Robinson Meyer
@robinsonmeyer.bsky.social
I’m the founding executive editor of Heatmap News, a contributing Opinion writer for The New York Times, and the cohost of the Shift Key podcast.
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The Power Grid Just Passed Its Biggest Test in Years
Rob and Jesse talk about the big Northeastern freeze.
heatmap.news
Today on Shift Key: @jessedjenkins.com and I chat about why the power grid’s performance in winter, and *not* summer, is now its most important test — and we debrief how the Northeastern US grid just did during a relentlessly frigid few weeks. heatmap.news/podcast/shif...
Did I once own an Apple Watch? Yes. Did I like wearing the Apple Watch? Not really, no. Do I vividly remember my life improving when I decided to stop wearing the Apple Watch? Yes. Do I occasionally pull up the Apple website and think “maybe I should buy an Apple Watch”? For some reason — yes.
February 15, 2026 at 3:59 PM
Did I once own an Apple Watch? Yes. Did I like wearing the Apple Watch? Not really, no. Do I vividly remember my life improving when I decided to stop wearing the Apple Watch? Yes. Do I occasionally pull up the Apple website and think “maybe I should buy an Apple Watch”? For some reason — yes.
Northwest Arkansas, Cape May, Cannon Beach, South Philly — most recent Zach Bryan album is an incredible list of places I would like to go on a three-day weekend
February 14, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Northwest Arkansas, Cape May, Cannon Beach, South Philly — most recent Zach Bryan album is an incredible list of places I would like to go on a three-day weekend
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
This, unbelievably, is the first medal of any kind for any Winter Olympian from all of South America - the dude just edged out three Swiss guys
Lucas Pinheiro Braathen wins giant slalom gold to secure Brazil’s first-ever Winter Olympics medal
Braathen’s victory also makes him the first athlete from South America to medal at the WInter Games, with Swiss stars Marco Odermatt and Loïc Meillard winning silver and bronze, respectively.
www.olympics.com
February 14, 2026 at 4:56 PM
This, unbelievably, is the first medal of any kind for any Winter Olympian from all of South America - the dude just edged out three Swiss guys
The sedanaissance is nigh: www.wsj.com/business/aut...
America Fell Out of Love With the Sedan. Detroit Wants to Bring It Back.
With drivers looking for more affordable options, U.S. automakers are having second thoughts about abandoning the mass-market sedan.
www.wsj.com
February 14, 2026 at 3:07 AM
The sedanaissance is nigh: www.wsj.com/business/aut...
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
New: Trump admin moves to pull supercomputing center out of top weather and climate research center (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. Part of its effort to "break up" the lab. www.cnn.com/2026/02/13/w...
Trump admin is pulling supercomputers out of key weather research center | CNN
A leading American research lab is slated to lose its critical supercomputing facility, according to a letter released Thursday by the National Science Foundation.
www.cnn.com
February 13, 2026 at 6:51 PM
New: Trump admin moves to pull supercomputing center out of top weather and climate research center (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo. Part of its effort to "break up" the lab. www.cnn.com/2026/02/13/w...
Today on Shift Key: @jessedjenkins.com and I chat about why the power grid’s performance in winter, and *not* summer, is now its most important test — and we debrief how the Northeastern US grid just did during a relentlessly frigid few weeks. heatmap.news/podcast/shif...
The Power Grid Just Passed Its Biggest Test in Years
Rob and Jesse talk about the big Northeastern freeze.
heatmap.news
February 13, 2026 at 3:18 PM
Today on Shift Key: @jessedjenkins.com and I chat about why the power grid’s performance in winter, and *not* summer, is now its most important test — and we debrief how the Northeastern US grid just did during a relentlessly frigid few weeks. heatmap.news/podcast/shif...
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
The hottest thing in Congress are bipartisan geothermal bills: Jake Auchincloss and Mark Amodei have a superhot rocks bill with milestone-based grants, workforce development, and permitting reform heatmap.news/politics/amo...
