Diego Lasarte

2 weeks ago | newyorker.com | Diego Lasarte

As any freegan, gleaner, or dumpster diver knows, there is an art to picking through trash. On a recent rainy morning in Bushwick, Thomas Crespo, a second-generation sanitation worker, was elbow-deep in a residential trash bin, searching for coffee grounds, eggshells, dead houseplants, orange peels—any organic material that might fall under the purview of New York City’s new composting law. “As soon as you open the lid, you get hit with the smell,” Crespo said, describing one giveaway.

1 month ago | newyorker.com | Diego Lasarte

Not long ago, President Trump let loose on Truth Social about his frustration with new environmental consumer-product standards—lousy water pressure in showers, weakly flushing toilets. He ordered his new E.P.A. administrator, Lee Zeldin, to tackle the problem, including overturning President Biden’s ban on most non-L.E.D. light bulbs.

Oct 27, 2023 | newyorker.com | Diego Lasarte

Two days ago, the worst mass shooting in Maine’s history—and the deadliest in the United States this year—occurred in Lewiston, when a gunman opened fire at a local bowling alley, and then a bar, killing eighteen people and injuring thirteen more. The shootings were just a couple of miles away from the Bates campus, and the school went into lockdown, along with the rest of Androscoggin County.

Sep 20, 2023 | qz.com | Diego Lasarte

Amazon announced updates to its suite of smart devices at its fall hardware event on Wednesday (September 20). Don't expect the Fed to help your investment in AmazonAt the presentation in Amazon Headquarters—located in Arlington, Virginia—Vice President of Devices and Services David Limp introduced a range of upgrades to its Alexa-powered devices. The company also previewed a set of internet-connected eyeglasses and a wall-mounted tablet meant to control different smart-home hardware.

Sep 20, 2023 | qz.com | Diego Lasarte

The decisionIn addition to the stresses involved in getting or renewing a driver’s license, many Americans find themselves ambushed by an existential question under the harsh fluorescent lighting of their local DMV: Would you like to donate your organs after you die? Should you keep investing in Big Tech? At once personal and civic, the question probes some of life’s most complex issues, including the existence of the soul, life after death, and the sanctity of the human body.