The Navigator, Saturday, March 29, 2025
Gen X sex, acing leisure, Greenland's under-ice prize, the rise of chatbot friends, SSA worries, TikTok's last-ditch campaign—and more
Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, revealed a stunning security breach involving senior U.S. national security officials this week after he was inadvertently added to their Signal group chat, where they discussed imminent airstrikes in Yemen. Beyond the very obvious national security risks, the incident serves as a cautionary tale regarding digital communication:
Expediency isn't always the best or safest option.
Technology workarounds can introduce serious risks to individuals and enterprises.
Emojis, while helpful communication tools, can appear inappropriate or unserious in sensitive contexts (👊🇺🇸🔥).
When confronted with the breach, the White House and cabinet-level officials chose to obfuscate and attack Goldberg rather than acknowledge responsibility, following Trump’s age-old playbook, yet again. But it hasn’t worked this time, and the president and his team have lost control of the narrative—if they had any control of it in the first place.
This event has triggered an unusual moment of political unity in Washington, with widespread bipartisan condemnation. The Senate Armed Services Committee, under Republican leadership, has formally requested more information from the Defense Department's acting inspector general.
As always, thank you for making us part of your week. Comment below to let us know your thoughts on this week’s events and your input on the new rules emerging for tomorrow.
The only generation not in a sex recession (Vox)
It’s not just in the movies. Gen X women are having the best sex of their lives.
This 4-Bedroom Ranch in N.J. Tells You Everything About the Lopsided Housing Market (The Wall Street Journal)
The Northeast has tons of demand and low supply, but parts of the Sunbelt are seeing a flood of houses for sale.
Contributor: ‘Bring back American manufacturing’? It’s alive and stronger than ever (The Los Angeles Times)
The number of workers in manufacturing has declined, but not because America stopped making things. It’s because we got incredibly good at making things.
In the hills of Italy, wolves returned from the brink. Then the poisonings began (The Guardian)
Strict laws saved the country’s wolves from extinction. Now conservationists believe their relaxation could embolden vigilantes.
The DOGE Resistance (What Next:TBD Podcast/Slate)
Lawsuits, protests and Elon Musk’s Achilles Heel
How to Be Excellent at Leisure (The Atlantic)
If you think of personal time only as “not work,” you could be missing out on truly enriching experiences.
What the Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mega-rallies are really about (POLITICO)
The two progressives are bringing energy to a party that has been exhausted and furious in the second Trump era.
In an age of AI, remember only you can be the writer of something meaningful (The Guardian)
As many people turn to artificial intelligence for getting concepts across in written form, John Warner, who teaches creative writing at the College of Charleston, argues that AI actually can’t write.
Beneath Greenland’s ice lies a climate solution—and a new geopolitical battleground (Grist.org)
Modern society, and the clean energy revolution, depend on rare earth elements. Can Greenland help break China's stranglehold on the market?
What Is Happening to Social Security Under the Trump Administration and Should You Be Concerned About Yours? (TIME)
Yes. With significant staff cuts planned by DOGE under way, it is less a question of whether or not any benefits will actually get cut, but whether the SSA will have the staff to actually “deliver the benefits that the Congress has mandated that they deliver.”
The age of AI requires a new kind of leadership (FastCompany)
Regenerative leadership can be an effective antidote to AI doomerism in the office, says this management expert.
With a U.S. Ban Looming, TikTok Portrays Itself as a Force for Good (The New York Times)
The popular video app, which could be banned in the United States next month if it is not sold to a non-Chinese owner, is portraying itself as a savior of Americans and a champion of small businesses in a new campaign.
Deadlifting in Your Nineties, in “Strong Grandma” (The New Yorker Documentary)
An elderly powerlifter trains for competition, in Cecilia Brown and Winslow Crane-Murdoch’s short documentary.
The rise of chatbot “friends” (Vox)
Wait, what is a friend anyway?
Thank you for your reporting on this incredulous security breach. What happened to accountability? Why does it not appear to be important to them?