Derek Thompson

People sometimes make fun of science that sounds stupid and random. Meanwhile, a study of lizard saliva turned into a peptide medication, which was turned into a diabetes medication, which was turned into a GLP1 weight loss drug, that just became the first therapy every approved for … sleep apnea

Unbelievable news. Pancreatic is one of the deadliest cancers. New paper shows personalized mRNA vaccines can induce durable T cells that attack pancreatic cancer, with 75% of patients cancer free at three years—far, far better than standard of care. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

The NYT article about Blake Lively’s lawsuit is incredible. Her director/costar’s PR team texting “Holy shit, I can’t believe how well our evil plan to destroy this woman’s reputation is working! Thank god no one will ever read these text messages!” back and forth to each other over and over

“If the Strait of Hormuz is functionally closed [for] two weeks, I think we’re going to get $100-plus oil. If we go beyond that, then oil prices could start to get into Scary Land.” www.derekthompson.org/p/the-econom...

Every AI-bubble debate is the same 12 facts, studies, and arguments quoted back and forth, over and over. So Tim Lee at @understandingai.skystack.xyz and I teamed up to publish a 4,000 word deep-dive analysis of all 12. www.derekthompson.org/p/how-to-sou...

New pod: I think AI is a bubble. But, suddenly, so does everybody else. I don't like it when conventional wisdoms get too conventional. So I asked @azeem.bsky.social: What is the single strongest case that AI is NOT a bubble? This episode is his answer. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

1. Social media is now 5% following friends and 95% watching videos made by strangers. 2. Every podcast is turning into a YouTube show. 3. AI companies can't stop building TikTok clones. Everything is becoming television. I wrote about why that matters. www.derekthompson.org/p/why-everyt...

"Total AI capex is projected to exceed $500 billion in 2026 and 2027—roughly the annual GDP of Singapore. Meanwhile, American consumers spend only $12 billion a year on AI services—roughly the GDP of Somalia." www.derekthompson.org/p/this-is-ho...

New newsletter: Pilates is surging, yoga's on fire, gyms are packed, and Americans are working out more than ever. Why? www.derekthompson.org/p/the-great-...

There's a thread from Matt Stoller going around accusing me of lying and purposefully misrepresenting my conversation with the real estate analyst Lance Lambert. Well, I knew that was wrong. So I called Lance. Here's what happened next.

Antitrust critics of Abundance claim homebuilding oligopolies are holding back supply and driving up prices, esp in Texas. I did something really simple. I called up their sources. Everyone I spoke to told me the same thing: Their claims are bullshit. www.derekthompson.org/p/the-anti-a...

New pod: This is the worst housing market for first-time homebuyers in modern history. How we got here, what's happening now—prices falling in the south, rising in the north, and what comes next, with @conorsen.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

The MAGA energy agenda is pretty simple. It's about combining the energy policy of the 1980s with the trade policy of the 1880s. And it's about trying so hard to own the libs at any cost, you raise electricity prices everywhere. derekthompson.substack.com/p/american-e...