Anyone else playing the @bostonglobe.com’s 🟠 Align word game? Fun! 5/23/2026 ⏰ 01:19 🔄 16 💡 1 globe.com/align

I got 7 out of 8 on the @us.theconversation.com news quiz on this week where I had no advance knowledge #humblebrag ✅✅✅✅✅✅❌✅ theconversation.com/the-conversa... (cc @fritzholz.bsky.social)

I'm sure @daviddaniel.bsky.social could write a great question (and probably all of my smart friends and followers, too).

"The act of putting together a news story and cobbling together a business model for #journalism has always been a wild and wacky ride" Interesting thoughts from my acquaintance Nick Lichtenberg on journalism in the #AI era: reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/viral-p...

Modern #book dilemmas. Read an early review of a book that made rush to Libby to get on the waiting list. But it’s available to borrow now! And I have 4 books underway already, so I probably won’t be able to finish in 2 weeks. What should I do?

@theguardian.com reports that Ahmed was arrested in Kuwait for reporting on the friendly fire incident that resulted in the crash of an F-15E Strike Eagle. Ahmed is a US citizen and the US State Department should be doing everything in its power to get him released NOW. #journalismisnotacrime

I am not happy about our April weather #Boston

Learn about how the IMLS hopes to aid libraries and museums in impacting the lives of individuals. action.everylibrary.org/imls_grants_...

While Trump has railed against drugs coming into the U.S., his DOJ has declined to prosecute nearly 5,000 federal drug cases, including trafficking and money laundering — 45% higher than the average of the prior three new administrations.

Cackles

From biologist Ari Berkowitz: very clear overview of the wrongheadedness of the IOC’s sex testing policy. theconversation.com/sex-test-use...

Why this Moon mission is less risky than it looks 🌕 The Artemis II capsule that marks the return of NASA to the Moon will loop around the Moon and slingshot back — a path less like Apollo 8 and more like the flight plan that brought Apollo 13 back home safely.

@us.theconversation.com is #1 most-read nonprofit news site in the US for the 8th straight month (since @joshuabenton.com first started compiling the charts) www.niemanlab.org/2025/07/nonp...

Ich lerne Deutsch

Lefty loosey, righty tighty.

Looking at referrals from Google Search from 2024 (before AI answers but also during the election) and the last quarter. Now I am very depressed #SEO

"Eighty percent of Americans said voters have a responsibility to keep up with the news, but just 8% said they had a responsibility to pay for it." www.semafor.com/newsletter/0...

It should be obvious that criticizing ICE—or any government agency—on social media is protected by the First Amendment. It is not a crime. Tech companies must not comply with sweeping government demands that seek to unmask users simply for expressing their opinions online.

For the fifth month running, @us.theconversation.com is the most-read nonprofit news site in America, according to data compiled by @joshuabenton.com of @niemanlab.org www.niemanlab.org/2026/02/ice-... #journalism

25 'experts' quoted in a sample of 250 stories published in British tabloids do not have a verifiable existence (and that 25 doesn't include 'experts' of dubious qualifications). Someone (I'm looking at you, @niemanlab.org) should replicate the study in the US pressgazette.co.uk/news/faces-o...

In 1979, the “New York Times” asked Isaac Bashevis Singer if he planned to watch the Super Bowl.

Peggy Noonan is brilliant on why all Americans should be worried about the killing off of @washingtonpost.com (h/t @democracyeditor.bsky.social) www.wsj.com/opinion/a-la...

Get one great story from us every afternoon, direct to your inbox, with our new Substack. Subscribe to The Afternoon Story today! theconversationus.substack.com?r=1nuxuf

There’s been a lot of comparisons of ICE tactics to Hitler. But a better historical comparison is the fascist dictatorship of Spain’s Franco, according to a scholar of Spanish culture. buff.ly/Jbo9lA4

Hansen’s disease (leprosy) is treatable today in large part because of the work of Alice Ball, a 23-year-old chemist whose breakthrough turned a toxic folk remedy into the world’s first effective treatment. buff.ly/6su5B6M #BlackHistoryMonth

From Argentina’s dictatorship to today’s ICE raids, mothers have turned grief into resistance. A political scientist who lived through Argentina’s junta draws urgent parallels. A collaboration with @rewirenewsgroup.com #news #politics #ICE #immigration #Argentina #history #democracy #polisky

