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Neat goes national: KU business alum takes his sweat-hiding T-shirt to ‘Shark Tank’ Nov. 4
It’s a neat pitch: shirts for men who sweat and would rather not show it: the job interview, the first date, the big presentation. Patented technology is built into the fabric so professionals look composed when it counts, Jim Huffman said, describing the product he’s sharing with TV’s highest-profile investors.
Tennessee Titans swap multiple players on practice squad
The Tennessee Titans shuffled their practice squad roster ahead of Week 5 by adding three new players.
Future Of Jimmy Kimmel's Late-Night Show In Doubt Following Bombshell Report
A spokesperson for ABC said no final decision has been made about the future of the show.
Six decades of politics (but little government)
The first aired episode of “Star Trek,” entitled “The Man Trap,” premiered on September 8, 1966 — 60 years ago today. I’m actually editing a political science fiction issue of The Forum right now, and it’s prompted to me think a lot about the ways that Trek deals with politics and government and what it’s offered us as commentary. The @smotus report is a reader-supported publication. To support this work, please become a paid subscriber. Subscribe The original TV series ran from 1966 to 1969. It had a loyal but modest following, but the audience grew substantially with the series in syndication for years after that. The franchise developed its first motion picture in 1979, followed by five sequels, and then a whole other series of films built around the “Next Generation” series that first aired in 1987. In recent decades, several more TV series have built up around it, including the current “Strange New Worlds,” now in its fourth season. Throughout the past six decades, the franchise has offered us a good many insights into US politics and international relations, although often disguised as science fiction yarns. The original series was largely a Cold War fable, with the United Federation of Planets (a stand-in for the US) perpetually at odds with the Klingon Empire (a stand-in for the USSR). The “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” episode (1969) posited a planet divided into two races, largely indistinguishable to outsiders, but nonetheless constituting a brutal racial hierarchy. “Patterns of Force” (1968) showed a struggling planet where the leader had attempted to construct a benevolent dictatorship — literally Nazism without bigotry — and found that authoritarianism could not exist apart from hierarchy and oppression. (Relatedly, I’d put “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,” high on a list of dad films about the end of the Cold War, near “The Hunt for Red October.”) Get 20% off for 1 year Indeed, the original series itself was something of a political statement, with a multi-racial crew running the Enterprise, a diverse and largely peaceful Federation mostly free from want and oppression, and protected by Starfleet, an armed force whose scientific mission was at least as important as its military one. Famously, when Nichelle Nichols wanted to walk away from the role of Uhura on the original series, none other than Martin Luther King, Jr. met with her and urged her to remain on the show, discussing the importance of viewers seeing an intelligent Black woman as part of the command team three centuries hence. Later series in the Trek franchise offered a good deal of political commentary on their own, but probably none as explicitly and incisively as “Deep Space Nine,” which ran from 1993 to 1999. The episodes surrounding the Dominion War, especially the “In The Pale Moonlight” (1998), showed the compromises, sacrifices, and moral rot associated with winning even a just war — probably better than any series would until “Andor” (2022-25). In “Far Beyond The Stars” (1998), Captain Benjamin Sisko is somehow transplanted to the role of a science fiction writer in 1950s New York. The writer is frequently sidelined and his ideas stolen because publishers don’t want to credit a Black writer. Several series have depicted the secretive Section 31 — an unacknowledged black ops security force operating within Starfleet. These episodes often end up using Section 31 as a foil to show the dangers of a lawless group within a lawful society, even (especially) when that group posits itself as essential for everyone else’s freedom to continue. The current “Strange New Worlds” has played with a few political themes. I found the first two seasons of this show among the best that the Trek franchise has produced in decades, but this season and the last have really been struggling for ideas. Yet one interesting thread is the idea that the diplomatic and enlightened leadership style of Captain Christopher Pike will not work in all situations. “A Quality of Mercy” (2022), which I wrote about here, puts Pike in the middle of a battle with a Romulan vessel in an alternate timeline, and finds that Pike’s conciliatory style would actually make a lengthy and deadly war more likely, while a quick and more violent approach might have prevented the war. This season’s opener, “Valles Marineris,” shows a pre-lightspeed civilization locked in a war to the death with a neighboring planet. The idea of an alliance or a federation hasn’t even occurred to them — their ship’s commander is curious but doesn’t see it as an option. For a franchise as political as “Star Trek,” one thing we almost never see is the government. We get occasional glimpses of Starfleet’s council — mostly uniformed people at a rectangular table — but almost no sense of how the Federation is governed. Are there elections? Who is in the legislature? How much power does the president have? What kind of factional divisions do they wrestle with and how? The shows and films are pretty silent on this. We’ve seen a few military tribunals within Starfleet, but little about how civilians deal with crime and injustice. With recent years seeing some of the franchise’s more interesting plot lines and casts, it seems clear that Star Trek is still full of energy and ideas. Given the erosion of American democracy and the reshuffling of the international order, there’s no shortage of material for future shows to comment on. I’m not sure we should toast to 60 more years, but cheers to a show that continues to teach us about ourselves. Share
Philadelphia Health Officials Warn Of Possible Measles Exposure At Children’s Hospital
Infants who were potentially exposed to the extremely contagious airborne virus are being given a preventative antibody product.
