What drives a journalist to keep digging when the truth could get him killed?
Investigative reporter Steve Chao has spent decades uncovering crimes that others would rather keep buried, from drug traffickers in Central America to human-rights abuses inside China. During one investigation, he tracked down a former Chinese government spy — a man coerced into informing on his own friends and family after being detained in Xinjiang’s “re-education” camps.
The ex-spy described being tortured, then forced to monitor fellow prisoners from China’s Uighur community, a Muslim minority long targeted by government crackdowns. Each name he gave led to another disappearance. When he finally told his story, guilt weighed heavier than fear. For Chao, the account exposed a hidden world of control, surveillance, and moral collapse, where truth itself becomes contraband. Despite losing colleagues and sources to violence, he continues to chase stories few dare to tell.
Join Steve Chao in this week’s podcast selection, 'The Destroyed Man', as he goes undercover to expose a spy recruited from inside China’s detention camps.
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How did a Celtic harvest ritual become a $13 billion night of costumes and candy?
An estimated 41 million children across the United States will fill the streets tonight in search of tricks—or more likely, treats. Nearly three-quarters of American households plan to participate, resulting in total spending reaching a record $13.1 billion, a 13% increase from last year. The average household will spend approximately $114.
Halloween’s origins stretch back over 2,000 years to Samhain, the Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest and the start of winter. Irish immigrants introduced the custom to America in the 19th century, where it blended with Christian and local traditions to create the modern version. 36% of Americans consider Halloween their favorite holiday, and New York City ranks as the top spot to celebrate.
Technology
America's Supercomputers
How do you build machines that can outthink the world’s best?
The U.S. Department of Energy has signed a $1 billion agreement with Advanced Micro Devices to create two artificial intelligence supercomputers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. The goal is to accelerate breakthroughs in areas ranging from nuclear fusion and medical science to national security.
The first system, Lux, is expected to begin operations within six months, while its companion, Discovery, is scheduled to follow in 2028. Unlike ordinary computers, supercomputers combine thousands of processors that perform numerous calculations simultaneously—a method known as parallel processing. That allows them to solve complex problems in minutes that would take standard machines years. The U.S. already hosts more than 170 supercomputers, including five of the world's most powerful.
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What kind of creature hunts in the dark at the bottom of the world?
Scientists exploring the remote depths of the Southern Ocean have uncovered 30 previously unknown species, including a predatory sponge dubbed the “death ball.” The expeditions, conducted near Montagu and Saunders Islands and along the South Sandwich Trench, revealed a host of strange and luminous marine life thriving nearly 12,000 feet below the surface.
The death ball sponge, formally named Chondrocladia sp. nov., looks almost decorative, but it’s anything but gentle. Unlike most sea sponges, which filter food passively, they trap and devour their prey using tiny hooked filaments. Researchers also identified glowing blue sea worms, new species of sea stars, and previously unseen crustaceans.
Only about 30% of the nearly 2,000 specimens they've collected have been cataloged. Scientists expect to confirm even more discoveries, possibly including new varieties of black corals and sea pens. A reminder that natural secrets remain hidden in the planet’s deepest and darkest corners!
Image Credit: The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census/Schmidt Ocean Institute
Art
Return Of The Pharoahs
What does the world’s largest museum reveal about one of history’s oldest civilizations?
After two decades of construction, Egypt has officially opened the Grand Egyptian Museum: a $1 billion complex devoted entirely to ancient Egypt. Located just outside Cairo, within sight of the Pyramids of Giza, the five-million-square-foot site now houses more than 50,000 artifacts, making it the largest museum ever dedicated to a single culture.
Among the highlights are two new halls displaying over 5,000 objects from the tomb of King Tutankhamun, shown together for the first time since their discovery in 1922. The project began in 2005 but stalled after the Arab Spring; President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi later revived it as a symbol of national pride and tourism renewal.
Image Credit: Grand Egyptian Museum/gem.eg
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