‘Tell students the truth about American history’
Clint Smith at The Atlantic
“Millions of Americans have never been taught” that Founding Father Thomas Jefferson owned hundreds of slaves, says Clint Smith. “Talking about this part of the American story with students is just as important as teaching them about Jefferson’s political accomplishments.” Many people are “frightened by the prospect of having to reconsider their long-held narratives about the country,” but to “gloss over” Jefferson’s “moral inconsistencies would be to gloss over the moral inconsistencies of the country’s founding — and its present.”
‘This is how our economy comes crashing down’
Rebecca Patterson at The New York Times
“Economic growth is robust and stock markets are hovering around record highs,” says Rebecca Patterson. “The tower appears sturdy. But a closer inspection shows that an increasing number of structural supports — across businesses, labor markets, consumers and stocks — are looking wobbly,” and a “Jenga-like collapse” is possible. Small American companies have had “fewer resources than their larger competitors to navigate the Trump administration’s tariffs,” and now “companies of all sizes are offsetting increased costs” by “freezing hiring and trimming personnel.”
‘Spotify needs to stop AI music from reaching my ears’
Dave Lee at Bloomberg
A song by a “computer-generated artist called Breaking Rust” is “currently No. 1 in the ‘Country Digital Song Sales’ ranking” on Spotify, says Dave Lee. “AI-generated music is encroaching into the places where we expect to find human talent.” On Spotify, “deceptive AI music isn’t just being allowed, the app actively pushes it.” But “discovering you’ve been listening to an AI artist is a deeply violating experience that a good streaming platform should help me avoid.”
‘Insect-borne diseases are impacting the US. Here’s what to do.’
Jarbas Barbosa at Newsweek
The arrival of the chikungunya virus in New York is “troubling — and part of a larger trend,” says Jarbas Barbosa, the director of the Pan American Health Organization. “Diseases once confined to tropical climates are now in the U.S. and more people are falling sick as a result.” For years, “countries across Latin America and the Caribbean have battled these same mosquito-borne threats — and learned how to manage them” with robust surveillance and early outbreak response. “We must draw on that experience.”
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