7 Local Alumni-Owned Businesses to Support
Let the College of Charleston community help you decide: Choose to shop and eat at one of these seven businesses owned by CofC alumni.
We Need a Cure for AI Health Hype
AI evangelists’ bold predictions about the technology’s ability to cure all diseases are overblown and oversimplified, writes Arianna Huffington.
SEC power rankings shuffle after Week 3 chaos
Ole Miss surges in the SEC power rankings after beating LSU as UGA and Oklahoma prepare for a big clash.
Jon Gruden Questions Steelers’ Offensive Line Chaos Amid Struggles: ‘Why?’
Jon Gruden has seen plenty of offensive lines during his coaching career; however, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ current setup has left him genuinely puzzled. The former head coach watched the unit shuffle players between positions through the offseason and into the regular season, and now the results are becoming harder to ignore. The Steelers entered the […] The post Jon Gruden Questions Steelers’ Offensive Line Chaos Amid Struggles: ‘Why?’ appeared first on Gridiron Heroics.
Yankees news: Previewing the free agent class
Who will stay and who will go; Bednar’s big question; coaching staff shuffle?; Kay has a question for Judge
Winners from Memphis’ 24-point victory over UT Martin
Memphis improved to 3-1 on Saturday with a 45-21 win over UT Martin. While the Tigers didn’t win in blowout fashion, it never felt like the team was in danger, and it was a comfortable win for Charles Huff and his team.
Gran Turismo 7 Spec IV: Autumn Ring, Sugo Circuit, 12 Cars, Shuffle Racing, and More
Polyphony Digital has announced Gran Turismo 7 Spec IV at PlayStation's State of Play, adding Sportsland Sugo, six new cars, the return of Shuffle Racing, a Car Concierge, and a Collector Level 90 cap.
2026 Emmy Winners: The Complete List
From drama and comedy to limited series and variety, here’s all the nominees and every winner from the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Shane Gillis Drops F-Bomb During 'SNL' Sketch
The comedian later apologized for the moment.
Minor League Recap: Ralphy Returns
Saints 3, Clippers 2 Guardians top prospect Ralphy Velazquez returned from injury today after dealing with lower body soreness since September 6th. Despite the loss he went 1-4 with an RBI ground rule double. Kody Huff went 1-2 with a double and two BBs. We also saw hits from Kyle Manzardo, Blake Perkins, Dayan Frias, […]
Ibrahimovic still involved despite moving into the background at Milan
Reports on Tuesday evening claim that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still involved in the running of Milan, despite recent suggestions that he had taken a step back following a major reshuffle of the senior m...
Right-Winger Behind Talarico Mental Health Hoax Fears Legal Fallout
Rhein Amacher dodged an interview, claiming he was told by a lawyer not to participate for fear of getting in legal "hot water."
Stephen Colbert Shows Love To Jimmy Kimmel By Backing 1 Thing ‘We Can All Agree’ On
Colbert, in a rare public statement since his late-night departure, threw his support behind his friend in a sweet video.
Dolphins sign former Cowboys, Jets 1st-round bust defensive lineman
This is another addition to the Dolphins' roster amid some major roster reshuffling.
Christian McCartney Among 6 Cast In Sports Comedy Feature 'Defensive'
Christian McCartney will lead the film Defensive alongside Mark Christopher Lawrence, Robert Amaya, Chris Petrovski, Camila Camilo, and Evan Huffed.
