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Julie Bowen reveals what ‘Modern Family’ cast talks about in group chat
Julie Bowen is giving ‘Modern Family’ fans an inside look at what the cast of the beloved sitcom talk about in their hyperactive group chat: ‘We’re always chatting.’
‘Fitbit Edge’ leaks as Google’s next fitness tracker with ‘Apps’ & ‘Notifications’
Following an accidental marketing leak in August and FCC listing last month, retail listings for the “Fitbit Edge” have now emerged.
Tom Cruise-led 'Digger' craters at the box office
Warner Bros.' climate change satire "Digger" collapsed at the box office with a domestic haul of $8 million, despite the star power of Tom Cruise.
Alan Alda opens up about Parkinson’s diagnosis: ‘I don’t want to wish it away’
Alan Alda says the first Parkinson’s symptom that he experienced ‘was not that well-known’ at the time, adding that he had ‘no twitch, no tremor’ and ‘no problems with [his] voice.’
San Diego Foundation Grants Nearly $1M in Binational Water Health Grants
The San Diego Foundation Wednesday granted nearly $1 million in the Binational Resilience Initiative for 10 projects ranging from addressing Tijuana River pollution to restoring coastal habitats in the California-Baja region.
An AI couldn’t beat humans at StarCraft, so it decided to cheat
When GPT-6 Astra’s own bot failed, it simply downloaded the best human-made bot instead.
Kansas City artist uses public installation to spark mental health conversations during awareness week
A Kansas City artist will pop up at Mill Creek Fountain during Mental Health Awareness Week to help people confront trauma and find help.
This toolless modular lever-action wallet is the coolest I’ve stuck to my phone
Pull the lever to fan your cards with the OhSnap Wallet 2.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month in TX: The resources, events, and numbers to know
Experts say this month is about screening and early detection. One in eight women in America will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Kansas City artist uses public installation to spark mental health conversations during awareness week
A Kansas City artist will pop up at Mill Creek Fountain during Mental Health Awareness Week to help people confront trauma and find help.
Redesigned MacBook Pro with OLED to feature 'significantly lighter' design: report
Apple’s major MacBook Pro overhaul is just around the corner, and should debut within a month or so. It’ll be...
LAUP connects Latino families with mental health support in Holland
LAUP in Holland connects Latino families with mental health care through therapy and monthly workshops, addressing stigma, language barriers and cost while helping participants rebuild confidence.
Claim that Anaheim mayor called staffer 'dirty Mexican' is old hat in O.C. politics
Your morning catch-up: Orange County’s long anti-Mexican political history, speed cameras coming to L.A. and more big stories
Trump holds Ohio midterm rally, urging voters to consider him on the ballot during 32-day campaign tour
President Trump rallied in Ohio as part of a 32-day midterm campaign tour, pushing GOP candidates in a Senate race that could shift control of Congress.
Sylvester Stallone details ‘physical’ altercation with Richard Gere on ‘The Lords of Flatbush’ set
Sylvester Stallone recalled his on-set tension with Richard Gere during the filming of ‘The Lords of Flatbush,’ which Gere later exited.
How Americans’ Financial Health Is Faring In The “K-Shaped” Economy
Hey all, Jason here. Money20/20 is still two weeks away, but I’ve already started packing (not procrastinating for once!). My calendar is already filling up with various sessions I want to catch, meetings, and of course happy hours, dinners, and other side events. If you’ll be in Vegas and want to catch up, let me know by replying to this email, and we can try to find a time amidst the chaos of the Venetian. A big if not totally unexpected piece of news dropped on Friday: the Independent Community Bankers of America, a trade group that represents smaller U.S. banks, filed a lawsuit against the OCC and Comptroller Jonathan Gould, arguing that the regulator’s move to grant trust bank charters to firms seeking to use them to conduct substantial non-fiduciary activities exceeds the authorities granted to the OCC by Congress. I haven’t had time to fully digest the legal filing or speak to folks in my network about it, but you can expect to see coverage and analysis on it in next week’s newsletter. Subscribe or Support by Upgrading The NerdCon agenda just dropped. It’s stacked. Partner content: Nubank built an AI-first bank. Chime built its own banking core. Figure and Valon are rebuilding the mortgage stack. At NerdCon, you’ll hear from the people behind those bets: what they chose, what they learned, and what they’re still figuring out. The agenda is live, with leaders from Nubank, Chime, OpenAI, Remitly, Mercury, Figure, Valon and more. Follow the mainstage conversations, bring the problem your team is wrestling with to a hands-on workshop, or pull up a chair at a roundtable. Pick your quests. Meet us in San Diego, November 18–20. Fintech Business Weekly readers save 20% with code FBW20. Explore the Agenda Things To Know & Other Good Reads Federal Reserve Board finalizes changes to enhance the transparency and public accountability of its stress test and reduce volatility in its stress test-related capital requirements (Federal Reserve Board of Governors) FDIC Announces Conclusion of Independent Monitorship (FDIC) Modernizing Financial Regulation: Initial Observations from eSLR (Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman) The Data Version of Godzilla versus Kong: FRED Takes on AI (Fed Governor Christopher Waller) Financing the AI buildout (Brookings) Q3’26: Rules for Banks but Not for Crypto (Fintech Takes Banking) The Inevitability of Local Stablecoins (Lombard Notes) Delusions of AI Governance: The Human-in-the-Loop Comfort Blanket (Fintech Snark Tank) Stripe agrees to acquire Parafin to expand revenue opportunities for