As the current administration bemoans the lack of a baby boom in the U.S., many public commenters have staked out their own “natalism” positions. Pro-natalists believe there need to be more births, while anti-natalists believe there need to be fewer births. Motivations on various sides come from fears of race replacement, overpopulation, underpopulation, environmental catastrophe, a desire for stronger community, religion, misogyny, and more1.

The modern debate on natalism in the U.S. is irrelevant to the experience of working people in this country. People are going to have children whether or not a stranger takes a pro- or anti-natalist stance. The question we should be asking isn’t whether people should or shouldn’t have children. We should instead ask how our society should provide for the physical, emotional, and psychological needs of children who are learning about the world around them and how to be a person, the parents who need support to survive, and the health of society as a whole. To support the needs of those children, leftists must fight for paid parental leave and universal childcare among other policies such as Medicare for All, abortion protections, and more to advocate for what is best for humans not corporations.

New research suggests that Nicolaus Copernicus’s heliocentric model of the solar system may have been significantly influenced by the work of a 14th-century Muslim astronomer, Ibn al-Shatir. The study draws detailed comparisons between the planetary models of both figures and proposes that Copernicus’s ideas could have stemmed—directly or indirectly—from earlier Islamic scientific traditions.

Copernicus, the renowned 16th-century Polish astronomer, is widely credited with initiating the so-called Copernican Revolution by proposing that the Sun, not the Earth, lay at the centre of the universe. His work challenged the prevailing geocentric models derived from Aristotle and Ptolemy and helped lay the foundation for modern astronomy.

But according to a recently completed PhD thesis by Dr. Salama Al-Mansouri of the University of Sharjah, Copernicus’s model bears a remarkable resemblance to one developed nearly 200 years earlier by Ibn al-Shatir, a Damascene astronomer who served as the timekeeper of the Umayyad Mosque.

“Ibn al-Shatir was the first astronomer to have successfully challenged the Ptolemaic cosmological system of planets revolving around Earth and corrected the theory’s inaccuracies about two centuries before Copernicus,” says Dr. Al-Mansouri. Her study, now available through the Sharjah University Library, offers a critical textual analysis of the two astronomers’ work, focusing in particular on Copernicus’s De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) and Ibn al-Shatir’s treatise Nihāyat al-Sul fī Taṣḥīḥ al-Uṣūl (The Final Quest Concerning the Rectification of Principles).

The research reveals “compelling correlations,” especially in the mathematical models used to represent planetary motion. According to the study, “Ibn al-Shatir’s astronomical manuscripts, particularly his work in Nihāyat al-Sul, demonstrate planetary models that predate and closely mirror those later proposed by Copernicus, indicating a shared mathematical lineage,” says Mesut Idriz, professor of history and Islamic civilization at the University of Sharjah and one of the study’s supervisors.

Despite these similarities, the study acknowledges that Ibn al-Shatir remained within a geocentric paradigm. However, Dr. Al-Mansouri argues that the precision of his refinements made them readily compatible with Copernicus’s heliocentric reinterpretation. “Our analysis reveals that Ibn al-Shatir’s treatise, though geocentric in intent, produced results so aligned with heliocentrism that Copernicus’s debt to him is undeniable—two centuries of separation could not erase this intellectual kinship.”

But how might Copernicus have encountered these ideas? Dr. Al-Mansouri surveyed Arabic manuscripts and their Latin translations preserved in European archives—including those in Kraków and the Vatican—where Copernicus studied and developed his astronomical theories. She reports that Nihāyat al-Sul was among the materials archived there in its original Arabic. “Though in its original Arabic version, the manuscript could not have escaped the attention of a scholar like Copernicus,” she writes.

There is a common admonition that often circulates on social media, especially among leftists, that goes something like: You don’t have to ask what you would’ve done during the Holocaust, or any other historical atrocity. You're doing it right now. These words are valuable in that they encourage us to abandon fantasies of who we would have been in another context, and to live our values here and now.