Report: Kris Draper Takes Over Red Wings Pro Scouting
Kris Draper takes over pro scouting as the Red Wings front office shuffle continues. #RedWings
When 1 + 1 = 1: The Miserable Math Behind Many Media Mergers
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) The last few issues of this newsletter have circled two topics: September’s streaming viewership and all the Paramount/Skydance/Warner Bros./Discovery merger news. I’m happy to say on the Streaming Ratings Report front, we’ll be all caught up by early next week, then the SRR will come out on a tight weekly schedule. Then, after today, I’ll have slayed my PSWbD dragon. It’s such a big story, it demanded multiple issues. With the announcement of a name (just Skydance) and executive team, though, I think we can almost close the book on this story. In terms of topics, it becomes just another studio to cover. So today, I have one last set of takes on that merger. As I’ve sat with it, reading about who was staying and who was going, a big worry crystallized in my brain, and I gotta get that take out. Plus, I still owe you a host of “ugliness” that didn’t fit in my previous “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” takes. Let’s dive in! Subscribe Most Important Story of the Week - As Paramount Shuffles Deck Chairs, Will They Build or Consolidate? On social media—I try to avoid most social media platforms, but sometimes I end up checking in—the best joke I saw about the announcement of the new name of Skydance was from fellow reporter Claire Atkinson who pointed out… Yeah, I laughed out loud at that one. Later, though, I saw another Twitter response (that later got deleted, so I can’t shout the person out) that did give me pause. The person noted that the Titanic film made the better analogy: a super expensive project everyone in the town doubted that went on to conquer the globe. So yeah: on one hand, the image of the Titanic recalls the actual ship and its infamous end, but that clip is from a movie which proved the doubters wrong. So for all the skepticism of the latest massive media merger, one could wonder which way this one goes. Does it crash like the Titanic or rise to glory like Titanic, the movie? Either way, this deal is “Titanic”, looking at the massive debt required to close the deal, which is not going well when it comes to borrowing costs for Paramount… …or borrowing costs for Oracle. But I’ve started to get worried about another outcome: the sum of this merger will be smaller and weaker and less profitable than its former parts. In other words, one plus one won’t equal three or two, but an even smaller number. Skydance paid to take a traditional studio off the board, but they won’t really capture the upside. Let me explain what I mean, but first, let’s look at the series of news that inspired this thought. Skydance Sets Its Leadership Team As soon as the Paramount-Skydance-Warner Bros.-Discovery merger closed, the new leadership team announced a new name—Skydance, which I’ll use going forward—and a new executive leadership team. You’ve probably read through all the executive shuffling, but if you haven’t, here’s a quick, incomplete summary, in rough order of importance: Mattel’s CEO Ynon Kreiz—who previously ran Maker Studios—joined as co-CEO with David Ellison. HBO/HBO Max’s Casey Bloys will stay and run streaming. Former head of streaming for Paramount-Skydance Cindy Holland—who was also at Netflix—will depart. The former heads of Warner Bros.—Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca—are out. The film studios will be run by Dana Goldstein and Josh Greenstein. George Cheeks of Paramount will run Skydance TV, controlling all the TV production units. In comic book news, the DC films will still be run by Peter Gunn and Peter Safran. Lastly, the head of CNN, Mark Thompson, will stay in place. Let’s quickly opine on the particulars before diving into the broad ramifications. We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… Who I like and dislike in their next gigs… Why I think this consolidation will likely leave Skydance worse off… The math behind which mergers succeed and which don’t… A lot more ugliness in this merger… And a whole lot more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support.
Packers Add Another Potential OL Starter to Injury Report
The Green Bay Packers‘ offensive line has been a constant shuffle this season. So, it should be no surprise that another name on the line has been added to the injury report. Anthony Belton, who was expected to step in for the injured Zach Bako-Bewele, is now injured. Belton popped up on the injury report […] The post Packers Add Another Potential OL Starter to Injury Report appeared first on HEAVY.
James McAvoy Recalls Being Bullied On Hit HBO Series — And He Doesn't Hold Back
The actor revealed it was his first day as an actor after finishing acting school.
Andrew Scott Could Make Oscars History With This ‘Incredibly Personal’ Role
“It’s set in the theater and about the representation of gay actors in the ’90s, and it’s about family,” the Irish actor said of “Elsinore.”
’70s Rock Icon Says Taylor Swift ‘Ruined Music’ And Labels Her ‘The Apotheosis Of Mediocrity’
Todd Rundgren’s scathing comments on Swift came amid a chat about what he described as “the era of the female artists.”
‘Stuff The British Stole’ Producer WildBear Entertainment Reshuffles Top Team To “Get Ahead” Of Industry Transformation
EXCLUSIVE: Australian factual producer WildBear Entertainment has unveiled a new look for its management team amid “the biggest transformation we’ve seen in decades” for the entertainment industry. A ...
Newcastle Have To Cope Without Concussed Nico Gonzalez Against Hull
Matthias Jaissle must reshuffle his midfield to offset a significant injury blow as the Magpies seek redemption at St James’ Park following their heavy defeat at Leeds.
Titans shuffle practice squad: add cornerback, re-sign Xavier Restrepo
The Tennessee Titans made roster moves on their practice squad including signing cornerback Shemar Bartholomew.
What Charles Huff said after the loss to Boise State
Following Memphis’ 38-20 loss against Boise State, Charles Huff met with the media to discuss what happened in the loss. He spoke about the issues on both sides of the ball, but he did add that the team would be able to learn things from the loss.
Guardians Minor League Recap: Huff Hits Twentieth
Minor League Recaps for 9/1/2026’s games
Giants shuffle practice squad, bring back 2 familiar names
Ryan Schernecke, CJ Ravenell back with team.
Analysis | Meet the lawmaker who’s worried about Christian nationalism
Rep. Jared Huffman is concerned about religious freedom.
