How did the humble primates learn the astonishing arts of agriculture, taming fire, animal husbandry and the sorcery of the written word? If you travel to ancient Mesopotamia, you'll see mysterious references to powerful non-human entities called the "Anunnaki." In the first Chapter of this three-part series, "Ben," Matt and Noel explore the proven historical references to these entities throughout ancient civilization— and ask whether there's any chance a grain of truth informed these tales of old. (Spoiler, we are super excited about this, and hope you tune in.)
In a break from the federal guidance under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the American Academy of Pediatrics released updated recommendations this week that urge COVID-19 vaccinations for infants and young children.
Israel’s military says they’ve taken the first steps in their planned operation to take over and occupy Gaza City. On Thursday, they ramped up their attacks in a move that could displace close to one million Palestinians.
Haitian police are deploying drones armed with explosives in an attempt to fight back against gangs that control the majority of the capital city of Port-au-Prince.
Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) Did AI take a step back with GPT-5? 2) Is AI hype going to cool off? 3) GPT-5's switching problem 4) Do we need AI agents? 5) Thinking Vs. Doing AI 6) Sam Altman says parts of AI are a bubble 7) Eric Schmidt says the U.S. should stop overindexing on AGI and instead build it into products 8) GPT-6 is going to have much better memory 9) MIT study says 95% of AI projects fail to achieve their goals 10) AI may replace OnlyFans outsourced 'chatters' 11) Is love AI's real use case?
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The retail earnings flood hit this week and it told us a lot about consumer spending, plus the market is once again buying into meme stocks and SPACs. Is this time different?
Travis Hoium, Jon Quast, and Matt Frankel discuss:
- Retail earnings and takeaways for investors
- Opendoor’s pop
- The return of SPACs
- Meta’s new AI strategy
Companies discussed: Meta Platforms (META), Alphabet (GOOG), Dollar General (DG), NXP Semiconductor (NXPI), Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Home Depot (HD), Lowe’s (LOW), TJ Maxx (TJX), Costco (COST), On Holding (ONON), Nike (NKE).
Host: Travis Hoium
Guests: Jon Quast, Matt Frankel
Engineer: Dan Boyd
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Traders dial up bets on a rate reduction in September. Plus: Ubiquiti stock surges after raising its dividends. And video conferencing company Zoom posts a strong quarter. Katherine Sullivan hosts.
An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor.
When a pro-growth mayor in rural Tennessee dies unexpectedly, his vision for development is suddenly challenged. What began as a land dispute quickly escalates into a clash of values, dividing the deep-red county over the very definition of 'conservative.' WSJ's Cameron McWhirter reports on a fight between tradition and transformation, featuring two farmers on opposing sides. Jessica Mendoza hosts.
A U.N. backed panel of experts declares a famine in the northern part of Gaza, the first time there has been a confirmed famine in the Middle East. We hear about the conditions that lead to the declaration. And Hamas has endorsed a new proposal for a ceasefire with Israel, while Israel is threatening a new assault into Gaza City. We hear about the pressure Hamas is facing from Arab countries while it seeks to ensure its own survival.
CrowdScience listener Paul from Uganda is fascinated by military uniforms. The outfits of so many different armies, from different countries all around the world, often look remarkably similar – mottled shades of olive green camouflage.
Where did it come from? How does it work as camouflage? And what inspired it?
Alex Lathbridge delves into the science, the history and the future of camouflage.
Plus: TikTok to lay off hundreds of U.K. content moderators in AI push. And ESPN and MLB are closing in on a three-year streaming deal worth around $1.65 billion. Julie Chang hosts.
Chicago’s Inspector General urges City Council to police bad behavior. Democratic legislators return to Texas for a redistricting vote. Former Northwestern football coach reaches settlement with the university. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul files more lawsuits against the Trump administration and politicians push for Southwest side communities to be declared disaster areas after flooding.
Reset dives into these and other top local stories with City Cast Chicago executive producer Simone Alicea, FOX 32 political correspondent Paris Schutz and WBEZ education reporter Sarah Karp.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
