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How To Start To Unlock Diablo 4: Lord Of Hatred’s Secret Cow Level
The Secret Cow Level is back in Diablo 4 and it almost unlocked. There's a lot of prep work you need to do to get to the current point, however.
The da Vinci bloodline is unlocking the genius’s genetic secrets
After centuries of mystery, scientists are edging closer to uncovering Leonardo da Vinci’s biological secrets. A massive 30-year effort has mapped his family across 21 generations, identified living male descendants, and even confirmed shared DNA markers that stretch back to the Renaissance. Meanwhile, excavations at a family tomb in Vinci could provide ancient remains for comparison, raising the possibility of reconstructing Leonardo’s genetic profile.
The state of women's health
Addressing women's health outcomes could unlock $1 trillion annually by 2040, but investment is still vital to closing the gap.
Press gala shooter / Political violence / Iran war price tag
Saturday’s attack at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner was the third assassination attempt on President Trump.Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR National Security Correspondent Greg Myre and NPR Justice Correspondent Ryan Lucas about what the attack says about the state of political violence in the U.S. and the debate over whether the Secret Service was ready to protect Trump and those around him. Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.
Monthly Momentos: April 2026
The James LeVoy Sorenson Center for Medical Innovation officially opens, breaking ground on a new AirMed hanger, unlocking secrets of human development, and more April highlights.
Unlocking SAP Business Context in Databricks with Semantic Metadata Delta Sharing
SAP Business Data Cloud integration with Databricks made it easy to Delta Share your SAP data sets natively into Databricks. But it is difficult to make use of this data without its rich semantic context. Now, SAP Business Data Cloud Delta Shares automatically sync semantic metadata into Unity Catalog — including column and table descriptions, primary/foreign key relationships, and data governance tags. This enables the Databricks Genie to immediately understand your SAP data, making it ready for natural language discovery and secure analytics.
Santa Marta conference unlocks historic political momentum for just transitions that must translate into rights-centric action
The First conference on Transitioning away from Fossil Fuels sent a strong political signal that the age of fossil fuels must end at Santa Marta.
House Adopts Budget to Unlock $70 Billion for Immigration Enforcement
The measure will allow the G.O.P. to begin working on a filibuster-proof bill to fund ICE and C.B.P., part of their plan to reopen the long-shuttered Department of Homeland Security.
Unlocking human ambition to drive business growth with AI - The Official Microsoft Blog
As our customers progress toward becoming Frontier Firms, they are using AI not only to optimize how work gets done, but to reinvent their business on the promise of growth. Organizations can now unlock creativity, accelerate innovation and democratize intelligence by bringing Copilots and agents directly into the tools people love and use every day....
Tetris 99's New Crossover Event Celebrates Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream, Unlock A Special Theme
Drop into island life
DOJ charges suspect in White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting
The Justice Department has charged 31-year-old Cole Allen with trying to assassinate President Trump during the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday. We discuss what we know about Allen and how Trump responded to Saturday’s shooting.This episode: voting correspondent Miles Parks, justice correspondent Ryan Lucas, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
Correspondents’ dinner lacked highest security level despite presence of top officials
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which was attended by the President and many Cabinet members, was not given top security status that would have unlocked the full weight of federal security resources.
10 misconceptions about kids sports: How parents can push against them
Understanding what’s behind our misconceptions about youth sports could be the key to unlocking a happy sports journey for our kids.
Now we know who paid $100,000 to unlock a Sam Altman podcast interview
A rare podcast featuring OpenAI's top executives was behind a paywall. Someone spent $100,000 to make it free to the public.
Nan Schaffer, veterinarian who helped unlock the science of rhino reproduction, has died, aged 72
“One of the great tragedies of the 21st century,” Nan Schaffer once said, “will be humanity’s homogeneity.” The remark was less a warning than a diagnosis. In a world where landscapes were being simplified and species reduced to remnants, she concerned herself with what would be lost when difference itself began to disappear. For species […]
2,200-year-old Roman shipwreck unlocks mysteries of how ships were built and repaired
And it’s all thanks to little bits of pollen stored in the wood beams.
Our unsung hero of science: Friedrich Miescher, the man who discovered DNA
Working on human pus in a medieval castle, Miescher discovered a substance that would eventually unlock our understanding of how life works.
AMD Launches the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition Processor
Today, AMD released the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition processor, the first processor that brings dual AMD 3D V-Cache technology to the desktop, unlocking a new level of performance for developers, creators and gamers. Built for demanding developers, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition proce...
How creepy crawlies can unlock science curiosity for young learners
Insects and bugs can provide an inroad to lessons on nature while helping students — and sometimes teachers — overcome fears in the process.
How creepy crawlies can unlock science curiosity for young learners
Insects and bugs can provide an inroad to lessons on nature while helping students — and sometimes teachers — overcome fears in the process.
Republicans launch a new effort to fund the Department of Homeland Security
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate voted on Tuesday to launch a new effort to reopen the Department of Homeland Security and end the longest partial government shutdown in history. The 52-46 vote was the first step in a budget process that Republicans hope will unlock the funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. […]
Visiting Fulbright scholar from Poland joins INL researcher to study actinide physics, unlock atomic secrets
For Adam Piotr Pikul of the Polish Academy of Sciences, there is always more to understand about the basic physics of uranium atoms. That’s why Pikul, a professor at the Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research in Wrocław, is studying actinide quantum materials at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) on a Fulbright Senior Award. Actinides are a group of 15 radioactive elements, including uranium.
Xfinity Kicks Off Member Celebration with Three Weeks of Exclusive Entertainment, Sports, Live Experiences and Savings from Comcast NBCUniversal
PHILADELPHIA, April 20, 2026--Comcast’s Xfinity today launched its Xfinity Member Celebration, a limited-time event running through May 10 that delivers three weeks of bonus benefits, sweepstakes, and exclusive experiences for Xfinity members. Members can also unlock special Xfinity product offers, featuring savings on mobile devices, smartwatches, and smart home technology, with even more value available at higher membership tiers. The celebration spotlights the unmatched power of Xfinity membe
Score MS Office 2024 Home and Business plus 8 training courses for 72% off
Unlock all the features.
