SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " root " 924 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Apple releases the first iOS 27 public beta
Also, iPadOS 27, watchOS 27, macOS 27 and tvOS 27 public betas. The previous beta versions were for developers only, this one is widely available.
Atlanta Dream and Emory Healthcare Announce Unique Collaboration to Advance Women's Health, Both On and Off the Court
Multi-year partnership will provide world-class athlete care, expand access to women's health resources, and use the power of sport to improve health outcomes for women and girls across Georgia ATLANTA (July 14, 2026) – The Atlanta Dream today announced a multi-year partnership with Emory Healthcare, naming Emory Healthcare the Official Team Healthcare Provider and Official Sports Medicine Provider of the Atlanta Dream. Rooted in a shared commitment to advancing women's health, the collaboration will deliver elite athlete care while expanding access to trusted health education and wellness resources throughout the community. A New Model for Women's Health The Atlanta Dream and Emory Healthcare believe sports can become one […]
New Google Pixel 11 renders show it in three colors
It's an interesting leak originating at Amazon. Google is announcing the Pixel 11 family on August 12, and we've already seen the Pixel 11 in CAD-based...
Google Pixel 11 devices to have the first 2nm smartphone SoC, new modem
The Tensor G6 is expected to leapfrog the competition in one very specific metric and probably not much more. According to a new report from China,...
What SoundHound AI (SOUN)'s S-4 Business Combination and Platform Expansion Means For Shareholders
In recent days, SoundHound AI, Inc. filed an S-4 registration statement for a planned business combination and confirmed strong year-over-year revenue growth alongside ongoing quarterly losses and a solid cash balance with no debt. At the same time, the company is pushing beyond its automotive roots into a broader enterprise AI platform, using acquisitions and subscription services to expand use cases across restaurants, healthcare, retail, financial services, and telecom. We’ll now examine...
iPhone Ultra battery capacity leaks
It's smaller than the iPhone 18 Pro Max's. According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, one of Apple's usual battery suppliers just had a pair of batteries...
Why is tiny Norway so good at sports? It’s more than Erling Haaland.
The success of Norway’s athletes might be rooted in the way its youth learn sports – by first focusing on the process, rather than on wins and losses.
The Power of Personal: The Surprising Business Strategy That Won Over Taylor Swift and Kenny Chesney
As concert promotion became increasingly corporate, Louis Messina built a different kind of company—one rooted in personal relationships, artist autonomy, and long-term trust.
Focus: Inside the U.S. race for drone delivery dominance
Engineer Beth Flippo uprooted her family in 2021, trading New Jersey for the rambling fields of Ohio, where she had been tapped to run a pilot program delivering groceries via drone for Kroger .
Scientists discover how roots steer clear of rotting plants
Decaying matter shapes life in soil, but it can also create hostile zones for growing roots. Professor and ERC grantee Jiří Friml of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and international collaborators have now identified “saprotropism,” a root response that guides plants away from decaying plant-derived matter, but not animal-derived decay. The study, led by Yuzhou Zhang, Professor at Northwest A&F University in China and published in Science, reveals how roots adapt their growth direction by sensing local pH gradients around rot.
Ira Glass on his D.C. radio roots and This American Life's approach to politics
Ira Glass, creator and host of This American Life, got his start right here in Washington D.C., where he began his radio career as an NPR intern. In 1995
Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra said to borrow Galaxy S26 Ultra's camera features
It is expected to offer a 200MP primary rear camera. Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra later this month as the successor to the Galaxy Z Fold7....
Samsung said to discontinue its Galaxy Z Flip lineup after the Flip8
It might be for real this time. According to a Chinese tipster with a solid track record, especially when it comes to Samsung-related leaks, the company...
Analysis | Can working-class roots help Democrats win back working-class voters?
Democratic gubernatorial candidates are running on personal working-class stories.
Vice President JD Vance speaks on efforts to root out fraud in Wisconsin
The vice president highlighted the work being done as the leader of the anti-fraud task force.
High-severity guest VM escape is 1 of 2 Linux vulnerabilities to surface this week
Both vulnerabilities allow untrusted users to gain root privileges.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8, Fold8 Ultra, Flip8, Watch9, and Watch Ultra2 renders leak
It's the mega leak you've been waiting for. Samsung is holding its next Unpacked event on July 22 in London, the company has recently confirmed. Ahead of...
Samsung might start taking pre-reservations for the new Galaxy Z foldables tomorrow
Tomorrow is exactly two weeks before the expected July 22 date for the next Galaxy Unpacked event. Samsung will kick off the pre-reservation campaign for...
U.S. Citizens Announce They're 'Rooting For Belgium' Tonight
Multiple U.S. citizens have announced on social media that they are "rooting for Belgium" on Monday night. The U.S. men's national team is taking on Belgium in the Round of 16. The Americans are in the middle of a World Cup controversy. FIFA has suspended the red card issued to star striker Folarin ...
Musician's hall of fame journey involves Elvis Presley, Woodstock
Tom Borum, a local musician who performs with Rudy and the Bluefish, The Blue Dice and Trick Bag, was inducted into the Maryland Entertainment Hall of Fame.
