Vox Media Bias

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How to become a truly excellent gift giver

tech

Getty Images A great present should have at least one of these three qualities. Here’s what they are. It’s a special kind of agony to realize, while exchanging gifts with someone, that they got you something way, way better than what you got them. A few years ago, I bought for my partner what I thought was a perfect anniversary gift: a bulk order of astronaut ice cream. In many ways, I nailed it. He loves freeze-dried ice cream, which you rarely see in the wild outside of science museums, and I had gotten a comical number of packages.
Vox     Nov 27, 2022

The high stakes and unique weirdness of the Georgia Senate runoff, briefly explained

Herschel Walker, left, on November 16, and Sen. Raphael Warnock, right, on November 17.
Vox     Nov 26, 2022

What else Qatar has built with its absurd wealth besides the 2022 World Cup

Workers outside Al Thumama football stadium in Doha, Qatar, on June 20, 2022.
Vox     Nov 26, 2022

Why Americans will pay higher natural gas prices this winter

tech

Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images More exports, and the lingering effects of extreme weather, could affect bills. American households that run on natural gas can expect high bills this winter. How high prices go depends on a lot of factors, including whether the war in Ukraine takes a new turn and if the winter is unusually mild or cold. The Energy Information Agency’s winter forecast expects bills to be higher than last year’s, though not quite as high as the summer peak. War in Ukraine and Europe’s ban on Russian gas have already reshaped global markets.
Vox     Nov 25, 2022

Crime and the very human, very troubling stories we tell ourselves - Vox.com

investing

In 2005, the year I moved to New York City, the NYPD recorded 135,475 crimes in the seven “major felony” categories — homicides, assaults, rapes, and various forms of theft. The next year, that number dropped, and it kept dropping. By 2017, it was around 96,000, where it stayed until last year, when it snuck back over 100,000, mostly due to an increase in grand larcenies, auto and otherwise. The “non-major” felony data has followed a similar arc, dropping almost 30 percent since 2005. By the official crime numbers, the most dangerous year that I’ve lived in New York City was the first one — by a lot.
Vox     Nov 25, 2022

Stop taking billionaires at their word

1k 🔥       books

Getty Images/iStockphoto Why do we keep believing things that are too good to be true? In 1984 — the book, not the year — the means by which the evil totalitarian regime “Big Brother” retains its power is through something called “doublethink.” It’s the practice of holding contradictory beliefs in tandem: “war is peace,” “freedom is slavery,” “ignorance is strength,” “2 + 2 = 5,” to use the book’s examples. It worked because when our minds — our sense of logic, our morality — become compromised, they’re easier to control. Considering the events of the last several months, you could also interpret doublethink to mean things like “the metaverse is the future,” “people ...
Vox     Nov 24, 2022