A new force of nature is reshaping the planet, study finds
Human societies didn’t just adapt to the planet—they learned to reshape it. From early fire use to today’s global supply chains, our cultural and social innovations have unlocked extraordinary power to transform Earth and improve human life. But that progress has come with serious costs, including climate change, pollution, and mass extinction. Instead of framing this era—the Anthropocene—as pure crisis, Erle Ellis argues it’s also proof of something hopeful: when people work together, they can drive massive positive change.
First-ever SPHEREx images spark hope to finally unlock the Universe’s origin mysteries - Futura-Sciences
SPHEREx Takes Off: A Mission Begins On March 11, a Falcon 9 rocket launched from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base, carrying a particularly precious piece of NASA’s scientific arsenal: the SPHEREx space telescope. Its mission? To map the cosmos with its high-precision instruments and spectacular image quality. No pressure, right?...
Dispatch Politics Roundup: The State of State Politics
Your weekly roundup from Washington, D.C.
Bank of Hawaiʻi launches new Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurs
Center helps Hawaiʻi business owners plan for succession, unlock opportunity and navigate complexities of business, family and personal wealth.
Unlock New Rewards in the Rivals and Rockets
Complete cross-game Quests and Challenges in Rocket League and Fortnite to unlock rewards in both games.
Alabama Predicted by CBS Sports to Exceed Expectations
CBS Sports predicts a surprising 10- or 11-win season for Alabama. Can new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb unlock a championship run?
Google just unlocked 'Agent Mode' for Gemini 3.1 — here are 7 things it can now do for you
From "inbox zero" to full trip planning, here is how to unlock Google’s powerful new agentic workflows
Graphene just defied a fundamental law of physics
In a major breakthrough, scientists have observed electrons in graphene flowing like a nearly frictionless liquid, defying a core law of physics. This exotic quantum state not only reveals new fundamental behavior but could also unlock powerful future technologies.
Q&A with chemist Max Delferro: Unlocking breakthroughs in catalytic science
In this Q&A, chemist Max Delferro explains how his team is combining catalysis, artificial intelligence and robotics to speed chemical discovery — cutting catalyst development from decades to years while advancing more efficient industrial processes.
What trainers actually think about the 12-3-30 workout
Have we finally unlocked exercise’s biggest secret? Or is this yet another lie perpetrated Big Treadmill?
Q&A with chemist Max Delferro: Unlocking breakthroughs in catalytic science
In this Q&A, chemist Max Delferro explains how his team is combining catalysis, artificial intelligence and robotics to speed chemical discovery — cutting catalyst development from decades to years while advancing more efficient industrial processes.
30 Under 30 Europe Science & Healthcare 2026: The Founders Using AI To Empower Patients And Unlock Scientific Mysteries
These young entrepreneurs, researchers and doctors are improving healthcare, empowering patients and building the hardware of the future.
Scottish Association for Marine Science: Unlocking red seaweed for food flavor, color & hybrid proteins
“AI polls” are fake polls
A few weeks after Donald Trump’s second presidential win, I took the train up from London (where I was living at the time) to Oxford to attend a conference on polls and forecasts of the 2024 election. Most of the attendees were pollsters or academics, but I also watched presentations from Aaru and Electric Twin, two companies that do what is interchangeably called synthetic sampling, silicon sampling, or synthetic audiences. Stripped of startup jargon, that means they use large language models (LLMs) to simulate responses to public opinion polls by having AI agents take on the role of survey respondents. I had already heard of Aaru thanks to some articles with eye-catching headlines like “No people, no problem: AI chatbots predict elections better than humans” in the months leading up to Election Day. The founders were making some big, some might even say far-fetched claims, such as: “within two years, we will simulate the entire globe — from the way crops are grown in Ukraine to how that impacts production of oil in Iraq, trade through the strait of Malacca, and elections for the mayor of Baltimore.” When Semafor asked Aaru’s cofounders — Cameron Fink and Ned Koh — about my boss, they said “we respect all those who came before us.” Nate (as he so often does) shared his thoughts on Twitter: Fink and Koh were relatively good-natured about this back-and-forth when we spoke at Oxford. They even offered to mail me one of the t-shirts featuring Nate’s quote they apparently had made. I never took them up on the offer, which I now somewhat regret. These synthetic sampling companies fell off my radar for a while, but they do still exist. In fact, Aaru recently received a $1 billion valuation. Is what they’re doing anywhere close to the most important frontier in AI development? Not by a longshot, especially when Anthropic just developed a model so adept at exploiting software vulnerabilities that it’s only being released to 40 companies. Still, silicon sampling is increasingly finding its way into public polling. Axios reported in March that “a majority of people trust their own doctors and nurses” based on findings from Aaru — without mentioning that the “people” in that sentence were actually LLMs. Around the same time, the Public Sentiment Institute “boosted” their online sample of 373 real survey respondents with 114 AI agents.1 (Spoiler alert: even the co-founder of Electric Twin doesn’t think that’s a particularly defensible approach.) Polling companies like Qualtrics and Ipsos are also developing synthetic data panels. So, what should we make of these … “polls”? Let’s get one thing out of the way: whatever they are, they’re not polls in the way that term is usually defined. Subscribe You can’t replace polls with AI On one hand, using LLMs to essentially make up fake survey respondents sort of sounds like the dumbest idea ever, one that will at best imperfectly replicate real polls while introducing all sorts of biases. On the other hand, with LLMs improving at a remarkable, perhaps even alarming rate, maybe that means I’m a dinosaur at the ripe old age of 24 because I still want to rely on polls that talk to actual people. I’m not going to argue that synthetic samples are completely useless. In fact, as I’ll return to later, there is evidence that some techniques can replicate topline survey results quickly and cheaply. But the marketing from certain companies can be slightly optimistic. “No traditional poll will exist by the time the next general election occurs,” said Fink in 2024. We’re just 206 days away