Samsung confirms the names of the Galaxy Watch9, Galaxy Watch Ultra2, and Galaxy Able
These are all expected to launch later this month. Samsung has just confirmed the names of its upcoming wearable devices, expected to be unveiled on July...
Here's how much the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8, Z Flip8 foldables will cost in South Korea
The foldables are expected to be announced later this month. Last week, the European pricing for Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Z foldables surfaced online....
Beetroot juice is trending – its benefits go beyond the hype
Some marathon runners and other athletes swear by beetroot juice shots, but is there evidence they really do anything for our bodies? Columnist Alice Klein investigates
REVIEW: Princeton professor's book delves into the roots of blackface in American society
The persistence of blackface in American culture is the subject of professor Rhae Lynn Barnes’s bombshell of a book, “Darkology."
REVIEW: Princeton professor's book delves into the roots of blackface in American society
The persistence of blackface in American culture is the subject of professor Rhae Lynn Barnes’s bombshell of a book, “Darkology."
Grassroot Institute Aims To Keep Growing Its Political Influence
Now in its 25th year, the nonprofit policy research organization wants to play a larger role in influencing state and county governance.
Apple has reportedly suspended the development of the AirPods Ultra
Even so, they could still presumably be launched late next year. For quite a while now we’ve been hearing rumors about an upcoming pair of AirPods that...
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8, Fold8 Ultra, Flip8, Watch9, Watch Ultra 2 prices leak
The motherlode is here. Samsung is widely expected to unveil the Galaxy Z Fold8, Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Flip8, Galaxy Watch9, and Galaxy Watch...
Oakland sports standings: Roots playoff push, ultimate frisbee dominance
Plus the Ballers' home run leader, the Unicorns’ promising cricket season and the rise of some local youth weightlifting champions.
Microsoft to cut 2.5% of its workforce in yet another round of layoffs
More than 5,000 people will likely lose their jobs pretty soon. It seems like Microsoft continues its series of layoffs, with the last one being in July...
The Clicks Communicator Phone With Blackberry Roots Demoed in New Video
A new video shows the $500 Clicks Communicator phone actually working. It offers a preview of all the typing and messaging that's to come.
Scientists find ozone depletion began decades before discovery of ozone hole
Ozone depletion began decades before discovery of ozone hole, MIT scientists have found. Using modern tools, they also determined that carbon tetrachloride, a common dry-cleaning and degreasing agent, was at the root of early ozone loss.
A business built on faith: Immeasurably More Event Catering plants roots in Madison Township
A church kitchen, a leap of faith and a dream that grew by word of mouth have led Immeasurably More Event Catering to its first permanent home.
iPhone 18, iPhone 18e, and iPhone Air 2 screen specs leak
The iPhone 18e is missing out on an important upgrade, it seems. A new rumor from Digital Chat Station on Weibo today brings us details about the early...
Bickley: It's hard to root for Suns, Miles Bridges pairing
You knew Suns owner Mat Ishbia would make a move this offseason, but trading for Miles Bridges could risk toppling the franchise's new identity.
Atlanta businesses push back on proposed liquor license pause as leaders seek to curb Edgewood Avenue violence
Edgewood Avenue business owners back public safety improvements after recent violence, but some say pausing new liquor licenses won't solve crime's root causes.
Efzimfotase alfa demonstrated improvements in bone health in treatment-naïve pediatric patients with hypophosphatasia achieving median difference of 1.67 vs placebo in RGI-C Score at week 25 in MULBERRY Phase III trial
Positive results from the MULBERRY Phase III trial showed that efzimfotase alfa (ALXN1850), an investigational enzyme replacement therapy, demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in bone health in children (2 to
These tiny soil microbes could rescue crops from salty farmland
Researchers have discovered that beneficial soil bacteria give plants an unexpected survival advantage in salty soils. Instead of helping plants keep salt out, the microbes stimulate the production of lignin, a natural compound that strengthens roots and makes plants more resilient. Greenhouse and field tests showed healthier plants and higher yields in salty conditions. The findings could lead to bio-based treatments that help farmers grow crops on land once considered too salty for agriculture.
Rooted in Flagstaff, Driven by Community
Flagstaff Business News Rooted in Flagstaff, Driven by Community
Deals: Prime Day shopping is over, here are the best Galaxy S26 and Pixel 10 series deals
The four-day shopping bonanza ended on Friday - now we're back to the regular, no-subscription-required deals. The four days of Amazon Prime Day shopping...
Country Star Releases New Album for the First Time in Nearly Three Years
Cody Johnson returns with his first studio album in nearly three years, featuring 16 tracks and deeply personal stories inspired by his Texas roots.
Apple to skip the M6 Pro and Max chips and focus on boosting AI for the M7 generation
The M7 series of Apple silicon will be AI-focused. According to a report from Mark Gurman, Apple is planning a shift in its chip release strategy. The...
Case Studies From Ireland: Making Sustainability Good Business
From Kinisla to Strong Roots, these food companies are making the business case for sustainable practices.
