Black and Hispanic audiences are among the fastest-growing groups in podcasting, pushing the medium past talk radio in share of spoken-word listening.
Why it matters: As podcasting becomes mainstream, many creators — especially those who are Black or brown — are building audiences on platforms they don't control.
The U.S. government is treating strikes on Iran like a video game, inviting the country to watch as memes and montages subsume the human cost of war.
Why it matters: The Trump administration didn't invent the gamification of war, nor did it invent wartime propaganda — a tool of statecraft as old as armed conflict itself.
Colleges besieged by AI-generated writing brought back blue-book exams to deter cheating, but some educators say hand-written tests don't showcase students' best work and disadvantage swaths of learners.
Why it matters: Educators say AI cheating is real — if sometimes overstated — but reverting to pen-and-paper tests sidesteps the reality that many employers want graduates who are comfortable using AI tools.
The Trump administration has ambitious deadlines to accelerate scientific discovery, Energy Department undersecretary Darío Gil and Dell CEO Michael Dell told Axios in an interview.
Why it matters: Government agencies and companies are mobilizing to use AI for energy, drug discovery and national security, all while promising new jobs.
The Justice Department's settlement with Ticketmaster this week marks a new chapter of the MAGA antitrust movement that may look different than some were expecting.
Why it matters: The deal offers a window into how Trump-era antitrust works, signaling that aggressive corporate breakups are out of favor.