As an organizer, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the gulf between what many people believed they would do in moments of extremity, and what they are actually doing now, as fascism rises, the genocide in Palestine continues, and climate chaos threatens the survival of living beings around the world. Some of these disparities can be chalked up to the simple truth that people often are not who they imagine themselves to be. This truth reminds me of the lyrics of Joe Henry’s “Our Song,” in which Henry refers to the vicarious thrill we derive from watching movies:

We push in line at the picture show / For cool air and a chance to see / A vision of ourselves portrayed as / Younger and braver and humble and free. /

Fantasies about who we would have been—and what we would have done—in moments of profound injustice serve a similar purpose. They allow us to imagine braver, more purposeful versions of ourselves. But when we’re confronted with the reality of catastrophic injustice in the world around us, we are forced to measure those fantasies against reality. The results can be profoundly depressing. Many people have discovered that they have more in common with those who witnessed atrocity and simply went about their lives, perhaps uttering words like, "That’s a shame," or complaining that someone should do something.

In the rhythm and rhyme of history, we all have historical counterparts. Contemplating who those people are—and how we might judge their actions in parallel with our own—can be daunting, or even devastating.

However, it’s important to remember that such measurements are not fixed. Our lives, our character, our part in history—all of these things are the product of choices we make on a continuous basis. Each day, we make decisions about how to move in the world and how to relate to others. We choose what to extend to others, and what to hold in reserve, in order to sustain ourselves and our loved ones.

It’s easy to pass judgment on ourselves and each other for what we’re “already doing” or failing to do. But as an organizer, I’m concerned with what might motivate or allow people to act differently. After all, the people whose actions we have admired during historical moments of resistance, rebellion, and rescue were not simply born into heroic collective action. Many of them witnessed harm and wickedness for years, or even decades, before something moved or enabled them to participate in constructive moral action. Some were slow to join the struggles they eventually helped to enliven. Some were afraid. Some initially supported moderate, reserved actions. Some were complicit until, one day, they could bear their complicity no more. Others didn’t believe change was possible until they were recruited into strategic projects. Many were moved to action by profound loss or the threat of profound loss. They had to find their way, just as many of us must now find our way through this moment.

So what’s holding us back?

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey — once on warring sides of the tech culture clash — are giving new meaning to the adage: all is fair in love and war.

The two executives buried the hatchet and announced a partnership Thursday to build next-gen extended reality gear for the US military. The system, dubbed Eagle Eye, will use AI and sensors in new headsets and other wearables to enhance vision, letting troops spot far-away threats with augmented reality, Luckey said on a podcast.

Anduril's Lattice, its AI command-and-control platform, will provide real-time battlefield intel. The partnership will also use tech from Meta's Reality Labs and Llama AI models.

The companies said they're building the tech with "private capital, without taxpayer support," promising to save the US military "billions of dollars," Anduril said in a statement. They will also be using tech "originally built for commercial use." Anduril raised $1.5 billion in August 2024 and is reportedly raising as much as $2.5 billion more, Reuters reported in February.

In order to promote social mobility, we need to support physical mobility by investing in public transportation.

Physical mobility describes the movement of people between places, while social mobility describes the movement between different socio-economic statuses. In the United States, social mobility remains relatively low. People born in poverty remain stuck in poverty, while those born with wealth retain their level of wealth.

One of the ways public transit supports social mobility is its ability to move people of all socioeconomic statuses. Research has shown that a lack of transportation is a significant barrier to escaping poverty. Compared to driving, transit has a much lower barrier of entry, meaning anyone can get around regardless of background. A car may simply be unaffordable, or a person's age, disability, or undocumented status may prevent them from driving. Being able to move physically allows people to access education, jobs, healthcare, and form social connections, all things critical for social mobility.

While public transit offers a more equitable form of transportation, it's unrealistic to completely replace cars with transit. Driving does allow for greater freedom of mobility than transit. However, it is important to recognize that strengthening public transit benefits both drivers and transit users. By prioritizing public transit infrastructure, drivers benefit from reduced congestion when people who would otherwise be driving take transit instead. In addition, cities designed with public transit in mind are more compact, with higher-density developments putting residential, business, and education centers closer together. This reduces the physical isolation that often limits access to opportunity.

I wasn’t introduced to Ntozake Shange’s work and didn’t learn about the political and cultural significance of for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf until I was a graduate student and had the opportunity to read her 1975 choreopoem. for colored girls is a Black girl’s song, an ancient yet contemporary tune that allows a Black girl like me to begin to know herself, see herself. It allows Black girls to become familiar with their own voices, souls, and genders.

