Posts by Forbes Washington DC
When a Team of Meteorologists and Combat Pilots Set Out to Understand Thunderstorms, They Made Flying Safer for Everyone
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The sky was a very dangerous place in the early days of commercial aviation. By flying into storms to learn how they worked, these experts made air travel and weather forecasting much more predictable Lightning strikes in Peckham, Oklahoma. Mitch Dobrowner The 22 passengers who boarded Pennsylvania Central Airlines Flight 19 out of Washington, D.C. on…
Read More€3.5 Million Raised in 20 Minutes: Inside the American Friends of Versailles Gala
Saskia Connery and Peter Brant Jr. Photo by Marc Piasecki/Getty Images “Versailles… exists as an unparalleled and final statement that is likely never to be repeated,” declares the American Friends of Versailles on its website. Yet for all its singularity, like the Ship of Theseus, the Château must be restored, bit by bit, to fend…
Read MoreWhy Cutting Humans Too Fast Could Backfire in the A.I. Era
A.I. is transforming business faster than almost any technology before it, but companies removing humans before systems are ready may be creating confusion rather than competitive advantage. Unsplash+ A recent ad from the A.I. company Narwhal Labs featured an image of a woman who was half human, half cybernetic machine alongside the tagline: “She Outworks…
Read MoreEssential Queer Reading for Pride Month and Beyond
The arrival of June, and thus Pride Month, is an annual opportunity for us to honor the lives of diverse L.G.B.T.Q.+ people and celebrate the ongoing movement for love and acceptance. It’s one that urgently continues today amidst a climate of transphobia and intolerance toward some of our most marginalized community members, and as such,…
Read MoreThe Operating Room Where Anesthesia Was First Demonstrated Is Now a Landmark. But for the Men Who Claimed Credit, There Was Much Misery
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Medical procedures used to be a scream-filled endurance test until doctors at this Boston institution learned to tame the pain of patients Photographs by Ty Cole Text by Douglas Starr Summer 2026 The “Ether Dome” at Massachusetts General Hospital is now a National Historic Landmark. Ty Cole The most important demonstration in medical history was about…
Read MoreThe 2026 World Cup May Be the Last Great Sports TV Bargain
In a world in which the combined media rights value for North America’s Big Four sports leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL) currently eclipses $15 billion annually, bargain hunters must beware. The 2026 World Cup may be the last major sports broadcast deal secured at a real discount. And that might just be the first…
Read MoreDirector Cristian Mungiu Says ‘Fjord’ Is About the Limits of Freedom, Not Clashing Cultures
Cristian Mungiu. Photo by JB Lacroix/FilmMagic One of the unexpected triumphs of this year’s Cannes Film Festival was Cristian Mungiu’s bracing family drama Fjord winning the Palme d’Or. In a rare feat, the Romanian filmmaker has now won Cannes’ top prize twice. “It’s already wonderful to get one Palme d’Or,” he told French TV network…
Read MoreThe Best Fashion From the 2026 Tony Awards Red Carpet
Tonight, the 79th Tony Awards will take place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, honoring the brightest stars on Broadway. The Tonys are theater’s biggest night, celebrating the best performances and productions of the 2025-2026 Broadway season. This year, Pink is taking over hosting duties, in what was, for some, a surprise…
Read MoreJoan Miró’s Joy Is as Infectious as Ever
Joan Miró in Carl Holty’s studio, in front of the mural painting for the Terrace Plaza Hotel in Cincinnati, 1947. Photo: Arnold Newman © Arnold Newman / Getty Images There is a marked difference between a genuinely naïve artist and one that is faux naïve. The genuine naïve is where you start: finding your way,…
Read MoreAlexandr Wang Defends Meta’s Muse Spark as an ‘Appetizer’ in Bigger A.I. Push
Wang says Muse Spark is an early step, not Meta’s final answer in the A.I. race. Courtesy Bloomberg In early April, Meta unveiled Muse Spark, its latest A.I. model and the first major release under Chief A.I. Officer Alexandr Wang. The model performs competitively on some benchmarks but still trails OpenAI’s GPT-5.4 Pro and Google’s…
Read More'Stupid Hot': Heat Waves Muddle the Minds of Animals and Humans as Confusion and Aggression Seem to Rise With the Temperature
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Wide-ranging research suggests that as temperatures increase, some creatures pick fights while others struggle to learn. The findings hint at consequences that may ripple through ecosystems Source link
Read MoreAmazon’s ‘Proteus’ Robot Heads to Europe in $11B Automation Push
Amazon’s warehouse robots are starting to sound less like machines waiting for commands and more like coworkers taking direction. At its Delivering the Future event in London, Amazon unveiled an upgraded version of Proteus that can interpret natural-language instructions and turn them into coordinated material-movement tasks. The update is part of a broader European robotics…
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