America: A 250-Year Work in Progress Through the Eyes of Poets

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American poets like Whitman, Lazarus, Hughes, Lim, and Ferlinghetti have long captured the nation's complex identity, from its welcoming ideals to its struggles with inequality, highlighting its ongoing evolution.

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Reflecting on America's 250th birthday, the author acknowledges a decline in national optimism and direction since the turn of the century, citing issues like political division, wealth inequality, and misinformation. However, they find reasons for hope in scientific progress, credible journalism, and the inherent resilience and capacity for self-remaking within the country, urging collective action.

Ars Technica

Developing·6/15/2026

Historian Eddie Glaude Jr. Expresses Rage Over America's 250th Anniversary

Historian Eddie Glaude Jr. expresses deep rage and sadness as the U.S. approaches its 250th anniversary, criticizing the nation's failure to live up to its founding principles and its ongoing racial divisions. He argues America must confront its past and move beyond an adolescent self-image.

NPR News

Opinion·4/26/2026

The Problem With Stanford Isn't New — But It Has Been Fully Internalized

An opinion piece reviewing Theo Baker's forthcoming book 'How to Rule the World' about Stanford University's startup culture. The piece examines whether critical accounts of Silicon Valley ambition — like 'The Social Network' — actually discourage students or serve as recruitment tools. Baker describes an 'invite-only world' where VCs wine and dine teenagers, 'pre-idea funding' flows before original thoughts, and the line between mentorship and predation blurs. The author questions whether such books can change anything when cautionary tales seem to glamorize rather than deter the very behavior they critique.

TechCrunch

Opinion·4/21/2026

How Apple Watch Will Define Tim Cook's Legacy at Apple

This article argues that Tim Cook's defining legacy at Apple will be the Apple Watch and its health technology innovations, not iPhones or Macs. Cook predicted Apple's greatest contribution to mankind would be health-related, and the Apple Watch pioneered FDA-cleared health features, massive clinical studies, and set the blueprint for the wearable health tech industry.

The Verge

America: A 250-Year Work in Progress Through the Eyes of Poets

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