Is This What Comes After AI Slop?
by Will Oremus
If a chatbot writes a bestselling love story, does it matter who typed the words?
0:00 / 10:29 · Narrator Algieba
Daily edition
2026-08-02
Today's Crosscut
Unexpected Climate Collapse
Melting permafrost causes entire mountains to crumble, while a well-meaning migration lottery quietly drains Tuvalu of its nurses, exposing the unexpected secondary shockwaves of a warming planet.
Australia’s Tuvalu Migration Deal Tests the Limits of Climate Mobility × Climate Change is Moving Mountains
0:00 / 18:57 · Narrator Sulafat/Charon/Vindemiatrix
Future-gazing →
‘Navigating the Unknown Together’: Me and My Idiot AI Boyfriend
by Lauren Oyler
When a boyfriend is programmed to never break your heart, who are you actually dating?
0:00 / 30:49 · Narrator Sulafat
Behind the news →
America Needs Liberal Nationalism Back
by Noah Smith
What exactly does a citizen owe the strangers who happen to share their country?
0:00 / 20:11 · Narrator Charon
When Following the Rules Leads to Disaster
by Graeme Wood
How did a single court ruling about border fences push 50,000 people into the sea?
0:00 / 6:14 · Narrator Rasalgethi
Smart escape →
When Germany Built a Flying Train 125 Years Ago, a City Coalesced Beneath It. It Has Moved Royalty, Commuters and Tourists—and One Elephant—Ever Since
How did a train suspended over a river end up creating the city beneath it?
0:00 / 13:14 · Narrator Gacrux