Business Leader Tim Giroux Announces Candidacy for Nevada Joint Union High School District Trustee
GRASS VALLEY, Calif. – June 26, 2026 – Tim Giroux, a business leader and community member rooted in the Auburn/Grass Valley area since 1999, today announced his candidacy for Trustee of the Nevada Joint Union High School District. The election will be held in November 2026. Giroux brings more than 40 years of business ownership […]
New Linux pedit COW Exploit Enables Root Access by Poisoning Cached Binaries
CVE-2026-46331 lets local users gain root on affected Linux systems by corrupting page-cache memory through act_pedit.
Tickled Apes Reveal the Rhythmic Roots of Laughter
A study of chimps, gorillas and other great apes, including human children, sheds light on how laughter has evolved.
Moody Center announces exhibition exploring math, science and tech rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems
Through a framing of North, Central and South America as interconnected regions, “Radiant Geometries: Vectors of Knowledge from the Indigenous Americas” brings together contemporary Indigenous and Latin American artists whose practices illuminate knowledge as a living technology, through which the mathematical, metaphysical and artistic realms converge.
Here's when Apple is starting mass production of the iPhone Ultra
Everything seems to be back on schedule. Recently there's been some controversy about the iPhone Ultra's release window, with a report claiming it was...
Rooted in History: Peoria’s Hoerr Nursery celebrates century in business
The Peoria County Board recently recognized Hoerr Nursery for its century-long run and how the family-owned company has grown through the generations.
iPhone 18 Pro camera upgrade 'confirmed' by another rumor
It will result in some increased thickness. According to one of the most prolific and well-known tipsters on Weibo, the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro will get the...
New supply chain report claims the iPhone Ultra will be unveiled as scheduled
When it will actually be released is another matter. Last week, a report from Apple's supply chain indicated that the iPhone Ultra would be delayed. This...
RedMagic shows its next gaming tablet with water cooling, reveals its launch date
It's finally coming this month. Back in May, RedMagic announced that it would be unveiling its next gaming tablet in June, and today we finally have an...
'Out of hand': Paraguay coach Alfaro vents at World Cup's business elite
Paraguay's outspoken coach Gustavo Alfaro took aim at football's business elites on Sunday, accusing them of commercial intrusion on the World Cup and sidelining fans with exorbitant ticket costs in a sport that has its roots in poverty.
Williamstown residents working to rebuild business after severe storm Thursday morning
A State of Emergency has been issued in Williamstown following severe weather Thursday morning, leaving uprooted trees and downed power lines.
Here's why Apple is already dropping support for so many watches in watchOS 27
It's for your own good, unsurprisingly. At its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, Apple unveiled watchOS 27. This will be rolling out in...
Researchers uncover an unpatchable security flaw affecting several iPhone generations
All devices running A12, A13, S4 and S5 chips are at risk. Researchers at Paradigm Shift published an extensive report that details the inherent security...
Early-career scientists build national infrastructure to bridge science and policy
A new Special Report in the journal BioScience introduces the Scientist Network for Advancing Policy (SNAP), a student-led, nonpartisan, grassroots coalition founded in 2025 to empower early-career researchers ...
Scientists May Have Found What Really Triggers Alzheimer’s Disease
Scientists may have uncovered a hidden trigger behind Alzheimer’s disease. Instead of plaques being the root cause, amyloid beta appears to interfere with tau, a protein that helps keep neurons functioning properly. This disruption could set off the damage that eventually leads to the disease’s most recognizable brain changes.
Gurman: Apple AirPods with built-in camera may arrive in late 2027
The AirPods are said to debut alongside the second-gen iPhone foldable. Back in May, a report claimed that Apple had entered the final stages of...
Sony unveils the Lytia 910, its first LOFIC sensor, and it boasts 100dB dynamic range
With Triple Conversion Gain, this sensor will snap HDR photos in one exposure - and it will record 4K 60fps HDR videos too.
Motorola Razr 70 Ultra/Razr Ultra 2026 in for review
It's mostly identical to its predecessor, but ups the milliamps to 5,000. We finally got our hands on the Motorola Razr 70 Ultra (aka Razr Ultra 2026 in...
OnePlus defies RAM crisis, offers the 15R with more memory
And the price hasn't skyrocketed compared to the options with less. There's been a lot of talk recently about RAM prices going through the roof because of...
FSU scientists uncover differences in drivers of long-term temperature changes in Atlantic, Pacific oceans
Florida State University researchers have identified key differences in the root causes of long-term sea-surface temperature changes across the Atlantic
For sports fans looking for a piece of peace, June is busting out all over
Something special is going on throughout North America. We’re stepping outside to join others to partly root, root, root for the home team.
Fowler Packing's Kiah Ruvalcaba recognized among produce industry leaders
Three professionals with deep Central Valley roots have been named to Produce Business magazine's 2026 "40 Under Forty" list, which recognizes emerging leaders across the fresh produce industry — with Fresno-based Fowler Packing Company's
The Apple iPhone Fold/Ultra may have been delayed to next year
Originally, it was expected to be unveiled alongside the iPhone 18 Pros this September. With the higher than usual amount of leaks about the iPhone...
