Under the Assumption

Culture

The American Dream Was Already a Different Idea Before You Were Born

Ask most Americans what the American Dream means and you'll hear something about homeownership, financial success, and working your way up. But the man who coined the phrase in 1931 had something almost entirely different in mind — and tracing how the idea got quietly redefined reveals a lot about who that redefinition served.

Mar 13, 2026

Tech History

The Rise, Fall, and Stubborn Resurrection of Digg: The Site That Almost Broke the Internet

Before Reddit became the front page of the internet, Digg was the place where the web's most interesting content lived and died by the vote. Here's the wild story of how one of the internet's most influential platforms imploded, handed its crown to a competitor, and kept trying to come back.

Mar 12, 2026