CATEGORIES

INSIDE THE UNCANNY WORLD OF TIKTOK HOME REMODELING

Turn a tree into a luxury apartment. Retrofit a bedroom for a million children. The videos are bizarre-and going very viral. Who's behind them?

A FULL-TERM GIG

Hiring someone to carry your baby to term is a booming business. The market for surrogacy is expected to expand to $129 billion by 2032, fueled by older parents, rising infertility, and more same-sex families. Silicon Valley contributes to the growth too: Tech companies like Google, Meta, and Snap pitch in up to $80,000 toward the six-figure cost of the process.

THE ALTERNATE UNIVERSE OF MEREDITH WHITAKER

It's free. It doesn't track you or serve you ads. It pays its engineers very well. And it's a go-to app for hundreds of millions of people.

THE MIDLIFE NOT -A-CRISIS OF MARK CUBAN

Though he's soon to be out at Shark Tank, the billionaire has a massive new \"disruption\" in the works. He's certain it'll save lives.

WAIT, GO BACK

To mature as programmers, newer generations need to take a lesson from Google’s programming language.

THE SICK (AND SLOW) BURNS OF JOSH JOHNSON

The comedian tells jokes the way he found fame: slowly, and then all at once.

THE ULTRACOOL CASH GRABS OF BOOBI ALTHOFF

Now the Tik Tokker turned podcaster is out to prove her worth-by being herself.

THE DAD-ROCK DIPLOMACY OF ANTONY BLINKEN

Two major wars. A rising China. Hackers everywhere. He's from the US government, and he's here to help.

THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEXES TRAE STEPHENS

The venture capitalist and cofounder of the defense-tech startup Anduril has worked with Donald Trump, Peter Thiel, Palmer Luckey, and Elon Musk.

THE TELEVISUAL HIJACKING OF ALFONSO CUARON

Gravity, Children of Men, the best Harry Potter film-and now a seven-part miniseries?

What's the future for Western 'super apps'?

Super apps create a single interface to unify a broad ecosystem of services such as messaging, e-commerce, and transport. With consumers making all of their purchases within one walled garden, the user engagement and data benefits for the app owner are obvious and substantial. These apps have become a major part of the Chinese technology landscape, so we asked two leading experts: Could the concept successfully break through in Western markets?

THE CHIT-CHATBOT

Is talking with a machine a conversation?

QUARTET ISLAND

Mendelssohn on Mull celebrates chamber music away from urban pressures.

WELL, WELL, WELL

Eating—and not-in the epicenter of hype diets.

FIX YOU

The self-help positivity of Coldplay.

THE WORKER REVOLT

Harris and Walz try to stop blue-collar Americans from drifting to Trump.

ILLUMINATIONS

Suzanne Jackson captures the transformative power of light.

RAT PACK

The classic rodent studies that foretold a nightmarish human future.

THE TALK OF THE TOWN

At the 1940 Republican National Convention, in Philadelphia, an uneasy affair marked by bomb scares, a British espionage scandal, and the imminence of global conflict, ten names were placed in nomination.

NEWARK STATE OF MIND

Mayor Ras Baraka's reasonable radicalism.

ROYAL TREATMENT

The unrivalled omnipresence of Queen Elizabeth IL.

DOOM SCROLLING

Social media and the teen-suicide crisis.

CAN AI MAKE VIDEO GAMES MORE IMMERSIVE? SOME STUDIOS TURN TO AI-FUELED NPCS FOR MORE INTERACTION

For decades, video games have relied on scripted, stilted interactions with non-player characters to help shepherd gamers in their journeys.

Watch SERIES 10 & ULTRA 2: REFRESHING THE LINEUP WITH NEW FINISHES & BOLD COLORS

At this year’s September Event, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 10, a device set to redefine the smartwatch landscape with its sleek design, advanced display, and innovative health, fitness, and connectivity features.

APPLE BEGINS TESTING AI SOFTWARE DESIGNED TO BRING A SMARTER SIRI TO THE IPHONE 16

Apple is giving more people the chance to test a software update that will implant artificial intelligence into its virtual assistant Siri and automate a variety of tedious tasks on the latest iPhone coming out.

TECH TIP: USING INSTAGRAM'S NEW TEEN ACCOUNT SETTINGS TO SUPERVISE YOUNG USERS

Worried about your teen’s Instagram use? Faced with growing pressure to do more to stop online harm, the social media platform has rolled out a major new update to protect young people and give parents more control.

OPENAI CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER MIRA MURATI AND 2 OTHER EXECS ARE LEAVING THE CHATGPT MAKER

A high-ranking executive at OpenAI who served a few days as its interim CEO during a period of turmoil last year said she’s leaving the artificial intelligence company.

UN EXPERTS URGE UNITED NATIONS TO LAY FOUNDATIONS FOR GLOBAL GOVERNANCE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

A high-powered U.N. advisory body said that global governance of artificial intelligence is “imperative” and urged the United Nations to lay the foundations for the first inclusive global institutions to regulate the fast-growing technology.

PHONE DEAL FOR VISITING FANS AT 2026 WORLD CUP PART OF VERIZON SPONSOR PACT WITH FIFA

Soccer fans arriving in North America for the 2026 World Cup have been promised help with their cell phone coverage from Verizon as part of a sponsor deal with FIFA announced this week.

X RELEASES ITS FIRST TRANSPARENCY REPORT SINCE ELON MUSK'S TAKEOVER

Social media platform X on Wednesday published its first transparency report since the company was purchased by Elon Musk.