platforms and help small businesses grow (Stripe) Listen: Fighting Fraud in the Age of AI, with SEON’s Tamas Kadar (Fintech Business Weekly) How Americans’ Financial Health Is Faring In The “K-Shaped” Economy If there is one overarching theme across the economy and politics in the U.S. at the moment, it’s “affordability.” The term is vague enough to encompass a panoply of factors shaping Americans’ day-to-day lives: rising costs for the hallmarks of being “middle class,” including healthcare, housing, childcare, and education, inflation and rising interest rates, and a job market with the specter of AI hovering over it. At the same time, policy shifts under the Trump administration have resulted in reduced subsidies to those who get health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and new restrictions on qualifying for Medicaid and SNAP, the impacts of which have yet to be fully felt. These factors are contributing to declining consumer confidence and general dissatisfaction with the economy, despite continuing GDP growth and stock market records. This divergence is encapsulated in the idea of the “K-shaped” economy, in which a small proportion of Americans have seen their wealth balloon, while the majority of American households struggle to preserve the lifestyle they have. Perhaps the greatest determinant of which branch of the “K” a household is on is whether their wealth and income are primarily derived from employment vs. from assets. Nearly two decades of low interest rates and, more recently, elevated rates of inflation have benefited asset owners, while those whose income is primarily or solely derived from labor have largely seen real purchasing power stagnate or decline. This is reflected in recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that labor share of U.S. GDP — the fraction of economic output that accrues to workers as compensation in exchange for their labor — dropped to just 52.8% in Q2 2026, the lowest since the BLS began keeping records. In 1947, approximately 2/3rds of economic output accrued to workers; even as recently as 2001, labor’s share of GDP was 64.1%. Against this backdrop, we’ve seen the rise of more credit and credit-like products: cash advance apps, “no-fee” overdraft, earned wage access, and buy now pay later, which are often used as small-dollar short-term borrowing mechanisms to meet immediate consumption needs or pay other bills (eg utilities, cell phone, other debt payments). With the markers of a middle class existence and, increasingly, basic financial stability seemingly out of reach for many, it should be no surprise there’s been an increase in “financial nihilism,” something industry peers like Alex Johnson and Frank Rotman have discussed and analyzed the roots of. The explosion of gambling and gambling-adjacent products and services — often marketed under the guise of being an “investment” — is inextricably intertwined with the rise of financial nihilism. Crypto, sports betting, and, more recently, prediction markets offer an escape or even hope of sorts, like a contemporary, digital version of a scratch-off lottery ticket, while leaving the overwhelming number of people who use such products worse off. Share of Households That Are Financially “Vulnerable” Ticks Up The Financial Health Network’s 2026 Financial Health Pulse® report adds context on how American households are faring. (I linked to this report in last week’s newsletter, but wanted to take time to further unpack the data in the report this week.) The Financial Health Network publishes the report annually, providing insight into how Americans’ financial circumstances are changing over time. The 2026 report is derived from a survey fielded in April and May 2026. The report leverages survey responses to assess indicators of financial health across spending, saving, borrowing, and planning/protecting and to determine a zero to 100 “FinHealth” score. Those with scores between 0 and 39 are considered “Financially Vulnerable,” consumers with scores ranging between 40 and 79 are defined as “Financially Coping,” and those with scores of 80 to 100 are “Financially Healthy.” The report found that moderate improvements in 2025 were reversed, with the share of respondents considered financially “vulnerable” rebounding to 17%. The longitudinal data reflect the impact of pandemic-era programs, like expanded unemployment, cash stimulus payments, and pauses of federal student loan payments. The positive impacts of those programs, as reflected in the Financial Health Pulse reports, had largely disappeared by 2023. While pandemic-era inflation — to be fair, in part caused by the various support and stimulus measures — had come down from as high as 9% in 2022, it has rebounded since the start of Trump’s second term, with tariffs and energy market disruptions owing to the war in Iran pushing prices back up. Specific indicators in the survey that deteriorated from 2025 to 2026 include the share of respondents spending less than their income over the past 12 months, the share paying all bills on time over the past 12 months, the share that have a manageable amount or no debt, the share that are “moderately” or “very” confident their insurance is adequate to cover them in an emergency, and the share that “somewhat” or “strongly” agree that their household plans ahead financially. Unsurprisingly, lower- and moderate-income households are more likely to struggle to pay their bills on time and have any funds leftover to save. The share of low-income households whose income exceeded their spending dropped from 35% in 2025 to 31% in 2026, while the share of upper-income households whose income exceeded expenses remained unchanged at 63%. Households with student loans or revolving credit card debt reported having “a bit more” or “far more” debt than was manageable at rates far higher than those not carrying these types of debts. The share of those with student loan debt indicating their debt load was too high to manage increased from 50% in 2025 to 55% in 2026, while the share of those with