The designer who’s trying to transform your city into a sponge

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03.15.24

FAST FORWARD | 2-MINUTE READ

Forget Chatbots. AI Agents Are the Future

BY WILL KNIGHT

Startups and tech giants are trying to move from chatbots that offer help via text, to AI agents that can get stuff done. Recent demos include an AI coder called Devin and agents that play videogames.

Photo diptych with Robery F Kennedy Jr., a muscular arm holding a phone and multiple stickers that read,%22I Voted%22.

THE PUSHUP PARTY | 6-MINUTE READ

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Targets a Generation of Politically Disaffected, Extremely Online Men

BY ANNA MERLAN

In a campaign that increasingly reflects a late-night TikTok scroll, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is gathering celebrities and influencers that appeal to a young male base.

Photo illustration showing an arrow pierced into meat in a petri dish above a stamp that reads,%22Fake%22.

STEAK OUT | 5-MINUTE READ

States Are Lining Up to Outlaw Lab-Grown Meat

BY MATT REYNOLDS

Around 46 million Americans live in states that have introduced bills to ban cultivated meat, the latest escalation in a surprising culture war.

Aerial view of a large green park space with a body of water and city skyline in the background

MAKING IT RAIN | 4-MINUTE READ

The Designer Who's Trying to Transform Your City Into a Sponge

BY MATT SIMON

Kongjian Yu pioneered China's "sponge city" concept—less concrete and more green spaces to exploit stormwater instead of fighting it. Metropolises all over the world are following suit.

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Close-up of a tick next to a set of metal tweezers on human skin

TICK TICK BOOM | 3-MINUTE READ

A Pill That Kills Ticks Is a Promising New Weapon Against Lyme Disease

BY EMILY MULLIN

Your pets can already eat a chewable tablet for tick prevention. Now, a pill that paralyzes and kills ticks has shown positive results in a small human trial.

LUNAR HARVEST | 3-MINUTE READ

A Startup Will Try to Mine Helium-3 on the Moon

BY ERIC BERGER, ARS TECHNICA

The Earth is in short supply of helium-3. The lunar surface may hold the answer.

Close-up of a person in a pin stripe suit with an abstract pink and red background

NOT IT | 4-MINUTE READ

Craig Wright Is Not Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto, Judge Declares

BY JOEL KHALILI

A surprisingly fast ruling at the end of a six-week trial in the UK High Court ends Craig Wright's campaign to be recognized as the inventor of Bitcoin.

$Black, white, and red illustration of a fractured gaming controller, angry mouths, and geometric shapes$