A New Bipartisan Geothermal Bill Is About to Heat Up the House
Representatives Jake Auchincloss and Mark Amodei want to boost “superhot” exploration.
heatmap.news
February 13, 2026 at 3:08 PM
The hottest thing in Congress are bipartisan geothermal bills: Jake Auchincloss and Mark Amodei have a superhot rocks bill with milestone-based grants, workforce development, and permitting reform heatmap.news/politics/amo...
Downhill skiing drone has to be the best sports broadcast innovation since the 10-yard line.
February 13, 2026 at 3:14 AM
Downhill skiing drone has to be the best sports broadcast innovation since the 10-yard line.
That Millennials and Zoomers each have their own idiomatic type of facial hair is yet one more way things have gotten more 19th century
February 12, 2026 at 11:28 PM
That Millennials and Zoomers each have their own idiomatic type of facial hair is yet one more way things have gotten more 19th century
What we know (and still don’t know) about the Trump admin’s most significant attack ever on US climate law: heatmap.news/climate/enda...
What We Know About Trump’s Endangerment Finding Repeal
The administration has yet to publish formal documentation of its decision, leaving several big questions unanswered.
heatmap.news
February 12, 2026 at 9:09 PM
What we know (and still don’t know) about the Trump admin’s most significant attack ever on US climate law: heatmap.news/climate/enda...
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
The scientific understanding of human-driven climate change is much stronger today than it was in 2009 when the EPA first issued the endangerment finding. There is no scientific basis for the Trump administration's decision to repeal it
Read
Read chapter Front Matter: The scientific community has been studying the question of how human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases are affecting the cli...
www.nationalacademies.org
February 12, 2026 at 7:44 PM
The scientific understanding of human-driven climate change is much stronger today than it was in 2009 when the EPA first issued the endangerment finding. There is no scientific basis for the Trump administration's decision to repeal it
The EPA release about the endangerment finding’s repeal is out: www.epa.gov/newsreleases...
President Trump and Administrator Zeldin Deliver Single Largest Deregulatory Action in U.S. History | US EPA
Alongside the President, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the single largest deregulatory action in U.S. history.
www.epa.gov
February 12, 2026 at 6:32 PM
The EPA release about the endangerment finding’s repeal is out: www.epa.gov/newsreleases...
New Yorkers are 65/25 against Waymos in NYC, according to a taxi-driver-sponsored Siena poll. Interesting to see cases where what would be a pretty straightforward EV win fractures the urban Dem coalition: gothamist.com/news/self-dr...
Self-driving cars wildly unpopular in New York, poll finds
The company Waymo began testing robot taxis in New York City last year. Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to allow them to be tested in other parts of the state.
gothamist.com
February 12, 2026 at 6:28 PM
New Yorkers are 65/25 against Waymos in NYC, according to a taxi-driver-sponsored Siena poll. Interesting to see cases where what would be a pretty straightforward EV win fractures the urban Dem coalition: gothamist.com/news/self-dr...
One trend I’m starting to see among people in my life and online: AI has put the last nail in poptimism’s coffin.
February 12, 2026 at 4:15 PM
One trend I’m starting to see among people in my life and online: AI has put the last nail in poptimism’s coffin.
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
WE HAVE AN OLYMPIC SCORING SCANDAL! I REPEAT, A SCORING SCANDAL!
We have never been more back
We have never been more back
February 12, 2026 at 4:11 PM
WE HAVE AN OLYMPIC SCORING SCANDAL! I REPEAT, A SCORING SCANDAL!
We have never been more back
We have never been more back
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
"Cizeron made several mistakes, including a glaring one during his twizzle sequence, while Chock and Bates were nearly perfect. Yet the French judge favored the French skaters by nearly eight points..., while five of the nine judges favored the American team." -- apnews.com/article/mila...
French duo Beaudry and Cizeron beat US stars Chock and Bates in controversial Olympic ice dance
The new French ice dance team of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron has claimed Olympic gold at the Milan Cortina games.
apnews.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:10 PM
"Cizeron made several mistakes, including a glaring one during his twizzle sequence, while Chock and Bates were nearly perfect. Yet the French judge favored the French skaters by nearly eight points..., while five of the nine judges favored the American team." -- apnews.com/article/mila...
