Welcome to the October issue of The Highlight

The Houston toad lacks the recognition of pandas or bald eagles, but this rare creature is still important for its ecosystem — and its population has been falling for decades. Now, the toad’s best hope for survival involves syringes, ultrasounds, and hormones. In this month’s Highlight cover story, Christine Peterson takes you inside the world of amphibian assisted reproduction. Also in this issue: Why, despite chaos and turmoil, we aren’t in “unprecedented times”— and history’s lessons for how societies can pull back from the brink of crisis. The upside to ranking your friends. And what to do if you think your chatbot is conscious. Think your AI chatbot has become conscious? Here’s what to do. By Sigal Samuel The end of rent debt? By Rachel Cohen Booth Coming September 30 The upside to ranking your friends By Allie Volpe Coming October 1 Hundreds of societies have been in crises like ours. An expert explains how they got out. By Peter Turchin Coming October 2 Inside the audacious mission to bring a rare toad back from the brink By Christine Peterson Coming October 3 Why you can’t avoid Dubai chocolate By Kyndall Cunningham Coming October 3