Joe Biden showed up on the United Auto Workers’ picket line today—but even with the president’s historic gesture of union support, a specter is looming. The shift to electric vehicles is coming, and “this future is not guaranteed to offer the same kinds of middle-class jobs and robust benefits that unionized autoworkers enjoy in many states,” Nitish Pahwa writes. He takes a close look at what the EV transition is going to mean for organized labor.
Interview with the LLaMA
Fred Kaplan noticed three of his own books among the list of titles that Meta used to train its new large language model, LLaMA (basically its answer to ChatGPT). So he decided to ask it some questions—what did it think of his books? How does it rank him compared to the other author who happens to be named Fred Kaplan? His conversation with the LLaMA chatbot produced some baffling—and deeply troubling—results.
Mock weddings and stink bombs
Back in the 1980s, as the anti-abortion movement increasingly terrorized clinics, pro-choice activists had to get creative. Angela Hume takes a look back at what happened when they let their imaginations lead.
An epic challenge
As we head into an incredibly bizarre election year, perhaps it’s a good time to read an ancient tale about combatants locked together in a grinding stalemate. Johanna Hanink unpacks how celebrated translator Emily Wilson brings us closer to a familiar, difficult story.
Look what you made us do
So Swifties have to learn about … sports, now??
For those who never watch football, Nadira Goffe has you covered with a quick guide to everything you need to know about Taylor Swift’s alleged new boyfriend, Travis Kelce. Yes, she explains what a “tight end” is.
Communist-hunting housewives
When Alaskans wanted their own mental health facility, a rumor took hold all over America. Come along with Evan Chung as he traces the origins of a rumor that took hold all over America in 1955—a strange tale that involves a brainwashing manual, Scientology, and a vast network of Communist-hunting housewives.
Today, Slate is … * BATTLING LOCAL OPPOSITION AND NATIONAL OBSCURITY
… much like a group of eight sites in southern Ohio featuring earthen mounds and walls that may be as vital to human history as the pyramids. Wait, what?! Dan Kois went to check it out.
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