The Deadlock Between Beyoncé And Taylor Swift Is Officially Over
Sunday’s ceremony marked the introduction of the MTV Video Music Awards’ Artist Director Honors.
'It's Just Not Worth It': Selena Gomez Opens Up About Vaping's Effect On Her Voice
The “Only Murders in the Building” star revealed that she’s quit vaping and hopes to keep it up.
BYU Football Releases Updated Depth Chart Ahead of UCF Game
Fresh off a high-stakes upset, the Cougars shuffle their offensive line and lean on quarterback Bear Bachmeier's rushing mobility to offset key injuries before facing the Knights.
49ers sign former Cowboys 4th-round pick, release veteran TE
The San Francisco 49ers did a minor roster shuffle ahead of their final preseason game.
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Is Advocating For Stricter Online Harassment Laws After Fiancé's Death
Ken Urker was found dead on his 34th birthday at his home in Louisiana.
Play USA TODAY's College Football Shuffle
Solve the shuffled words, match each one to the right headline and see how well you know the week in college football.
This Sneaky App Is Probably Sucking Up Your iPhone Storage. Here's How To Free Up Space.
This easy fix will give you more data on your device so you can go back to screenshotting every meme you see.
Hurricane Isaias reshuffles area football, volleyball schedules
See which high school football games were rescheduled and how volleyball district tournaments changed after Hurricane Isaias.
Matt Rice Takes the Reins of UTA's Film Division as Agency Reshuffles Leadership
Matt Rice has been elevated to president of the new UTA Filmed Entertainment unit, as the agency has reorganized its filmed entertainment division
Scientists Call For International Body To Oversee Advanced AI
In an open letter, the researchers said frontier AI models should initially be air-gapped from external networks and subject to independent oversight.
The Wackiest And Wildest Looks From The VMAs Red Carpet
From Lady Gaga’s legendary meat dress to live animals, the VMAs red carpet is home to some of the most outrageous pop culture moments.
Memphis offense’s top performers from the non-conference slate
Memphis didn’t play last weekend after four straight games to start the season, and it will start conference play on Saturday with a road game against Charlotte. With the non-conference slate behind them, it’s time to look at the top performers from Charles Huff’s offense through the first four games of the season.
No One Wants To Talk About This Embarrassing Part Of Aging — But This Small Toilet Tool Can Help
The Bottom Buddy is an ergonomic toilet wand that is giving people back their independence.
Jessica Lange Says FX Was ‘Too F**king Cheap’ During Her ‘American Horror Story’ Days
Lange surprised fans when she returned to the horror anthology series this fall, despite previously claiming she had no interest.
Texas state sales tax revenue surges 11.5% in September on strong business spending
Sparked by strong business spending, Texas state sales tax revenue reached $4.4 billion in September, marking an 11.5% increase compared with the same month last year, Comptroller Don Huffines announced last week.
Inside Sergey Brin's growing influence over Google Gemini
Google's AI reshuffle has handed more sway to Sergey Brin, say insiders, who describe an effective operator trying to run Gemini like a startup.
Kathleen Turner Has An Iconic Response As Michael Douglas Admits To Past Affair
“What a fuss...”
Matt Rice Takes the Reins of UTA’s Film Division as Agency Reshuffles Leadership
Matt Rice has been elevated to president of the new UTA Filmed Entertainment unit, as the agency has reorganized its filmed entertainment division
Buffalo Bills Inactives Against Houston Texans Include Promising Rookies
Buffalo sidelines rookie receiver Skyler Bell while elevating Frank Gore Jr., reshuffling the depth chart as key injuries impact the roster for Sunday’s clash in Houston.
Brooklyn Store Says Kelly Clarkson Wanted To Buy Something That Wasn't For Sale
Kelly Clarkson blasted the retail shop on X, saying the employees looked at her like she couldn’t afford the pieces.
What Charles Huff said after Saturday’s win over Charlotte
Memphis beat Charlotte 59-8 on Saturday to pick up its first win in conference play and improve to 4-1 on the season. After the game, Charles Huff met with the media to talk about the win and what impressed him in the performance.
Anti-Woke Sports Bro Cut From College Football Fan Favorite
The Barstool Sports founder blamed his rival team for Fox Sports’ decision.
Takeaways from Memphis’ 18-point loss to Boise State
Memphis lost for the first time in the Charles Huff era Saturday night against Boise State. The Tigers led by 14 points in the first half, but the Broncos dominated the second half to record an 18-point victory.
Toronto Blue Jays Make Late Roster Move with Veteran Pitcher
With nine games left in the regular season, the Blue Jays are shuffling the deck.
Trump shuffles key federal panel ahead of vote on his arch
Four Trump political appointees were added to the National Capital Planning Commission, which could approve the president’s project on Nov. 5.
Hawks' Continuity Could Be Their Biggest Eastern Conference Advantage
The Atlanta Hawks largely stood pat while Eastern Conference contenders reshuffled, giving them a continuity edge entering 2026-27.
2026 Week 1 Preview: Arkansas State Red Wolves @ Memphis Tigers
Charles Huff and Memphis look to ride the Week 0 momentum into a home opener vs. Arkansas State.
Former Texans Cornerback Skips Town to Join 49ers in Shuffle
One former Houston Texans player departed for greener pastures, while another had no say in the matter but is hoping for the same. The post Former Texans Cornerback Skips Town to Join 49ers in Shuffle appeared first on HEAVY.
Play USA TODAY's College Football Shuffle
Solve the shuffled words, match each one to the right headline and see how well you know the week in college football.
Play USA TODAY's College Football Shuffle
Solve the shuffled words, match each one to the right headline and see how well you know the week in college football.
Entertainer Jaye P. Morgan Dies At 94
Morgan was one of the top female recording artists of the 1950s and later became a frequent talk show guest and game show panelist, infamously taking off her shirt on “The Gong Show.”
Saints Lose WR to Browns After Taking Cedric Tillman From Cleveland
Cedric Tillman coming to the New Orleans Saints has been viewed as a pretty big deal.The former Cleveland Browns wide receiver was available, and the Saints pounced to add him to their practice squad earlier this week.Lost in the shuffle was that there’s also a wideout going back from the Saints to the Browns: Bub […] The post Saints Lose WR to Browns After Taking Cedric Tillman From Cleveland appeared first on HEAVY.
Jimmy Kimmel Ridicules Trump For Awarding Elon Musk With Highest Science Award
“It is so nice when two terrible people can put their differences aside for the greater bad,” Kimmel said.
Tennessee Titans worked out two tight ends on Tuesday
The Tennessee Titans worked out two tight ends as they shuffle their practice squad ahead of the Houston Texans game.
Steelers' Offensive Line Shuffle Raises Concern Ahead of Preseason Finale
Mark Kaboly says the Steelers must stop shuffling Broderick Jones, Dylan Cook, and others and set their starting offensive line before Thursday night.
Tennessee Titans re-sign Erick Hallett to the practice squad
The Tennessee Titans released veteran Jordan Elliott and shuffled their practice squad roster ahead of the Cleveland Browns game.
College football rankings shuffled with Florida surging in US LBM Coaches Poll Top 25
The results of Week 4 in college football have shaken up the US LBM Coaches Poll Top 25. See who is moving up and who is moving down.
Scientists discover the universe’s first known green star
Forget about spooky green zombies shuffling around on Halloween. The real sci-fi magic is happening hundreds of light-years away in deep space. Stellar scientists have just identified the universe’s very first known green star, proving that the cosmos is a whole lot more colorful than anyone previously imagined. Breaking the cosmic color rules For generations, […] Read the original article here: Scientists discover the universe’s first known green star
Labcorp and Arianna Huffington's Thrive Global Collaborate to Launch Thrive 5 Health Test
/PRNewswire/ -- Labcorp (NYSE: LH), a global leader of innovative and comprehensive laboratory services, today announced the launch of the Thrive 5 Health...
The Democrat Who Knows What A Blue Wave Feels Like
“I think there’s a chance this is going to be the first election of the post-Trump era,” Perriello told HuffPost.
ChatGPT Health Wants You To Upload Your Medical Records — Cybersecurity Experts Are Begging You Not To Do That
Zverev Doubles Grand Slam Tally As He Overpowers Shelton In U.S. Open Finals
The German tennis player’s triumph scuttled the chance for American men to put an end to their two decade Grand Slam drought.
Reshuffled college football rankings see Oregon tumble, LSU rise in US LBM Coaches Poll
The results of Week 1 of the college football season brought major changes to the US LBM Coaches Poll. Here's how the Top 25 rankings look:
Apple Cup Preparation for Washington, Prediction
For the second straight year, Jedd Fisch and Washington have to prepare for a reshuffled Washington State program with a coaching staff and personnel overhaul. Former Oregon State defensive coordinator and head coach Trent Bray now calls the Cougar defense. Washington State head coach Kirby Moore’s offense stems from his stint as the offensive coordinator …
Taylor Swift Confirms She’s ‘Patient Zero’ In VMAs Music Video Debut
Fans had been parsing the singer’s social media for clues and coming up with theories for days leading up to the ceremony.
Netflix film chief Dan Lin is out as streamer shuffles executive ranks
Netflix's film chief Dan Lin has left the company after the streamer conducted massive layoffs.
Comptroller fires dozens of employees in Don Huffines' first month
The Texas comptroller terminated 41 employees as Don Huffines campaigns on shrinking the size of the state’s government and ending unnecessary spending.
