Category: 3-SometimeCommentary

Neuroscientist Nicholas Wright explains why big powers "lose" wars they dominate on the kill ratio—and why counterinsurgencies (Vietnam, Afghanistan, maybe Iraq) reliably punish the side with less at stake. His new book, Warhead: How the Brain Shapes War and War Shapes the Brain, argues that identity, surprise, and revenge are ancient brain features, while metacognition—the mind watching itself—can be the thin guardrail against strategic self-harm. Along the way: post-1945 German polling as a reminder that political "reconstruction" happens on a years-long timetable, not on an American attention span. Plus, a Trump "warrior dividend" of $1,776 per service member—tariffs funding patriotism, one numerology check at a time.

Produced by Corey Wara

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On this episode of “The Kylee Cast,” Ericka Andersen, a Christian mom, writer, and author of the forthcoming book “Freely Sober,” joins Kylee Griswold to share how she found freedom from alcohol addiction. They discuss how the pressures of womanhood and “wine mom” culture encourage women to drink, why willpower often isn’t enough to stop, how the church can help people who are struggling, and the role of faith in recovery. 

Find Ericka’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Freely-Sober-Rethinking-Alcohwineol-Through/dp/1514013363?sr=8-1

Find more resources at SobrietyCurious.com.

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• AOC's and Sen. Smith's NYT piece on social housing that Patrick referenced
  
  
• Tim, Andrew, and Will Saletan on Trump's White House address

• Exclusive $35 off Carver Mat at https://on.auraframes.com/BULWARK.
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Are We Getting Stupider?

Andrew Rice joins The Lost Debate to ask an uncomfortable question: why are America’s schools getting worse—even in places that claim to care most about equity? Drawing on sobering national data and reporting from affluent liberal districts, Rice argues that declining standards, political complacency, and the abandonment of accountability have quietly erased decades of progress for kids. Ravi and Rice debate how both parties walked away from what worked—and why lowering expectations has become a substitute for real reform. It’s a sharp, urgent conversation about education, power, and who pays the price when adults stop demanding better for children.

Andrew Rice’s article The Big Fail (NY Magazine, Nov 2025)

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• Listen to Where the Schools Went: https://thebranchmedia.org/show/where-the-schools-went/

Kang did a Substack Live with repeat TTSG guests Max Read and John Ganz. We talked about the Trump Reiner tweet, the Compact white men article, and the future of the news.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit goodbye.substack.com/subscribe

This week, despite a last-ditch effort by some House Republicans to strike a deal on health care, Congress remains deadlocked on whether to extend support for millions of Americans who get their health care through the Affordable Care Act.

Margot Sanger-Katz, who covers health care policy, explains who will be most affected by the decision.

Then, we hear directly from some of the Americans who will now face a decision: whether to keep paying for rising insurance costs or to risk going without it.

Guest: Margot Sanger-Katz, a reporter for The New York Times who covers health care policy and government spending.

Background reading: 

• Four Republicans joined Democrats’ bid to force a vote on health subsidies.
• Obamacare users will be asked to pay more for plans that cover less.

Photo: Eric Lee for The New York Times

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Paris Marx is joined by Cam Wilson to discuss the new social media age limit in Australia, including how successful the rollout has been so far and the missed opportunities of taking a more nuanced regulatory approach.

Cam Wilson is an associate editor at Crikey and writes The Sizzle newsletter. He’s a co-author of Conspiracy Nation: Exposing the Dangerous World of Australian Conspiracy Theories.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Kyla Hewson.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Cam wrote about his experience reporting on the social media age limit debate and the removal of the exemption framework.

• Paris wrote about his thoughts on social media age limits and the need for much more comprehensive regulations on social media.

• 64% of US teens are using chatbots daily.

• Submit questions to Paris for an upcoming mailbag episode at mailbag@techwontsave.us

• Patreon supporters can join the year-end livestream this Friday, Dec 19 at 6PM ET

It’s a stressful day at the office. You want to get away from work. The sounds of notifications, meeting alerts, and Zoom calls ring through your ears. You step outside for your lunch break. No matter where you are in the world, you’re likely to hear the same thing: the sounds of birds.

They’re everywhere, after all.Despite their constant presence in our lives and our world, there’s still a lot left to understand about our clawed compatriots. What if we could learn more about them with a bit of intentional observation? And in watching birds, maybe learn something about ourselves?

We sit down with University of Colorado Boulder professor Scott Taylor to talk about his new podcast, “Okay, But… Birds.”

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