from the midterms, and based on the fact that I still have to collect a bunch of polls every day, I’d say he should have run that prediction by a sample of AI agents before the interview.2 To see why synthetic samples can’t replace polls, here’s a quick primer on how they work. The simplest version of these models involves taking a LLM (like ChatGPT or Claude), giving it a demographic profile (e.g., a white, college-educated woman who lives in Utah and makes $70k a year), and then asking it to respond to a survey question. You repeat that process a few thousand times using different demographic profiles and end up with a sample of synthetic survey responses. The actual models used by private companies are more sophisticated than this, usually because they incorporate more hypothesized demographic characteristics for each agent and provide them with extra information. Aaru, for example, feeds agents a diet of news and information they’d be likely to consume, while Electric Twin incorporates their customers’ proprietary data about the audience they’re trying to replicate. The way Ben Warner, the co-founder of Electric Twin, explained it to me was “we have a large amount of data on […] for instance, 5,000 people. Can we make an accurate prediction of how they would respond to another question?” Still, it should be obvious why synthetic samples can’t replace polls. Polling is fundamentally a data collection process. We might use surveys to make predictions by feeding them into election forecasts, but the main purpose of a poll isn’t prediction, it’s gathering new data about what people think and how they feel. Silicon sampling, on the other hand, produces no new data. It’s simply a model: you input LLM training data, demographic prompts, and a bunch of other information, and it spits out a prediction for what a poll would say. We love models here, but models aren’t polls. That difference is an important philosophical sticking point for most pollsters I talk to. “I think politics should stay away from [synthetic sampling], because we’re trying to […] represent the voice of the people,” said Natalie Jackson, a vice president at GQR Insights. Democratic pollster John Hagner told me: “I think I’m just incredibly skeptical of this idea. I don’t think it’s research. At that point, you’re asking the machine to tell you what you already believe.” Hagner has seen some presentations of early synthetic sampling experiments, but so far, “if it’s being used in a campaign, people are keeping it incredibly quiet.”3 But Eli, I hear you saying, aren’t polls themselves increasingly governed by modeling decisions? Indeed they are: pollsters’ choices on which sampling method to use, how to define their likely voter models, and how to weight their samples can and do lead to dramatic differences in the results they publish. Aaru even referenced these limitations in the methodology statement included with that maternal mortality “poll” — although I’m using the term “methodology statement” loosely here, because it doesn’t really explain how the model works at all. We can ignore the (frankly preposterous) implication that synthetic sampling isn’t subject to a separate set of biases. The important point is that there’s still a meaningful difference between using weighting and other statistical techniques on actual polling data and using a model to predict what a poll would say. The latter is far closer to election forecasts or techniques like MRP — potentially useful models, but not a replacement for polls.4 To be fair, other synthetic sampling companies are perfectly happy with the distinction between polls and models. Warner compared polling and synthetic sampling to different tools in a toolbox. “The mistake I think we make is we think that these new tools should either work in exactly the same way or somehow replace these old tools,” he said. “Rather than thinking of it as, okay, so we’ve always had the hammer, we’ve always had the screwdriver, now we’ve got a saw. But don’t use a saw to try [to] do the job of a hammer.” A quick comment from Nate Eli didn’t ask me for a comment — rather rude of him, don’t you think? But since I’m editing this story, I figured I’d add a few quick thoughts rather than putting words in his mouth. Beyond the frequently misleading marketing, what bothers me about the AI “poll” hype is that as AI tools make statistical inference cheaper and/or better (note that these are not synonyms) that actually increases the comparative value of collecting original data. You might be able to train a model to make a reasonable estimate of what some hard-to-reach poll respondent would say — say, a young Black man who voted for Trump. (Such a person checks a number of boxes for a voter who is usually hard to reach in surveys.) Indeed, this is closely related to what models like the Silver Bulletin forecast already do. They essentially smooth out the kinks in noisy survey data by making inferences based on past voting patterns or national polls or surveys of other states. But you don’t actually know what these voters think unless you’re reaching them directly. If there’s a shift in opinion among this subgroup, you’re not going to detect it. So if I were running a campaign, I’d invest more in going the extra mile to find a representative sample of those voters. And then I’d hire some smart quants — or Claude? — to figure out the implications for campaign strategy based on proprietary data that my competitors didn’t have access to. -Nate Silver Are these models any good? If synthetic surveys are just a new type of model, the next obvious question is whether the models are at least accurate. The answer very much depends on who you ask. On one end of the spectrum, you have the maximalist argument that synthetic sampling is more accurate than actual polls. “It’s an incredibly challenging problem to go to someone and say ‘hey, we’re going to be more accurate at predicting human behavior than you, even when you talk to your customers directly’,” Koh recently told CNBC. In his view, synthetic sampling isn’t a saw to polling’s hammer, it’s “magic.” There’s certainly evidence that synthetic samples can replicate certain survey toplines. But if Aaru does have any examples of their approach outperforming the polls, they’re keeping those to themselves.5 Aaru’s 2024 election model, for example, had Kamala Harris leading in Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin on November 4th. And although they’ve since taken down their forecast page, they gave Harris a 50.5 percent chance of winning the race on November 2nd.6 After the election, Fink told Semafor he was happy enough with those results because they were “within margin of error,” a term that is completely meaningless when applied to a “sample” of AI agents. And of course, Aaru says their models have improved since 2024, so supposedly now they’d be more accurate than the polls? Still, their stronger argument is on cost: “We are significantly faster and