In Retrospect: Poland, Russia, Europe
In April I spent a few days with Zryw, a Polish non-profit organization that recruits young people to enter politics and public life. Their aim is to build a new generation of civic leaders in Poland. I’ve followed their evolution from the beginning; my son is one of the founders. (“Zryw” means “impulse” or “burst of speed” in Polish). Julie Chmielewska, one of Zryw’s leaders, interviewed me at the event. Here is the conversation, lightly edited for grammar and context: Julia Chmielewska: Assuming that culture shapes institutions, could we conclude that some cultures are more prone to authoritarianism? Anne Applebaum: I don’t think so. Every culture, every nation, and every country has the potential for change. When we look at history, we can see that nations do change. Poland has changed, for example, from the 1980s to today. There’s a completely different mentality here than the one I encountered when I first visited, in 1988. The current generation sees the world through a different frame. So no, I don’t believe that certain nations are doomed to authoritarianism, or to anything. Of course, there are political and cultural traditions, but they can always be challenged. JC: So do you think there’s something intrinsic in human nature that pushes people to democracy, freedom? AA: I think there is something in human nature, a deep instinct, that pushes people towards freedom, yes. People who live in authoritarian countries – and I’ve heard this from them over and over again – sooner or later find themselves angered by a feeling of helplessness. They can see the unfairness of crooked courts, irrational political decisions. They naturally dislike the fact that somebody has all the power while they have none. In those circumstances, people who have no political background at all sometimes are politicized just by that frustration. I’m thinking of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, for example, who was a Belarusian housewife, until the circumstances of her husband’s arrest forced her to become a politician. I met a woman who is a Uyghur from China, and who had come to live in Turkey. After several of her family members were arrested, she too was propelled into a political role. These kinds of experiences make people interested in democracy or political reform, even if they thought they didn’t care. I also think that the opposite is true: some people instinctively prefer homogeneity, order, hierarchy. They don’t like the confrontation of opinions or the noise of debate, and they lean towards a single leader or a unified regime. I think that most of modern history is shaped by the clash between those two different sides of human nature. JC: Which force do you find more powerful today? AA: I think they both have a lot of power and there’s no way of predicting who wins. Even in countries that seem very shut off or stuck in an authoritarian system can change. We’ve seen that happen. And vice versa, I think democracies can also begin to fail and slide into authoritarianism. So it’s very important not to be complacent in either direction. JC: I want to go into your history and your experiences. You’ve lived in Russia during a time of incredible change in the late 80s, and then you came back to do research in post-Soviet Russia. AA: I was a student in Russia just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. I then traveled and worked there extensively in the 1990s, and I met people who really were full of hope. They hoped that Russia could become a democracy, or at least a place that guaranteed freedom of speech, freedom of the press. These weren’t ideas that came from Washington. Although now the narrative in the Kremlin is different, I met many people who were working towards exactly that kind of transformation. A friend of mine ran a series of seminars – once a year, and then later several times a year, in cities all over Russia – designed to get people to discuss politics in new ways. She invited young politicians and journalists, as well as foreigners. I went to many of them, in Moscow as well as Volgograd and Novosibirsk. Over two decades, hundreds of people came to these seminars, and all of them wanted Russia to be different. I remain convinced that many Russians still want Russia to be different. It’s just that the old system, in the form of Putin, a representative of that system, returned. The KGB reimposed their power. And this wasn’t because of something to do with culture, this was to do with money and politics, and who was in charge. JC: You’ve partially answered my question... I wanted to ask whether that excitement of the 1990s was an exception from the Russian historical norm which has been rather authoritarian? AA: Of course, if you look at the history of Russia since the 18th century, there have always been liberal groups, reformers and revolutionaries. There were the Decembrists, in the early 19th century, and the rural populists later on, who tried to organize the peasantry. A significant group of liberal Russians appeared at the turn of the 20th century, people like the father of the writer Vladimir Nabokov, who was a Russian politician before the revolution. These groups were small in number, but sometimes had a broader significance. The Russian dissident movement in the 1950s and 1960s actually invented the modern human rights movement. It was their idea to hold the leaders of the Soviet Union accountable for the language they used, to remind them of the treaties they had signed and the promised they had made. They created the Helsinki group, for example, that held Soviet leadership to the language of the Helsinki Treaty, which formally ended the Second World War and which contained guarantees of human rights, at least on paper. That idea spread to Eastern Europe, and similar tactics were used here in Poland. (Benjamin Nathans recently wrote a great book about the Soviet dissidents, To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause) JC: But seemingly, even if they do ever get power, they could never hold on to it. AA: We don’t know, because they have never really had power. But in any case, we also don’t know what will happen in the future. There is no reason to assume that Russia will forever be condemned to totalitarianism. Even during the first fifteen years of Putin’s regime there was some form of democratic politics. Only when the full-scale war began did he bring everything to an end: he shut down