John Naughton

3 weeks ago | theguardian.com | John Naughton

Question: what are the eight most annoying words in the English language? Answer: “Your call is important to us … please hold.” But when you have turned into a gibbering wreck after 10 minutes of your valuable time have ticked away – intermittently punctuated by assurances that, while your tormentor is “experiencing high call volumes at the moment”, nevertheless your call is still important to him/her/it – you can take comfort in the thought that you are not alone.

1 month ago | theguardian.com | John Naughton

Donald Trump’s tariff strategy has at least one biblical connection: like the peace of God, it “passeth all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). Rival attempts to extract a rationale from the chaos include the idea that he is trying to devalue the dollar, or that he is seeking to “reshore” the manufacturing capacity that the US lost through decades of globalisation.

1 month ago | carrollspaper.com | John Naughton

(Reprinted from the Indianola Independent Advocate.)Kent Halstead’s history classroom at Indianola Middle School buzzes with a different attitude than that found in most Iowa schools. Music from Halstead’s cellphone playlist pulses, an eclectic mix from Boston to C.W. McCall. Students sit cross-legged at their seats or leisurely find spots on the floor. There’s laughter and a casual confidence that the pupils display when they approach Halstead for advice.

1 month ago | msn.com | John Naughton

Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.

1 month ago | theguardian.com | John Naughton

Ever thought of having your genome sequenced? Me neither. But it seems that at least 15 million souls have gone in for it and are delighted to know that they have Viking ancestry, or discombobulated to find that they have siblings of whom they were hitherto unaware. The corporate vehicle that enabled these revelations is called 23andMe, which describes itself as a “genetics-led consumer healthcare and biotechnology company empowering a healthier future”.