Spock and Awe

Intergalactic Stud Finder, War on Credibility

These days, you’re so overwhelmed by the constant flow of bad and stressful news that even your browser tabs are begging to be closed. So it’s a good time to be reminded that there’s good news out there, you just have to look for it. OK, in fairness, the good news is, like, way out there. It requires a voyage beyond the terrestrial headlines and out into the final frontier, to seek out new stories and new civilizations (not under the threat of being wiped out), to boldly go where no news curator has gone before. So let’s beam back up to Artemis II, where a four person crew is reminding us of the joy we can take in (real) strength, courage, and expertise. And yes, science. Sally Jenkins has a stud finder that she aimed all the way to the heavens. The Atlantic (Gift Article): The Artemis Astronauts Are Studs. “These are the kinds of tough-minded pressure performers whom NASA turns out in the space program, and you could be pardoned for thinking, Now, this is what making America great again should look like: people of accomplishment bringing expertise—not bravado—to difficult problems. The agency seems well worth preserving in the current cultural spiral—rife with so much blowhard false valor that grappling with cage fighters is regarded as training.” And a little more good news. These four humans are on their way back to Earth, and their return couldn’t be scheduled to come soon enough. I was just a few open tabs away from trying to join them up there.

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Trump’s War Against American Credibility

“As the strikes on Iran grew deadlier and more destructive, many Iranians opposed to or ambivalent toward their government began to see the suffering inflicted on them as unacceptable. Some Iranians who once voiced hopes that bombardment could dislodge their rulers say they are now worried that they have ended up with the worst of both worlds — abandoned in a country in ruins, governed by an entrenched, emboldened leadership who they fear could act more aggressively against dissent.” NYT (Gift Article): Iran’s Battered Leaders Emerge From War Confident — and With New Cards.

+ “The war against Iran was not begun in consultation with allies. And it came after a series of events that have confounded them. Mr. Trump’s tariff wars were an unpleasant shock, but his threat to take Greenland by force if necessary from Denmark, a European and NATO ally, is seen as an inflection point about American predation, unreliability and contempt for traditional friends. ‘The Iran war and its economic impact are piling on and reinforce this sense that the U.S. right now has become unpredictable and undependable.’” NYT (Gift Article): A Cease-Fire for Now in Iran, but a Blow to American Credibility.

+ Blocking the Strait of Hormuz essentially held the world’s energy economy hostage. China is watching. And they know “a blockade of Taiwan would hurt the global economy more than Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.” Oil isn’t the only thing the global economy depends on. We also need chips. “China will have paid close attention to Trump’s pain threshold. Although Beijing has numerous options for conquering Taiwan, the most appealing for the Chinese military would begin with a partial blockade of the island, much like the one Iran imposed on the strait. The resulting shock to the global economy would be far worse.” Simon Shuster: What China Just Learned From the Iran War.

+ Almost certainly under pressure from the US, Israel is opening talks with Lebanon, but Bibi keeps striking Lebanon, the Strait remains mostly closed, and Trump says he’s optimistic about negotiations: Iran’s leaders “talk much differently when you’re at a meeting than they do to the press. They’re much more reasonable. They’re agreeing to all the things that they have to agree to. Remember, they’ve been conquered. They have no military.” (Let’s hope both sides are much more reasonable and honest in private...) Here’s the latest from BBC, The Guardian, and NBC.

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Birth Mark

“What is actually affecting the birth rates are likely lower rates of teen pregnancy overall, which is in the context of higher use of contraception and lower sexual activity for youth, and then also continued access to abortion care.” Teen birth rates hit another historical low in 2025, CDC says.

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Odds and Ends

Betting on world events may be morally suspect, and turning every event into a gambling opportunity is almost certainly going to degrade our culture. But the news business could hardly be more willing to bet its future on the prediction markets. It seems almost every major news org has done a deal with one of the leading players. And now Google is getting in on the action. Google News Now Prominently Featuring Polymarket Bets.

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Extra, Extra

Throwing Shade at Trees: “Late Tuesday afternoon, with the subtlety of a wrecking ball and the morality of a foreclosure notice, the Trump administration announced the most devastating attack on the U.S. Forest Service in the agency’s 121-year history. Not a budget cut. Not a policy shift. Not a ‘reorganization.’ An execution.” Trump administration orders dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service.

+ Breaking Badder: “Illicit labs are creating new synthetic drugs at breakneck speed. Dangerous, untested compounds are reaching users long before health agencies know they exist. Older drugs are regularly modified to create novel threats.” NYT: The Fast-Changing Chemistry of New, Dangerous Drugs.

+ Getting the Picture: A set of incredible, and often painful, images. Winners of the 2026 World Press Photo Contest.

+ The Last Emperor: I’ve often argued that if you want to know the truth about climate change, just pay attention to the number crunchers at insurance and re-insurance companies. Or you can pay attention to the penguins. Emperor Penguins Are Now Endangered, a New Assessment Finds.

+ Nerves of Steal “President Trump has championed the U.S. steel industry, promising to strengthen it and to impose stiff tariffs on foreign metals to shield manufacturers from overseas competitors. Yet the White House has secured tens of millions of dollars worth of donated foreign steel for Mr. Trump’s $400 million ballroom project.” NYT (Gift Article): White House Secures Foreign Steel for Ballroom Project. (Relax, it’s just part of a bribe.)

+ Speed Demon: “The overhaul of the immigration courts has been far less visible than the militarized deportation raids that President Trump scaled back after public protest. But the effort has helped reshape a hugely consequential, if little-known, corner of the government that the administration is harnessing to advance its mass-deportation policies.” How Trump Purged Immigration Judges to Speed Up Deportations.

+ A Hot Mess: “A Tennessee county school board voted unanimously Wednesday to censure a member who told a student, ‘God, you’re hot‘ at a public board meeting last week.”

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Bottom of the News

You’re gonna need a bigger cup... “When Nate Wallick takes his kids tubing on the Illinois River near their home in Peoria, he makes them wear football helmets. He’s also built a cage around the front of their inner tube, and gives everyone nets to catch the carp ... Wallick wears a helmet and a cup when he goes water skiing, after once taking a hit to the groin that knocked him off his skis.” WSJ (Gift Article): Humans Are Losing the Fight Against Flying Fish.

+ And the Financial Times issues a correction that could define an era.