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"The Cybertruck, for all of its many faults, lives up to this promise. Too many other EVs don’t. A fully electric Ford F-150 Lightning is a technological feat that can power a house for up to three days, but from a distance, you can’t tell it apart from its gas-powered cousin. Other EVs are even more Wonder Bread: The electric Hyundai Genesis G80 is so similar to its gas twin that it has been described as an “EV in disguise.” Toyota is working on a simulated stick shift for EVs that will let drivers pretend to manually shift gears, and many EVs spurt out fake engine noises.

Some EVs, such as the retro-futuristic Hyundai Ioniq 6, are more sci-fi, but on the whole, carmakers are trying to make the jump to EVs easier by sticking with the big-grilled designs that drivers already know. That’s apparently why Ford made the F-150 EV look so familiar. “The car market is quite conservative,” Clarke said, “because for most people, a car is the second-biggest purchase they’ll make.” That tendency is dumbing down the truly

This paragraph comes from The Atlantic. The article is titled: Admit It, The Cybertruck Is Awesome." The author is Saahil Desai. You can read the full article here:

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/11/cybertruck-tesla-electric-pickup-design/676201/

Zac and Don also discussed the following article from the Wall Street Journal and author Heather Haddon:

No More Dry Burgers: McDonald's Overhauls It's Biggest Item

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This week we discuss laws, the people who decide the law, and whether those very people can have social media accounts. Here are the articles we read:

"Leaf Blower Fight Roils Greenwhich, Conn., How to World's Most Perfect Lawns" Wall Street Journal. Author: Joseph De Avila

"Can public officials block you on social media? It's up to the Supreme Court" NPR. Author: Nina Totenberg

"This Louisiana Town Runs Largely on Traffic Fines. If You Fight Your Ticket, the Mayor is Your Judge" ProPublica. Authors: Samantha Sunne, Dannah Sauer, and Lee Zurik

Zac and Don discuss all three articles as they debate which side of each legal questions are they.

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Before epilepsy was understood to be a neurological condition, people believed it was caused by the moon, or by phlegm in the brain. They condemned seizures as evidence of witchcraft or demonic possession, and killed or castrated sufferers to prevent them from passing tainted blood to a new generation.

Today we know epilepsy is a disease. By and large, it’s accepted that a person who causes a fatal traffic accident while in the grip of a seizure should not be charged with murder. That’s good, says Stanford University neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky. That’s

After more than 40 years studying humans and other primates, Sapolsky has reached the conclusion that virtually all human behavior is as far beyond our conscious control as the convulsions of a seizure, the division of cells or the

The world is really screwed up and made much, much more unfair by the fact that we reward people and punish people for things they have no control over,” Sapolsky said. “We’ve got no free will. Stop attributing stuff to us that isn’t there.”

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2023-10-17/stanford-scientist-robert-sapolskys-decades-of-study-led-him-to-conclude-we-dont-have-free-will-determined-book

Zac and Don discuss professor's claim that humans do not have free will. They wonder if this applies to the short and long term. They also wonder if this claim could impact future court cases. They also debate whether this is an important question to consider.

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When self-checkout kiosks began to pop up in American grocery stores, the sales pitch to shoppers was impressive: Scan your stuff, plunk it in a bag, and you’re done. Long checkout lines would disappear. Waits would dwindle. Small talk with cashiers would be a thing of the past. Need help? Store associates,

You know how this process actually goes by now: You still have to wait in line. The checkout kiosks bleat and flash when you fail to set a purchase down in the right spot. Scanning those items is sometimes a crapshoot—wave a barcode too vigorously in front of an uncooperative machine, and suddenly you’ve scanned it two or three times. Then you need to locate the usually lone

This paragraph comes from The Atlantic. The article is titled: "Self-Checkout Is A Failed Experiment." The article is written by Amanda Mull. You can read the full article here:

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/10/self-checkout-kiosks-grocery-retail-stores/675676/

Zac and Don discuss their experiences with the self check out kiosks. They reflect on the misery of grocery store lines. They offer potential solutions. They also wonder if the problem of grocery stores lines will ever be fixed.

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Forty years ago, when I was earning my Ph.D. in

You can read the full article here:

https://ifstudies.org/blog/when-is-the-best-school-not-the-best

Zac and Don discuss the findings that high achieving schools are not helping students achieve better futures. They wonder if their school district fits within the definition of high achieving. They also wonder if these findings will change how parents and students perceive school.

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Zac & Don discuss the second half of the new Elon Musk biography. Does Elon have too much power when it comes to Free Speech? War? What about the Algorithm, The Idiot Index, Production Hell & More!

You can read the full biography here:

https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1982181281/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=hjIpY&content-id=amzn1.sym.5f7e0a27-49c0-47d3-80b2-fd9271d863ca%3Aamzn1.symc.e5c80209-769f-4ade-a325-2eaec14b8e0e&pf_rd_p=5f7e0a27-49c0-47d3-80b2-fd9271d863ca&pf_rd_r=BHH6YCDSCH0THX7RPQJG&pd_rd_wg=vrzG1&pd_rd_r=e0737cba-e0cf-4875-ad7a-01b7b91ccf6c&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m

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Let’s just get this out of the way: I don’t like dogs. I don’t like the way they smell. I don’t like the way they jump on your dry-clean-only pants. I especially don’t like the way they “get to know you.” (I generally don’t like to be poked down there unless it’s so someone can tell me whether I have HPV.) I don’t believe animals are equal to people; I can’t believe $15,000 pet surgeries exist in a country where not every person can get health care.

I’ve long kept this feeling to myself, because in America, saying you don’t like dogs is like saying you think the Taliban has some good ideas. Recently, however, I learned about a community of people just like me: The Dogfree Subreddit. I don’t use Reddit much, but immediately, I was taken by r/Dogfree’s tagline: “We don’t like dogs.” I had never before seen this, my most taboo opinion, written out so plainly.

This paragraph comes from an essay in The Atlantic. The essay is titled: "I Don't Like Dogs." The essay is written by Olga Khazan. You can read the full essay here:

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/people-who-hate-dogs-reddit-dogfree/675372/

Zac and Don discuss the essay and share their personal opinions on whether they like dogs. They also wonder if America has gone too far with it's bending of the rules for dogs.