Ghost

First you see the bold colorful dots. Dots of the same hue stick together, clustered in and around fainter, similarly-shaded clouds of territory, little uniformed armies of varying size. The dots and clouds are plotted around a circular backdrop with axes intersecting in the center, something like a stripped down dartboard, perhaps, or a radar. The far-flung dots suggest that hitting the bullseye is probably not the object of the game. Maybe a hotly contested region, no man’s land.

Nine years ago, in the wake of Couva, I wrote a denouement piece – an epitaph, really, for that World Cup cycle. It was a very raw and painful time, one in which it was easy to overreact and go pure emotion rather than measured reason. I opted for the latter, and in the near-decade since, have always been glad I did. Because my take had largely held up. The failure in the 2018 cycle was, I argued, a one-time thing.

I knew he would. Even though I told him many times before he left, please don’t buy me anything — and then twice again, over text. The first time, he was in the Gucci store in Rome. Since he wasn’t believing or hearing my words, I tried another way. “That’s so kind, but honestly, I really don’t like Gucci and loafers are hard to wear with the kids.” (I do like Gucci and loafers but that’s beside the point). “I know he is going to buy me something,” I told two women at the park after school.

The Thorns are back!! Here is your preview of their match against Louisville, and your spot to chat through it all. Kelsey Baker Published: July 05, 2026, 1:00 pm {shareOpen = false}, 2000)"> Share to X {shareOpen = false}, 2000)"> Share to Bluesky {shareOpen = false}, 2000)"> Share to Facebook {shareOpen = false}, 2000)"> Share to LinkedIn {shareOpen = false}, 2000)"> Share by email This post is for subscribers only

“I’ve often wondered what goes into a hot dog. Now I know and I wish I didn’t.” So goes the line from the famed writer William Zinsser, who toured a factory making the July 4 staple sausages in 1969 and succinctly summarized the human experience of looking too deeply into the composite parts of something enjoyable. I won’t encourage you to go find out what’s in that hot dog you’re about to slather with chili, mustard and onions this weekend. I’ll just tell you as vaguely as possible: Scraps.

development — 30 min read If I dig deep into my own heart, really self-reflect, I find I simply don't possess whatever people like Bill Gates and Elon Musk do. I think most of us are content to know we've touched a life or two, helped make someone's existence a bit more pleasant, and can feel gratitude toward the universe for those small miracles. Others seem to know no limit in their acquisition of influence, power, and wealth.

Gautam Bhatia is the co-ordinating editor of Strange Horizons, a weekly online magazine of speculative fiction. He is the author of The Fifth Inflection (Saga/Solaris 2027), which was originally published in South Asia as The Sentence (Westland 2024), and won the Ignyte Award for best novel. His other novels include the duology, The Wall and The Horizon and, as editor, Volumes 1 and 2 of the IF Anthology of New Indian SFF.

By Lee Vinsel A while ago, I began jotting an email to my friend and mentor, Richard John, and quickly realized I was writing an essay I had wanted to do for years. Below, I outline two forms of "technology" criticism. One I think sucks and call Cultural Pessimist Technology Criticism (CPTC). The other is true, good, and beautiful. It's known as materialism. I have decided to publish this essay as an open letter to Richard because that is how it began.

Okay, fine, let’s do this. This week, Simone Cromer, best known on social media as Club Chalamet, alleges that she was “jumped” by someone while they were both standing outside of a hotel in Paris waiting to catch a glimpse of Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie. Cromer, who has been a controversial figure online for her unsettling fan obsessions and swings into conspiracy, says that this person, a fellow Storrie stan and self-described obsessive, threatened her.