While I agree that America is at a historical crossroads - this article reads a bit too sensationalist for me. The author is effectively saying, "other civilizations in history have fallen, therefore the only possible outcome for America is full-on authoritarianism." Yes, the current situation is bad, very bad, probably worse than ever before. Does that mean that a complete destruction of our democracy is inevitable? Absolutely not.

Just another reason to really read things. The author even makes a point of that in the last paragraph: "Before you retweet, verify what you’re reading."

This is great. I love when an article approaches an actual societal issue with levity and still makes a point. I bet this author was a good teacher.

Yes! I pretty much exclusively read articles on my phone so I've been hoping this would happen. Will I be able to read articles on other news apps, like Apple's News app or NYTimes?

Man, I loved this. It's interesting to talk about the effects modern technology has on social interaction from the perspective of people who fundamentally eschew it. Also interesting to read about the one guy saying he was worried about the internet corrupting Amish youth, and taking them away from the church.

Chomsky just doing his thing, breaking down the current political theater while casually commenting on the very real threat of nuclear war.

I like the bit at the end where he talks about Russian interference in the election. Not only is it hypocritical to be outraged by a foreign government influencing the outcome of our election, it has far less impact than the on-the-books legal meddling of corporate interests in American politics, yet corporate power and lobbying are just seen as politics-as-usual. I don't think Russian interference is a non-issue, but it's not the greatest threat to our democracy.

This quote is great: "It’s easy to condemn those we place on the other side of some divide, but more important, commonly, to explore what we take to be nearby."

Hey maybe the same idea will apply here.

"Granted, there’s a big difference between listening to a podcast and reading a news article. The average article can be skimmed; podcasts often require an hour of the listener’s time. Negative commentary is more conducive to text than audio—if you’re going to troll a podcast host or guest, you really have to be committed."

Well this is completely terrifying. It's crazy to me how calculated and strategic hypothetical war planning is. This paragraph:

"All things considered, analysts say, it could take American and South Korean forces three to four days to overwhelm North Korea’s artillery. How much damage North Korea inflicts in that time depends in part on South Korea’s ability to get people to safety quickly. As more of the North’s guns are destroyed and people take cover, the casualty rate would fall with each hour."

Basically, if war broke out we would be able to destroy their artillery in a matter of days, but during those few days they would inflict major casualties on South Korea. The article estimates 60,000 fatalities in Seoul in the first day, 300,000 if it's a civilian attack. Even more if they use nukes.

Fuck me, war is horrifying.