871
America, 1926: A forgotten 100-year-old report
America in 1926 was obsessed with technology, immigration, women, work, and money. Sound familiar?
Topics /
Society, Policy & Culture
The most popular blog posts about society, policy & culture on Hacker News. 1,046 posts.
872
The myth of Snow Leopard
It was a hot mess, but the myth is useful today.
873
‘Fuck you, make me’ without saying the words
Make the Trump administration object. Make them defend the indefensible — in public. Make clear why the apps were removed from the app stores and force Musk — and Trump, if he chooses — to argue that those things are A-OK by them. In court.
874
Over 5,200 Ebola cases recorded in Congo
Kinshasa—One hundred days have passed since the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared the ongoing Ebola outbreak, which has now become the country's fastest growing. Transmission is outpacing control efforts, requiring a substantial scale-up across all areas of response to halt the spread of the virus.
875
People who grew up with high economic connectedness earn more
Hard work is grinding and only partly reliable. Luck is random by definition. Research on who you know is far more specific than most networking advice.
876
PISA 2025 Students' reading and mathematics performance declined across the OECD
Student performance across OECD countries has continued to decline, reaching the lowest average ever recorded by the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in mathematics and reading. Across the OECD, one in five 15-year-old students is now a low performer in science, mathematics and reading, up…
877
French e, è, é, ê, ë – what's the difference?
A complete explanation of how e, è, é, ê, and ë are used in French, with rules, examples and pronunciation.
878
One item purchased, ten emails
A single online order now generates ten emails. A look at how retail email got this far out of hand.
879
Signs you're a dangerous terrorist: using Signal, moving zines
The unusually long sentences criminalize being an anti-fascist activist, reading the wrong zines, and using the wrong communication apps. They're incredibly dangerous.
880
Second Circuit allows government to search electronic devices at the border
NEW YORK—The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today held that border agents may search travelers’ electronic devices without suspicion. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) submitted an amicus brief in the case, arguing that…
881
US Government wants DNA and social media from visitors
Yesterday the Trump Administration announced a proposed change in policy for travellers to the U.S. It applies to the powers of data collection by the Customs and Border Police (CBP).
882
Overdose Offsets: Why Every Bag of Fentanyl I Sell Is Net Life-Positive
I sell fentanyl six days a week under the El at Kensington and Somerset, and every bag I sell is net life-positive. Each bag carries a small but real chance of killing whoever buys it. Each bag also sends $1.80 to the Against Malaria Foundation, which GiveWell estimates saves a child’s life for about $5,500. My…
883
Chase to become new issuer of Apple Card
See how our clients and partners—from small business owners to workforce training leaders—work with JPMorganChase to drive meaningful impact and economic growth where they live and work.
884
I Remain a Skeptic
I still do not use LLMs for anything I actually care about. There are a lot of reasons I could give: environmental, social, political. I could talk about ecosystem lock-in, learned dependence, self-soverignty, philosophical concerns, the intentional dismantling of labour bargaining power, and more. But before all of…
885
Online Friends Are Real Friends
A few days ago I booked my flights to not only attend a professional event, but also visit and stay with one of my best friends next month. This will be the ...
886
Apple Is Holding My Pictures Hostage Until I Accept Their New Terms of Service
It started off a few months ago, when my iPad suddenly couldn’t play videos any more that it had recorded. It would show the first frame, but hitting the play button wouldn’t do anythin…
887
RFC 8890 – The Internet is for End Users (2020)
The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) has published RFC8890, The Internet is for End Users, arguing that the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) should ground its decisions in what’s good for people who use the Internet, and that it should take positive steps to achieve that.
888
The last Romans are still around
For some of us, our Roman Empire actually is the Roman Empire. As far as pre-modern states go, the Roman Empire was incredibly powerful, culturally influential, and well documented. Rome’s expansio…
889
I dream of quieter computing
A quick note about future of computing and indieweb. It's about a 2 minute read.
890
The US Government Is Now a Shareholder in 26 Companies
Washington has taken equity stakes in 26 companies across nine sectors since January 2025. It has $181 billion left to deploy. Here is every deal, every sector, and where it's going next.
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892
Expertise in the age of AI
Junior engineers are expensive, both in salary and seniors engineers’ time. This cost was partially recouped through code contributions, but today, it’s more effective to directly maximize the output of your senior engineers. The hiring market reflects this trend: senior engineers have an easy time finding jobs, while…
893
Education shouldn't be held for ransom
Google told K-12 schools they could turn off AI, but only if they gave up search too. That isn’t integration. It’s holding education for ransom.
894
The FCC is about to ban 21% of its test labs today. I mapped them all
591 FCC-accredited test labs mapped across 28 countries. Location, accreditation status, TCB capability, and which labs face the Bad Labs ban.
895
Against Usefulness
In a Brooklyn warehouse, a man handed me a piece of paper that was a running computer program.
896
After the AI Crash
Everything I read about the AI industry leads me to think there will be an AI crash. Consider the following: Unsustainable Capital Expenses. It’s hard to imagine there can ever be enough revenue to…
897
AI Is Breaking This Thing We Call Trust
AI-generated work can look finished without being understood. That uncertainty erodes trust, slows reviews, and leaves colleagues doing the missing work.
898
Armada: Encrypted, Open-Source, Discord Alternative (Built on Nostr)
A free, open source, end-to-end encrypted Discord alternative: servers, channels, voice, and moderation, with no company in the middle. Now in open beta.
899
Our approach to age prediction
ChatGPT is rolling out age prediction to estimate if accounts are under or over 18, applying safeguards for teens and refining accuracy over time.
900
Anger, Anxiety and Agency
Who is the AI villain we should be angry at?