all remaining independent organizations and killed his most important opponent, Alexi Navalny. But does that mean he is popular, that he enjoys legitimacy? Even now, we don’t really know what Russians think about him, or about the war. There is no way of doing real polling in Russia because nobody will answer an independent pollster over the phone. JC: Do you think that the flock of young people, especially young men, who fled Russia after the start of the war represent a continuation of liberal movements that refuse to partake in the authoritarian state, or do you think they are moving for the sake of self-preservation – “I don’t want to go to the army, so I leave”? AA: I’m sure it’s both. I actually know many people who left Russia for political reasons either in the very last years before the war, or else just after the war began. JC: And do you see a change in the young generation versus the old one that have fled? AA: It’s hard for me to say because the people who I know were mostly already politicized. I do know some younger people who left, but most of them were already either active in the opposition, or working as journalists. Many of them very self-consciously think of themselves as maintaining Russian culture abroad, just as in the 20th century the Soviet dissidents or the anti-communist White Russians once thought of themselves as people who maintained the true Russian culture, outside of Bolshevik Russia. JC: Let’s move on to Poland. One of your first experiences with Poland was reporting on Margaret Thatcher’s first state visit, in the autumn of 1988. You followed her around the farmers’ market. AA: She was making a symbolic gesture. She wanted to welcome free markets, but the only one she could really visit was the farmers’ market at Hala Mirowska. JC: And I want to talk about this area because today you can look out of any window in that district, Mirów, and see rows and rows of skyscrapers. How does it feel to see a country built from the ground in such a short time, both politically and economically? AA: You know, when you’re living in a period of dramatic change, it’s always hard to know whether the change is positive or negative. The transformation in Poland created winners and losers, as well as new classes of people, new political movements of different kinds. At the time, it sometimes just felt like turbulence. Now, we can look back at the 1990s and early 2000s in Poland and see in retrospect that the country was headed in towards prosperity and European integration. In around 2009 or 2010, I remember speaking to a woman who worked cleaning government offices, and who asked me if her daughter should study in Amsterdam or in London. This seemed to me to be a real transformation, and it happened very fast: within a few years, Poles stopped feeling like second-class Europeans, and a generation of younger Poles appeared who had no qualms about crossing borders. JC: We again live in turbulent times. Do you think we’re heading towards positive outcomes? AA: I can’t make predictions, because everything that happens tomorrow depends on what people do today. Also, history doesn’t have a trajectory. It doesn’t move in a particular direction. You only think it does afterwards. As I said, you can look afterwards at Poland in the 1990s and you could say this was a period of great progress. But not everybody at the time saw that. Sometimes people are very wrong about a given country’s trajectory. I remember people writing about Ukraine in the 1990s, about how dangerous it was that Ukraine was independent, that this was going to be an anti-semitic state, that Ukrainian nationalism was going to come back... and although you can say many bad things about Ukraine, the country made many bad choices, actually it became a pretty tolerant state which now has a Jewish president and until recently a Muslim defense minister. JC: In the 1990s Poland’s and Ukraine’s GDP were roughly similar. Ukraine was even a bit richer. So the starting point was similar for both of these countries, but they’ve turned out very, very differently. Even if we stop in 2014. Why do you think Ukraine “chose East”? Was it external influence? AA: No, I think Ukraine was in a different position. First of all, central and eastern Ukraine had been part of the Soviet Union since the 1920s, and had therefore experienced a longer period of occupation, repression, Sovietization and even Russification. Ukraine did not have, as Poland did, an alternative elite: a large cadre of economists and politicians, who already had some experience in opposition politics and in independent thinking. In Poland, the transformative finance minister, Leszek Balcerowicz, had already thought about how an economy might be decentralized before he took office. We can argue about how successful he was, but at least he was prepared to try something new. In Ukraine, people weren’t prepared. For one, there hadn’t been much space even for an illegal opposition in the previous couple of decades. Ukraine was also in many ways still emerging from colonial occupation. For the previous couple of centuries, many of the most capable Ukrainians had moved to Russia, and the first generation of leaders in independent Ukraine tended to be former Soviet apparatchiks. They didn’t immediately seek to become closer to western Europe. Instead, they looked for some kind of economic and political “third way” and an accomodation with Russia. Ukraine became stuck in this position, half-in, half-out and became pretty profoundly corrupt. JC: The Polish alternative elite had a vision of where they wanted the country to go. I think the general perception now is that this vision ends with the next election, right? Is this a natural process of gaining power? AA: Their vision, and it was shared by the time by politicians who now call themselves both left and right, was that Poland should join the EU and NATO, as fast as possible. My husband (Radek Sikorski) was in the very first government that said it wanted to join NATO. At the time this was taken very badly in Washington: the demand for NATO membership absolutely came from Poland, not from the US. But even then, in the early 1990s, many Poles already understood that the Russian sphere of influence would grow once again, that it was important to become part of the transatlantic alliance and an integrated Europe as fast as possible: NATO, the EU, the Council of Europe, all of the trading and security alliances. That consensus