revolving credit card debt saying the same ticked up from 51% in 2025 to 54% in 2026. Households that had student loans were markedly more likely to be financially “coping” or “vulnerable” vs. those without student loans. In 2026, 27% of households with student loans were considered financially vulnerable, a jump of 6% points vs. 2025. Households without student loans saw just a 1% point increase (not statistically significant) in those considered financially vulnerable. Households’ perception of the affordability of categories of goods and services paints a stark picture, with less than one-fourth considering higher education affordable, about a third deeming childcare affordable, and less than half viewing healthcare as affordable. Fintech Business Weekly is made possible by the generous support of paying subscribers — bringing you independent analysis of banking, fintech, and crypto without fear or favor. You can support my work by becoming a paying subscriber if you aren’t already. Paying subscribers enjoy: access to the entire archive of nearly six years of newsletters extended versions of the weekly newsletter, with additional content and analysis and (for founding member tier) quarterly personal 1:1 fintech Q&A / strategy calls with me, tapping into my unparalleled knowledge of the intersection of banking and fintech and experience working in the sector, including helping to launch Goldman Sachs’ retail bank Marcus Support Fintech Business Weekly You can also support Fintech Business Weekly by sponsoring a newsletter or podcast, putting you in front of 93,000+ of the most influential decision makers in banking, fintech, and crypto. Learn more about sponsor opportunities or request a media kit by dropping me an email. Democratic Senate Report Highlights How Iran Uses Tether to Evade U.S. Sanctions Iran uses stablecoins, specifically Tether, to evade sanctions, fund regional proxies, and to purchase military drones, a report released last week by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations says. The report was authored by committee ranking member Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and the minority staff. Crypto and stablecoin proponents will often push back on criticism that criminals make use of these assets by arguing that, on an absolute dollar basis, far more illicit funds flow through traditional banking systems and payment rails than via crypto and stablecoins. And while that is likely true, it elides the reality presented in news story after news story: whether state actors — Russia, Iran, North Korea — or criminal groups, those looking to engage in illicit transactions increasingly favor stablecoins and, specifically, Tether (USDT). The report from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released last week adds context to how Iran uses Tether has a lynchpin in its shadow banking system. The report analyzed 846 wallets that have been sanctioned or targeted for seizure, finding that 84% of them transacted exclusively or primarily in Tether. The ability to create near limitless, anonymous wallets and to move funds effectively instantaneously and irreversibly have made crypto a favored financial mechanism for bad actors. Stablecoins solved key drawbacks of bitcoin, namely, the original cryptocurrency’s highly volatile value in dollars. And while Tether (the company) has the technical ability to “freeze” or destroy funds, the company is often limited and reactive in its approach to doing so, the Senate report argues. Tether, which is nominally based in crypto-friendly El Salvador, “has stated that its compliance with OFAC sanctions is ‘voluntary’ and that it follows ‘OFAC guidelines,’” the Senate report says. Owing to these favorable attributes, Tether “became a primary cryptocurrency for Iran, Hamas, Hizballah, and the Houthis beginning in 2023 and has expanded in scale since,” according to the report. Tether’s role in Iran’s shadow banking system, the report says, is enhanced by crypto exchanges like Bybit, Kyrrex, OKX, Gate, and Binance, and through “over the counter” exchanges and hawala networks. The consequences of these financial flows aren’t hypothetical. The Senate report links Tether as a funds transfer mechanism to Iranian proxies in the region, including Hizballah, the Houthis, and Hamas. Tether has also been used to make payments to secure components necessary to manufacture drones, the report says. The report concludes by arguing that “[s]tablecoin issuers with a significant nexus to the United States, particularly those that offer dollar-denominated stablecoins, should be subject to American sanctions law rather than being allowed to hide behind foreign jurisdictions.” Stablecoin issuers like Tether must be held accountable for repeated failures to prevent illicit finance and sanctions violations by law enforcement, the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and OFAC, the report argues. [Paying Subscriber Exclusive] OUSD Goes Live, Make Your Own Neobank, U.S. Sanctions Russia’s A7 Network As “Transnational Criminal Organization” OpenUSD, the stablecoin issued by the Open Standard consortium that includes Stripe, Visa, Mastercard, core providers, crypto firms, and numerous banks, went live last week. Social commerce platform Whop raised eyebrows in fintech by offering creators on its platform the ability to launch their own neobanks, which the company describes as “great businesses that are easy to run,” in just 15 minutes. And OFAC and FinCEN target Russia’s “shadow banking” A7 Network — more on these stories after the paywall.
The MacBook Air M5 is $200 off for the first time in months
Save some cash on Apple’s midrange laptop.
The iPad Mini is slightly cheaper again during Prime Day
Save $100 during Amazon’s October sale.
The forgotten Chromebook that started it all
On Version History: Marques Brownlee and Nilay Patel relive the release of the Cr-48, Google’s prototype laptop.
Amazon’s colorful and sturdy new Kindles
In this week’s Installer: Amazon’s new Kindles, OpenAI’s Dots, the remastered Witcher 3, and more.
