Articles

"The Simulation of Jessica:" Chapter 3 probes the ethics and power of A.I.

“The Simulation of Jessica:” Chapter 3 probes the ethics and power of A.I.

The Jessica Simulation:Love and loss in the age of A.I.The death of the woman he loved was too much to bear. Could a mysterious website allow him to speak with…
September 2, 2021
Chip Scanlan
"The Simulation of Jessica:" Chapter 2 unfurls an intimate chatbot conversation

“The Simulation of Jessica:” Chapter 2 unfurls an intimate chatbot conversation

The Jessica Simulation:Love and loss in the age of A.I.The death of the woman he loved was too much to bear. Could a mysterious website allow him to speak with…
September 1, 2021
Chip Scanlan
"The Simulation of Jessica:" Jason Fagone follows the creation, life and death of a chatbot romance

“The Simulation of Jessica:” Jason Fagone follows the creation, life and death of a chatbot romance

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of three annotated chapters that follow a grieving man’s journey into artificial intelligence to reconnect with his dead lover, and find some peace. You…
August 31, 2021
Chip Scanlan
How the loss of one Olympic story led to gold on another

How the loss of one Olympic story led to gold on another

Wall Street Journal sports reporter Ben Cohen found a surprising profile of an unlikely Olympian in previous notes, then used Zoom to bring it to life
August 27, 2021
Trevor Pyle
"His name was Zaki Anwari ..."

“His name was Zaki Anwari …”

Writers usually stuff facts in dispatches from the front or the cop shop or the accident scene. All those W’s and H’s, jammed together.Generally, the formula works. But individual facts,…
August 25, 2021
Tom Warhover
A retired newspaper man finds a new writing voice in the solitude of wilderness

A retired newspaper man finds a new writing voice in the solitude of wilderness

Every year, or as often as I can, I go into the northern Minnesota woods, usually alone now, seeking tranquility and time to brood and reflect.And I write while I’m…
August 24, 2021
Chuck Haga

3 rejections before a successful pitch to ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network

How freelancer Max Blau persisted to land an investigative project fellowship, then a staff reporting position
August 18, 2021
Carly Stern
Pitching ProPublica's Local Reporting Network: Focus on sources and impact

Pitching ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network: Focus on sources and impact

"Why does this story need to be told here, in this community? And why does this story need to be told now?" says ProPublica’s managing editor for local
August 17, 2021
Carly Stern
What the "Insect Apocalypse" reveals about faulty human memory

What the “Insect Apocalypse” reveals about faulty human memory

From the archives: Brooke Jarvis takes windshield wipers to environmental blindness and reveals why we should heed the bugs
August 12, 2021
Ben Goldfarb
A conversation with Nathaniel Rich on "Losing Earth," human inertia and storytelling as "a moral act"

A conversation with Nathaniel Rich on “Losing Earth,” human inertia and storytelling as “a moral act”

From the archives: The New York Times Magazine devotes an entire issue to history's failure to heed the siren warnings about climate change
August 11, 2021
Rebecca Boyle