Editorial · Real Burg News
Six thoughtful pieces a day — one per category — from the world's best thinkers. Science, health, humanity, social good, world affairs, and the editorial voices still worth reading. No noise. No algorithm. Curated by source weight and recency.
Today's six picks
— Danielle Keats Citron
As an OpenAI whistleblower recently explained, AI executives have knowingly fostered a culture that “guarantees periodic failures,” the scale of which is “growing as systems get more capable.” This approach hinges on …
— Karl Deisseroth
Optogenetics involves the use of light to alter the activity of neurons. Westend61/Getty Images The 2026 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine honored Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their work dev…
— Ed Silverman
Three former FDA chiefs lit into the Trump administration, criticizing the now former FDA officials who oversaw a massive staff exodus
— Aeon Video
Why aren’t we all Neanderthals? These ancient bird figurines suggest that art was essential to our evolutionary success - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
— Gavin Haines
A Ukrainian city is preparing to hold a repair festival in an underground shelter, giving new meaning to the act of fixing broken things The post In Ukraine, the repair movement is heading underground appeared first o…
— Glenn Zorpette
Western powers are scrambling for monazite ore—but can they handle it?
— Scout Boxall
Live action role play, or Larping, allows me to straddle two worlds with fellow weirdos – and enter a realm where death can be reversed and I’m a cashed-up bureaucrat Every Friday night on a community sports field in …
— Tyler Cowen and Sophia Muniz
Dwarkesh Patel on what the public doesn’t know about A.I.
Dwarkesh Patel on what the public doesn’t know about A.I.
— Frank Bruni and Bret Stephens
There is a chance that Democratic optimism is over the rainbow.
— Danielle Keats Citron
As an OpenAI whistleblower recently explained, AI executives have knowingly fostered a culture that “guarantees periodic failures,” the scale of which is “growing as systems get more capable.” This approach hinges on …
— Emma Brockes
The public broadcaster has often spoken truth to power, and can more than match the president’s prized unpredictability For the greatest account of the BBC’s finest hour, one must turn to Penelope Fitzgerald’s novel, …
— Carlos Nobre
For decades, the international community has acknowledged the extraordinary value of tropical forests while failing to invest adequately in their conservation. The Tropical Forest Forever Facility, launched at last ye…
— Jared Abbott
Jared Abbott, Frederick DeVeaux And more insights from the second edition of our Economic Populist Tracker. The post These Working-Class Populists Are Struggling to Win Over the Working Class appeared first on The Nat…
— Karl Deisseroth
Optogenetics involves the use of light to alter the activity of neurons. Westend61/Getty Images The 2026 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine honored Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for their work dev…
— Murugan Anandarajan
If AI systems have been humming along nicely for weeks or months at a stretch, will the human overseeing them be able to take over when things go wrong? Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images Imagine an artificial intel…
— Ruiqian Li
An engraving from 1826 shows a Scottish traveler fighting witches and demons in a church graveyard. Florilegius/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Americans who trust science and reason more than their churches’ …
— Gustavo E. Fischman
People across the U.S., England and Australia agree that teachers are most like coaches when considering comparable professions. Drazen Zigic/iStock via Getty Images Plus Three answers, three countries, one open-ended…
— Christopher P. Holstege
Ketamine and many other psychoactive substances can't be detected by most standard drug screens, so it's unclear how often they play a role in sexual assault. D-Keine/iStock via Getty Images Plus Former Cornell studen…
— Christopher Miller
A sticker on a lamppost warns of voter fraud on Nov. 7, 2022, in Anchorage, Alaska. Spencer Platt/Getty Images With Election Day 2026 just weeks away and control of Congress hanging in the balance, the results will al…
— Michel Robe
One driver of higher U.S. diesel prices is a major drop in supply from Russia and the Middle East. AP Photo/David Zalubowski) A spike in diesel prices is hammering broad sectors of the U.S. economy – especially agricu…
— Jillian Turanovic
About 60% of eligible young Americans say they plan to vote in the 2026 midterms. Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Nearly 50 million Americans ages 18 to 29 are eligible to vote in the upcoming midterm elections, and about 60…
— Ed Silverman
Three former FDA chiefs lit into the Trump administration, criticizing the now former FDA officials who oversaw a massive staff exodus
— Mario Aguilar
In this edition of STAT's Health Tech newsletter: The groups vying to shape regulations that'd govern state AI sandboxes, and more.
