Good god, the official US government website for Covid (covid[dot]gov) now redirects to a page on the White House site called “Lab Leak, The True Origins of Covid-19”. Our country is being run by conspiracy theory.
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Yesterday’s Manchester United vs Lyon Europa League quarterfinal match was absolutely and...
The next Star Wars film will be called Star Wars: Starfighter, stars...
The next Star Wars film will be called Star Wars: Starfighter, stars Ryan Gosling, will be out in mid-2027, and “will not be a prequel or a sequel, but a new standalone adventure with new characters set several years after ‘Episode Nine’”.
The Supreme Court Knows Trump Isn’t Listening Anymore. “If the justices wanted...
The Supreme Court Knows Trump Isn’t Listening Anymore. “If the justices wanted the president to bring back Kilmar Abrego Garcia, they know what words to use. They didn’t use them.”
Timeless Tips for “Simple Sabotage” From the CIA
In 1944, the OSS (the precursor to the CIA) produced a document called the Simple Sabotage Field Manual (PDF). It was designed to be used by agents in the field to hinder our WWII adversaries. The CIA recently highlighted five tips from the manual as timelessly relevant:
...
I love this interactive visualization by The Pudding of the shared DNA...
I love this interactive visualization by The Pudding of the shared DNA of music (i.e. how “borrowed beats, loaned lyrics, and multipurpose melodies” are passed down through generations of music, from Edvard Grieg (1876) to Tupac).
Olympic Gold Medalist Dominates the 100m at Her Kid’s Sports Day Event
If you’re one of those people who watches the Olympics and wishes they’d put a normal person in the competition so we can see how fast the athletes really are, this one’s for you.
Eight-time Olympic gold medalist and a 10-time world champion sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce recently announced her comeback and for her first 100m race, she competed against the other parents at her son’s sports day event. And completely demolished them.
I love how she goes flat-out…no Usain Bolt showboating or looking around near the finish line. All business. (via @rebeccablood.bsky.social)
Tags: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce · sports · track and field · video
The Rise of the Infinite Fringe. “It used to be easy to...
The Rise of the Infinite Fringe. “It used to be easy to kill a conspiracy theory. But the internet has made them immortal — and politically powerful.”
Matt Webb’s interesting observations on running his first marathon. “There are new...
Matt Webb’s interesting observations on running his first marathon. “There are new experiences to be found, when you go past your limits, which aren’t like the old ones scaled up. They’re something distinct. Unanticipated and unanticipatable.”
So You Want to Be a Dissident? For many, the US has...
So You Want to Be a Dissident? For many, the US has “crossed into a new & unfamiliar realm — one in which the consequences of challenging the state seem to increasingly carry real danger”. Here’s “a practical guide to courage in Trump’s age of fear”.
Historians: Quibbling Over Exact Definition Of Concentration Camp Sign Of Healthy Society....
Historians: Quibbling Over Exact Definition Of Concentration Camp Sign Of Healthy Society. “The more pedantic one’s reasoning for a facility not fully satisfying the criteria for a true concentration camp, the better that bodes for a country’s future.”
“Toddlers (which includes defensive bureaucrats, bullies, flat earthers, […] and radio talk...
“Toddlers (which includes defensive bureaucrats, bullies, flat earthers, […] and radio talk show hosts) may indicate that they’d like to have an argument, but they’re actually engaging in connection, noise, play acting or a chance to earn status.”
Harry Potter and the Problematic Author, a fanzine “on loving flawed media...
Harry Potter and the Problematic Author, a fanzine “on loving flawed media and feeling betrayed by a childhood hero”. “I was 11 years old when Harry Potter finally broke through my dyslexia and turned me into a reader.”
The American Revolution by Ken Burns
Filmmakers Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt have made a 12-hour documentary series on the Revolutionary War that will debut on PBS in November 2025. Here’s a preview (YouTube, Bluesky):
From the press release:
An expansive look at the virtues and contradiction...
About those stories of the detection of a possible molecular signature of...