Was having a nostalgic discussion with a colleague about the days when a link on the Drudge Report meant a tsunami of traffic. One of his retro design features is a pageview counter. He's had 5.8 billion pageviews in the past year. In 2024: 7b 2023: 8b 2021: 9b 2018-2020: 10b #onlinejournalism

A vital correction:

Erratic behavior and unpredictability is having a moment in foreign policy circles. In the White House and elsewhere, it is seemingly being viewed as a strategic asset rather than a weakness. But it is far from a new strategy. A political science professor explains “madman theory” buff.ly/qInO1mM

After this article on PluckyWire was published by @sarahscire.com, we picked up two new republishers from their service. This could be the start of something big wire.pluckyworks.org/onboarding/network-signup/3f29a2c4-a9d2-4516-8221-2397dc1eab24/

‘Water bankruptcy’ is a growing problem worldwide — from Tehran’s depleted reservoirs to the overdrawn Colorado River in the U.S. west. buff.ly/Dz0Ozez

Making this chart about @us.theconversation.com readership gave me joy - 1,447,331,134 pageviews to date (that we can count, plus all those online readers we can't count and print readership and video watchers)

Anyone considering buying a bridge in Brooklyn with Bitcoin? Instead, why not buy preferred stock in @latimes.com? (Notes: the company 'owes' its owner $207 million and he retains 100% voting control after this offering) #journalism join.latimes.com?utm_source=s...

No notes

There has never been a more important time for our work elevating the voices of experts and sharing their knowledge with the public. Please support our work with a tax-deductible donation: donate.theconversation.com/us?utm_campa...

When Americans insist "it can't happen here," they’re wrong. A sociologist who studies collective memory and identity examines how the U.S. forgot its own fascist movements and what that collective amnesia means today. buff.ly/9mzgR3S

Seventy years ago, Jonas Salk and his team worked in a lab between a morgue and a darkroom to develop the world’s first successful polio vaccine. A filmmaker who made a documentary on Salk’s work explains why forgetting life before vaccines has real consequences: buff.ly/VYpqOy4 #vaccineswork

Yes, the government can track your location. ICE and other agencies can track your movements using data gathered by apps and online ads on your phone, and sold by private companies. You probably don't realize how easily you can be found.

33% of hospital workers in California are foreign born. 25% in Florida. 5% in Tennessee. The U.S. faces shortages of health care workers, and #immigration restrictions will make the situation worse. buff.ly/c6i8sAv

In “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Pottersville is a dystopian warning about concentrated power, corruption and a community numbed to cruelty. The parallels to today are hard to ignore, writes a film studies professor.

Fuck Times New Roman. Stupid modern shit. We need to return to this: illuminations. We need to return to the first letter on the page being a big picture.

This is a great Jewish American story, and a great #journalism story. They don't make 'em like Jerry Izenberg any more. It's a great feed cleanser: www.esquire.com/entertainmen... (cc @daviddaniel.bsky.social, who I know will appreciate this)

Its been 🔟 years since I started working at @us.theconversation.com! 🎉 That's 3 years longer than I've been any place else in my career. But I still love it! They even got me to make a video: www.youtube.com/shorts/hCcia... It's a #news organization well worth supporting. Here's why I 😍 it: 🧵

Happy Friday! This is my favorite question in this week’s @us.theconversation.com #NewsQuiz theconversation.com/the-conversa...

We’ve got a good palate cleanser for you: a special news #quiz focussed on nice news of the year: theconversation.com/the-conversa... (Yes, there were at least 8 stories we published that qualified)

This comment on a Facebook post I wrote made my day. I am human and unpredictable, whereas ChatGPT is entirely based on the probability of what word comes next www.facebook.com/theconversat...

"The chemtrail theory is ultimately prideful. It’s a way for theorists to feel powerful + smart when they face things beyond their comprehension and control." People cling to ridiculous theories to meet their emotional needs - great explanation by @dratropos.bsky.social for @theconversation.com

Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other. Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq

Florida’s laws allow open carry, permitless carry and “stand your ground” are a potentially deadly combination. A historian points to a 31.6% increase in firearm homicides after the ‘stand your ground’ law passed in 2005. buff.ly/7LPIFNn