cheaper than traditional polling, and still more accurate,” said Fink. The first two claims are undeniably true, but the third brings us to the opposite end of the spectrum. Both Jackson and Hagner are skeptical that these models are reliable for anything beyond replicating common survey toplines. “I just […] don’t think the machines are what we want when we’re looking for nuanced views. My example on this is people in Arizona and Nevada in 2024 who voted for Trump and voted for expanding abortion in their states on ballot initiatives,” said Jackson. Hagner identified another issue. Maybe the synthetic respondents, like sycophantic LLMs, are inhuman in one important way: they’re too nice. “The reports that have come through at the meetings that I’ve been at are that the early experiments on this, they cannot get respondents to be as racist or sexist or, frankly, as negative as human respondents,” he said. Academic research mostly agrees on this point. While there are some papers that show promising results when using LLMs to replicate polling data, most show that LLMs suffer from various quirks like producing too few “don’t know” responses and can seriously overpredict the favorability of politicians like Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. They also seem to struggle with too little variation between demographic subgroups, so the difference in predicted opinion between Democrats and Republicans, for example, is too small. When I asked Warner about these studies, his response to these papers was that just because academics can’t get synthetic sampling to work doesn’t mean that the technique doesn’t work in general. “Actually, the argument is, okay, yours does not [work]. That does not mean […] for this complex set of machinery, which uses a lot of investment, a lot of time, a lot of money, you can’t get it to work.” Cards on the table, I’m somewhat sympathetic to this argument because academics aren’t exactly great at making election forecasts. Usually, the people with skin in the game are the most accurate. Warner’s argument is that the approach Electric Twin takes — which includes, for example, making multiple predictions for each synthetic respondent using different models and prompts and subsequently averaging those to get a final prediction in a sort of ensemble forecast — produces better results than the simpler academic models. Warner shared a comparison between his method and the method from a recent academic paper with me, and Electric Twin was indeed able to get more accurate replication. But even still, he acknowledged that synthetic sampling “is not a crystal ball.” “If you asked me, do I think using other data sources will be more accurate than asking somebody who they will vote for, I would probably say no. But if you asked me ‘would your system be useful for our turnout modeling today?’ I would say yes.” For better or worse, it looks like the method is already getting more popular in the market research world. Most of the clients Aaru touts these days are businesses like EY and McDonald’s. And AI will probably begin to pop up in other parts of the political polling process. Pollsters are already using it to code open-ended survey responses, and some firms, like YouGov, are testing using LLMs to ask survey respondents questions. More worryingly, one danger to actual polls is that AI agents can be used to infiltrate online surveys. Most online polls use various checks to prevent that from happening, but there’s conflicting evidence on how effective those filters are and how prevalent AI agents currently are in online panels. If those agents ever become impossible to detect, it might spell the end of online polling, but the solution isn’t to replace all of your respondents with ChatGPT. Silver Bulletin is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a subscriber. Subscribe 1 That particular poll obviously doesn’t meet Silver Bulletin standards for aggregation. But we exclude all Public Sentiment Institute polls from our averages because we classify them as an amateur polling firm. 2 You could argue that Fink meant the next presidential election, but (a) I’m also confident we’ll still have real polls in 2028 and (b) in that case he should have asked an LLM to define “general election.” 3 Quick caveat: that’s reporting from a Democratic pollster. It’s possible that Republicans are more willing to use AI in political campaigns. 4 Indeed, Silver Bulletin does not include “polls” produced by MRP in our forecasts or averages, and we think it’s extremely misleading when their practitioners describe them in a way that suggests original data had been collected among a large number of states or Congressional districts. 5 A recent report from Aaru and EY did show two examples of a synthetic estimate being closer than a survey to a real-world benchmark — but I’d take those findings with a grain of salt because the report reads more like an ad and didn’t involve any sort of prediction being made ahead of time. 6 For comparison, our odds for Harris on the same day were 48.2 percent.
Scientists turn 'mess' into breakthrough: Chaotic design unlocks next-generation optical devices
Researchers from the Monash University School of Physics and Astronomy have flipped a long-held assumption in optics, showing that deliberately introducing controlled disorder into ultra-thin optical ...
Microsoft finally lets Windows 11 testers unlock experimental features without ViVeTool
The changes are part of the fix Windows 11 effort
New sports business major taps into Portland sports culture
For those dreaming of careers in fields like sports marketing or working with the Portland Trail Blazers, Adidas or Nike, declaring the new sports business major can unlock opportunity, according to Michael DeVaughn, dean of the School of Business. Beginning in spring 2026, the Bachelor of Business Administration in Sports Business will be available for underclassmen to declare at UP.
New sports business major taps into Portland sports culture
For those dreaming of careers in fields like sports marketing or working with the Portland Trail Blazers, Adidas or Nike, declaring the new sports business major can unlock opportunity, according to Michael DeVaughn, dean of the School of Business. Beginning in spring 2026, the Bachelor of Business Administration in Sports Business will be available for underclassmen to declare at UP.
A New Era of Sports Broadcasting: Galaxy S26 Ultra Unlocks New Perspectives, Bringing Cameras Inside the A ...
Capturing new angles like never before, Galaxy S26 Ultra’s broadcast-ready capture transforms how skateboarding is filmed, experienced and delivered in real time
The Science Behind Fish Markets And DNA Tracking In The Arabian Gulf
Scientists in Bahrain are building the country’s first DNA reference library for sharks and rays using fish market samples, unlocking the full potential of environmental DNA to identify species in one of the hottest and most understudied seas on Earth.
Super Mario Run Celebrates The Super Mario Galaxy Movie With A New Event
Unlock some themed statues
Gemma 4 and what makes an open model succeed
Having written a lot of model release blog posts, there’s something much harder about reviewing open models when they drop relative to closed models, especially in 2026. In recent years, there were so few open models, so when Llama 3 was released most people were still doing research on Llama 2 and super happy to get an update. When Qwen 3 was released, the Llama 4 fiasco had just gone down, and a whole research community was emerging to study RL on Qwen 2.5 — it was a no brainer to upgrade. Today, when an open model releases, it’s competing with Qwen 3.5, Kimi K2.5, GLM 5, MiniMax M2.5, GPT-OSS, Arcee Large, Nemotron 3, Olmo 3, and others. The space is populated, but still feels full of hidden opportunity. The potential of open models feels like a dark matter, a potential we know is huge, but few clear recipes and examples for how to unlock it are out there. Agentic AI, OpenClaw, and everything brewing in that space is going to spur mass experimentation in open models to complement the likes of Claude and Codex, not replace them. Especially with open models, the benchmarks at release are an extremely incomplete story. In some ways this is exciting, as new open models have a much higher variance and ability to surprise, but it also points at some structural reasons that make building businesses and great AI experiences around open models harder than the closed alternatives. When a new Claude Opus or GPT drops, spending a few hours with them in my agentic workflows is genuinely a good vibe test. For open models, putting them through this test is a category error. Something else to be said about open models in the era of agents is that they get out of the debate of integration, harnesses, and tools and let us see close to the ground on what exactly is the ability of just a model. Of course, we can’t test some things like search abilities without some tool, but being able to measure exactly the pace of progress of the model alone is a welcome simplification to a systematically opaque AI space. Share The list of factors I’d use to assess a new open-weight model I’m considering investing in includes: Model performance (and size) — how this model performs on benchmarks I care about and how it compares to other models of a similar size. Country of origin — some businesses care deeply about provenance, and if a model was built in China or not. Model license — if a model needs legal approval for use, uptake will be slower at mid-sized and large companies. Tooling at release — many models release with half-broken, or at least substantially slower, implementations in popular software like vLLM, Transformers, SGLANG, etc due to pushing the envelope of architectures or tools. Model fine-tunability — how easy or hard it is to modify the given model to your use-case when you actually try and use it. The core problem is that some of these are immediately available at release, e.g. general performance, license, origin, etc. but others such as tooling take day(s) to week(s) to stabilize, and others are open research questions — with no group systematically monitoring fine-tunability. In the early era of open models, the days of Llama 2 or 3 and Qwen pre v3.5, the architectures were fairly simple and the models tended to work out of the box. Some of this was due to the extremely hard work of the Llama, Qwen, Mistral, etc. developer teams. Some is due to the new models being genuinely harder to work with. When it comes to something like Qwen 3.5 or Nemotron 3, with hybrid models (either gated delta net or mamba layers), the tooling is very rough at release. Things you would expect to “just work” often don’t. I’ve been following this area closely since we released Olmo Hybrid with a similar architecture, and Qwen 3.5 is just starting to work well in the various open-source tools that need to all play nice together for RL research. That’s 1.5 months after the release date! This is just to start really investing more into understanding the behavior of the models. Of course, others started working on these models sooner by investing more engineering resources or relying on partially closed software. The fully open and distributed ecosystem takes a long time to get going on some new models. All of this is lead-in for the most important question for open models — how easy is it to adapt to specific use-cases? This is a different problem for different model sizes. Large MoE open-weight models may be used by entities like Cursor who need complex capabilities in their domain, e.g. Composer 2 trained on Kimi K2.5. Other applications can be built on much smaller models, such as Chroma’s Context-1 model for agentic search, built on GPT-OSS 20B. The question of “which models are fine-tunable” is largely background knowledge known by engineers across the industry. There should be a thriving research area here to support the open ecosystem model. The first step is to understand characteristics of different base and post-trained models to understand what they look like. The second step is to tune pretraining recipes for open models so they’re more flexible. Interconnects AI is a reader-supported publication. Consider becoming a subscriber. Subscribe For The ATOM Project and other Interconnects endeavors, we’ve put in substantial effort to measuring adoption trends in the open ecosystem. Everything takes a long time to unfold after a model is first publicly available — and adaptability is why. What we know for sure now, when Qwen has been going from strength to strength with its releases, is that technical staff across the industry has gotten comfortable working with Qwen models. Countless research methods and datasets were made to work with Qwen. It’ll take patience for any other model family to get to this point — a patience I’m not sure many open model builders have. This takes us to Gemma 4, Google’s latest open models. Gemma 3 was released more than a year ago, in March of 2025, and is a bit underrated. Gemma 4 comes in 4 sizes for now, with a bigger, MoE model of over 100B total parameters rumored but not released yet. The models we have today come in sizes of ~5B dense, 8B dense, 26B total 4B active MoE, and 31B dense. I’m most excited that they’re finally adopting a standard Apache 2.0 open source license. This’ll massively boost adoption. The standard of better licenses for strong open-weight LLMs was set by mostly Chinese open model labs in the last 1-2 years, and now U.S. companies are following suit. I will personally be so happy if the horrible Llama licenses and Gemma terms of service were an ~18-month transient dynamic of the industry being nervous about releasing strong open models. The Gemma 4 scores look very solid, the small models have incredible benchmark scores (especially in general domains like LMArena) and the 31B model rivals the recent Qwen 3.5 27B, which is the leading member of that class. The ~30B size range is an important one, as it’s accessible both to researchers and to enterprises looking to deploy the model in real use-cases. Where the 7B model scale is the default for tinkering and research, a 30B model is the default for seeing if an open model can unlock substantial value in your specific workflow — a good mix of intelligence, low price, tractability for downstream training, etc. This takes us back to the above adoption criteria I mentioned for open models and the bigger question — do I think Gemma 4 will be an overwhelming success? Previous Gemma models have been plagued by tooling issues and poorer performance when being finetuned. Gemma 4’s success is going to be entirely determined by ease of use, to a point where a 5-10% swing on benchmarks wouldn’t matter at all. It’s strong enough, small enough, with the right license, and from the U.S., so many companies are going to slot it in. I’m cautiously optimistic that Gemma 4 is going to work better here. Winds are shifting for open models built in America. We saw GPT-OSS go through a bumpy launch to become an overwhelming success. There’s a collective energy around the likes of Reflection, Arcee, Nemotron, Gemma, Olmo, and peers that show substantial demand for building new stacks around open models. There’s capital to be spent on AI stacks across the economy by those who want more ownership of everything, including the model. After launching The ATOM Project 240 days ago, the conversation is shifting into the next stage. Summer of 2025 was a crisis moment where the U.S. AI scene realized it can’t wait and figure out open models after building AGI. The two markets will capture different areas and proceed in parallel. Now that more companies in the U.S. are releasing strong models, we need to improve the ecosystem so that these models are easy to use, understand, and build value around. It’s the hard work to build another inflection point in these adoption plots I’ve been updating consistently, but that’s the work to be done. Join me in it. More data coming soon! Here’s a sneak peek:
Legal docs reveal Miyamoto originally saw Donkey Kong as "a human in a gorilla costume," disclose other names considered for the game/character
Nightmare unlocked
The Trump administration wants banks back in the mortgage business. Banks have other ideas.
