Jon Gertner News Today

This week I finished the most recent book in my self-guided study of 20th century technology, namely The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation, by Jon Gertner. As the title implies, it’s a chronicle of research and development wing of AT&T, a history that lasts...

A bold engineering project might show a way to slow sea-level rise — and bring new imagination to the fight against climate change.

Settle down in a comfy chair with some of the week’s best longreads.

What Does the U.S. Space Force Actually Do? Inside the highly secretive military branch responsible for protecting American interests in a vulnerable new domain NYT, By Jon Gertner,  Nov. 8, 2023 Chief Master Sgt. Ron Lerch of the U.S. Space Force sat down in his office in Los Angeles one morning in September to deliver a…

And Donald Trump wants to let the cameras into the courtroom.

Inside the highly secretive military branch responsible for protecting American interests in a vulnerable new domain.

Podcasts

In today’s newsletter: How countries have responded to record-breaking temperatures – and what it will take to change minds and policy

Can the online encyclopedia help teach A.I. chatbots to get their facts right — without destroying itself in the process?

In early 2021, a Wikipedia editor peered into the future and saw what looked like a funnel cloud on the