The Economist’s name-sake quest for concision is generally praiseworthy but sometimes it falls short, like this blooper from last week: “To the list of spectacular ruins across Egypt, you can now add its economy” (“Debt on the Nile”). A debt-to-GDP ratio of 90% is certainly not trivial but there’s something to be said for a gentle bedside manner.

I like when people change their mind and share what led them to do so. On the latest episode of his eponymous podcast, comedian Dana Gould shared that while he was not originally “engaged” by Netflix’s recent series, Wednesday (2022-), watching it later, through his family’s eyes, underscored that it’s still possible to enjoy things that are not expressly made for your own personal consumption (“Top Gun: Fester”).

I wonder whether the same problem at the heart of political polarization is also responsible for encouraging people to limit their engagement to content they find comfortable. I am not suggesting that watching television produced for young adults is the solution to what ails us—more, that the lesson here is to never pass up an opportunity to be open-minded.

My latest column in Decorum (“Too Paranoid About Android”) argues against the catastrophizing consensus about chatbots.