Amanda Smith is a freelance journalist and writer. She reports on culture, society, human interest and technology. Her stories hold a mirror to society, reflecting both its malaise and its beauty.

Summer stretches before us, with all its potential for meeting research and writing goals. But if you’re going on the faculty-job market for the first time — as a recent Ph.D. or an advanced doctoral ...

The cover letter is its own unique, dreaded genre of writing. In a few — often formulaic — paragraphs, job applicants must accomplish several things: prostrate themselves at the feet of hiring ...

Listen to more stories on the Noa app. In May, I asked Google’s chatbot, Gemini, to write a birthday letter to my best friend. Within seconds, it spat out the most impressive piece of AI writing I ...