Joel Achenbach

staff writer at The Washington Post

washington, district of columbia, united states

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Featured Articles

Would You Let AI Predict When You Will Die?

My wife, Mary, and I both turned 65 this year, and have developed divergent views on the necessity of discussing aging, senescence, infirmity, cognitive decline, and the inevitable journey to the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns. ... See more

theatlantic.com•Joel Achenbach•Oct 24, 2026

George Washington would have hated Donald Trump. There's one major reason why.

Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. We’re coming up on a big national anniversary, the (defiantly unspellable) semiquincentennial. To get in the spirit of things, I’v... See more

slate.com•Joel Achenbach•Feb 16, 2026

America's Journey in Space Is About to Face Its Most Consequential Moment in Half a Century. Everyone Agrees: It's a Complete Disaster.

I. Artemis, We Have a Problem As you may have heard, NASA plans to send a crew of astronauts around the moon in early 2026, followed by a lunar landing in 2027. Or maybe you haven’t heard. When I told one of my daughters about this plan to send people to ... See more

slate.com•Joel Achenbach•Dec 9, 2025

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