The rise, fall, and rise of portable MP3 players
Apple perfected the media player with the iPod, then abandoned it.
Retired Navy SEAL to first responders at Chesterfield mental health event: 'Trauma is trauma'
Operation Yellow Tape hosted a mental health conference for first responders in Chesterfield, bringing together speakers to break the stigma of seeking help.
Exclusive | How Tanya Zuckerbrot lost her $40M diet empire to one troll, and the six year fight for justice
Contributor: Democrats can become the party of business
Republicans are not standing up for the small U.S. companies that suffer in trade wars. Doing so would be good business and good politics.
How do I keep checks from being stolen in the mail?
Dear Liz: In response to a reader whose check to the IRS was stolen from the post office, you (again) warned readers that mail theft and check fraud have soared and that electronic payments are now the safest way to send money.
At Supreme Court: Can oil companies be forced to pay for climate woes?
The outcome of the Colorado case could affect California's 2023 lawsuit against the five largest oil companies and other similar litigation.
Veteran political forecasters see midterm losses for GOP
Two of the country's top political prognosticators see Democrats likely seizing the House and possibly the Senate. The guardrails Republicans were counting on to stem their losses don't seem to be holding.
Latter-day Saints women turn away from scandal-plagued Republican candidate in Arizona
Arizona Republican candidate for Congress Mark Lamb has been accused of sexual misconduct while sheriff. His controversy is turning many voters away as Democrats see an opportunity in the red seat.
Latter-day Saints women turn away from scandal-plagued Republican candidate in Arizona
Arizona Republican candidate for Congress Mark Lamb has been accused of sexual misconduct while sheriff. His controversy is turning many voters away as Democrats see an opportunity in the red seat.
The 4 biggest red flags to look for in your family medical history
You may know your grandmother had cancer, for example. But do you know what kind and which stage? Or her age when she was diagnosed?
CSU defensive coordinator walks out during blowout loss
CSU coach Jim Mora Jr. stripped defensive coordinator Tyson Summers of play-calling duties after Oregon State scored on its first two drives, prompting Summers to leave the sideline entirely during the 56-26 loss.
Trump defends data centers in Ohio as he rallies to boost Jon Husted in a tight Senate race
President Donald Trump is defending data centers powering AI projects during a campaign rally in Ohio.
'Monty Python' legend John Cleese doubles down after incidiary posts about Islam spark UK compaint
Patrick Mahomes looks to extend mastery of Raiders, AFC West
When the Chiefs play in Las Vegas on Sunday, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be looking to extend his mastery of the Raiders — and of their division.
Reporting on the science of saunas
For centuries people have sought out saunas and hot springs for their supposed healing properties. But the science behind those claims can be quite vague. So NPR science correspondent Will Stone headed to the International Sauna Congress in Norway to find out just what we know about the health benefits of saunas. This episode was produced by Gabriel Sanchez, with engineering by Eowyn Fain. Our director is Elena Burnett.It was edited by Adam Raney.Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
Politics At The Pump: Will NC Suspend Gas Tax
State GOP May Rollback Gas Tax Before Election Day
Eagles elevate Zach Ertz, Josiah Deguara
The Eagles added a pair of tight ends to the roster for Sunday's game against the Rams.
Demi Moore reflects on controversial ‘Striptease’ pay: ‘Why should I not get equal to what I deserve?’
Demi Moore is looking back on the controversy that flared up after she became the highest-paid woman in Hollywood for ‘Striptease,’ which left her wondering, ‘Why should I not get equal to what I deserve?’
University of Chicago demystifies science with annual festival
The fifth annual South Side Science Festival brought thousands to the campus for hands-on science experience and a day of curiosity.
Provocative, sexually suggestive ad by Hilton campaign condemned by political allies on the right
GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton faces backlash from fellow Republicans and Democrats over a provocative ad.
Mack Hollins fined twice on the same play, losing $34,441
The NFL fined Patriots receiver Mack Hollins $34,441 for his actions on the same play against the Jaguars.
University of Chicago demystifies science with annual festival
The fifth annual South Side Science Festival brought thousands to the campus for hands-on science experience and a day of curiosity.
Gemini app limiting what models free & AI Plus users can access, AI Pro adding Deep Think
Following the compute-based usage change in May, Google is introducing limits on what Gemini models free and AI Plus users can access.
Watch Jack Osbourne go undercover to scare guests inside late dad’s tribute haunted house
Watch Jack Osbourne go undercover to scare guests inside late dad Ozzy Osbourne’s Universal Halloween Horror Nights haunted house one year after the rocker’s death.
Here's why I upgraded from the Apple Watch Series 10 to Series 12
I’m someone who doesn’t often upgrade my Apple Watch right when a new one comes out. The Apple Watch Series...
USDA Expands Regenerative Pilot Funding Soil Health Conservation
Farmers and ranchers can apply through local Natural Resources Conservation Service offices using their state’s fiscal 2027 ranking deadlines.
Zach Bryan wears 'Free Palestine' shirt at Robert Kraft's Gillette Stadium
Country music star Zach Bryan signaled his support with a 'Free Palestine' shirt at Robert Kraft's Gillette Stadium, a venue that recently banned rapper Macklemore over his efforts to do the same.