Shange’s work enlightened me to the complexities of living within the intersection of gender and race, and how those complexities related to the life chances and choices for me as a Black lesbian woman. Although I had been living within this identity all of my life, I had not yet thought about my existence theoretically: how my reality was interconnected with those who came before me and with those who would come after me.

Shange’s work showed me how my sociopolitical embodiment directly affected my ability to even dream about something as universal as love. Like Shange’s characters, I would have to navigate a racist, homophobic, and sexist world that chose not to recognize my humanity, nor my fragility as a sentient being in ways it did for others. Through its words I realized that I wasn’t the only Black girl, now woman, grappling with these realities.

Each color of the rainbow was intended to represent the diversity and solidarity of our communities, visually capturing our nuances, our differences and sameness, and our complex identities. The flag was created as a symbol to not only spread love and inclusivity but also to counter sexual and gendered regulation within mainstream society. Leaders, community change makers, and inclusive businesses display the flag in stores, offices, and schools as a symbol of solidarity with LGBTQ+ folks and to express their support and welcome of people belonging to such communities.

However, throughout time, some of the most vulnerable yet resilient people within our communities have not found the rainbow marker to symbolize diversity, inclusion, or solidarity. For many, it has symbolized terror—racialized and gendered terror to be specific—causing many to disidentify from the flag’s symbolism, use, and consumption.

For example, in 1973 when Sylvia Rivera took the stage at one of the first gay Pride parades and celebrations in New York, she was booed, told to “shut up,” misgendered, and subjected to objects being thrown at her by the mostly white, mostly cis, and strikingly racist audience. She repeatedly stated, “Y’all better quiet down.”

At the University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, cancer patients can ask for an unusual medicine: Could a guitar player come and play a tune by their bedside, like the Beatles’ “Let it Be”?

“We have empirical evidence that shows music can help reduce a person’s pain perception,” says Seneca Block, director of Expressive Therapies at University Hospitals Connor Whole Health. On average, Block’s studies have shown that music can reduce pain perception by 20 percent. He emphasizes that music therapy is not meant to replace pain medication, but pharmacology and music can work hand in hand. “We’re here to make the person’s experience better,” he says.

The music therapy program at the University Hospitals has been running for over 25 years, making it one of the oldest such programs in the nation. It has consistently proven to reduce stress, anxiety and pain.

“Music therapy is one of the most important supportive therapies we have,” says Block’s colleague, psychiatrist Syed Amir Shah, at the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. “Music therapy has shown to hit areas of the brain that deal with cognition, emotion, and it has truly helped our patients.”

A recent meta-analysis by California Northstate University revealed that listening to music lowered patients’ pain levels after surgery and accelerated their recovery. These patients needed less than half the amount of morphine compared to those who didn’t listen to music. Additionally, their heart rates stayed in a healthier range, suggesting a profound physiological effect. “When patients wake up after surgery, sometimes they feel really scared and don’t know where they are,” said Eldo Frezza, senior author of the study and a surgery professor at California Northstate University College of Medicine. “Music can help ease the transition from the waking up stage to a return to normalcy and may help reduce stress around that transition.”

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Julia is a 22-year-old model, student, and self-proclaimed "princess" from Malibu, California, with one nonnegotiable: She refuses to shovel cow shit. But she's down to play the part, she tells Farmer Jay, handing him a framed black-and-white photo of her in a bikini and cowboy hat. Grace, 23, dreams of being a stay-at-home mom with four kids. Jordyn, a 29-year-old country singer who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, says she would relocate across the country for her partner.

The three women are among 32 contestants on the most recent season of Farmer Wants a Wife, Fox's rustic spin on The Bachelor. They come from different backgrounds and have all sorts of interests, but their goals are ultimately the same: to settle down, get married, and have kids.

While the women don't explicitly talk politics, their focus on traditional values fits into a genre of entertainment that is rapidly reshaping the industry: Welcome to Hollywood's MAGA reboot.

What's happening is a "cultural recalibration," says Carri Twigg, a founding partner and head of development at Culture House, the production company that created Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop and Hair Tales. The recalibration has led to a "generalized chill" in the industry that has caused more diverse projects to suffer.

