Today's Liberal News

Sam Altman Wants to Know Whether You’re Human

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The opening moments of the 1982 film Blade Runner introduce viewers to a world of artificially intelligent beings that are “virtually identical” to humans.

How Short-Form Clips Took Over the Internet

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In this episode of Galaxy Brain, Charlie Warzel talks with the business writer Ed Elson about the rise of the “clip economy”—the idea that short video clips pulled from podcasts, livestreams, and other long-form content have become the dominant unit of online media, not just a promotional tool.

Who Came Up With That?

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One of my favorite works on the history of ideas is an episode of the podcast 99% Invisible, titled “Whomst Among Us Let the Dogs Out.” For most of the show, an artist named Ben Sisto investigates the origins of Baha Men’s 2000 earworm, “Who Let the Dogs Out,” tracing the song back, across multiple versions, to a chant from a 1986 Texas high-school football game.

Photos of the Week: Fallen Robot, Scooter Waterfall, Sunrise Panorama

Cheney Orr / Reuters
A reveler smokes cannabis at the Mile High 420 Festival in Denver on April 20, 2026.Alex Nicodim / Inquam Photos / Reuters
Young people take part in an initiation ritual where they are tossed into the air by others using a rug, during a spring festival in Brașov, Romania, on April 17, 2026.Martin Meissner / AP
Artists perform during the opening of Hannover Messe, the world’s largest industrial-technology trade fair, in Hannover, Germany, on April 19, 2026.

“Muskism”: Author Quinn Slobodian on How Apartheid South Africa Inspired Elon Musk’s Worldview & More

In the new book, Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed, authors Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff look at the worldview that shaped Elon Musk and the ideology that has coalesced around him. They call Muskism “an operating system for the 21st century.”
Musk runs rocket company SpaceX, AI startup xAI, electric car maker Tesla and the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Lebanese Journalist Amal Khalil Killed in Israeli Strike, Medics Blocked from Saving Her Under Rubble

Israeli forces killed the prominent Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil on Wednesday despite a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Khalil and her colleague, photographer Zeinab Faraj, were reporting from southern Lebanon when an Israeli drone struck a car near them, killing two civilians. Khalil and Faraj sought shelter in a nearby building, but then Israel struck that building, as well.

Texans Will Decide if Jesus Was a Lefty

Updated at 11:25 a.m. ET on April 24, 2026
While some might pray for hope or peace in such dark times, others are praying for the death of Texas Democrat James Talarico, who is running for the U.S. Senate. During a recent episode of the right-wing Protestant podcast Reformation Red Pill, host Joshua Haymes told the pastor Brooks Potteiger that he prays that “God kills” Talarico, given that the politician seems to be possessed by demons.