The Atlantic, so take it with a mountain of rock salt, but interesting to ponder: The Film Students Who Can No Longer Sit Through Films I’m looking forward to degrees in vertical microdrama.

New preprint: We got 400 postgrad students to use AI in an assessment and critically reflect on it, rather than banning it. Here’s what happened. Might be useful as you head into the new teaching year, especially the design principles.

New preprint: We got 400 postgrad students to use AI in an assessment and critically reflect on it, rather than banning it. Here’s what happened. Might be useful as you head into the new teaching year, especially the design principles.

How far back in time can you understand English? A story where each paragraph travels back in time. Unless you’ve studied middle English I doubt you (like me) will make it back further than 1200.

tl;dr: I have a digital twin, you have a digital avatar, he is a deepfake. Article on “Can synthetic avatars replace lecturers?“

The job-ready graduate scheme has been amongst the worst educational policies in recent history, and that’s a competitive and crowded policy field. It’s cratered enrolments in creative, cultural, and artistic fields at a time when... https://benhr.xyz/2026/02/09/the-jobready-graduate-scheme-has.html

My cartoon for this week’s @newscientist.com

Empirical evidence on the value of US EPA regulations, too bad it's now powerless: https://benhr.xyz/2026/02/04/empirical-evidence-on-the-value.html

Just got my first seven-screen weekly update message from one of my kid’s P&F year contact. Buried amongst the pages of text was one thing I actually needed to know. I look forward to the barrage of confused WhatsApp messages. (Wading through this garbage is the only legitimate use case for AI)

“an outcry … calling on the Victorian Government to reverse its decision and save VicHealth but to even go further, and bolster the level of investment it currently receives” onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

*It's interesting to see these spontaneous science-fiction dystopias in tweet form

The open access 'Journal of Critical Public Health' just releases it's third issue is now out: Competing Narratives in Decentred Health Systems - journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/jc.... It is the only journal dedicated to 'critical public heath', community-owned (not corporate). Check it out!

Don’t bug me, I’m reticulating splines. ISOCITY — Metropolis Builder

Lots of excitement backstage at the Coldest 100. Kick-off at noon AEST #coldest100 #hottest100

Gary Larson: In my cartoon I invented Cow Tools as a cautionary tale Cows: At long last, we have created the Cow Tools from classic newspaper comic Cow Tools

New #PhD paper out! 📢 We interviewed 10 social media experts from Australian health departments & 11 young people about social media health communication, focussing on #COVID-19 experiences for future preparedness. More in thread & link : www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #AcademicSky 🛟 🧪 🦘🎓

Albany's heritage-listed skate park 'The Snake Run' celebrates its 50th birthday www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

This is quite an important read: The Age of Academic Slop is Upon Us

I’ve been thinking a bit about where I expend my time and energy and I’ve realised admin work is cognitively shallow but emotionally noisy. This is probably obvious to many but was kind of revelatory to me. It doesn’t need brainpower but involves a tonne of emotional labour.

wow!

One of the few positives about the last decade or so is people are starting to get hip to the fact that the Luddites were right all along.

Utah pilot program allows AI to autonomously order prescription refills for 190 common meds. Sounds dangerous, frankly.

Forget you Now You See Me nonsense, this is magic I can get behind.

Heatwaves across south-eastern Australia from Wednesday, projected to be the worst in six years: https://benhr.xyz/2026/01/05/heatwaves-across-southeastern-australia-from.html

I spent the holidays watching 37 solarpunk films and it turned out to be unexpectedly moving. What stays with me: these aren't escapist fantasies. They're imaginative rehearsals for futures we might actually build.

"”Tuvalu’s first climate migrants have arrived in Australia, marking the beginning of a historic relocation as rising seas threaten to swallow their island home… Among the Pacific people selected in the initial intake of climat... https://benhr.xyz/2026/01/04/tuvalus-first-climate-migrants-have.html

I feel comfortable characterising things that nobody could be bothered to write as not being worth reading, i.e. slop.

Happy new year from the maniac who lives across the road. At least he didn’t set any of the trees on fire.

The best films of 2025 (for me): https://benhr.xyz/2025/12/30/the-best-films-of-for.html

I tried several times to get AI to preserve the grimacing horror of the original, but it keeps insisting on touching up both Cherie and me. Flattering the user is hard-baked into these slop models.

Brett Ewins

I have the distinct feeling that this person doesn’t realise how close to death he is. Even a few inches of floodwater will sweep away modern, relatively airtight cars.

Colleagues at the Open University of Catalonia are looking for 24(!!!!) doctoral candidates on a range of topics connected to ICT use. Check out the call for applications here: www.uoc.edu/portal/en/es...

Of course tech CEOs are held in such low regard when they talk like this all the time. The real question is why we keep granting them any level of deference, capital, public platform, and regulatory capture.

Have you ever wondered what to do if there’s a rat in your toilet? This comic is for you.

Grandchildren Politely Decline David Cronenberg’s Bedtime Story Offer https://theonion.com/grandchildren-politely-decline-david-cronenbergs-bedtime-story-offer/

Finding your tribe: Why Australia’s social media ban gets It wrong: https://benhr.xyz/2025/12/11/finding-your-tribe-why-australias.html

Health impact assessments and Health in All Policies approaches were the focus of a recent workshop in Sydney, covered by the Croakey Conference News Service buff.ly/nJ8fKeh #LessonsfromWales

The relevant Bills Digest prepared for the politicians posed the question whether the ‘measure is proportionate to the risk’ & noted: "There is limited evidence to suggest that a blanket ban to prohibit children from using social media is the most advantageous solution to addressing online harms."

Finding your tribe: Why Australia’s social media ban gets It wrong: https://benhr.xyz/2025/12/11/finding-your-tribe-why-australias.html

The Prime Minister credited 36 Months for convincing him to ban teens from social media. This group accused experts who opposed the ban of being 'bought' by big tech. Meanwhile, it was lining up brand deals, eyeing global expansion & developing an AI tool to track students www.crikey.com.au/20...

“An enduring benefit of Watters’ book is the way it functions like an X-ray machine, providing readers with the ability to see through terms like ‘personalized learning’ to reveal familiar pedagogies and politics of control and conformity.” - Me, on why everybody should read Audrey Watters.

In two days, hundreds of thousands of teens will be cut off from the friends, groups and communities on social media. From homeschooling meetups to buying used bikes, here's what teens say they're going to lose, in their own words. www.crikey.com.au/20...

It’s always so strange when you’re watching a 35 year old TV episode and there are references to Trump. https://benhr.xyz/2025/12/06/its-always-so-strange-when.html

Yesterday I posted that the world is divided into The Future is Judge Dredd (Derogatory) and The Future is Judge Dredd (Complimentary). Today the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted this:

Statement: Closing #VicHealth is backward & will make more people sick. We implore the VIC Gov to not close the door on the world's 1st health promotion foundation. Economic hard heads like Productivity Commission are urging investment in prevention, not cuts. www.phaa.net.au/Web/News/Med...

Victorian Govt under fire over shock VicHealth decision... www.croakey.org/shock-and-al...

Victoria is dismantling VicHealth - the world’s first health promotion foundation and the template for similar agencies globally. This is deeply worrying news for Australian public health and health promotion. More at Croakey