Why hasn’t the Trump administration decided the fate of TPS for Salvadorans?
The Trump administration still hasn't reached a decision, plunging the Salvadoran community into uncertainty and raising questions about what has prompted the delay.
A gut punch in Ohio: Nearly 1,400 laid off at truck factory just days before Trump rally
President Donald Trump is trying to rally voters in the Dayton, Ohio, area on Saturday. But days ago, 1,400 workers were laid off from a truck factory there.
Voices: Teach to Fish North Miami Business Summit this weekend
Jawan sits down with Vice Mayor Kassandra Timothe and business owner Margarita Payero who benefited from the program.
How your gut microbiome may affect your health
Researcher and dietitian Karen Corbin explains how the trillions of microbes in your gut may influence health and how simple food swaps can increase fiber intake.
Is the ‘Verity’ cast Team Letter or Team Manuscript? Anne Hathaway weighs in on debate
Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett explain to EW where they stand on the shocking ending of their new movie ‘Verity.’
FAU graduate student uses Miss Fort Lauderdale crown to turn science into action
FAU graduate student and Miss Fort Lauderdale Paige Aldred is combining marine science with community outreach, using her platform to raise awareness about water quality, Sargassum ,and sustainability.
Aaron Sorkin says ‘money does not motivate’ Jesse Eisenberg: ‘It’s infuriating’
Aaron Sorkin says he spent three days trying to convince Jesse Eisenberg to return as Mark Zuckerberg for ‘The Social Reckoning,’ but none of his arguments, including a substantial salary, made an impact on the star.
Nearly a dozen beaches hit with disgusting health warnings as heat wave scorches California
Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson were ’gnawing’ on wood for ‘Verity’ sex scene
The ‘Verity’ cast and crew broke down for Entertainment Weekly how they brought the ‘kinky’ bed frame bite marks to life for the film.
Apple weekend deals: MacBook Pro $500 off, AirTag 2, Prime Day HomeKit discounts, MagSafe chargers, more
While we are still awaiting some of the big fall Prime Day deals on some Apple products, there are already...
Energy drinks and overcaffeinated kids: What to know about the health risks
Doctors nationwide have warned for years that energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine that can seriously harm children.
12 Best European Countries for American Retirees Seeking Great Lifestyle and Health Care
Discover the top 12 European countries ideal for American retirees that offer excellent health care, diverse lifestyles, and practical residency options.
Theaster Gates bets on fine china
The famed, Chicago-based artist's career is taking a new direction with the purchase of Pickard China, the sole remaining maker of fine china in the United States.
Just short of its 200th birthday, a landmark natural history museum shuts down
Beloved for its dinosaurs, Philadelphia's storied Academy of Natural Sciences closed down this week, amid an intense fight by local residents, politicians and scientists to save it.
Contributor: There's federal progress on women's health. No joke
States have been the laboratory for policy changes on menopause care and hormone access, and the feds are now following leaders such as California.
Trump is campaigning in reliably red states, a sign of midterm concerns
Trump is rallying in Republican strongholds such as Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama, betting that his presence will be enough to energize voters who might be thinking of sitting out the election.
Soulection celebrates 15 years with upcoming L.A. show
Soulection, the radio show, independent label and global music collective is celebrating its 15th anniversary on Saturday at Reframe Studios Outdoors.
Brazil's big political rematch: What to know
Four years after President Lula narrowly defeated Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil is back at the ballot box. This time, Lula faces Bolsonaro's son, Flávio, in a high-stakes rematch.
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker on first 1,000 days, politics and policies
Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker joined an episode of Battleground Politics to talk about what her administration has accomplished and what's ahead.
Human trafficking case highlights Malden business' training on how to help
A recent human trafficking case in Malden, Mass., has a local pest control company that recently trained its workers to recognize warning signs urging others to do the same.
Paul Reubens' Big Auction to feature more than 400 items
Pee-wee Herman's iconic suit and bow tie, quirky furniture, annotated scripts and signed memorabilia will be among the 400-plus items sold at Paul Reubens' Big Auction.
Nightmare on Auburn Road to give downtown Utica businesses a boost
Nightmare on Auburn Road is expected to draw thousands of people Saturday for a day of Halloween activities.
$7.5B plan for California science agency free from Trump’s influence will go to voters
California could create its own multi-billion-dollar science and health research agency under a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Philly Mayor Cherelle Parker on 1,000 days in office and what comes next
Mayor Cherelle Parker discussed her administration’s work in Kensington, Philadelphia’s political landscape and the competition she’ll face in 2027.
Halle Berry's reacts to ex-husband's restraining order, abuse claims
Halle Berry speaks out against ex-husband Oliver Martinez amid his recent restraining order against the Oscar-winning star. He accuses Berry of physical abuse against their 12-year-old son.
Woman accusing Sherrod Brown of forcing transgender surgeries isn’t from Ohio, didn’t have procedure as minor
In an attack ad against U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, a woman accuses the Democrat of pushing transgender surgeries on minors "like her." She didn't have surgery until she was an adult.
