Derek Thompson published a piece today finding that the share of Americans who host friends or family at home at least monthly has fallen from 42% in 1975 to 12% in 2026 — a 70% collapse in 50 years. Critically, it's not because people are out doing other things: everyone is home. They're just not inviting anyone over. Also: Bank of America card data finds hobby spending rose 7.9% year over year in August — twice the rate of transactions — as people shift from expensive travel toward at-home activities, but funflation means the at-home alternatives are also getting pricier. And astronomers using the MeerKAT radio array in South Africa have detected radio waves coming directly from Beta Pictoris b, a gas giant 63 light-years from Earth, giving scientists the first direct measurement of an exoplanet's magnetic field. Plus the Alberta rat crisis, the DIY self-driving car mods, the Lunatic wrong-way driver, and a moose on a New York highway.
","author_name":"Keith Conrad"}