lasted through several different governments and over many years, even governments containing former communists. For twenty years, right, left and center disagreed about many things, but they all agreed on the direction that the country should go. In retrospect, that consensus created the basis for prosperity in Poland. JC: And regarding the Polish-Ukrainian relations. We know that antagonisms, e.g. the myth of Wołyń [a massacre of Poles that took place in what is now Western Ukraine, in 1943] are increasingly used in Polish political discourse today. In Ukraine, nationalist historians make heroes out of UPA, the Ukrainian revolutionary army, which is held responsible for this tragedy. Where do you see a start for burying the hatchet? Is the reconciliation of our nations possible? AA: So here’s a strange thing: For more than a decade after they both gained independence, Poland and Ukraine participated in a number of projects that were designed to solve exactly these kinds of Polish-Ukrainian differences. Books were published that were jointly written by Polish and Ukrainian historians, monuments were built. These projects were successful: If you’d asked me this question in 2010, I would have said that there are no real historical issues between Poland and Ukraine, that the two countries had mostly reconciled. For a number of reasons, this began to shift. In Poland, children and grandchildren of victims of the Wołyń massacre felt their tragedy hadn’t been fully recognized. In Ukraine, nationalist groups wanted the UPA partisans who had fought against the Soviet Union recognized for their heroism, despite the fact that some in this broad and not well-defined group were also linked to Wołyń. In both eastern Poland and western Ukraine, the memory of the ethnic cleansing that took place there in the late 1940s - Poles were moved West, Ukrainians East - to accomodate new borders has left feelings of displacement and bitterness. The wave of Ukrainian immigration, which started before the war, may have provoked some of this. But don’t underestimate the role played by Russia, which has always wanted to create discord between Poland and Ukraine, and pumps out propaganda to that effect in both countries. Vandalism on both sides of the border, damage done to cemeteries and monuments, is sometimes carried out by provacateurs working for Russia, just to create bad feelings. The Polish-Ukrainian conflict also hides a different reality: although there are real grievances and bad memories, the truth is that the biggest tragedies both nations experienced in the twentieth century were inflicted by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. That should unite these two countries, not divide them. JC: This week (19.04.2026 – Ed.) in Hungary we saw that using historical narratives to create grievance has no longer worked. Are you optimistic about the direction after Orban’s loss? AA: The Hungarian election was really important because it shows that people can actually resist powerful, dominant propaganda. The ruling party Fidesz controlled all of the TV, 90% of the newspapers, the constitutional court, the bureaucracy... and yet people had the nerve to vote against it and resist it. It’s also an important election because Hungary created a huge network of well-funded think tanks and foundations that were funding other far right groups and projects. So that loss is going to have a knock-on effect in other places too, maybe even in Poland. JC: What you’ve said about resisting propaganda reminds me of one of the interviews you did about talking to Russians in the post-Soviet era who claimed that people knew that the system was lying. Why do people choose to believe in these regimes anyway? AA: Because it’s useful. Stephen Kotkin, an American historian, once described how people would learn how to “speak Bolshevik”: It was just a language that you needed to use in order to get by in society. If you didn’t talk the way the regime wanted you to talk, then you might have problems, or lose your job, or your kids would not get into university. It was a way of getting along. Communist Poland was similar, at least in the early years. When I was writing a book about the Sovietization of Eastern Europe after World War II, I met a lot of people who wanted to talk a lot about the war, when many of them had done really heroic things. But almost nobody wanted to talk about the decade afterwards, between 1945 and 1956. This was when you had the short period of terror, violence and Polish Stalinism. To stay safe, people felt the need to just go along with what others were saying, or stay out of politics, or use communist jargon without necessarily believing it. I don’t judge them for it, and I wouldn’t describe all of those people as collaborators. It’s easy to feel moral certainty in retrospect, because we know that communism ended. But if you were living in 1949, it might not have been clear to you that communism was going to end. In very repressive societies, maybe about 10% of people who are really evil – collaborators, torturers. Maybe 10% of people are really brave and who find ways to resist. And then around 80% of people have kids, they have parents, they have to have jobs and they’ve had to get through it somehow. Strange though it may sound, I’ve found that the work I did on that book is now very useful in explaining some of what’s going on in the United States today. There are plenty of members of the Republican Party in Congress who know perfectly well that Donald Trump says many things that aren’t true. But they avoid criticizing him because it’s inconvenient, because they would get in trouble, because someone would attack them on the internet. So actually you don’t even need mass terror to get people to conform. JC: Is Gen Z reinventing agency? AA: We’ll see. In any generation you can find groups of people who want agency. If you live in a society that’s unfair, for example where a tiny number of people have captured most of the wealth, then at a certain point people rebel. This is always easier for younger people, who have you have less to lose. The question now is how the internet will affect the relationships between citizens and the state, and how it will change organizations. The “Twitter revolutions” people spoke about as early as 2008-9, mass protests organized online, have often proved to be very superficial. Although you can easily join something just by clicking, the work of creating a real movement