David Ellison's Skydance is a pretty name. What it stands for isn't
By naming the product of two mergers Skydance, David Ellison relegates two of Hollywood's founding studios to a sub-brand stew and attempts to erase a bunch of controversial hires.
As Trump's proposed arch looms over D.C., protesters pin their hopes on the midterms
Democratic lawmakers, veterans and concerned citizens gathered in Memorial Circle to protest the arch Trump wants to build there. Their hopes lie primarily in a lawsuit and next month's midterms.
Disney cuts 300 workers, offers executives early retirement
Another round of job cuts comes as CEO Josh D'Amaro aims to consolidate the company's sprawling operations around a "One Disney" theme.
Google already rolling out Android 17 QPR3 Beta 1 for Pixel
Following a QPR2 release earlier this week, Google today is rolling out Android 17 QPR3 Beta 1.
Tyra Banks does not enjoy ‘Halloween: Resurrection’ 25 years later: ‘Not even a little bit’
Tyra Banks tells EW she does not look back fondly on making ‘Halloween: Resurrection’ nearly 25 years ago, adding that an agent wanted her to have ‘Halloween H20’ star Josh Hartnett’s career.
Apple confirms iPhone 18 Pro Max AT&T cellular issues, affected devices require hardware replacement
Apple has confirmed an issue causing a “small number” of iPhone 18 Pro Max devices on AT&T to lose cellular...
Las Vegas business owner pleads guilty to faking armed robbery for insurance
A Las Vegas business owner has agreed to plead guilty to a mail fraud charge after faking an armed robbery in order to collect the insurance money.
‘HomePad’ coming: Will Apple hold an October special event?
With Apple reportedly planning to unveil new products on October 13, here’s when the company could announce an event, based on the timing of its previous October announcements.
Apple will limit Mac disk access as AI agents ‘substantially’ increase risk
Apple isn’t taking AI security risks lightly.
Kennedy Center Honors move to new venue amid building closure
The Kennedy Center Honors gala will move to Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., after the center’s closure amid a legal battle over the addition of Trump's name to the building.
BLINK to bring massive changes, new entertainment destination center to Covington for 2026 festival
BLINK returns to Covington this year with a new entertainment destination center, letting visitors explore Madison Avenue, W. Pike Street, Park Place and more with a drink in hand.
Fairport Harbor downtown businesses band together for community night out
The annual Witches Night Out event is back with more planned for this weekend, including an opportunity to check out a special "haunted" lighthouse tower, but beware of the ghost cat!
iOS 27’s Siri gets one thing very right that other AI assistants get wrong
Siri AI is now available in iOS 27 as a major upgrade to Apple’s assistant, and it differs greatly from other AI assistants in one key area.
Germany's political center fights for relevance after far-right and far-left gains
Centrist politicians are soul-searching after electoral gains by the far right and the far left. Today's weak coalitions, political fragmentation and dire economy echo a past that led to the rise of fascism.
Mental health response teams now have night time hours, city officials say
Starting Monday, the Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) program will extend its hours of operation to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and add a second shift of evening staff.
Studying Science in an Anti-Scientific Time
This Chronicle Review Deep Cut was first published in 2025. By Julianne Werlin Thanks for reading The Chronicle Review! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Subscribe The last two decades have not been kind to science studies. Already bruised and battered by the “science wars” of the 1990s, by the 2000s sociologists of science — who had long argued that science had to be understood in its human context — were encountering the funhouse-mirror version of their own views in right-wing critiques of climate scientists. It was enough to give some prominent scholars pause. “Was I wrong to participate in the invention of this field known as science studies?” asked Bruno Latour, the most famous sociologist of science in the world, in 2003. “Should we apologize for having been wrong all along? Or should we rather bring the sword of criticism to criticism itself and do a bit of soul-searching here: What were we really after when we were so intent on showing the social construction of scientific facts?” In response, Latour proposed a change of method and attitude. Science studies, now chastened and contrite, would no longer seek to strip facts of their authority, but to enrich and enhance them. What this meant in practice was never fully clear. But his diagnosis of problems resonated, even if his solutions did not. Latour’s exercise in public hand-wringing signaled a shift in mood. By 2016, with the first election of Donald Trump, the idea that skepticism of science was a right-wing position, not a left-wing one, had become a commonplace, discussed eagerly in The New York Times. For liberals, vaccine denial during the Covid era and Trump’s second-term attacks on the funding of scientific research, covered extensively in these pages, added a new urgency to the defense of science on both practical and principled grounds. There was little appetite for a sociology or philosophy of science that emphasized the messiness and missteps of the scientific process rather than its integrity and triumphs. The distinguished historian of science Peter Dear’s new book, The World as We Know It: From Natural Philosophy to Modern Science (Princeton University Press, 2025), which seeks to tell the story of 18th- and 19th-century science for a general public, may seem comfortably remote from these bitter contests. In its 16 short chapters, Dear draws swift, sure sketches of major discoveries from Newton to Einstein, ably guiding the reader through debates on stellar nebulae, animal taxonomy, atomic chemistry, evolution, and other flashpoints in the history of science. But though a work of history, Dear’s book must still negotiate our polarized present. In a blurb on its back cover, the historian of biology Lynn K. Nyhart alludes to the “present moment, when scientific knowledge is being swamped