Alva Energy says that it can eke an extra 10 GW out of the US nuclear fleet by uprating existing reactors: www.wsj.com/business/ene...
Exclusive | A Nuclear-Power Startup Says It Can Rouse the Slow-Moving Industry
Alva Energy has the support of former Intel chief Pat Gelsinger, whose venture firm led its recent $33 million fundraising round.
www.wsj.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Alva Energy says that it can eke an extra 10 GW out of the US nuclear fleet by uprating existing reactors: www.wsj.com/business/ene...
Looks like an important book: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/boss-linco...
And this is quite a positive review: www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
And this is quite a positive review: www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
www.barnesandnoble.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Looks like an important book: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/boss-linco...
And this is quite a positive review: www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
And this is quite a positive review: www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
One thing I’d note is the history of 20th century science shows we don’t need to understand how or why something works — or even agree on what’s actually happening — for it to be (1) weaponized successfully and (2) transform the structure of domestic and international relations.
I understand why people are exhausted by AI hype, and why those of us squarely in the corner of "human dignity uber alles" see AI doomerism as self-serving hype, but I *really* think people on the left broadly need to start thinking seriously about the possibiltiy of the hype being...true.
February 11, 2026 at 5:40 PM
One thing I’d note is the history of 20th century science shows we don’t need to understand how or why something works — or even agree on what’s actually happening — for it to be (1) weaponized successfully and (2) transform the structure of domestic and international relations.
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
This is probably true, and has been probably true for a decade or two. The overall framing here is, however, quite misleading. The evidence for a global “point of no return” in the climate is quite thin.
Your 'bonus moment of doom' for today ~ 125,000 years!
"It’s likely that global temperatures are [already] as warm as, or warmer than, at any point in the last 125,000 years and that climate change is advancing faster than many scientists predicted."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
"It’s likely that global temperatures are [already] as warm as, or warmer than, at any point in the last 125,000 years and that climate change is advancing faster than many scientists predicted."
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Point of no return: a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, scientists say
Continued global heating could set irreversible course by triggering climate tipping points, but most people unaware
www.theguardian.com
February 11, 2026 at 4:38 PM
This is probably true, and has been probably true for a decade or two. The overall framing here is, however, quite misleading. The evidence for a global “point of no return” in the climate is quite thin.
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
San Francisco’s new anti-fare-dodging gates haven’t just increased revenues, they’ve dramatically reduced vandalism and the cost of maintaining the network
February 10, 2026 at 10:46 AM
San Francisco’s new anti-fare-dodging gates haven’t just increased revenues, they’ve dramatically reduced vandalism and the cost of maintaining the network
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
Some times I'm like "Oh wow, I put 200kWh in my car this month?" And remember that energy-wise, that's only 6 gallons of gas (dollar-wise, 9 gallons).
A comparable hybrid would need 16.5 gallons for the same amount of driving.
A comparable hybrid would need 16.5 gallons for the same amount of driving.
February 11, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Some times I'm like "Oh wow, I put 200kWh in my car this month?" And remember that energy-wise, that's only 6 gallons of gas (dollar-wise, 9 gallons).
A comparable hybrid would need 16.5 gallons for the same amount of driving.
A comparable hybrid would need 16.5 gallons for the same amount of driving.
Reposted by Robinson Meyer
Barstool Sports Spins Off New Literary Journal https://theonion.com/barstool-sports-spins-off-new-literary-journal/
February 10, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Barstool Sports Spins Off New Literary Journal https://theonion.com/barstool-sports-spins-off-new-literary-journal/
I understand the point being made here, but “comparable to the mid-2010s shale boom” strikes me as not modest at all!
Ah ha, I see the folks at FT Alphaville are also wondering if the scale of the AI investment boom has been overstated. By their preferred metric, it's real but modest - comparable to the investment boost from ARPA/CHIPS under Biden, or to the mid-2010s shale boom. www.ft.com/content/918f...
February 10, 2026 at 7:45 PM
I understand the point being made here, but “comparable to the mid-2010s shale boom” strikes me as not modest at all!