The last widely recognized public execution in the United States took place on Aug. 14, 1936, in Owensboro, Ky. Rainey Bethea, a 22-year-old Black man, was hanged before an estimated crowd of 20,000 people. Bethea had been accused of raping…
Elon Musk’s Grok sues Minnesota for right to keep ‘nudifying’ images
xAI, owner of the Grok chatbot and image generator, is suing the state of Minnesota to defend its right to produce and host nonconsensual AI-generated nudified images. Of course, that’s not exactly how xAI words it. Instead, they present themselves…
Let’s look more closely at the claim 2,300 trans athletes have ‘stolen’ gold medals
“Trans athletes have ‘stolen’ nearly 2,300 gold medals from women and girls in the US” blared the New York Post headline. The official social media accounts for the U.S. Department of Education picked up the story, sharing a screenshot of…
Dead or alive is the wrong question about Mitch McConnell
Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky sits in a wheelchair strapped into an accessible van, flanked by staff members, absently staring straight ahead. Reporter Desiree Townsend calls out to him, “Sen. McConnell, do you want to go to work?” McConnell slowly…
How AI has made child sexual abuse more prevalent
It all begins with a single screenshot from Instagram, Snapchat or some other social media. The photo itself is nothing remarkable — a casual selfie, a holiday memory, a sports photoshoot, a prom photo. You know the kind. Billions of…
Now complementarians are upset about Meryl Streep voicing Aslan
The internet is ablaze with the news that Greta Gerwig has cast Meryl Streep as the voice of Aslan in the upcoming adaptation of C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew. It’s a decision that has been met with an overwhelming evangelical…
Who killed Jason Arday?
On March 6, 2023, sociologist Jason Arday became the youngest Black person to be appointed as a Cambridge University professor. Three-and-a-half years later, on Aug. 14, 2026, he was found dead in a manner police called “unnatural” but “not suspicious.”…
Expanded sports betting is harming student athletes
On Jan. 14, 2023, the Dayton Flyers held a comfortable halftime lead over the VCU Rams. ESPN gave the Flyers a 95.8% probability of winning the game. The Flyers came out of the locker room and proceeded to implode. With…
AI slop: Do you know who wrote that book?
Three years ago, in June 2023, I was scrolling through the Amazon Kindle bestseller list. All the regular, normal, to-be-expected titles were at the top. But as I kept scrolling, the books began to change. Gone were the big names…
The adultification of boys of color
The Little League World Series is in full swing, and along with it the adultification of young boys of color. An annual international baseball tournament for ages 10 to 12, the LLWS has transcended youth sports to become one of…
Whether in death or life, McConnell ignites debates about AI
Is Mitch McConnell alive? You’d think it would not be so terribly difficult to ascertain the continued existence of one of the most powerful people in American politics. However, McConnell’s prolonged, unexplained absence from the U.S. Senate followed by reluctant…
Is Nolans’ Odyssey woke or a worthy warning?
Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster adaptation of The Odyssey hit theaters last week in a big way, raking in $264.1 million globally and becoming Nolan’s biggest debut weekend ever. The long-anticipated film features a star-studded cast with Matt Damon leading the charge…