OPEN THREAD: How was your week?

WILL 2026 NEED TO BE SAVED? NASA’s Apollo 8 moonshot saved 1968. Could Artemis 2 do the same in 2026?

Related (From Ed): First To the Moon: Documentary Commemorates Apollo 8, First Flight to Leave Earth Orbit.

WELL, GOOD: Powerful Anti-Cancer Drug Discovered Inside Japanese Tree Frog.

PRODIGIES ARE WORN OUT BY THE TIME THEY’RE 22: Why the Best Kids Rarely Become the Best Adults. One of my Rhodes Scholar friends said that Rhodes Scholars are people with a great career behind them.

EAT CHOCOLATE, DRINK RED WINE, SIT IN THE SUN. OH, AND EAT STEAK, TOO. Scientists Found That A Compound In Dark Chocolate Is Linked To A Lower Biological Age.

SOUNDS LIKE SOLID ADVICE: Don’t Get a Dreadful Cheap Car, Buy These Surprisingly Good Cars Under $30,000 Instead!

SHOCKER:

The sex split in student loan payments is interesting.

Men immediately cut down on their loans, whereas women tend to make little progress, even more than a decade on. https://t.co/XAZVCIc3Va pic.twitter.com/Wet7IE2FFy

— Crémieux (@cremieuxrecueil) December 25, 2025

UPDATE: Another split.

At Yale, 92% of grades in women's studies classes are either A or A-. Only 55% in mathematics are.

You couldn't ask for a better metaphor for what ails elite American academia and culture. pic.twitter.com/DmeST2EqIv

— i/o (@avidseries) December 17, 2025

IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO CARRY: The Number of People With Carry Permits Fell Slightly, But More People are Packing Than Ever Before.

THE TIGHTENING NOOSE: Treasury Announces Massive Investigation of Border Money Services Businesses. One of the main ways Trump deals with his enemies is by choking off the money supply.

MAKE MIDDLE AGE MORE ENJOYABLE: Some middle-age depression symptoms linked to dementia risk.

SHOCKING NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF SCIENCE: Confusing questionnaires lead to misleading responses from patients.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE, EXTREME RISIBILITY EDITION: Move over Christmas tree: Some campuses opt for term ‘holiday tree’ instead.

GOOD NEWS: 5 times merit made a comeback in 2025.

MOCK THIS INSANITY AS IT DESERVES:

Democrats: "We must stop the spread of misinformation."

Also Democrats: https://t.co/sNjlOLxaA5 pic.twitter.com/ejnptMp8DA

— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) December 24, 2025

I WAS EXPECTING AN EARTH-SHATTERING KABOOM, AND I GOT SEVERAL: Nigerian foreign minister: President Tinubu gave ‘go-ahead’ on strikes.

AN IDEA SO CRAZY IT JUST MIGHT WORK:

Removing murderers from the streets works wonders https://t.co/0AMk3xozg0

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 24, 2025

#JOURNALISM:

I honestly can’t believe this Politico propaganda piece is real. It would be like something you would see in a movie to show how cartoonishly evil a media outlet had become. And therefore it’s kind of funny. https://t.co/q0y1vZmjh2

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) December 24, 2025

CHANGE: Trump Halts Green Card Lottery That Admitted Brown and MIT Shooting Suspect.

BROWN AIN’T THE KIND OF PLACE TO SEND YOUR KIDS: Brown U. janitor says he warned campus security about suspicious visitor twice in weeks leading up to mass shooting.

AS USUAL: 5 Years Too Late, Fulton County Proves Trump’s Call To Raffensperger Right.

WE HAVE A NONDRINKER AS PRESIDENT: Another U.S. liquor brand files Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

MERRY CHRISTMAS:

MERRY CHRISTMAS:

OPEN THREAD: Hope your hearts were light.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!