"I've heard from multiple executives that there's a noticeable hesitancy around content perceived as too progressive, especially if it centers non-white leads or tackles social issues explicitly. Even projects with mild inclusivity are getting flagged in internal discussions," Twigg says. "Colleagues have expressed frustration that kinds stories they were encouraged to pitch just a couple years ago are now getting passed on as like 'too niche' or 'not resonant right now' by the same execs who once called them 'visionary' and 'universal.'"

Talk shows are also being encouraged to shift their programming. In a recent meeting with the cohosts of The View, the popular morning gabfest with Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar, ABC News president Almin Karamehmedovic urged the women to soften their criticisms of Trump, saying "the panel needed to broaden its conversations beyond its predominant focus on politics," the Daily Beast reported. Disney CEO Bob Iger also suggested that the show "tone down" its political rhetoric.

As policy makers in the UK weigh how to regulate the AI industry, Nick Clegg, former UK deputy prime minister and former Meta executive, claimed a push for artist consent would “basically kill” the AI industry.

Speaking at an event promoting his new book, Clegg said the creative community should have the right to opt out of having their work used to train AI models. But he claimed it wasn’t feasible to ask for consent before ingesting their work first.

“I think the creative community wants to go a step further,” Clegg said according to The Times. “Quite a lot of voices say, ‘You can only train on my content, [if you] first ask’. And I have to say that strikes me as somewhat implausible because these systems train on vast amounts of data.”

“I just don’t know how you go around, asking everyone first. I just don’t see how that would work,” Clegg said. “And by the way if you did it in Britain and no one else did it, you would basically kill the AI industry in this country overnight.”

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Millions of Americans are suddenly facing dramatically lower credit scores from delinquent student loans, making it tougher for them to secure housing, insurance, car loans, even employment at a vulnerable time for the U.S. economy.

Credit scores dipped by more than 100 points for 2.2 million delinquent student loan borrowers, and 150 points or more for more than 1 million in the first three months of 2025, according to an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It's the kind of credit score drop that follows a personal bankruptcy filing. Roughly 2.4 million of those Americans previously had favorable credit scores and would have qualified for car loans, mortgages or credit cards before these delinquencies were reported, researchers said.

Tina Johnson was two days away from finalizing the purchase of a used Nissan Pathfinder when she got notice that her preapproved loan was no longer valid. Her credit score had fallen from 650 to 418 after she missed $440 worth of student loan payments that she didn't realize were required again. Although the Department of Education said lenders would send borrowers a bill at least three weeks before it was due, Johnson said she was never notified that payments needed to resume.

"Nothing, no email, no phone call, no letter — I could've avoided all this if I had known," said Johnson, 44, who lives in Fleming County, Kentucky.

Johnson's expected car payment of $350 a month nearly doubled overnight, making it unaffordable for the DoorDash delivery driver. She's stuck with her 12-year-old Nissan Altima for now. Johnson says she's also putting off other plans, including borrowing against her home to repair her roof and going back to school for a bachelor's degree, because of the sudden hit to her credit score.

"I took care of the accounts, but there's nothing else I can do," she said. "It'll take me years to get those 200 points back."

If you are in the mood to play Skyrim or the recent Oblivion remaster, but you don't want to play a Microsoft-backed game for, oh, any number of reasons, the word on the grapevine is that open world RPG Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is pretty decent. We don't have a review as yet, but Khee Hoon Chan called Questline's previous Tainted Grail: Conquest one of the best games you missed in 2021, and The Fall Of Avalon is currently humming along with an Overwhelmingly Positive Steam user consensus as it prepares to leave early access today. The Steam page also harbours a demo, plus the below, moderately thunderous trailer's worth of first-person spellcraft, shattered cosmic castles and fishing mechanics.

The Fall Of Avalon is set in another dark reimagining of Arthurian myth, one less abundant in beauty influencers than Tides Of Annihilation. It takes place about 600 years after King Arthur's fall, in a realm of "unending strife" and plague that is divided into three zones.

The game is said to span 50-70 hours, with over 200 sidequests and an assortment of miscellaneous activities such as decorating your house, farming and "sketchbook journaling". I sincerely hope that last one is a fully fleshed-out illustration subgame, or at least some kind of fantasy photography mechanic. We need more virtual idylls like Eastshade.