A week of politics, preaching and personalities
Students at UW-Whitewater know what they’ll see as they walk across campus. A couple oversized squirrels in the grass, students shuffling from classes and, if you’re lucky, a few spaced out tables handing out fun prizes. But for students, the week of Sept. 28 looked a little different. As the 2026 Wisconsin governor’s race continues...
Workiva ties AI-native workflows to business outcomes- SiliconANGLE
Workiva connects AI-native workflows to business outcomes, trusted data and employee participation, putting agent creation in the hands of those doing the work.
Taylor Swift Confirms She’s ‘Patient Zero’ In VMAs Music Video Debut
Fans had been parsing the singer’s social media for clues and coming up with theories for days leading up to the ceremony.
A Simple iPhone Setting Can Actually Stop Spam Callers In Their Tracks
Wave goodbye to pesky unknown calls.
The core anti-Pangram constituency is phony writers
Welcome to The Closing Argument, our verdict on the news, plus everything The Argument published and appeared in this week. The Verdict, by Kelsey Piper A lot of people hate AI for drowning the internet in slop and displacing human creatives. You might think that these people would be thrilled by a program that can identify and flag AI-generated work. But many people who hate AI also hate Pangram, an impressively accurate AI detector that produces very few false positives, according to high-quality independent research. This loathing found its most recent expression in a bizarre Wired article that amplifies a wide range of false arguments from Pangram skeptics: that AI detectors are racist (they’re not) or ableist (they’re not)1 or don’t work (this one does)2. Rather than starting from the premise that it would be really valuable to have a working AI detector and scrutinizing Pangram to make sure it lives up to that promise, the article starts from the premise that Pangram obviously has bad vibes and sets out to discover why. (One answer: The CEO microwaved lunch during an interview!) Why aren’t writers who resent Pangram more eager to distinguish themselves from posters who are having ChatGPT ghostwrite all their work? There are a few different things at play, but I think one key dynamic is this: These are often the same people. A core constituency for arguments like Wired’s is “writers” who are using AI to write their posts but resent this fact being made public. They stand to lose from AI detectors because AI detectors call them out. Share When Substack announced a partnership with Pangram, a sizable fraction of the platform’s authors rose up in outrage. Some people had experience with other AI detectors that didn’t work, and some felt that AI writing ought to be encouraged — both of which are fair enough. But the fury was fueled by authors passionately insisting that Pangram kept wrongly accusing them on almost every post they published. Pangram can be wrong, especially on short passages. But in the overwhelming majority of cases where Pangram looked at a whole blog post rather than a single paragraph, the program correctly detected work as AI. Even if we can’t be 100% sure in any individual case, we can notice the trend in the aggregate. Wired quotes Sam Illingworth, a professor of critical AI literacy at Edinburgh Napier University, who said, “I don’t think [AI detectors] work. … I think that detectors are prejudiced against certain people.” This spring, he said that he used AI for research and editing; this summer he acknowledged that in addition to research and editing, he also uses it “now and then for a turn of phrase I keep.” Pangram informs us that most of his posts are 100% AI-written (some are mixed AI-and-human) and that 100% AI-written posts started appearing last year. The favorable interpretation is that, as someone whose recent work Pangram consistently mistakes for AI, Illingworth sees Pangram’s flaws firsthand. The unfavorable interpretation is that the tool’s credibility trades off against his own, because its account of who writes his posts is not consistent with his. Illingworth is not alone in insisting the detector does not work. “It’s a Monday night in late July, and I’m pasting my own Substack draft into an AI detector for the first time. Not because I’m worried. Because I’m curious. I wrote every word of it myself, the way I write everything, out loud in my head first, in a rhythm that still carries the accent of a language I learned to think in before I learned to write in this one,” begins one Substack post by an author indignant that Pangram flags her writing as AI. “That’s the part I had to sit with before I could write this.” If you, like me, have worked with AIs a lot, you won’t even need Pangram there. The author of that piece is AI. It is obviously AI! I checked 10 other posts on the blog, and they were also obviously AI! “I have spent 22 years as an award-winning author and essayist. And now this bullshit tool that learned from MY writing is going to accuse me of plagiarism,” popular Substack writer Carlyn Beccia wrote in an anti-Pangram post. “For the last and final time, AI DETECTORS DO NOT WORK.” Here’s what her writing sounded like in 2020: “Most success stories revolve around one person who believed enough in you to say — give it a try. We call these people muses, but they are so much more than that. They are the strong man giants whose shoulders we stand on so we can see the horizon. Throughout the editing process, I am sure my editor felt less like a giant of greatness and more like Atlas with the world on her shoulders.” Pangram says it was 100% human-written. (So were other articles of hers in 2020.) And here’s what it sounds like now: “And then there is the reshuffling, which sounds like paperwork until you remember that empires have always loved paperwork. The Trump regime recently moved special education oversight from the Education Department to HHS. That is not a minor bureaucratic transfer. It