floss Alias: a smart-speaker "parasite" that blocks your speaker's sensors until you activate it Cory Doctorow

History The masked prisoner of Louis XIV whose name was never spoken Ellsworth Toohey

Self Driving Waymo sues Santa Monica for trying to make it stop beeping all night Jason Weisberger

health People who get shingles within a year of Covid have doubled reinfection risk and 67 % higher heart attack odds Jennifer Sandlin

horror This close-up video of a praying mantis eating a fly is pure insect horror Popkin

crime Disney worker jailed after adding "Cheesy Shits" to menu—and worse Rob Beschizza

investigations Coincidence? 5 nurses working on same MA maternity floor have brain tumors Carla Sinclair

the maga cult President of NYU College Republicans is fired for saying Barron Trump is an "oddity" Carla Sinclair

Science Your handy guide to how much stuff it takes to kill you, maybe! Ellsworth Toohey

Weird Woman, 107, has a big horn growing from her forehead Allan Rose Hill

gadgets Fujifilm X-M5: a vlogging tool that might be an $800 cine camera Rob Beschizza

Delightful Creatures Watch an octopus punch noncompliant fishes Rob Beschizza

bizarre competitions Wolfing down scalding hot biscuits and other weird contests from 1897 Mark Frauenfelder

donald trump Trump's brain on a 40-year downward spiral, according to analysis of his speeches over time Ellsworth Toohey

Science Australian waterway mysteriously turned electric blue Allan Rose Hill

politics Doctors blame Biden's debate performance on drugs Jason Weisberger

politics Conservative media goes after Jon Stewart Ruben Bolling

medicine Tapeworms took up residency in Florida man's brain after he ate undercooked bacon David Pescovitz

Innovation Meet the "Atlanta Magnet Man" — a street cleaning hero Mark Frauenfelder

nazis Review: Zone of Interest is the "Banality of Evil" film adaptation we've all been waiting for Natalie Dressed