Derek Thompson

Once you learn what the "uni-context" is, you won't stop seeing it everywhere

The turn against moderate drinking has been sudden and sharp. But it's not often based in science.

America in 1926 was obsessed with technology, immigration, women, work, and money. Sound familiar?

There are more—and richer—tiny companies. AI could be playing a big role.

Trump lost the country. The U.S. lost a half-hearted war. Israel lost an ally. The Middle East lost the illusion of security. Asia lost growth. Global trade lost a dependable artery.

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Americans have never been healthier, or more alone. These things might be related.

What do Marcus Aurelius, Bob Iger, Bill Belichick, and William Shawn have in common? Succession failure.

There are two problems with the famous “male loneliness crisis”—the loneliness part and the male thing.

The great AI cost panic of 2026 is upon us

Donald Trump did not invent political corruption. But he may be accelerating something more dangerous: the collapse of universal moral standards into a culture of endless special exceptions.

Everybody knows about the decline in birthrates. Fewer people understand why—or just how significantly it could transform society in the next few decades.

Every week, I save dozens of screenshots of charts, essay passages, science and economics papers, and tweets.

The most lethal cancer is invisible to the human eye until it's too late to treat. In today's Q&A, a Mayo Clinic doctor says AI can see what the best radiologists cannot.

Is artificial intelligence normal?

What the mysterious history of "multiple discovery" in science tells us about the nature of creativity

Compared to their parents, Millennial fathers have roughly tripled the amount of time they spend with kids. The new American dad is more present and more exhausted—but also, more satisfied with life.

Or: How the 2020s broke our brains

We seem to be moving from a period of demand scarcity (not enough customers) to supply scarcity (not enough compute)

Or: If you're so smart, why aren't you happier?