Apple News In Conversation

Big tech companies first started working on artificial facial recognition more than a decade ago. But they chose not to release it, worried about who might use it and how. Then, in 2017, the small startup Clearview AI debuted its facial-recognition app and began marketing its tool to law-enforcement agencies. This week on Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu talks to Kashmir Hill, a New York Times tech reporter and author of the new book Your Face Belongs to Us, about what this technology is capable of, what guardrails exist, and what the future of privacy might look like.

After striking oil on their reservation, members of the Osage Nation became some of the richest people in the world in the 1920s. Then white Oklahomans began killing them for their wealth in a sinister and elaborate plot. These events are detailed by David Grann in his book Killers of the Flower Moon, which has recently adapted into a Martin Scorsese–directed movie for Apple TV+. Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu spoke with Grann and Osage Nation Principal Chief Geoffrey Standing Bear, a consultant on the film, about bringing this history to the big screen.

A winding drive along the tall separation wall. An agonizing wait at the checkpoint. An identification card that only allows access to some hospitals. These are the obstacles that kept Abed Salama from reaching his 5-year-old son after a bus accident in 2012. On this week’s episode of Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu talks to Nathan Thrall, author of A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy, about what life is like for Palestinians in the West Bank.

Warning: This episode describes graphic content, including the death of children.

The news coming out of Israel and Gaza this week has been fast-moving and devastating. It’s always hard, during a rapidly-changing news event, to know where to find accurate, contextualized information. It’s especially challenging in this particular war, where the history of conflict is so long, complicated, and emotionally-charged. For this week’s episode of Apple News In Conversation, we’ve compiled some of the best reads and listens to help you follow what’s happening today.

An Israeli journalist speaks with Radio Atlantic about how his family survived when Hamas attacked their community.

Fox News reporter Trey Yingst takes cover from a Hamas rocket attack during a live report.

On Channel 4 News, a filmmaker shows life inside Gaza: “It feels like the world is collapsing.”

Journalist Maram Humaid documents the bombardment and the sleepless nights in Gaza with a daily diary on Al Jazeera.

The Washington Post shares a timeline of the big turning points and lesser-known moments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Historian Rashid Khalidi talks about the origins of this conflict on Throughline.

Vox offers an explainer on the militant group Hamas.

The Hamas attack was launched from the Gaza Strip. NBC breaks down what you need to know about this area between Israel and Egypt.

Wall Street Journal correspondent Dov Lieber talks about how Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shaped this conflict on the What’s News podcast.

The New Yorker’s David Remnick writes about the grief and rage felt by people on both sides of the Israel-Gaza border.

The Washington Post explores why our brains believe lies.

Poynter explains how to avoid false information on social media about the war.

In the United States, AR-15s grace bumper stickers, mugs, and politicians’ Christmas cards. They’re also the weapon used in some of the deadliest mass shootings in modern American history. Wall Street Journal reporters Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson trace the rifle’s rise in their new book, American Gun: The True Story of the AR-15. They spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about how this weapon became a symbol of both gun rights and horrific tragedies.

Martinus Evans did not have an easy start to running. Weighing over 300 pounds, he set out to finish a marathon after a doctor told him to “lose weight or die.” He writes about his running journey in his new book, Slow AF Run Club: The Ultimate Guide for Anyone Who Wants to Run. In this week’s episode of Apple News In Conversation, Evans talks with host Shumita Basu about the lessons he’s learned from being a “back-of-the-packer.”

Walter Isaacson, author of the new biography Elon Musk, spent two years following the world’s richest man in an effort to understand what drives him. Isaacson joins Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu to explain what he learned about Musk’s reach and power, how his childhood shaped him, and why he has weekly meetings about colonizing Mars.

America has long struggled with how best to teach kids to read. But a new approach, called the science of reading, is gaining steam — and it’s proving successful. At the same time, many classrooms haven’t caught up to it, and some students are being left behind. In the latest episode of Apple News In Conversation, host Shumita Basu talks to Karen D’Souza, a reporter for EdSource, about how our understanding of literacy has evolved over time, and what educators, parents, and lawmakers are doing to better prepare young readers.

Growing up, Jennifer Senior thought her mom was an only child. But when she was 12 years old, she learned her mom had a sister, named Adele, who was institutionalized as a baby. Adele had spent almost her entire life separated from her family. Decades later, in 2021, Senior reconnected with her aunt and uncovered the dark history of institutionalizing children with intellectual disabilities. Senior wrote about her aunt’s story in the Atlantic and spoke with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu about her experience.

When longtime LA Times columnist Steve Lopez reached his mid-60s, he started to think about retiring. But he wasn’t sure how to go about it — or if he should do it all. He gave himself one year to decide and spoke with many different people — Norman Lear and Mel Brooks, among others — about their thoughts on retirement. He wrote a book about his journey, called Independence Day: What I Learned About Retirement From Some Who’ve Done It and Some Who Never Will. Lopez’s conversation from earlier this year with Apple News In Conversation host Shumita Basu wraps up this summer’s Think Again series.