Why We Demand Perfect Machines yet Tolerate Human Carnage
by Jonathan Slotkin
Why does a car with no driver feel scarier than a person behind the wheel?
0:00 / 22:48 · Narrator Charon
Daily edition
2026-07-17
Today's Crosscut
Escaping Social Limits
A blind flower girl in an old story needs a secret high-caste past to escape her low station, but the children of laborers in modern Assam are using schoolbooks to break the cycle of daily labor for real.
‘Rajani’: How Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay Addressed Caste, Class, and Desire in the 19th Century × Assam’s Out-of-school Children Dream of Becoming MLAs, Teachers
0:00 / 14:52 · Narrator Sulafat/Charon/Vindemiatrix
Future-gazing →
What Does It Mean to Be ‘quantum’? A Physicist Explains the Basics Behind Einstein’s Spooky Actions at a Distance
by Aldo Romero, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University
How do scientists build a computer out of particles that can be in two places at once?
0:00 / 10:42 · Narrator Algieba
Opinion: is There a Doctor on Board? Yes, and Airlines Depend on It
by Sriman Swarup
Why does the airline industry rely on the doctor in row 14 to handle its emergencies?
0:00 / 7:23 · Narrator Rasalgethi
Behind the news →
Against "Stochastic Terrorism"
by Scott Alexander
If a person speaks harshly about someone, are they to blame when a stranger turns violent?
0:00 / 11:50 · Narrator Sulafat
For the curious →
The Ableism of Kings, the Fury of Trump
by Megan Cummins
Why does the sight of a scar or a limp so often provoke a leader’s fury?
0:00 / 28:14 · Narrator Gacrux