Hello!
I was a junior in college when a small group of terrorists hijacked four airplanes and crashed two of them into the World Trade Center and a third into the Pentagon. The fourth, United 93, was probably headed for the U.S. Capitol, but passengers fought back, and the plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania instead.
It wasn’t long before it was pretty clear that my country was going to war. I remember being fairly lonely in my opposition to this outcome, but I also remember it feeling inevitable. Congress approved the Authorization for Use of Military Force just three days later, with the Senate voting 98 to 0 and the House 420 to 1. Public opinion rallied hard behind military action... when the war in Afghanistan began on October 7, Gallup found 90% approval. Internationally, our allies invoked NATO’s Article 5 for the first and only time in the alliance’s history, while the U.N. Security Council also moved quickly to condemn the attacks.
It was not long before we were truly at war, and we were at war for a long time. If you listen to people who have some amount of credibility in topics like these, they all seem to say fairly similar things. War is a liar. It lies to you about what is possible. War asks you to imagine a future, and it is very easy to imagine a future where it is impossible that such a dramatic step will be taken without getting the outcome you want. I think that the US is a great nation. Everyone knows my country is the most powerful nation in the world, and so it seems impossible that we would take a step as dramatic as starting a war and not quickly end up with the outcome we expect.
Eventually, the nation came to regret these wars. The Taliban, who were in power when we began our war in Afghanistan, are once again in power.
But war is a liar. And as Ezra Klein recently put it, “The great lie of war is that you will get what you want out of it.”
Unsaid in that sentence is who it is lying to. The ones most susceptible to the lie of war are the ones who are so powerful that no one around them can tell them when they are making an obvious and massive mistake.
I have found myself, in the last week, sitting up and suddenly staring into the distance in disbelief, thinking, “We really are doing this again.” Except this time, we are doing it despite the fact that it seems like no one wants to. Our European allies urged restraint and de-escalation rather than rallying behind the war. Congress was never even asked whether we should start this war. And when it comes to public support, there is nothing like the consensus that existed after September 11. A recent poll showed 56% of Americans oppose the operation.
I want to say, to everyone who was not around when our last round of wars began in the Middle East: This all feels horribly familiar. The language is familiar. The confidence is familiar. The sense that events have their own momentum is familiar. The only thing that feels different is that this time, it seems like everyone already knows this is a mistake. And yet, somehow, we are moving forward anyway.
I wish I had more to offer than that. This is the main thing I want to say. This is what it feels like when it happens. The big difference is that, this time, no one even wants it.
Hank
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This Week in Stuff
Astrid Lundberg shared a poem called “Small Mammal Paleontologist.” (Instagram)
Pop star Zara Larsson joined the Portland Bike Bus for a ride. (Instagram)
A pink pony played Pink Pony Club on the piano in a school talent show. (TikTok)
A curious cat went on a journey into a paper world. (YouTube)
Evan and Katelyn made the most uncomfortable keyboard ever. (YouTube)
Please send us stuff you think we should feature to [email protected]
A record number of objects went into space in 2025
Edouard Mathieu and Pablo Rosado
4,510 objects were launched into space in 2025, surpassing the previous peak of 2,903 objects in 2023 by a large margin.
The data shows that US agencies and companies were responsible for launching 3,708 of these objects — 82% of the global total.
The vast majority of these American launches consist of small satellites deployed as part of large commercial “constellations”. These interconnected networks of satellites now account for the bulk of all objects sent into orbit.
The rapid growth of satellite constellations makes it possible to expand Internet connectivity, but it also increases concerns regarding space debris and the congestion of Earth’s orbital environment.
Our World in Data is a UK-based non-profit organization that publishes research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems. You can find more of their data insights here. Want to receive even more Data Insights like this from Our World in Data directly in your inbox every few days? Sign up for their newsletter!
This Week at Complexly
Why is there consensus around atoms existing, but not around if chocolate is good for you? In this episode of Crash Course Scientific Thinking, we’ll explore why there are still things we don’t know about topics we know a lot about, and why scientific consensus is the closest thing to “the truth.”
Bizarre Beasts explained that braconid wasps are so intertwined with the survival of a virus that they partly share a genome. And this extreme teamwork is all for the sake of being better parasites.
Some Games to Play!
Agent Caesar (by Fox Point Games)
SpellCheck.xyc (by Answer in Progress)
This Gubbins postcard was made by Arly. Send yours to [email protected]
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Taking the Next Step
Last week, John talked about making it through a stressful situation by focusing on the next step. Thank you to everyone who shared a “next step” story with us!
