The Download: conservative book bans, and restricting crypto

1 The White House is considering a policy push to restrict crypto
A series of new reports are warning of its financial risks, especially those posed by stablecoins. (WP $)
+ It wants to set standards to reduce energy usage to reduce emissions. (CoinDesk)
+ Elsewhere, the US dollar is going from strength to strength. (Economist $)

2 A new x-ray method for detecting explosives could also identify tumors
A deep learning algorithm was able to find explosives hidden inside a hairdryer. (MIT Technology Review)

3 How contraceptive companies are navigating a post-Roe world
The volatile legal landscape is making it increasingly difficult to plan for the future. (BuzzFeed News)
+ The cognitive dissonance of watching the end of Roe unfold online. (MIT Technology Review)

4Meet the teachers fighting back against misinformation
Teaching children to think for themselves is key. (NYT $)
+ Google examines how different generations handle misinformation. (MIT Technology Review)

5 What photon rings can teach us about a black hole
Its symmetry could hint at its inner structure. (Quanta)
+ Life in the universe is still extremely hard to come by. (The Atlantic $)

6 Humans aren’t ready to live in an oblong city in the desert
That hasn’t stopped Saudi Arabia from trying to build one anyway. (The Guardian)
+ The smart city is a perpetually unrealized utopia. (MIT Technology Review)

7 The electric vehicle revolution is well underway
But it’s scooters and three-wheelers, not cars, that are leading the charge. (Rest of World)

8 TREE(3) is the universe’s biggest number
The problem is, it’s so big, we can barely comprehend it. (New Scientist $)

9 TikTok is shining a light on the shady world of banking
Its graduates and other young employees are cutting through the PR spin. (Bloomberg $)

10 The iPhone has a cool problem
Once everyone has something, is it still desirable? (The Atlantic $)
+ Maybe satellite connectivity can help? (IEEE Spectrum)

Quote of the day

“Criticizing scams is not being mean.”—A user of Buttcoin, a Reddit community dedicated to mocking bitcoin and the crypto industry, defends their position to the Guardian.

The big story

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