requires physical participation. Successful mass movements of the past, for example the Civil Rights movement in the United States, were built by people who had spent many years together. They had participated in non-violent workshops together. They practiced and prepared. Just using the you can get everybody to show up at a certain moment, but then when the protest is broken up, nothing happens. It’s also true that the repressive regimes have more recently learned how to use the internet to undermine leaders and movements. Most of all, they now understand how to make people cynical. The form of propaganda that most modern authoritarians use - and I think the Russians really pioneered this - deploys sneering cynicism. Instead of praising the rulers, the regime propagandists mock the opposition movement leadership for being supposedly corrupt or sexually degenerate, with the goal of undermining any kind of idealism. JC: MAGA grew on the internet? AA: MAGA is a real grassroots movement. They had symbols, red hats, they showed up at rallies. But you’re right that the cynicism, the sarcasm and the distrust that the movement embodies came originally from the internet, and this is different. Fifty years ago, most European political parties had a social base in real organizations, in trade unions for Social Democrats, in church groups for Christian Democrats. As people stopped going to church and as the trade unions became smaller, the social base of these parties disappeared. Now people who wouldn’t have known one another in the past meet on the internet and create new movements, many of which don’t last. JC: Is history ending? Going in stale circles? AA: History never ends. In truth, human beings want contradictory things at the same time: order and freedom, stability and change. These things are never resolved, and when a society swings too far in one direction, people always push it the other way. But each time that happens, the result is different. Certainly it is true that we are now in a period when old philosophers and ideas from the 1930s are undergoing a revival. Carl Schmitt, who was a philosopher who was very influential on the Nazis, is back as an influence on both the far left and the far right, once again inspiring people to think that all politics has to be existential, that all politics is about defining and defeating enemies. In the US, some are also bringing back dominionism, the idea that we need a Christian and not a secular state. It’s also true that we are living through a more fundamental shift. The old left-right divide, which was mostly about the size of the state, is much less important now. Instead, we are arguing about more fundamental things: what are our rights, what protects our freedom. Or how much power do we want to give small elites, versus how much power to give ordinary people. In America a small group of very wealthy people now control information, because they control the social media platforms and AI, which means they determine what people will read and learn. Finding a way to preserve preserve zones of autonomy and independent thinking, this is going to be the main task for the next generation. JC: What is the one book that a person interested in Central Europe should read? AA: You could read my book “Iron Curtain: the Crushing of Eastern Europe” which tells the story of how the Soviet Union imposed its culture on the region. Or read Tim Snyder’s history of the region, “The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus 1569-1999.” And everyone should read “The Captive Mind” by Czesław Miłosz, which describes exactly the phenomenon we were talking about: why do people collaborate? I joined Scott Galloway and the brilliant Fiona Hill in a discussion about the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the future of global power, and what these conflicts reveal about America's role in the world. Scott told us that this was the 400th edition of his podcast, which is quite a number: My friend Francesco Chiamulera runs a brilliant series of literary events, Una Colline di Libri, A Hill of Books, in the Prosecco Hills, a region of vineyards and elegant hill towns in the Veneto, north of Venice. We did an event in Vittorio Veneto and also drove and biked around the countryside. Buy Autocracy Inc Buy Iron Curtain Open Letters, from Anne Applebaum is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe
Environmental roots of neonatal health: how social and structural exposures shape early-life outcomes
Pediatric Research - Environmental roots of neonatal health: how social and structural exposures shape early-life outcomes
DJI sues Insta360 for how similar the Luna Ultra is to the Osmo Pocket 4P
Perhaps surprisingly, the lawsuits are being filed in the US. A couple of days ago, Insta360 made its DJI Osmo Pocket 4P competitor official in the Luna...
FBI searches office of Ohio group that supports voter registration efforts
Federal agents showed up at the Cleveland office of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative on Thursday and spent hours questioning staff, said Prentiss Haney, a board member of the grassroots organization.
Nissan's Nostalgic 2027 Z Gets More Than Just A New Face
As the refreshed Z arrives in showrooms, Nissan honors its roots, while packing in a host of modern upgrades, like new colors inside and out.
Over 400 Arch Linux AUR Packages Hijacked to Deploy Infostealer and eBPF Rootkit
Attackers hijacked 400+ Arch Linux AUR packages to run a Rust credential stealer, with optional eBPF rootkit support on root systems.
Waze's traffic lights feature continues to roll out to more users
Waze started testing the feature last December. Last December, we heard that Waze - a crowd-sourced GPS navigation app - started testing a feature that...
Taylor Swift pauses speech after getting emotional on stage in moving family tribute
Taylor Swift cried on stage in a moving speech dedicated to her family after she broke a major music industry record: 'They uprooted their entire lives.'
Galaxy phones can finally display network speed in the status bar, here’s how
No root, no third-party app: Galaxy smartphones can finally show network speed in the status bar, and we explain how to enable it.
The wide Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 receive new certifications
They will both be available in India, unsurprisingly. Samsung's upcoming wide-format Galaxy Z Fold, most recently believed to be called Galaxy Z Fold8...
