February 23, 2026

Why Brands That Still Run Ads Are Losing to Brands That Tell Stories

Modern brands can no longer buy attention through advertising — they must earn it by becoming storytellers people choose to spend time with.

Technology

The Download: unraveling a death threat mystery, and AI voice recreation for musicians

February 16, 2026
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Hackers made death threats against this security researcher. Big mistake. In April 2024, a mysterious someone using the online handles “Waifu” and “Judische” began posting death threats on Telegram and Discord channels aimed…

The scientist using AI to hunt for antibiotics just about everywhere

February 16, 2026
When he was just a teenager trying to decide what to do with his life, César de la Fuente compiled a list of the world’s biggest problems. He ranked them inversely by how much money governments were spending to solve them. Antimicrobial resistance topped the list.  Twenty years on, the problem has not gone away.…

Hackers made death threats against this security researcher. Big mistake.

February 16, 2026
The threats started in spring.  In April 2024, a mysterious someone using the online handles “Waifu” and “Judische” began posting death threats on Telegram and Discord channels aimed at a cybersecurity researcher named Allison Nixon.  “Alison [sic] Nixon is gonna get necklaced with a tire filled with gasoline soon,” wrote Waifu/Judische, both of which are…

Anthropic and the Pentagon are reportedly arguing over Claude usage

February 15, 2026
The Pentagon is pushing AI companies to allow the U.S. military to use their technology for “all lawful purposes,” but Anthropic is pushing back, according to a new report in Axios. The government is reportedly making the same demand to OpenAI, Google, and xAI. An anonymous Trump administration official told Axios that one of those […]

ALS stole this musician’s voice. AI let him sing again.

February 13, 2026
There are tears in the audience as Patrick Darling’s song begins to play. It’s a heartfelt song written for his great-grandfather, whom he never got the chance to meet. But this performance is emotional for another reason: It’s Darling’s first time on stage with his bandmates since he lost the ability to sing two years…

The Download: an exclusive chat with Jim O’Neill, and the surprising truth about heists

February 13, 2026
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. US deputy health secretary: Vaccine guidelines are still subject to change Over the past year, Jim O’Neill has become one of the most powerful people in public health. As the US deputy health…

The myth of the high-tech heist

February 13, 2026
Making a movie is a lot like pulling off a heist. That’s what Steven Soderbergh—director of the Ocean’s franchise, among other heist-y classics—said a few years ago. You come up with a creative angle, put together a team of specialists, figure out how to beat the technological challenges, rehearse, move with Swiss-watch precision, and—if you…

US deputy health secretary: Vaccine guidelines are still subject to change

February 13, 2026
Over the past year, Jim O’Neill has become one of the most powerful people in public health. As the US deputy health secretary, he holds two roles at the top of the country’s federal health and science agencies. He oversees a department with a budget of over a trillion dollars. And he signed the decision…

RFK Jr. follows a carnivore diet. That doesn’t mean you should.

February 13, 2026
Americans have a new set of diet guidelines. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has taken an old-fashioned food pyramid, turned it upside down, and plonked a steak and a stick of butter in prime positions. Kennedy and his Make America Healthy Again mates have long been extolling the virtues of meat and whole-fat dairy, so it…