changes the frame.”3 Pangram says this is mostly AI. I am not convinced that Pangram is wrong. In my own experience, Pangram is very effective on long texts — if it marks a long essay as AI, the essay was either written by AI or deliberately written to sound like AI. On tweet-length or paragraph-length texts, it’s not perfectly reliable. It seems to work just as well for non-native English speakers as for native speakers. While I have seen dozens of claims of pre-2022 text returning a positive result on Pangram, I have tried repeatedly to corroborate those and have never once succeeded. To be clear, I’m absolutely not saying that complaining about Pangram suggests a writer is a cheat. There are plenty of other concerns. Most are mistakenly premised, such as the false claim that Pangram trains on work you put into it, but others are reasonable: It’s unreliable on sufficiently short text segments; it creates an internet witch-hunt mentality when there are defensible uses of AI; people who are open about their AI use are sometimes blamed, when the only people really doing something wrong are the ones who hide it; and it isn’t perfect, so a single positive result shouldn’t be taken as decisive proof of misconduct. I’m happy to concede that Pangram is imperfect and possible to over-rely on. If an author’s posts are mostly non-AI and one scans as partially AI, this could be a mistake. It’s also possible to defeat Pangram with intentional effort. If you think we need something more robust and more reliable, fine! But if you don’t like AI and don’t like Pangram, your attitude really ought to be that it’s a shame that our existing tools for AI detection are imperfect, and it’s important to invent better ones. If your stance is instead that AI is evil and so is looking for AI, then ultimately you’re contributing to the sloppification of the internet. You’re making it harder for people who write their own text to distinguish themselves, and providing cover for authors who are definitely not writing their own text. Subscribe Top stories this week, by Kobe Yank-Jacobs Commentators often worry that the decline of reading could mean the decline of liberal democracy — but deliberative governance actually predated widespread literacy. This week, Maibritt Henkel pointed out that many liberal cultures thrive on a culture of raucous, interactive debate, which can happen in-person as easily, if not more so, than in text. Read on, dear reader, to learn more. It may actually cheer you up: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) [ Reading won’t save liberalism ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) Maibritt Henkel · Sep 1 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/reading-wont-save-liberalism) It used to be bad to downplay climate change (if we mean denying its reality). Today, it’s actually good to downplay climate change (if we mean keeping the issue out of political fights so we can make real progress). This counterintuitive view is called “climate hushing,” and contributor Alex Trembath argued that it’s the key to enacting good policy going forward. Get up to speed on the latest in climate politics: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) [ We won’t stop climate change by talking about it ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) Alex Trembath · Sep 2 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/we-wont-stop-climate-change-by-talking) Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney is standing up for the forces of liberalism against Donald Trump’s assault on our closest ally. So, why is one prominent left-wing commenter attacking Carney? Columnist Matthew Yglesias explains: [ ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) [ When "economic liberty" means central planning ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) Matthew Yglesias · Aug 31 [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-economic-liberty-means-central) 🌟Abundance Wins of the Week🌟 Shout out to my home state of California, whose legislature passed two housing bills this week. One requires a housing density minimum in transit-oriented areas of the state’s most transit-rich cities (Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, San Diego, and Long Beach). Another bill closes two common loopholes used by third parties to delay housing projects, including an opportunity to challenge maps of a given lot created by the developer after a project has been approved. Shout out to our big-state rival, Texas, where pro-housing SB 785 took effect this week. The new state law requires municipalities to have at least one district permitted for manufactured housing without a special permit. This will promote zoning changes in 44% of municipalities. The company Fervo Energy signed a deal with Google for what is set to be the world’s largest enhanced geothermal facility, proving a technology can work at a scale that could be crucial to a decarbonized, energy-abundant economy. Share Worth watching… This week, forecasting legend Nate Silver joined Jerusalem, Matt, and Jeremiah on a crowded episode of the pod. It was a party. And speaking of parties, our round table debated the factional lines within the Democratic Party: Is it possible to be center-left and also anti-establishment? Watch or listen to find out: The Rio Grande Valley in Texas is one of the areas that swung hardest toward Trump in 2024, but musician Bobby Pulido is running to flip it back. Right now, The Argument/Split Ticket’s model has him running 1.1 points behind his Republican opponent in a district Trump won by 18 points. Tune in to find out how he differs from national Democrats and what he thinks he can to do win this seat. On Thursday, Bernie Sanders was among the first politicians to call for a ban on superintelligence. My guest this week, Andrea Miotti, has been lobbying to ban superintelligence for several years, most recently in the U.K., U.S., and Canada. I asked him