I use the "take the next step" approach a lot because I get easily overwhelmed. :P The biggest things I used it for were when I decided to go back to school at 39 to finish my bachelor's degree, and when I was in grad school (not part of the original plan!). I really, really struggled writing my thesis (MFA program, so my thesis was a novel), and I could only get through it a sentence at a time. Narrowing my focus to just the next step made it a little less difficult. I wasn't looking at my deadline or my word count, just drilling down on the exact moment I was in. And thanks to taking the next step, along with a saintly academic advisor and an amazing thesis advisor, I finished and was able to graduate on time!
After going through mental health issues, losing friends, and struggling for a while, I am finally getting help. I don't expect it to be quick or easy, but what matters is that I'm taking the next step.
Almost every part of living with chronic illness is just about "the next step". When I first got sick, I was too unwell to even process what it meant for me, how things would change, it was all I could do to take the next step. On the micro level, it was "take the next step and eat breakfast", "ok, now brush your teeth" "take your meds". On a macro level, it was seeing doctors, convincing them I was sick, taking steps to get the care I need, all while existing in a failing body. Some days there's nothing else to do, so you just hang on.
And take the next step.
I am a psychotherapist and have been working online since the pandemic began. I have also worked in schools and universities since then, but my initial plan was always to open my own therapy office. In January, I was forced by our government to open an office in order to work. And it was a very stressful process. I didn't have enough money, I needed to find a place that met all the requirements, and getting the permits was very difficult. But throughout this time, I tried to focus on what the next step was and how I could take that step. Some days I would just turn on the computer, download documents, and file them. The next day, how I would proceed would become a little clearer. Today, before my session, I am sitting in my office, reading your newsletter and preparing for the day. Reaching the end of a path can often seem very difficult, but we need to take that first step and see that we can actually take it.
I am terrified of driving. I got my license at one point and proceeded not to use it for years, but a few months ago I got a job that I couldn't reach with public transport. What I did was make a list of things that I had to practise from least to most scary, from driving in an empty parking lot to going on the highway for a long time. I still don't like driving and there are things that scare me, but I go to work without any problems every day. This morning I was even singing along to System of a Down while I drove!
Things are simple when the next steps are laid out for you - school, uni, work, family. But when I realised how sick I was, the next step turned towards me. I’d hit a brick wall , I didn’t know what to do.
When things got worse, and climbing my brick wall became unbearable, unending - my next steps were simple.
Coffee in the mornings, three meals a day, clean when you can, get groceries once a week, pay rent once a month. Showers after breakfast and a walk before dinner. Always take time to appreciate nature.
Through routine, little steps, every so often I would be able to slip in something extra. Seeing a friend, messaging a family member, sitting down and watching a movie.
Lately, I’ve been throwing myself some bigger steps! Booking appointments, organising that one surgery I need, getting in touch with specialists and seeing my friends.
I always take time to enjoy the little things, and am trying to enjoy the climb >:)
In my freshman year of college, the mental illness I'd been anxiously ignoring became too severe for me to function anymore. I would later be diagnosed with OCD, but at the time all I knew was that something horrible was happening to me, and I was terrified to find out what it was. I had put in the number for the counseling center many times, but couldn't make myself actually call. Finally one cold, windy day I sat down in the small botanic garden my university had and made a deal with myself: I could call the counseling center and go home, or I could sit in the cold until the garden closed in three hours. It took about 30 minutes, but I made the call. I made my appointment with a therapist. I took the first step off what felt like a cliff's edge, and found that I didn't fall. It was probably the most important first step of my entire life.
I had a hard time writing my dissertation. It took four solid years of just thinking, and then another six months of trying to get my thoughts into writing and failing. But then, in late 2019, I had a revelation: it's just one word at a time. Then 2020 happened, and since I couldn't have any other big summer commitments, I wrote one word at a time until it was done. Like so many big things, it took the repetition of tiny things to assemble it.
We need to talk to you about butts and feet—specifically, your butt and feet. The Maternal Center of Excellence in Sierra Leone is officially open (real patients, real babies, real lifesaving work), and a meaningful part of that happened because thousands of people subscribed to Awesome Socks, and now Awesome Undies, turning everyday essentials from Good Store into steady support for charity. This month, new members to either club can get 50% off their first pair with code SHAREAPAIR (first pair half off, future pairs regular price). Already a member? Thank you. You helped make this real. Now tell a friend with feet. Or a butt.
You made it to the end!
When life is chaotic and the world is heavy, what’s something you do to lift your mood? Tell us about it, and then plan a time to do that thing!
Send your mood booster to [email protected].