— O. Rose Broderick
Kenya reports a second Ebola case. Meanwhile, the situation in Congo is still quite dire. Authorities have confirmed more than 4,000 deaths and 9,000 cases as officials have struggled to…
— Adam Feuerstein
On Wall Street, the real trouble for biotech, and the reason for investor angst, lies below the surface.
— Sarah Todd
About 40% of high school students reported binge-eating in the past month in a new CDC survey, highlighting how widespread this form of disordered eating is among young people.
— Alex Rosenblat — CalMatters/The Markup
Want to opt out of sharing your personal health data? You may need a notary, writes Alex Rosenblat.
— Lynne S. Moronski
Health systems invest in training, but lose early-career nurses within a few years.
— Meghana Keshavan
The CEO of Compass Pathways said the company, whose psychedelic therapy is set for regulatory review this year, is prepared to “go slow before we go fast.”
— Andrew Holecek
Could removing light be a key to discovering who you really are? That’s one idea behind dark retreats*, an experience that’s about as close to a complete sensory deprivation chamber as you can get. Participants spend …
— Habiba Nabisubi
A drawing that riffs on the latest news and happenings.
— Barry Blitt
But is anyone listening?
— Ned Block
Is today’s AI conscious? Philosopher Ned Block says no, and he’s not alone in finding the question harder than it looks. In this Mini Philosophy live conversation, Block, Silver Professor of Philosophy at New York Uni…
— Aeon Video
Why aren’t we all Neanderthals? These ancient bird figurines suggest that art was essential to our evolutionary success - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
— Edwidge Danticat
Pierre Damas Bel was a twenty-year-old college student planning for his future. His family says that ICE monitoring made him lose hope.
— Alexander V Gheorghiu
What we claim as ‘true’ is not a ceiling we are forever failing to reach but something that changes as we climb toward it - by Alexander V Gheorghiu Read on Aeon
— Ethan Siegel
Although Albert Einstein is a legendary figure in science for a large number of reasons — including E = mc², the photoelectric effect, and the notion that the speed of light is a constant for everyone — his most endur…
— Gavin Haines
A Ukrainian city is preparing to hold a repair festival in an underground shelter, giving new meaning to the act of fixing broken things The post In Ukraine, the repair movement is heading underground appeared first o…
— Sara Herschander
The Trump administration’s transit policies won’t “make travel family-friendly again” in the ways that matter most. | GraphicaArtis/Getty Images “We should look for love!” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy bellowed …
— Positive News
This year’s competition has attracted a record-breaking number of entries The post Wildlife photographer of the year 2026, the winning images appeared first on Positive News.
— Glenn Zorpette
Western powers are scrambling for monazite ore—but can they handle it?
— Lucas L. Fluegel
Chinese firms are displacing Western competitors in one of the century’s most important and most overlooked industries.
— Julian E. Zelizer
Forget hearts and minds, this path to power revolves around appealing to hate and anger.
— Nosmot Gbadamosi
The North African country seeks to reclaim its status as a security mediator in the region.
— Howard W. French
From Hegseth’s plans to Trump’s theatrics, it’s hard to know what to be most outraged about.
— Alexandra Sharp
Signal failures have already disrupted several Ukrainian missions.
— Michael Kugelman
Modi’s government faces a growing challenge as Cockroach movement proves durable.
— Jason Bordoff
America needs to build more to achieve its energy goals of lower costs, greater security, and more clean energy.