Monday Assorted Links: Comedians, Biosafety, AI in Politics, and Two Obituaries
Key Takeaways
- •Marginal Revolution's August 17, 2026 roundup by economists Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok featured seven links spanning comedy, biosafety, artificial intelligence, and two notable deaths.
- •Ozarks fiddler Violet Hensley died at 109 after handcrafting 73 fiddles and making her Grand Ole Opry debut at age 99.
- •Former MLB pitcher Tommy John underwent the pioneering 1974 elbow ligament-replacement procedure that now carries his name, then won 164 games from 1976 to 1989, more than half of his 288 career total.
- •An NBER working paper examined Khanmigo, Khan Academy's AI tutoring assistant built on OpenAI's GPT-4 models and rolled out starting in 2023, though NBER papers are circulated for discussion rather than as final peer-reviewed findings.
- •A New York Times report said China hopes to influence AI systems through data supply, having already imposed interim 2023 rules governing training data for generative-AI services while U.S.-China AI rivalry has focused largely on chip export controls.
Marginal Revolution, the economics blog run by George Mason University economists Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, published its Monday assorted links roundup on August 17, 2026. The seven items span American comedy, biosafety, artificial intelligence, and two notable deaths.
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Where do the great American comedians hail from? A post on X by writer David Perell examines the geographic origins of the country's leading comedians.
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General thoughts on biosafety. An essay by computational biologist Brian Hie sets out broad reflections on biosafety, a field that has drawn growing policy attention as gene synthesis and other biotechnologies become cheaper and more widely accessible.
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“Violet Hensley Dies at 109; Ozarks Fiddler Made Opry Debut at 99” (NYT). Hensley also handcrafted 73 fiddles, appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies, the 1960s CBS sitcom, and considered bluegrass too modern for her. She had nine children as well.
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Which campaigning politicians are using AI the most, and other issues? A Substack post looks at how political campaigns are adopting artificial intelligence, a subject with regulatory stakes now that a growing number of U.S. states restrict deceptive AI-generated content in campaign communications.
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AI tutoring with Khanmigo. A National Bureau of Economic Research working paper examines tutoring with Khanmigo, the AI-powered learning assistant developed by the education nonprofit Khan Academy and built on OpenAI's GPT-4 models, which began rolling out in 2023. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment rather than as final, peer-reviewed findings.
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Tommy John, RIP (NYT). The former Major League pitcher pitched in the majors for 26 seasons and underwent the pioneering 1974 elbow ligament-replacement procedure, performed by Dr. Frank Jobe, that made his name synonymous with the operation now known as “Tommy John surgery.” John returned to the mound in 1976 and won 164 more games before retiring in 1989, more than half of his 288 career wins, and the procedure has since become a routine repair for professional pitchers.
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China is hoping to influence the AIs through data supply (NYT). Beijing has already regulated the AI sector at home — interim rules that took effect in 2023 govern the training data and content of generative-AI services — while U.S.-China AI competition has centered largely on export controls over advanced chips.
