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Dwan Reece: The origins of blackface and Black stereotypes | TED

If you’re wondering why blackface — mimicking people of African descent via stereotypes and makeup-darkened skin — is a big deal, then perhaps a little history lesson can help demystify the outcry. Dwan Reece, curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, explains how this practice permeates the American psyche and culture…

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4 years ago

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If you’re wondering why blackface — mimicking people of African descent via stereotypes and makeup-darkened skin — is a big deal, then perhaps a little history lesson can help demystify the outcry. Dwan Reece, curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, explains how this practice permeates the American psyche and culture (in theater, music, books and beyond) and why it’s not simply harmless fun, but a legacy of oppression.

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Science & Technology

Why Snowflake is no longer just a data warehouse

Snowflake is betting that the future of AI isn’t just analyzing data, it’s acting on it. That means a shift away from chatbots and toward autonomous agents that can actually get work done. And Snowflake is reorganizing fast to keep up, from shipping hundreds of AI features to restructuring teams along the way. On this…

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1 day ago

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April 8, 2026

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Snowflake is betting that the future of AI isn’t just analyzing data, it’s acting on it. That means a shift away from chatbots and toward autonomous agents that can actually get work done. And Snowflake is reorganizing fast to keep up, from shipping hundreds of AI features to restructuring teams along the way.

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan sits down with Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy to unpack the company’s transformation and what it signals about where AI is headed next.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:17 Snowflake’s AI shift and agentic future
01:45 Why 2026 marks the end of chatbots
04:09 Cortex Code, Snowflake Intelligence, and new products
06:09 Who benefits: non-technical users & enterprises
07:35 Adoption challenges and why AI pilots fail
12:11 How AI is reshaping jobs and skills
14:39 Layoffs, automation, and the future of documentation
18:37 Snowflake’s evolution into an AI platform
21:04 Competition: Databricks, hyperscalers, and AI giants
25:01 Outro

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Popular Science

The Experiment That Tried to Weigh the Human Soul

It’s a little complicated to weigh a dying person on a hospital bed, but that didn’t deter Duncan MacDougall. In the early 20th century, MacDougall’s unique bed-scale detected that 21 grams left the human body at the moment of death. He had finally discovered it: the weigh of the human soul … or so he…

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2 days ago

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April 7, 2026

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It’s a little complicated to weigh a dying person on a hospital bed, but that didn’t deter Duncan MacDougall. In the early 20th century, MacDougall’s unique bed-scale detected that 21 grams left the human body at the moment of death.

He had finally discovered it: the weigh of the human soul … or so he thought.

Read more about the cultural legacy of MacDougall’s flawed but influential experiment:

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CNET

NASA’s Artemis II Moon Flyby Livestream

Watch the excitement as NASA sends four astronauts on a historic mission to the moon, potentially farther into space than any humans have ever traveled. Follow CNET’s Live Blog at CNET.com NASA Artemis II Day 6: Monday Is Moon Flyby Day Add CNET as a trusted news source Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s…

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3 days ago

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April 6, 2026

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Watch the excitement as NASA sends four astronauts on a historic mission to the moon, potentially farther into space than any humans have ever traveled.

Follow CNET’s Live Blog at CNET.com
NASA Artemis II Day 6: Monday Is Moon Flyby Day

Add CNET as a trusted news source
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#nasa #artemis #moon #space #moonmission #artemismission

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