-Man” and “Ted Lasso” trailers, and more! (Issue #210)

In Paris, aesthetics are built into everyday life. A new use for Claude. Plus “Serial Mom,” Tech for Democracy, and a lot more! (Issue #209)

Obama’s appearance on “The Late Show” reminded me of something: why doesn’t Trump laugh? Plus, Happy Mother’s Day! Two articles about microdramas, a spicy Instagram post, and more! (Issue #208)

…and reflections about Gmail’s terrible writing hints and life’s real tests. Plus, the future of marketing, offbeat obituaries, “Ted Lasso” returns, a hilarious essay you shouldn’t miss, and more!

How does an early 1990s caper movie help us understand the threat and promise of today’s sharpest-edged AI models? Plus, bookstores, dogs, hospitals, fountain pens, t-shirts and more! (Issue #206)

Earworms plague me, what about you? Plus, a roundup of AI stories, two books I want, and more! (Issue #205)

Too many emails overwhelm us all the time, but we can stop the madness or at least slow it down! Here are easy ways to reduce email volume and information overload. (Issue #161)

Last week, two major verdicts against Facebook and Google have prompted people to wonder if this is social media’s “Big Tobacco Moment,” but there’s a better metaphor. (Issue #204)

If you only watched Fox News over the weekend, you didn’t hear about President Donald Trump’s widely condemned reaction to Robert Mueller’s death.

Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced on Tuesday that he would resign immediately, citing his opposition to the Iran war.

With humans pretending to be AIs, fiction pretending to be history, and chatbots encouraging humans to commit despicable acts, it has never been harder to know what is real. (Issue #203)

A new lawsuit alleges Google’s chatbot sent a Florida man on missions to find an android body it could inhabit. When that failed, it set a suicide countdown clock for him.

…if you can think analogically: a mini-memoir. Plus microdramas, the president's plummeting polls, advertising in the news, and more! (Issue #202)

When an AI Agent wrote a hit piece about a human, the press paid attention. But they didn’t look at the user comments. Here’s what they missed. (Issue #201)

When something makes you notice and appreciate the technological marvels that we all take for granted, pay attention. Plus, lots of goodies and things worth your attention. (Issue #200)

Does the marketing dream of AI-generated ads for every person make sense? Plus, Shakespeare on “The Late Show,” my town’s little theater gets into hot water with Amazon, Muppets, & more! (Issue #199)

An Oregon theater poked fun at Melania Trump and Amazon wasn't amused.

Different tools can unleash different kinds of thinking, including fountain pens (a recent interest). Plus, a roundup of AI stories, fun finds from social media, and more!

Today's job market for recent college grads eerily resembles the academic job market in the 1990s: what are the lessons? (Issue #197)

Recent political events intriguingly resemble a moment from “King Henry IV, Part Two.” Plus, a new book about attention, a picture from CES, why ADHD rates seem to be on the rise, puppy yoga, and more