Today, the National Security Agency (NSA) released a copy of an internal lecture by Rear Admiral Grace Hopper on August 19, 1982. Known as one of the most influential figures in the development of early computing technologies, Hopper’s contributions have left an indelible mark on the field of computer science, particularly in the realm of programming languages.

The lecture, which Hopper delivered during her tenure at the NSA, provides a rare glimpse into the thoughts and expertise of a woman who played a pivotal role in shaping modern computing. As a pioneering force behind the creation of COBOL, one of the first high-level programming languages, Hopper’s work laid the foundation for software development practices that are still in use today. Her lecture covers not only technical aspects of computing but also her visionary ideas on the future of technology and its applications in various fields.

The Majority Report with Sam Seder & Emma Vigeland
Richard S. Slotkin, cultural critic and historian, professor of English and American Studies at Wesleyan University, discusses his recent book. The concept of the “national myth” as the use of history and narratives of the past to rationalize the present and its ongoing crises.

Expanding on this, Professor Slotkin walks through the role of social and economic insecurity in spurring the need to make sense of a moment, before stepping back to touch on how malleable these mythologies can be, with the same stories often taking on multiple perspectives that can be used and presented differently to affirm various, frequently conflicting, contemporary ideologies, parsing through the various myths of the American Revolution, Civil War, and the “Good War” (WWII), and how they have been employed throughout history.

After expanding on the utility of these mythologies, particularly within the context of the US economic and legal systems, Professor Slotkin brings Sam and Emma into the modern era, outlining the grounding mythologies of the MAGA movement in the Lost Cause and the Second Amendment, and how Democrats can (and might be) learning how to use these mythologies to their benefit as Conservatives do.

Just Have a Think with Dave Borlace
Biomass is touted as a sustainable, ‘net-zero’ alternative to fossil fuels. It’s even recommended by organizations like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the UK Climate Change Committee. But environmental groups and scientists have disputed this claim for many years, and now new research shows that burning biomass releases much more carbon dioxide into our atmosphere than burning coal or gas. So, what’s going on?

What David Graeber and Jordan Peterson Get Wrong
WHAT IS POLITICS?