Regulators hope getting banks to lend more to homebuyers will unlock more lending and give more insight into brewing risks. Analysts are skeptical.
Scientists Unlock 3 Million Years of Climate Secrets Hidden in Antarctic Ice
Ancient Antarctic ice is revealing a more detailed and unexpected picture of Earth’s climate history.
Iterative Health, US Heart & Vascular Partner to Advance Community-Based Cardiovascular Research
April 2, 2026 — Iterative Health and US Heart & Vascular (USHV) have announced a strategic partnership to advance research through community-based innovation in cardiovascular care. "Clinical research is one of the most powerful ways we expand access, improve patient outcomes, and shape the future of cardiovascular care," said Robbie Allen, chief executive officer of US Heart & Vascular. "By partnering with Iterative Health, we are strengthening our ability to bring innovative therapies directly into the communities we serve. This collaboration ensures our physicians and patients have access to leading-edge trials while allowing US Heart & Vascular to remain focused on delivering exceptional, physician-led care." Under the agreement, USHV research sites will join Iterative Health’s global site network, which now spans over 100 sites across three continents. The companies share a commitment to advancing clinical research as a driver of care innovation, and this collaboration represents a major milestone for both organizations, strengthening USHV's leadership in community-based cardiovascular research and expanding Iterative Health's multispecialty focus beyond GI, hepatology, and obesity into cardiology. USHV clinical research sites will gain access to Iterative Health's centralized operational backbone, providing end-to-end support across clinical research operations, services, business development, technology innovation, and corporate functions. The strategic partnership reduces operational complexity and unlocks growth potential for USHV research sites while enabling all USHV physicians to expand access to cutting-edge therapies to the thousands of patients they serve annually. "Innovation in cardiovascular medicine shouldn't be limited to a few academic centers," said Thomas Waggoner, DO, MD, RPVI, FACC, FSCAI, FSVM, RPVI, Structural Cardiologist and Medical Director for Clinical Research at Pima Heart & Vascular, and USHV Physician Champion for Clinical Research. "By expanding community-based research across USHV, we're ensuring more patients have access to clinical trials and breakthrough therapies close to home, where trusted relationships with their physicians already exist." This alliance reinforces Iterative Health's standing as the definitive research partner across specialized therapeutic areas, now spanning GI, hepatology, obesity, and cardiovascular care. Trusted by many of the nation's leading provider organizations and biopharma sponsors, Iterative Health's global site network delivers industry-leading trial performance, accelerating life-changing therapies to market at scale. "Entering cardiology through our strategic partnership with US Heart & Vascular is a defining moment for Iterative Health and reflects the strength of our site-serving model," said Jonathan Ng, founder and CEO of Iterative Health. "Together, we are ensuring that thousands of patients have access to the newest available therapies, and that sponsors have a credible, high-performing partner to accelerate cardiovascular trial success." For more information, visit www.iterative.health and https://usheartandvascular.com/.
How AI, Micro-Dramas And Interactivity Are Reshaping Entertainment
AI is unlocking a new era of storytelling. Inside the rise of micro-dramas and interactive content and why this could redefine entertainment
Google's Gemma 4 model goes fully open-source and unlocks powerful local AI
Now open-source under Apache 2.0, Gemma 4 brings offline, multimodal AI to servers, phones, and Raspberry Pi - giving developers total local control over edge and on-premises deployments.
Nintendo Really Wants You To Press Switch 2's GameChat Button
Press the C Button to unlock your NSO reward
Voodoo Ranger Teams Up with Skybound Entertainment for 'Invincible VS'
/PRNewswire/ -- Today, Voodoo Ranger announced the "Invincible VS" IPA Variety Pack, unlocking exclusive game codes and in-game giveaways. Based on Prime...
Unlock rewards for starting GameChat—only with Nintendo Switch Online - News
Fire up GameChat for rewards A new mission is buzzing in! Until April 22 at 5:59 p.m. PT, Nintendo Switch Online members* can earn 100 My Nintendo™ Platinum Points** by hopping into GameChat***, an exclusive feature for the Nintendo Switch™ 2 system…
2025 Menino Survey of Mayors: Unlocking Housing Supply
New Survey Examines Mayors’ Views on Housing, Policy Solutions, and Political Constraints Mayors Increasingly Back Housing Supply, But Back Away From Policies That Would Enable It Democratic Mayors More Supportive of Supply-Focused Reforms Than Republicans A new report from the Menino Survey of Mayors, based at Boston University’s Initiative on Cities, finds that a large […]
This new “phonon laser” could measure gravity more precisely than ever before
Scientists have taken lasers beyond light and into the realm of sound, creating a breakthrough “phonon laser” that manipulates tiny vibrations at the quantum level. By dramatically reducing noise in these systems, researchers can now measure motion and forces with unprecedented precision. This advance could unlock new ways to study gravity, probe quantum physics, and even revolutionize navigation with ultra-accurate, satellite-free systems.
Ingredion and Holobiome map gut microbiome to unlock targeted health benefits
Ingredion has partnered with Holobiome to use AI and its database of two million bacterial genomes to predict how specific ingredients will interact with human health before clinical trials. The research expands beyond digestion to explore how sweeteners, plant proteins, and texture solutions influence the gut-brain axis, including sleep and mental health.
Unlocking the secrets of the human brain - College of Arts and Sciences
Gooyoon Chung's work focuses on tools "that can help unlock the secrets of the human brain."
The Chinese Deep-Sea Explorer Unlocking Science in Short Dramas
Hard science has taken Tang Limei to the coldest parts of the planet. Pop science is taking her to the hot list.
