Gen X Files
R.E.M. Reissues “Reveal” With a Lost 2001 Performance, So Your Minidisc Regrets May Resume
R.E.M.’s 25th-anniversary “Reveal” edition pairs the 2001 album with a previously unreleased 17-song Radio France performance.
The internet forgot. We kept the receipt.
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Gen X Files
Linkin Park Turns Its Return Into a Documentary, and Grief Refuses the Standard Concert-Film Package
Linkin Park’s new documentary “Unshatter” follows the band’s return after Chester Bennington’s death and the difficult work of rebuilding without pretending the past vanished.
Current News
Massachusetts Finds Nearly 1,000 Children Abused Across Three Dioceses, and the Word “Historic” Is Doing Too Much Work
A Massachusetts investigation found that more than 270 priests abused nearly 1,000 children across three Catholic dioceses over decades.
Current News
The Supreme Court Eyes Immigration, Gambling and Classroom Commandments, Because One Culture War Was Apparently Too Efficient
The Supreme Court is considering major disputes involving immigrant detention, prediction markets and mandatory Ten Commandments displays in public schools.
Current News
Romania Rejects Another Government, Because Apparently Stability Was Not on the Coalition Menu
Romanian lawmakers rejected Siegfried Mureșan’s proposed cabinet, deepening a political crisis as the country faces economic and regional-security pressure.
Strange News
A Moose Takes I-90 Without a Car, Because Upstate New York Traffic Needed Antlers
A bull moose strolled along Interstate 90 in Rensselaer County as New York wildlife officials warned drivers to slow down and give it space.
Strange News
A “Fire Amoeba” Survives 151 Degrees, and the Alien Search Just Adjusted the Thermostat
A heat-loving amoeba from Lassen Volcanic National Park set a temperature record for complex cells and may broaden astrobiology’s definition of habitable environments.
Current News
A Court Stops Christa Pike’s Execution With an Hour Left, Because Finality Just Met Due Process
A federal appeals court halted Christa Gail Pike’s execution while reviewing whether evidence of childhood abuse received adequate consideration.
Gen X Files
Taylor Hanson Leaves “Dancing With the Stars” on Yacht Rock Night, and 1997 Requests a Recount
Hanson singer Taylor Hanson was eliminated from Dancing With the Stars during Yacht Rock Night after performing to a Christopher Cross classic.
Current News
Brazil’s Patron Saint Gets Dragged Into Election Season, Because Apparently Heaven Needed Opposition Research
A viral claim about Flávio Bolsonaro and Our Lady of Aparecida exposed Catholic-evangelical tensions in Brazil’s closely fought election.
Current News
The EEOC Sues Harvard for Hiring Records, and the Culture War Enrolls for Another Semester
The EEOC sued Harvard to obtain records for an investigation into alleged discrimination against white, Asian, male and straight employees.
Current News
Trump Says He Did a Bad Job Selling His Economy, and the Receipt Is Still $4 Gas
Donald Trump conceded he has done a bad job explaining his economic record as high gasoline prices, tariffs and weak consumer confidence weigh on voters.
Strange News
Nearly 300 Doodles Hold a Pool Party, and the World Record Smells Like Wet Dog
Doodlepalooza brought 296 poodle mixes to a Nevada water park, setting a Guinness World Record while raising money for dog rescue.
Strange News
Earth Microbes Survive Fake Enceladus Water, and Saturn’s Moon Just Got More Interesting—not More Alien
Methane-producing Earth microbes survived a laboratory simulation of Enceladus’s alkaline ocean, showing habitability is plausible without proving life exists there.
Current News
Church Signs Are Still Doing Theology at 45 MPH, and Some of Them Are Actually Funny
American congregations use jokes, wordplay and roadside signs to offer a moment of faith to commuters who may never walk through the door.
Current News
Grenfell Manslaughter Files Reach Prosecutors, Nine Years After 72 People Died Waiting for Accountability
British police sent files on 54 people and 20 organizations to prosecutors considering manslaughter, fraud and safety charges over Grenfell.
Current News
Norway Opens the Epstein Hearings, and “Poor Judgment” Gets a Parliamentary Microphone
Norway’s parliament opened public hearings into ties between Jeffrey Epstein and the country’s political, diplomatic and royal elite.
Current News
Legal Weed Is Normal Now. Prohibition States Are Just Funding the Dumbest Version of It
Adult-use cannabis is legal in 24 states and Washington, D.C. The holdouts are preserving arrests, illegal markets and lost revenue—not sobriety.
Strange News
Samba the Capybara Escaped for Weeks, Because Every Zoo Eventually Gets a Crime Podcast
Samba the capybara became a roaming celebrity after escaping her enclosure and repeatedly eluding experienced zoo staff and local searchers.
Strange News
Scientists Map the Colors Needed to Spot Alien Life, and Beige Is Not Enough
A September study identifies the wavelength coverage future telescopes need to separate possible life signatures from planetary chemistry and false positives.
Gen X Files
Bad Religion, Patti Smith and Wilco Lead a Festival Where the Kids Now Need Lumbar Support
Azkena Rock announced a 25th-anniversary lineup led by Bad Religion, Patti Smith and Wilco, with Rival Sons and Cherry Poppin’ Daddies also booked.
Current News
Ethiopian Orthodox Christians Light Meskel Fires While Conflict Keeps Darkening the Map
Millions celebrated Meskel with bonfires and prayer as renewed fighting made travel and family reunions harder in parts of Ethiopia.
Current News
Trump Ends the $5 Million E. Jean Carroll Appeal, and One Courtroom Marathon Finally Finds an Exit
Trump agreed to dismiss his remaining challenge to the $5 million sexual-abuse and defamation verdict won by E. Jean Carroll in 2023.
Current News
The GAO Says Trump Cannot Hide $800 Million in the Fiscal-Year Couch Cushions
The Government Accountability Office says Trump cannot legally withhold more than $800 million that Congress appropriated until the money expires.
Current News
Trump’s Forced-Labor Tariffs Reach Court, Because the Backup Legal Theory Needs a Test Drive
Businesses and 25 states are challenging Trump tariffs on nearly all imports, arguing that forced labor became a pretext for rebuilding powers the Supreme Court restricted.
Current News
Trump Lets Tech Companies Self-Police AI, Because the Honor System Has Never Gone Wrong
Trump announced a voluntary AI-safety accord with major technology companies, relying on internal and external reviews instead of binding regulation.
Strange News
Firefighters Rescue a Deer From a Stormy Fence, Complete With a Pink Spark Blanket
New Jersey firefighters used heavy equipment and a protective pink blanket to free a deer trapped in a metal fence during a nor’easter.
Strange News
A SETI Search Found One Interesting Signal—and Then Earth Took the Credit Again
A new analysis of FAST observations from 33 planetary systems found one initially interesting narrowband signal, but follow-up pointed to human interference—not aliens.
Gen X Files
Dinosaur Jr. Learned to Tolerate Each Other, and Somehow the Guitars Survived
A new profile traces how Dinosaur Jr. survived estrangement, reunion and decades of glorious volume without pretending the members became sentimental roommates.
Current News
Eiffel Tower Chief Resigns After Women Were Sidelined for a Hindu Delegation
The Eiffel Tower’s director will leave after an investigation found operational failures when female employees were excluded during a Hindu delegation’s visit.