About those stories of the detection of a possible molecular signature of life on a distant planet: the molecule they are talking about can also arise without life. “That’s a rather huge caveat!” (It’s never aliens. (Until it is. (Someday.)))
“AI discovered wholly new proteins before it could count the ‘r’s in...
“AI discovered wholly new proteins before it could count the ‘r’s in ‘strawberry’, which makes it neither vaporware nor a demigod but a secret third thing.”
Ben Werdmuller on how he would run Bluesky. “Anyone will be able...
Ben Werdmuller on how he would run Bluesky. “Anyone will be able to permissionlessly build on that platform, but Bluesky’s services will be there to provide the best-in-class experience and de facto defaults…”
Was The Great Gatsby’s titular character a Black man who passed for...
Was The Great Gatsby’s titular character a Black man who passed for white? “To read the novel without presupposing any character’s whiteness is to discover which characters are identified as white and which are not.”
On the Real-Life Story of Deep-Cover Russian Spies Living As American Families....
On the Real-Life Story of Deep-Cover Russian Spies Living As American Families. “People who crave external validation would never make the cut as illegals, she said. ‘A spy is an actor, but an actor that doesn’t need a public or a stage.’” Fascinating!
The Traditional Designs of Ukrainian Egg Decorating
From a 1968 book, a collection of illustrations of regional patterns & designs of the art of Ukrainian pysanky, or egg decorating. From the Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies at the University of Kansas:
Pysanky are raw eggs that are decorate...
Here’s the full trailer for season two of Poker Face (Natasha Lyonne,...
Here’s the full trailer for season two of Poker Face (Natasha Lyonne, Rian Johnson). For this season, they have tripled down on special guest stars, incl. Cynthia Erivo, Giancarlo Esposito, Kumail Nanjiani, Justin Theroux, Awkwafina, and Carol Kane.
Timothy Snyder on “the beginning of an American policy of state terror”...
Timothy Snyder on “the beginning of an American policy of state terror” (re: disappearing people to foreign gulags). “Whatever the government does is good, because by definition the its victims are the ‘criminals’ and the ‘terrorists.’”
The First Sighting of the Colossal Squid
A cephalopod captured on video in March has been confirmed as a juvenile colossal squid, the first live colossal squid observed in its native habitat.
It’s been 100 years since the colossal squid was formally described in a scientific paper. In its adult form, the animal...
Here’s a gift link to the WSJ article about Elon Musk’s “legion”...
Here’s a gift link to the WSJ article about Elon Musk’s “legion” of children that he’s had with his “harem” of women. “To reach legion-level before the apocalypse, we will need to use surrogates.” It’s all just so weird, gross, & white supremacist.
How Well Is [NYC’s] Congestion Pricing Doing? Very. “The number of complaints...
How Well Is [NYC’s] Congestion Pricing Doing? Very. “The number of complaints about excessive car-honking in January and February was 70 percent lower than last January and February.”
Seth Rogan Speaks Truth to Billionaires, Gets Censored For It
For the past 11 years, the Breakthrough Prize awards have “celebrated outstanding scientific achievements, honoring scientists driving remarkable discoveries in gene editing, human diseases, the search for the fundamental laws of the Universe and pure mathematics”. At this...
The Guggenheim Fellows for 2025 have been announced and they include Miranda...
The Guggenheim Fellows for 2025 have been announced and they include Miranda July, Nicole Krauss, Sheila Heti, and Sloane Crosley. (I have once again been overlooked. Next year!)
Robin Sloan’s monthly newsletter is one of my favorites, chock full of...
Robin Sloan’s monthly newsletter is one of my favorites, chock full of thoughts, recommendations, and links. The April 2025 issue is typically great.
New cookbook from Samin Nosrat called Good Things that includes “the things...
New cookbook from Samin Nosrat called Good Things that includes “the things she most loves to cook for herself and for friends”. Nosrat is the author of the nearly ubiquitous Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.
Swamped Skies
Photographer Joshua Rozells on his photo of our increasingly crowded night skies:
The light pollution caused by satellites is quickly becoming a growing problem for astronomers. In 2021, over 1700 spacecrafts and satellites were put into orbit. Light pollution caused by S...