EQB welcomes Daniel Rethazy as EVP, Personal Banking, adding top banking talent to reignite core business growth and execute on transformation
EQB Inc. (TSX: EQB) today announces Daniel Rethazy's appointment as Executive Vice President, Personal Banking. Mr. Rethazy brings deep experience in Canadian Banking to EQB that will accelerate momentum and unlock a new era of growth for the company's Personal Banking franchise, delivering a more competitive and rewarding banking experience, and a stronger and more resilient banking industry for all Canadians.
Democrats’ long-shot bid to flip Alaska’s Senate seat
Democrats are hoping for an upset in Alaska’s Senate race. U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, is trying to unseat Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. We discuss the major issues at play, plus why Republicans are backing an effort to repeal Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system.This episode: voting correspondent Miles Parks, senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro, and Alaska Public Media Washington correspondent Liz Ruskin.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
Segment: Financing Action on Extreme Heat and Maternal and Newborn Health: The Way Forward
The segment “Financing Action on Extreme Heat and Maternal and Newborn Health: The Way Forward” will examine how innovative and better-aligned financing approaches can respond to these growing risks. Discussions will highlight country experiences in mobilizing domestic resources, opportunities to unlock and scale climate finance, and the role of heat-smart innovations in building resilient health systems. Particular attention will be given to low- and middle-income countries, where exposure and vulnerability remain highest, and where integrated solutions can deliver the greatest impact.
Scientists Say Surprising Smells Are Unlocking the Secrets of Ancient Mummies
Analyzing samples of mummies from different dynastic periods showed how the mixtures of substances used in mummification became more complex with time.
SWOT Mission Unlocks a New View of Our Waterways
Explore how rivers move, change, and sustain life across the planet with SWOT data.
Why Small Process Changes Often Deliver the Biggest Business Results
Founders often overlook small operational frictions that drain productivity. Here is how small process improvements can unlock boost scaling.
Elon Musk uveils moonshot Terafab project. Here are 4 takeaways.
Elon Musk said his Terafab project, a joint Tesla and SpaceX chip manufacturing initiative, will be needed to unlock a terawatt of AI computing power.
Particle Breakthrough: South Dakota scientists help unlock new neutrino mystery
Scientists at South Dakota Mines help achieve the first-ever measurement of a rare neutrino interaction, advancing physics and supporting future research at SURF.
Wagering on women. Sports betting industry looks to unlock a new market
Sports betting marketers are wooing females, pitching their gambling as inclusive, empowering and a way to connect with friends.
Planet Labs’ stock soars as the satellite company says AI will unlock more business
The company, a Google partner, delivered record revenue for its latest fiscal year, reflecting growing demand for satellite imagery.
Bungie Reveals All Details of Marathon's First Raid, Cryo Archive; Goes Live on March 20 and Weekends Only
Here's everything you need to know about Marathon's Cryo Archive raid that goes live on March 20, which will only be available on weekends.
Wagering on women. Sports betting industry looks to unlock a new market.
Sports betting marketers are wooing females, pitching their gambling as inclusive, empowering and a way to connect with friends.
The race for a safe Democratic House seat offers clues about the party’s future
It’s Primary Day in Illinois, where 15 Democrats, spanning three generations, are vying to succeed longtime Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky in the state's 9th Congressional District. We discuss what the race tells us about the future of the Democratic Party.This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, political reporter Elena Moore, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
Oldest known recording of a whale song could unlock mysteries of the ocean
Researchers say the discovery of the oldest known recordings of whale sounds could open up a new understanding of how the huge animals communicate.
A strange new quantum state appears when atoms get “frustrated”
Physicists at UC Santa Barbara have uncovered a new way to manipulate unusual magnetic states by exploiting “frustration” inside a crystal’s atomic structure. The team discovered a rare system where two different kinds of frustration—magnetic and electronic bond frustration—coexist and interact. By coupling these competing effects, researchers may be able to control exotic quantum states, potentially unlocking new ways to manipulate entangled spins for future quantum technologies.
Scientists unlock a powerful new way to turn sunlight into fuel
Scientists have developed a powerful new computational method that could accelerate the search for next-generation materials capable of turning sunlight into useful chemical energy. The work focuses on polyheptazine imides, a promising class of carbon nitride materials that absorb visible light and can drive reactions such as hydrogen production, carbon dioxide conversion, and hydrogen peroxide synthesis. By analyzing how 53 different metal ions influence the structure and electronic behavior of these materials, researchers created a framework that predicts which combinations will perform best.
Dipoto details how Seattle Mariners unlocked Eduard Bazardo
Eduard Bazardo was an unheralded trade add in 2023, but he was a player the Seattle Mariners were excited to attain and make a few key adjustments with.
Inside our swing voter project (Politics+)
Swing voters will play a pivotal role in this year's midterms, and we wanted to hear directly from them. So NPR has partnered with Engagious (a messaging group led by Rich Thau) and Sago (a market research firm) to run focus groups — once a month in a different swing state. How do these focus groups work? And what have we learned from them so far? In today's bonus episode, Mara Liasson and Ashley Lopez pull back the curtain on the project. To unlock this and other bonus content, and get sponsor-free listening, sign up for NPR Politics Podcast+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Regular episodes haven't changed and remain available every weekday!
These swing voters don’t like or understand the reason for the war in Iran
NPR reporters observed focus groups of 12 swing voters from Michigan. We discuss their thoughts on the war in Iran and what they wish President Trump would focus on.This episode: voting correspondent Miles Parks, political correspondent Ashley Lopez, and senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
New Qualcomm exploit chain brings bootloader unlocking freedom to Android flagships
A new exploit, dubbed "Qualcomm GBL exploit," is being chained with other exploits to bring bootloader unlocking to several flagship phones.