Celebrating a shared cosmos and advancing Black equity in space science
Black in Astro, co-led by an astronomy postdoc at UC Santa Cruz, welcomes all to join the grassroots organization’s virtual conference to find inspiration and connection in a vibrant global community
Iowa's STOP Fraud Act targets fake business addresses
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says the "STOP Fraud Act" is a key step in fighting business fraud, though more work is needed to address its root causes.
Google makes its AI Plus plan cheaper, doubles the cloud storage that comes with it
Previously, the Google AI Plus plan cost $8 a month and came with 200GB storage. Google scored a big victory yesterday as its Gemini model became the...
Electric Ladyland announces closure after nearly 50 years on Bardstown Road
The smoke shop, record and metaphysical supply store opened in 1978 and is known for its bright Bardstown Road storefront, counterculture roots, and hippie-inspired decor and exterior.
Robert Charles details Maine's political climate and need for change
Robert Charles, Maine gubernatorial candidate, discusses his strong polling lead despite being outspent. He highlights Mainers' frustration with 'woke' schools, high taxes, crime and insiders, emphasizing a grassroots movement for 'massive change.'
Aaliyah Auginash places in top three overall at Native American Youth Science and Engineering Fair in Pine Point, MN
Red Lake Tribal Council: Congratulations to Aaliyah Auginash, enjoy DisneyWorld!! Aaliyah placed in the top three overall in the Native American Youth Science and Engineering Fair (NAISEF) in Pine Point, MN and earned herself a free trip this summer with her "Dancing Roots" experiment. Native American Youth Science and Engineering Fair Bemidji Midd...
Gov. DeSantis appoints, reappoints five people to St. Johns River State College Trustees
All five appointments have deep roots in Northeast Florida in law and education.
Donald Trump, Knicks fan, heads back to New York to root on his team
Donald Trump plans to be back at Madison Square Garden in New York to watch Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs.
WATCH: Mace says Trump's endorsement hasn't sealed SC gubernatorial race: ‘It’s a dog fight’
Rep. Nancy Mace says Trump's endorsement of Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette hasn't resonated with grassroots Republicans in South Carolina's GOP primary.
Ancient Chinese medicine could transform hair loss treatment
A traditional Chinese medicinal root used for over a thousand years is attracting new scientific attention for its potential to combat hair loss. Studies suggest Polygonum multiflorum can block harmful hormones, activate hair-growth signals, protect follicles, and boost blood flow to the scalp. Researchers say the herb’s effects align remarkably well with both ancient descriptions and modern hair biology.
Jimmy Kimmel says Trump should be rooting for the Spurs in 2026 NBA Finals: 'It's what got him out of Vietnam'
Jimmy Kimmel shared his two cents on why Donald Trump should be rooting for the San Antonio Spurs over his hometown team, the New York Knicks, when he attends game three of the NBA finals.
Best of Broadway: What shows we're rooting for on Tony Awards night
From "Schmigadoon!" to "The Lost Boys," here's what we're rooting for at the Tonys.
Painted Tree vendors to host free pop-up after abrupt closure
Vendors are hosting a free pop-up event to recover lost income after Painted Tree Boutiques declared bankruptcy. Here's how to shop on Saturday.
Trump says he will attend NBA Finals game to root for his hometown Knicks
The NBA believes it would make him the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8 to have both Exynos and Snapdragon chips
Which one you get will depend on where you're located, apparently. We've already heard that Samsung would be using the Exynos 2600 SoC in the upcoming...
Analysis: How Andoni Iraola can improve Liverpool
Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool Blueprint: Pressing, Direct Attacks And A Clearer IdentityLiverpool’s interest in Andoni Iraola, as discussed by Dave Davis and Michael Reid on Anfield Index, is rooted i...
Diebold Nixdorf CEO 'proud of our roots' as business implements AI
Diebold Nixdorf is exploring options for a business incubator at its North Canton headquarters and has implemented AI across operations.
New book offers tips to translate climate science into political gains
At a time when climate politics in the United States and globally remain deeply polarized, Will Hackman, a climate advocate and political operative, argues that the climate movement needs a new language — one rooted less in doom, guilt and abstract planetary crisis, and more in people’s everyday lives, health, safety, costs and communities. In […]
New book offers tips to translate climate science into political gains
At a time when climate politics in the United States and globally remain deeply polarized, Will Hackman, a climate advocate and political operative, argues that the climate movement needs a new language — one rooted less in doom, guilt and abstract planetary crisis, and more in people’s everyday lives, health, safety, costs and communities. In […]
Motorola Edge (2026) for US and Canada unveiled with smaller 6.3" display
The 2024 and 2025 models had 6.6" and 6.7" displays, respectively. The new model has a 50MP 1/1.56" main camera and a 10MP 3x telephoto module.
Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold8 wide foldable spotted in the wild
The Galaxy Z Fold8 foldables are expected to debut in July. Samsung is expected to launch its next foldables in July. Recent leaks suggest that the rumored...
Taylor Swift releases 'Toy Story 5' country song inspired by Jessie
Taylor Swift has returned to her country roots with her new song 'I Knew It, I Knew You' for 'Toy Story 5,' inspired by the character Jessie.