by misinformation and its institutions are under siege.” Dear himself, in his conclusion, refers to the “yard signs” and “bumper stickers” that proclaim “Science Is Real.” One antidote to both anti-science propaganda and to reductive slogans in science’s defense is a robust history and philosophy of science: exactly what Dear’s scholarship has long offered. But his new book illustrates how difficult such work has become. Dear, an emeritus professor of history at Cornell University, is best known as a creative and philosophically minded historian of the Scientific Revolution. His edited volume The Literary Structure of Scientific Argument (1991) analyzed the rhetoric of Galileo’s thought experiments to brilliant effect. Discipline and Experience: The Mathematical Way in the Scientific Revolution (1995) was a major contribution to the analysis of scientific experiments in early modern Europe and beyond, while Revolutionizing the Sciences: European Knowledge in Transition, 1500-1700 (2001), now in its third edition, remains one of the best overviews of the profound epistemological upheavals of 16th- and 17th-century science. But Dear has also ventured into later periods. Nearly two decades ago, in The Intelligibility of Nature: How Science Makes Sense of the World (2006), he turned to the 18th and 19th centuries to sketch a history and theory of scientific knowledge. Aimed at a generalist audience, Dear’s simple prose belied serious philosophical ambitions. Science, Dear argued, has two aspects: “natural philosophy,” the quest to understand the true nature of the universe, and “instrumentality,” the applied skills and technologies that allow us to manipulate the world for human advantage. Both strands are ancient, but the innovation of the phenomenon we call “science” was to yoke them together. As Francis Bacon wrote, “Human knowledge and human power meet in one; for where the cause is not known, the effect cannot be produced,” an insight typically abridged to “knowledge is power.” Or, in Bertrand Russell’s characteristically blunt phrase, science has two functions, “1. to enable us to know things, and 2., to enable us to do things.” So far, so conventional. But Dear took issue with this familiar story in one respect. Bacon’s formula implied that theory and practice could be fused in a single method. In fact, Dear argued, the quest to understand nature and the desire to manipulate it were coupled only loosely. They could come together, but they could also pull apart. Focusing on natural philosophy, the “knowing” half of the scientific circle, he used a series of case studies from cosmology, taxonomy, chemistry, electromagnetism, and quantum theory to show how theories changed over time, in dialogue with practice, but never reducible to it. Take the case of matter, the basic substrate of the physical world. In the 18th and 19th centuries, scientists not only disagreed about what it was, but also about how well it could be known. In 1789, the chemist Antoine Lavoisier dismissed speculation about the atomic composition of chemicals as “discussions entirely of a metaphysical nature,” as he sought to orient chemistry away from philosophical abstraction and toward laboratory results. But in the 19th century, atoms returned with a vengeance in the atomic chemistry of John Dalton, who wanted to explain the underlying structure of nature. It was not just that Dalton and Lavoisier had a different set of experimental results, or even a different theory, Dear showed. What counted as an explanation had changed. In arguing that scientific theories depended on their intelligibility to human beings with complex arrays of beliefs and commitments, Dear was in sympathy with science studies. Key figures such as the sociologist Steven Shapin emphasized the importance of psychological mechanisms like trust in the formation and acceptance of scientific ideas. But in focusing on the scientific pursuit of knowledge, not its politics or economics, Dear resisted the more cynical perspective of some of his colleagues. The Intelligibility of Nature strikes a very different note than Shapin’s collection of a few years later, Never Pure: Historical Studies of Science as If It Was Produced by People With Bodies, Situated in Time, Space, Culture, and Society, and Struggling for Credibility and Authority (2010), to name just one example. Walking a very fine line, Dear depicted science as driven at once by complex social dynamics and by the intellectual power of real discoveries. It was a testament not only to his own acumen but also to the vitality of the field that he was able to do so. Nearly two decades later, The World as We Know It returns to the questions broached in The Intelligibility of Nature. Like Dear’s earlier study, it begins with the Newtonian cosmos and ends with debates between Einstein and Bohr on quantum physics. Beyond its terminal figures, many of the same characters appear in both studies, including the naturalists John Ray and the Comte de Buffon; the chemists Étienne François Geoffroy, Antoine Lavoisier, and John Dalton; as well as Charles Darwin and Michael Faraday, among others. Its subject is nearly identical: As in The Intelligibility of Nature, The World as We Know It considers natural philosophy as opposed to instrumentality, here defined as the “desire to create a picture of what the world is really like — the world as God knows it — rather than simply having instrumental or operational control over it.” The two books also overlap in insights — and sometimes even in language. The reader who has learned in The Intelligibility of Nature that Buffon’s method of classifying animals “reflected his belief in the importance of the senses and empiricism in learning about nature (a doctrine associated with Newton and the philosopher John Locke)” will experience a sense of déjà vu on reading, in The World as We Know It, that the classification “reflects Buffon’s commitment to the epistemological stance of Newton and his philosophical underlaborer John Locke, who stressed the role of the senses in creating natural knowledge.” Later in the passage, we read that, “because of its stress on understanding the ways of life of animals in their environments, Buffon’s approach could almost be labeled (anachronistically) as ‘ecological.’” And again, “an anachronistic way of putting it would be to say that Buffon recommends an