The toll the war in Iran has on the U.S. economy
The United States’ war in Iran is roiling global oil markets. We discuss how that affects the American economy — not just at the gas pump — and how those economic challenges are playing in this year’s elections.This episode: voting correspondent Miles Parks, chief economics correspondent Scott Horsley, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
Intel announces $299 Core Ultra 7 270K and $199 Core Ultra 5 250K CPUs
Intel Arrow Lake Refresh official, but there's no 290K Plus Today Intel is announcing its Core Ultra 200S Plus desktop series, adding four new unlocked
ICE is keeping tabs on American citizens
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been using a variety of tools to keep tabs on not just immigrants the agency intends to deport but also U.S. citizens who publicly oppose the agency’s tactics. We discuss what that surveillance looks like and what the impact is for people whose activity the agency has tracked. This episode: voting correspondent Miles Parks, reporter Kat Lonsdorf, and power and influence reporter Jude Joffe-Block.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
visionOS 26.4 unlocks support for 'world’s most advanced flight simulator' on Apple Vision Pro
When Apple releases visionOS 26.4, Apple Vision Pro will be able to display the “world’s most advanced flight simulator” for...
Introducing Hims & Hers Benefits, Unlocking Health & Wellness Discounts for Subscribers
The program debuts with Prenuvo and Eight Sleep, providing discounts on advanced diagnostics and sleep technology Hims Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE: HIMS), the leading health and wellness platform, today announced Hims Hers Benefits, a new way for subscribers to access the best innovations in whole body health. This new initiative provides active subscribers access to discounts from health partners, all in one place, including whole body MRI scans from Prenuvo and adaptive bed systems from Eight Sleep. This is just the beginning of a larger benefits program that will make comprehensive, holistic care more accessible and affordable for subscribers. “True health doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s the result of the data you gather, the insights you can access, and the daily choices you make,” said Dheerja Kaur, Chief Product Officer at Hims Hers. “By leveraging our scale, we’re bringing health and wellness innovations like Prenuvo’s whole body MRI scans and Eight Sleep’s
EQT Foundation opens applications for science grants to overcome the blood-brain barrier and transform CNS drug delivery
EQT Foundation is launching a new open call for proposals under its Science Grants program, focused on breakthrough innovations to cross or modulate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) for therapeutic delivery to the central nervous system. The program will award catalytic, non-dilutive grants of €25,000 to €100,000 to researchers developing high-risk, high-impact deeptech solutions with the potential to unlock a new era of Central Nervous System (CNS) medicine. Designed to accelerate bold scientific
Poll: Most Americans oppose war in Iran, but most Republicans support it
A majority of Americans oppose the United States' military action in Iran, according to a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll. However, that opposition breaks down along party lines, with a majority of Republicans saying they support the war. We discuss whether the lack of public support could alter President Trump's next steps and how the war could affect this year's midterm elections.This episode: voting correspondent Miles Parks, senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
Justice Department releases missing Epstein files related to Trump
It was another busy week in Washington. We discuss Kristi Noem getting fired from her position as Secretary of Homeland Security and the new release of missing Epstein files related to President Trump. Note: This episode contains descriptions of sexual assault. This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, immigration policy correspondent Ximena Bustillo, political reporter Stephen Fowler and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and edited by Rachel Baye. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
Why is the U.S. at war with Iran?
In less than a week, the Trump administration’s justifications for the war in Iran have already changed several times, as have the administration’s goals for what it wants to accomplish. We discuss both, plus what could come next.This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, national security correspondent Greg Myre, and senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and edited by Rachel Baye. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
Super Mario Run x Super Mario Bros. Wonder Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park event now live
Super Mario Run is back with another special event, this time it’s a tie in with Super Mario Bros. Wonder Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park. The event is currently being held to players of the mobile game, and will be ongoing until April 3, 2026. Just like past events you will be able to unlock exclusive...
Expanding Access to Small Business Financing
Forward Financing is redefining small business financing, helping owners unlock capital while supporting a more inclusive economy.
Runoffs, voting mishaps and Trump endorsements in TX and NC primaries
The results are in from the first primaries of the midterm election cycle, and Senate races are starting to take shape. We discuss key takeaways from primary contests in North Carolina and Texas.This episode: senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, political correspondent Ashley Lopez, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.
The hidden technology that could unlock commercial fusion power
Fusion energy may be one of the most promising clean power sources of the future—but only if scientists can precisely measure the extreme, fast-moving plasmas that make it possible. A new U.S. Department of Energy–sponsored report urges major investment in advanced diagnostic tools—the high-tech “sensors” that track plasma temperature, density, and behavior inside fusion systems. Bringing together 70 experts from universities, national labs, and private industry, the workshop identified seven priority areas ranging from burning plasma to full-scale pilot plants.
The Samsung Wallet can now hold your house keys
The Digital Home Key can unlock smart doors through your phone.
Samsung Wallet Launches Digital Home Key for Smart Door Locks
Digital Home Key lets Samsung Wallet users unlock their homes within the connected Samsung Galaxy ecosystem Functionality is built on Aliro, the CSA’s open standard for smart locks
New York Jets Flight Connections 03/01/26
Happy Sunday, Jets fans. Below are your daily Jets links. Robby Sabo – Aaron Glenn’s sleepiness isn’t the ‘Dunk on NY Jets’ you think it is Sharif Phillips-Keaton – Jets’ Aaron Glenn, Darren Mougey earn A’s in 2026 NFLPA report cards Stephen Parello – Jets’ Jermaine Johnson trade could fully unlock a Will McDonald breakout […]
Why bipartisanship is disappearing from Congress
The nationwide push to redraw congressional districts mid-decade has not led to a big advantage for either political party, but it has created less competitive districts. We discuss how that reduces bipartisanship on Capitol Hill, and we discuss one lawmaker who seems to buck that trend.This episode: voting correspondent Miles Parks, congressional reporter Sam Gringlas, and political correspondent Ashley Lopez.This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.Listen to every episode of the NPR Politics Podcast sponsor-free, unlock access to bonus episodes with more from the NPR Politics team, and support public media when you sign up for The NPR Politics Podcast+ at plus.npr.org/politics.