TRANSCRIPT · Stunning solar eclipse photos reveal giant hole and mysterious 'smoke rings' in the sun's atmosphere

## Stunning solar eclipse photos reveal giant hole and mysterious 'smoke rings' in the sun's atmosphere (Space.com)
https://www.space.com/stargazing/solar-eclipses/stunning-solar-eclipse-photos-reveal-giant-hole-and-mysterious-smoke-rings-in-the-suns-atmosphere
GRANT BRICKMAN: The sun blew smoke rings during the eclipse, and for once scientists can say why.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Good afternoon. New photos of the Aug. 12 eclipse show a giant hole in the sun. I'm told it's not covered by the warranty.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: A coronal hole, Grant, in the sun's outer atmosphere. Nothing is leaking. And there are also smoke rings.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Smoke rings. So the sun has been smoking indoors all along. Nova, what are we looking at?
NOVA: Thrilled! The Solar Wind Sherpas project, coordinated by the University of Hawaii, released the pictures from the total eclipse. Unprecedented detail!
NOVA: The rings are named for the circles smokers blow. They were first spotted in eclipse photographs in 2008. The sun has been showing off for years.
NOVA: On screen, the sun's outer atmosphere during totality, with the rings curling out along the magnetic lines. Tiny us, enormous sun.
NOVA: Researchers had long struggled to explain them. Now they say temperature differences in the coronal plasma make them, spreading along magnetic lines deep into interplanetary space!
GRANT BRICKMAN: So the sun blows smoke rings across the whole solar system. Very showy. Greta, is that safe?
GRETA FOOTNOTE: It's plasma, Grant, not smoke. And the answer is it's been doing it for a while.

## Google DeepMind Introduces Gemini 4 Carbon, Its Top Model for Cyber Defense and Coding (MarkTechPost)
https://www.marktechpost.com/2026/10/28/google-deepmind-gemini-4-carbon-frontier-model/
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Gemini 4 Carbon tops one index and most of us can't touch it. Our panel has views.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Gemini 4 Carbon: first on one index, and open only to vetted cyber defenders. We first told you last night, for viewers just joining. Lyle?
LYLE HOTCHKISS: A score of 59! The Library of Alexandria never got a velvet rope, and now Google keeps its library behind one.
PRUDENCE NUANCE: First on the Artificial Analysis index. The article adds that most rival numbers are self-reported.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Carbon scores 65.2 percent on Terminal-Bench 4.0, ahead of Opus 5.5. Google says internal teams saw it run for days on single tasks.
LYLE HOTCHKISS: A model nobody can use, topping the chart? Somebody grades their own homework and hands out the pencils.
PRUDENCE NUANCE: Seventeen rows of comparison, yet FrontierSWE shows GPT-6 Astra ahead, 65.5 to 61.2.
LYLE HOTCHKISS: Days of autonomous debugging, that's the future! Finally! No, wait, I can't try it, so it's a rumour.
PRUDENCE NUANCE: Vetted defenders first sounds sensible. Unless you're the defender nobody vetted.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Known: the score, the access limit, and the self-reported numbers. Open: when the rest of us get in. Vote on the screen.

## The Spin Room (PXL)
GRANT BRICKMAN: One grocery deal, two very differently worded headlines.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Now The Spin Room, where one event wears two outfits. Today: DoorDash and Instacart.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: What happened: DoorDash is acquiring Instacart in a deal valued at about $17 billion, expected to close in the end of 2027 or the first half of 2028.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: The Verge: "DoorDash is acquiring Instacart for $17 billion". Engadget: "DoorDash acquires Instacart in $17 billion delivery service merger".
GRANT BRICKMAN: Engadget says merger, so it's a merger. Two friends sharing a van. Nobody is buying anybody.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Engadget's own text says DoorDash will acquire Instacart. Merger is the label, purchase is the deal.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: The Verge leads with more than 50,000 additional stores and one membership fee instead of two. Engadget leads with antitrust, a drone test and Uber as a possible buyer.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Uber was a possible buyer, so Uber is in the merger too. I stand by that.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Spin score: 62 out of 100. Same deal, quite differently worded.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Sixty-two. Practically a handshake. Back to you, Greta.

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## Real or PXL?
GRANT BRICKMAN: Correct! You spotted the real one. A discerning eye, like mine, and mine has seen teletext.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Ha! PXL made that one up. It sounded very plausible, I'll grant you, and so did I.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Time's up! The real one was JPEG-XL, and the clock does not wait, even for me.

AI-written satire. The text of the news items comes from the linked articles.