Plain English with Derek Thompson

The Age of the Trillion-Dollar, Zero-Profit Company

The Iran War Is Ending. Everybody Lost.

The Donald Trump Corruption Scandal Draft

The Most Exciting Month of Medical Breakthroughs in Years

Old-igarchy: How the Elderly Conquered American Power

How Modern Fatherhood Is Changing Men’s Brains

Fatherhood is a history of adaptation and variability rather than a fixed, traditional role. While biological imperatives create more uniform patterns in mothering, fathering styles shift significantly based on local economic and cultural contexts. In the United States, millennial fathers have nearly quadrupled their c...

What 400,000 Essays Reveal About AI and Creativity

Artificial intelligence is fundamentally altering the nature of creativity by decoupling linguistic sophistication from conceptual originality. Neuroscientist Dr. Adam Green explains that while AI-generated text often appears more creative due to its rich vocabulary, it frequently produces homogenized ideas that lack t...

What We Get Wrong About Loneliness

Why the NBA Feels Broken—and Why the League Can’t Fix It

The NBA faces a significant "vibes crisis" characterized by a disconnect between its record-breaking commercial success and the growing dissatisfaction of its domestic fan base. While Commissioner Adam Silver has masterfully navigated the league toward unprecedented profitability and global expansion, his corporate-cen...

The Men Who Think Toxic Feminism Destroyed America

Does Anybody Know How to Solve an American Debt Crisis?

The Global Fertility Crisis Is Worse Than You Think

The Case Against the AI Job Apocalypse

Why American Happiness Just Fell Off a Cliff

American happiness has experienced a sharp, historically unprecedented decline since 2020, marking the decade as a period of profound societal distress. This collapse stems from a combination of acute pandemic-era trauma and long-standing chronic issues, including eroding institutional trust and increasing social atomi...

One of the Deadliest Cancers in America May Have Met Its Match

Why Too Much Freedom Is the Enemy of Success

Absolute freedom often hinders creativity and personal satisfaction, leading to the "dizziness of freedom" and chronic anxiety. Instead, self-imposed or situational constraints—such as deadlines, limited resources, or defined responsibilities—force individuals and organizations to prioritize ruthlessly and innovate. Th...

Why the Iran War Is Tearing MAGA Apart

The Triple Crisis That’s Breaking Hollywood—and Changing the Future of Movies

The Most Powerful and Dangerous AI Model Yet

The Whole World Is Fighting About Energy