how he gets legislators to take speculative risks seriously, and we dug into what plans might look like to actually pass a ban. Listen to learn more: What’s News with The Argument The Argument recommends, by Kobe Yank-Jacobs If we ever lose track of Justin Zuckerman, I’ll have the team split up and check all the movie theaters in the city. I’m shocked (and a little jealous) at how often he gets out to see good cinema. This week, he brings us It Ends, a “horror-ish movie,” which he described as a “Gen Z Waiting for Godot.” I was intrigued before he added that it was “funny, dark and existential” — at which point I was fully locked in. I guess I also had existential themes on the mind this week. One morning, a single line from a poem I read long ago just came to me: “Is death a stretch of time in which a life is just a flash?” The poem is called “From 20,000 Feet” by Heather McHugh. I suggest the version in The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry, which, by tradition, my best friend and I always bring backpacking, extra weight be damned. We’ll stay thematically dark for just one more rec from senior editor John Robert Thomason, whose upcoming trip to Baltimore reminded him to suggest Michael Clune’s memoir White Out (about being addicted to heroin in Baltimore in the 1990s). Ben Lerner’s blurb called it _“_Disturbing, brilliant, hilarious—it’s as if Proust had written Jesus’ Son.” John told me this “seems accurate, with the caveat that I’ve never read Proust.” I, personally, have also shelved Proust until retirement. At this point, I was a little concerned for the team since all of us tossed out such psychologically grim material — maybe we’re all down about the end of summer — but thankfully, at least a few of us were into more upbeat selections. Milan Singh recommended Made In’s 5-quart stainless clad saucier, suggesting he had some fun in the kitchen. Jeremiah Johnson asked if he could recommend yet more Carly Rae Jepsen. Once denied, he offered up Game Changer instead_,_ calling it “the most wildly creative game show, maybe in the entire history of the genre.” Eli Richman mentioned _Lucky, “_a B-tier show with an A-tier cast and an S-tier theme song.” I suppose he was recommending the song, Horns of a Bull. Still, despite these cheerier recs, I couldn’t help but be concerned that we were subconsciously worried about racing toward summer’s end — the end of swim trunks and splashing around. Then a message landed reminding me of the three-day weekend to come. A whole extra day for sunshine. One more swim in the lake. I was grateful this called to mind yet another line from a poem, one by Mary Oliver, the patron saint of every gorgeous summer day (and about whom a documentary is now out). Speaking to God in the poem “Thirst,” she wrote: grant me, in your mercy,a little more time. Love for the earthand love for you are having such a longconversation in my heart. We have merch! We have quarter-zips, keychains, hats, and stickers. Each one is a great conversation starter in its own way. Buy them here. Subscribe More to read: [ The Opening Argument ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite)[ Seeing like an elite ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite) Kobe Yank-Jacobs · Sep 4 What do Americans hear when they watch Sen. Bernie Sanders or Vice President JD Vance rail against the elite? Are they thinking of right-wing tech billionaires? Imperious college professors? Liberal magazine writers? [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/seeing-like-an-elite) [ The Weekly Scroll ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline)[ God is back on the timeline ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline) Jeremiah Johnson · Sep 5 This week, we’re talking about Substack’s new religious debates, the continuing MAGA influencer scandal, how to retire from YouTube, and aura battles. [ Read full story ](https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/god-is-back-on-the-timeline) 1 This was a legitimate thing to worry about, but doesn’t seem to be a problem given the actual technology: Marijke Van Vlasselaer, Filip Van Droogenbroeck, and Bram Spruyt’s 2026 paper looks at whether Pangram is less accurate when evaluating the work of non-native speakers of English. It isn’t. That’s because Pangram isn’t really looking at how “unusual” a piece of writing is but whether it has the characteristic patterns of LLMs. The Wired article makes an odd gesture at a different Pangram-is-racist argument. There were several controversies this summer during which upcoming books were canceled after being discovered to be AI-written: “The three novels mentioned earlier — Shy Girl, Daggermouth, and Call Me, easily publishing’s biggest AI-detection scandals — were all written by writers of color.” But come on! As Zvi Mowshowitz put it: “They were not primarily written by people of color. They were primarily written by AIs.” That’s the whole problem! And as my colleague Jeremiah Johnson recently observed with respect to Cambridge’s Arday scandal, a community being unwilling to call out fraud if it’s perpetuated by people of color is not an anti-racist tendency; it is ultimately quite racist. 2 Many non-Pangram detectors don’t work, but many possible airplane designs also don’t work, and no one considers this a general argument against aviation; the thing that matters is whether any detection works. 3 The phrase “empires have always loved” mysteriously became all the rage in the last few years. See here, here, here, here and here. Before 2025, the only use of that phrase I have been able to find is a single Tweet. The logic of the sentence, too, is incoherent in an AI-characteristic way. “...sounds like paperwork, until you remember that empires have always loved paperwork”? Does remembering that make it sound less like paperwork? It’s a craft-ful sentence, but what is it actually saying??
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