Finally, a clear repudiation of the brain-dead “it’s just a tool” argument that gets floated cynically about every new technology:

The "Problem of Knowledge" says this: When you know something, you forget what it's like to not know it. Game designers don't know what it's like to not understand the rules (new players). How can they bridge the gap? A 🧵 +

I stumbled on Terry Pratchett as a teenager working in a library - couldn't figure out why I had to shelve those books constantly, read one, figured it out. Decades later and he holds up great. The watch books pulled me in first, nowadays bopping my way around the witches.

Today I spoke to @libradunn1.bsky.social and @brendanballou.bsky.social about their lawsuit to dissolve the $1.8B slush fund. You can watch it here. No paywalls! www.muellershewrote.com/p/new-capito...

Suzanne Vega releases “Luka” 39 years ago this weekend. She said she once received a fan letter about it: “Dear Suzanne, Luka is the most compelling piece of music I’ve heard in a long time. There are no words 2 tell U all the things I feel when I hear it. I thank God 4 U, Prince”

I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves. ~ Mary Shelley #Quote #BookSky #PlayWright

Cinema Paradiso. Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Soundtrack, Ennio Morricone. The first time I saw it, just at the moment when the adult Salvatore sits down to view Alfredo's reel of film, I shouted ‘.. it’s the kisses..’ and burst into tears. youtu.be/zuh-X5uXuAM

happy bday writer Margaret Wise Brown, b.1910, Brooklyn. “Quietness is an essential part of all awareness. In quiet times and sleepy times, a child can dwell in thoughts of his own, and in songs and stories of his own.” “In the great green room, there was a telephone And a red balloon..."

My latest Substack piece on how Hawaii has taken on Citizens United substack.com/@katiephang/...

Presidents have always been mocked: Ford. Reagan. Bush. Clinton. Obama. Biden. But trump is the first one fragile enough to try to silence comedians because they hurt his feelings. My Substack on why fascists fear laughter is FREE. Please share. brooklyndaddefiant.substack.com/p/the-tiny-f...

Tonight. Show up early to get a seat!

SIGN OF THE DAY…

BREAKING: A handful of Senate Republicans are finally starting to join Democrats to pull the emergency brake and end Trump’s war with Iran. Now is the moment to keep pushing. Call your members of Congress.

The casts of Shrinking and Sesame Street have come together for a new series of videos!

We need laughs. Here are laughs. youtu.be/H916EVndP_A?...

Classic D&D Back in Print! Shop Print on Demand here: tinyurl.com/4wnef2ub Includes the D&D Basic Set Rulebook, I6 Ravenloft, Rules Cyclopedia, Die Vecna Die!, Uncaged: Faces of Sigil, and more! #dnd #dungeonsanddragons

People forgot what the economy was like after Covid.

Sally Ride, beloved astronaut.

Does your dog bite? No, he blesses. Original post

Another great David Aja cover to add to my little collection of his work. Just stunning.

More evidence we are in the most acute information and accountability crisis of our lifetimes.

Whether you're interested in foreign policy or personal health, here's a curated preview of the different ways you can spend your weekend at The WBUR Festival later this month.

Mayo Clinic is using AI to listen to emergency room visits. Spoke to someone who recently took their elderly parent to hospital. Only later saw the disclosure on the wall: everything recorded so AI could take notes. It's opt-out, not opt-in, if you even see the notice www.404media.co/mayo-clinic-...

Listen to me and @pftompkins.bsky.social latest podcast! It is FREEEE (would I lie to y'all/youse? NEVER!) open.substack.com/pub/weekendw...

Only three May Day prints left www.mollycrabapple.com/shop/p/molly...

This is sick! phys.org/news/2026-05...

SAY IT.

This is exactly why language matters: “women were given the vote” frames equality as a gift from men, instead of hard won political power extracted through organized resistance. Nobody gave women anything. Women fought, marched, strategized, endured violence, went to prison and died for it.

Because both my pubsliher and Ingram massively underestimated the popularity of an anti zionist history, my book is still hard to get around the country. So I’ve been finding indies that DO have stock in the cities I’m visiting and signing it In LA, check out Stories and Reparations Club

Katie Phang sued Todd Blanche this week, alleging his failure to turn over the Epstein Files interferes with her ability to report. Read her explanation of the lawsuit, what she hopes to accomplish & what comes next: open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...

I've been hearing that the library waiting lists around the country from HERE WHERE WE LIVE IS OUR COUNTRY are insane. If you run a community reading room anywhere in the US, and would like a free signed copy, send me a DM and tell me about your space I'm giving away TEN signed copies

Can’t make it to a HERE WHERE WE LIVE IS OUR COUNTRY event? I’m teaching an online course on The Bund this June with @equatormag.bsky.social www.equator.org/courses/the-...

The DOJ violates the Epstein Files Transparency Act on the daily. So I'm suing Todd Blanche. As a journalist, I cannot report accurately on the Epstein Files if I cannot even read them. I am represented by @brendanballou.bsky.social & we seek to hold the DOJ accountable for its noncompliance.

"No one man can terrorize a whole nation unless we are all his accomplices." Edward R. Murrow, who died on this day in 1965

In the course of writing HERE WHERE WE LIVE IS OUR COUNTRY I became friends with an amazing Yiddish scholar named Marv Zuckerman. This essay by his granddaughter Ruby filled my heart forward.com/culture/8204...

Lovely work led by Dharsh Kumaran and his team at Google DeepMind shedding new light on the metacognitive profile of LLMs We show that LLM confidence estimates are both stubborn and brittle all at once Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s42...

AOC is all sensible Americans right now, Americans who have completely lost patience with the wildly incompetent, lying loons currently running things who undermine our sanity, wealth, and wellbeing.

My book baby is an instant New York Times bestseller!! #4 zol lebn der fucking Bund This achievement owes everything to my friends, my community, the movement, and you if you want to help keep up the momentum, I’m making a list of easy ways to help 1/6

You may not know @taskmaster.tv. It's hilarious & joyful. I begged to do it, worked out my schedule a year ahead of time to make it happen & got to do the best show on TV w/ the loveliest ppl. Ep 1 is out &, trust me, you need this joy. All seasons free on youtube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRfH...

Endless cycle

The public DOES have a right to know.

To everyone drinking to unwind tonight youtu.be/VxsG7k1mgn4?...

Brutal.

Wise words from Spain's Prime Minister: “The momentary relief cannot make us forget the chaos, the destruction, and the lives lost. The govt of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket. What is needed now: diplomacy, international law and PEACE.”

Guernica by Picasso, 1937, a symbol of peace and resistance against fascism. #war #art #picasso

The Traitors Ireland season 2 has recently wrapped filming. The season is set to premiere in the fall/autumn RTE. #TheTraitors #TraitorsIRL

Brown University is home to George Orwell's original manuscript of 1984. Most of it is marked up heavily in Orwell's hand-writing but this untouched page caught my eye.

If you’re in NYC, come see me soon at Books are Magic and Rizzoli! (And check Juliawertz.com/events for Bay Area and LA stuff)

#SweetKeys #MusicChallenge Day 2 A piano, a voice, and a meaningful song. 🎹 For Free - Joni Mitchell youtu.be/LaOSbBcPlfY?...