ecological mode of understanding.” Likewise, in The Intelligibility of Nature we read of Dalton that he was initially drawn to meteorology, and that: He did a bit of experimental work on these things, especially having to do with the water-holding capacity of gases, but his real interest lay in understanding what, at an underlying natural-philosophical level, was really going on physically.” Whereas, in The World as We Know It: He did experimental work on these things, especially concerning the water-holding capacity of gases — although not at a very refined level quantitatively — but he was continually trying to develop a theoretical conception of what was happening physically. The final full chapter of each book closes on the same resigned note. Intelligibility: These days, most serious work on the natural philosophical underpinnings and implications of quantum mechanics is performed not by physicists but by philosophers of science. Among scientific practitioners themselves, Bohr’s attempt to use instrumentality as sufficient grounds for a respectable science has met with a high degree of success. And again, in The World as We Know It: Bohr’s and Einstein’s concerns are now questions that are mostly discussed by philosophers of science rather than by physicists themselves. The marginalization of these sorts of questions amounts to the demise of natural philosophy, at least in physics, in the 20th century. Quantum mechanics “works,” and that’s good enough for most scientists who encounter it. Examples could be multiplied. When handling the same subject matter, some echoes are inevitable. Scholars should not feel that because they have written “Isaac Newton died in 1727” in one book, in the next they must describe him as perishing, expiring, or meeting his maker. But the repetitions of language and arguments (not to mention six reproduced images) threaded throughout The World as We Know It are more extensive than that. They should have been caught by Princeton University Press or its reviewers, and revised. Because the two books have so much in common, it is easy to see where they diverge. The World as We Know It is a less theoretical work than its predecessor. The sociology of knowledge that organized The Intelligibility of Nature has been reduced in scale and folded into readings and examples. The taut interplay between history and theory, which gave the earlier study so much interest, is there, but it is subtle. In the earlier book, the case studies demonstrated theoretical claims about the character and development of science. In the later work, each narrative of discovery is an end in itself. Insights emerge from the history, but they do not control the organization of the study. With the theory muted, it can be hard to understand the logic uniting Dear’s sprawling history of more than two centuries of scientific knowledge. The 16 brisk chapters cover an enormous amount of material. But the closer the volume edges to comprehensiveness, the more obvious the missing elements become. A chapter on “Institutions and Pedagogy,” describing the birth of the research university, illustrates the problem. Inserted roughly halfway through the book, the unnumbered chapter is designed as an “entr’acte,” in acknowledgement that it does not fit the study’s organization around scientific discoveries. Yet as Dear is well aware, no general history of the development of modern science can bracket its 19th-century institutionalization and professionalization. It was the 19th-century university, after all, that gave us the “scientist,” a term coined by the Cambridge philosopher William Whewell. Dear’s history of scientific discoveries implies a wider social and institutional history, but it remains largely subterranean, only occasionally extruded under the pressure of the narrative. It must be said that the balance is not all on the side of the earlier study. There are some advantages to the more historical, less theoretical organization of The World as We Know It. Dear’s accounts of paradigm shifts are remarkably lucid, no small accomplishment given that they span fields and centuries. He makes excellent use of the wealth of new scholarship on Darwin and his influences, to which he has himself contributed. It is satisfying to see puzzle pieces from Buffon’s natural history, Georges Cuvier’s animal taxonomy, Thomas Robert Malthus’s demography, and Charles Lyell’s geology recombined seamlessly in the Darwinian jigsaw. Likewise, Dear’s discussion of stellar nebulae, divided between chapters two and 15, shows vividly how Newton, Kant, Herschel, and Hubble reimagined insights and observations as they sought to discover whether the diffuse light that filtered through early telescopes was a glowing, gaseous substance or discrete but distant stars. Yet despite such pleasures, the book remains a more modest work than The Intelligibility of Nature. Dear has clearly not changed his views about the history of science. But in the two decades that have elapsed, the discipline and the world around it have changed, making it harder to write a sociologically and philosophically ambitious history of science for the general reader. That is a shame, because in the age of Silicon Valley and biotechnology, both the reciprocity and the tensions Dear identified between the epistemological and instrumental ambitions of science are more evident than ever. In recent years, some of the most exciting new books on the history of science in early modernity have focused precisely on this pressure point. Important studies such as Pamela H. Smith’s From Lived Experience to the Written Word (2022), James Poskett’s Horizons: The Global Origins of Modern Science (2022), and Vera Keller’s The Interlopers: Early Stuart Projects and the Undisciplining of Knowledge (2023) all shed new light on how early modern science negotiated the relationship between its instrumental and epistemological ambitions, or in Russell’s phrase, knowing and doing. There is every opportunity for a philosophically informed approach to draw new insights from this wealth of material. Dear, unfortunately, has not done so in The World as We Know It. But for future scholars of the history of science, his body of work over nearly four decades may provide just the model. Julianne Werlin is an associate professor of English at Duke University. 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