Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Breaking Bad Returns (Sort of), How the Ice-Bucket Challenge Went Viral and More Morning #Mustreads

The kings of crystal meth turn their attention to running a pawn shop.

YouTube

Good morning!

Here are some links to get you through the day, brought to you by Re/code:

  1. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul reunited onscreen, co-starring with Julia Louis-Dreyfus in a gag trailer for the upcoming Emmy Awards ceremony. Also: It’s an ad for Audi. On YouTube, meet the Jackson Brothers, proprietors of Barely Legal Pawn.
  2. You have likely been swarmed by ice-bucket challenge videos lately (we at Re/code plead guilty as charged) across all social media platforms. In New York Magazine, Annie Lowrey breaks down how and why the ALS donation challenge went viral.
  3. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings took to Wired to deliver a message to ISP customers: If Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and other big telecom companies win, and Comcast successfully acquires Time Warner, there may not be any more companies like Netflix.*
  4. Todd VanDerWerff argues that Comedy Central has become one of the best channels on television, seemingly under the radar, over the past couple years. Check out his piece in Vox, where he makes his case show by show, clip by clip.
  5. If you’re interested in learning more about the situation in Ferguson, you may be better off checking Twitter than Facebook. That’s what GigaOm’s Mathew Ingram thinks, though Bloomberg Businessweek’s Brad Stone points out a few key differences between the services.

If you see any stories you’d like to send our way (or have any questions/comments about stories we’ve recommended), feel free to shoot an email to noah.kulwin@recode.net.

* Comcast owns NBCUniversal, which is an investor in Re/code.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel