What you missed in June 2025

China’s EV boom, the Pentagon’s UFO disinformation, and challenges for Japan’s tech sector

Photos: Wikimedia, Wikipedia, Flickr

With everything going on, it can be hard to keep track of key developments, so I want to point you to a couple pages related to some big stories in recent months before we dig into the rest of the recap.

The first is a website called DOGE Track, which, as the name suggests, tracks the damage done by the Department of Government Efficiency — with detail not just on actions taken, but people involved, departments infiltrated, and even more. The second is a reddit thread collecting videos of Tesla Robotaxi issues in Austin, given access is limited to a small number of people so far, but it shows how bad the vehicles are and why they shouldn’t be operating on public roads.

Beyond all that, I did an interview with the Green European Journal last month. I also spoke to Apache, Folha, and Al Jazeera. That was on top of the great conversations I’ve continued to have on Tech Won’t Save Us and breaking down the news with Brian Merchant on System Crash.

Oh, and did you hear I’m writing a new book?

Anyway, as usual, this recap has three top reads from the last month on how the model for China’s EV boom is helping it in other industries, how the Pentagon spread misinformation about UFOs, and growing concern in Japan about its essential tech companies being bought up by foreign firms. Plus, more important stories, labor updates, and developments you might have missed in June.

— Paris