Plutopia News Network Sci-Fi Saturday: Plutopia's Jon Lebkowsky wrote “2001 Blues” around year 2000, reflecting how "2001: A Space Odyssey" shaped his sci-fi dreams, and the more ambiguous, disappointing reality of actual year 2001. weblogsky.com/2026/05/06/2...

Immunologist David Miles discusses his book Sneeze: The History and Science of the Common Cold, discussing “the common cold” as a broad category of respiratory viral illness. He also comments on the recent hantavirus outbreak. plutopia.io/david-miles-...

Just turned up a piece I wrote 25 years ago about my experience of Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" - called "2001 Blues." weblogsky.com/2026/05/06/2...

Check out "Book Currents" in the front of the May 4th New Yorker - has @doctorow.pluralistic.net's definition of "billionaireism" & a list of books he's suggested "that illuminate this mind-set and what the reign of people who have it means for the rest of us." www.newyorker.com/books/book-c...

"People at the paper say the claim is absurd. 'I’m sorry, there are plenty of white guys at the top of the New York Times. Not really something that’s holding you back,' said the reporter." apple.news/AekjuEVQ6Sgq...

A Harvard study just published estimates Elon Musk's destruction of USAID has already caused 600,000 deaths 2/3 of them children. That is his legacy in this world.

On the WELL, a lively discussion with Peter Richardson about his book BRAND NEW BEAT: THE WILD RISE OF ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE. The book takes us inside the chaotic, improvisational early years of Rolling Stone magazine. tinyurl.com/brand-new-beat

Plutopia News Network Sci-Fi Saturday: Is it science fiction? Or is it an interplanetary Western? "The Mandalorian and Grogu" follows Din Djarin and his mini-Jedi pal as they work for the New Republic. youtu.be/uwild1rw7Aw?...

Dr. Edward Lenert discusses engagement with large language models and what that experience reveals about AI, thought, trust, creativity, and danger. plutopia.io/ed-lenert-ai...

The cruelty is the point. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/u...

Plutopia News Network Sci-Fi Saturday: "Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice" is a crazy sci-fi gangster buddy comedy flick. The sci-fi element is a spoiler, so you'll have to trust us. youtu.be/pI-2t18TXqs?...

Internal activism... open.substack.com/pub/unshaved...

White supremacist government indicts organization that fights white supremacy. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Remembering when SXSW tried to restrict bloggers et al from using power outlets to recharge... joi.ito.com/weblog/2004/...

Helen Pearson (@helenpearson.bsky.social) discusses her book “Beyond Belief,” which traces the rise of evidence-based decision, arguing that evidence-based practice is both more recent and more fragile than many people realize. plutopia.io/helen-pearso...

When will people realize that Trump's various proclamations are intended, not to announce or clarify policy of action, but to manipulate stock markets so that he and his friends can make "insider" trades out the wazoo.

Plutopia News Network Sci-Fi Saturday: Vietnam era soldiers fight dinosaurs, Russians, and wormhole-enabling technology in "Primitive War." Over a dozen types of rowdy dinosaurs, for fans of CGI VFX. youtu.be/ixXxdWY6d68?...

"You're just voluntarily complying with this whimsical cosplay" -- holy shit, Tim Kaine is *demolishing* Russ Vought

The US military can't seem to feed its personnel a reasonable diet, but shipments of food from loved ones in the USA are blocked - USPS has suspended delivery to military zip codes. www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Robert Lawrence Kuhn discusses his work on a taxonomy of theories of consciousness. youtu.be/Kcy1SLTXl6A?... There's a whole lot of 'em.

Penn and Teller file a Supreme Court brief. “I am carny trash. I am uneducated. If you want to say I have a position of expertise, it is that I have lied to people onstage and gotten them to believe it. And I think I could do what that police officer did.” www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/u...

📢 My book, Beyond Belief: How Evidence Shows What Really Works, is out 28th April. 🚨🚨 “an incredibly engaging popular science book that illustrates why we should care about good quality evidence.” Preorders *really* help! 🙏 @princetonupress.bsky.social press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...

Journalist Tereza Pultarova discusses her path from covering space exploration to reporting on defense technology after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. plutopia.io/tereza-pulta...

“Love and kindness are a form of resistance.” - David Byrne, paraphrasing John Cameron Mitchell.

Plutopia News Network Sci-Fi Saturday: "The Lost Episode of Star Trek" is actually a whacky montage of bits clipped from various episodes. "Captain, are you all right? What about the ship?" youtu.be/AUMZaR52YaA?...

Stephen Dulaney says AI is a powerful but risky partner that can boost human work, but it still needs judgment, ethics, testing, and oversight. plutopia.io/stephen-dula...

It's hard to feel normal or do normal stuff when your supposed leader is threatening a whole civilization with extinction-level violence.

Earth from Orion...

“Sensible people who look at what’s being proposed here think this is insane,” said JP Bryan, a conservative former oil executive who owns two ranches and a popular hotel in the Big Bend region. “Anyone who supports this ought to put their name on this wall, so it can go down in infamy forever.”

*I blame science fiction dystopias

Living in virtual reality, checking out the virtual trees... unshaved.substack.com/p/virtual-tr...

Plutopia News Network Sci-Fi Saturday: Steven Spielberg manifests his fascination with UFO possibility in "Disclosure Day," set for summer blockbuster release. At SXSW he said "I have a very strong sneaking suspicion that we are not alone here on Earth right now." youtu.be/RWgbu7uWLw0?...

I'm launching a blog called "Unshaved Truths," after the magazine I published in 1994. Read about it here: open.substack.com/pub/unshaved...

In this Plutopia podcast episode, futurist and data analyst Anne Boysen argues that today’s AI systems, especially large language models and emerging AI agents, are being adopted far faster than their reliability, transparency, and testability justify. plutopia.io/anne-boysen-...

Plutopia News Network Sci-Fi Saturday: If the invading enemy in a film is an alien from outer space, as in "War Machine," does that make it science fiction? Or is it an explosive, mindless action film? youtu.be/AFuE1LRxm80?...

Marc Abrahams discusses the Ig Nobel Prizes, awards that honor real achievements that make people “laugh and then think.” Also the “Annals of Improbable Research,” highlighting unusual but meaningful work ranging from pasta physics to fingernail growth studies. plutopia.io/marc-abraham...

Plutopia News Network Sci-Fi Saturday: “Project Hail Mary” sends a mission from Earth to Tau Ceti to solve a cosmic mystery threatening our sun. The fate of two civilizations may depend on an unlikely interstellar partnership. youtu.be/m08TxIsFTRI?...

Happy Dia de los 3.1415926535897932384626433... !

Dr. Roy Casagranda discusses Iran’s modern history, the rise of the Islamic Republic, and the rapidly escalating conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States. youtu.be/1t7Z0hgntJQ?...

I see that @bajablastoise.bsky.social has added me to the "AI slop" moderation list. I'm flattered that somebody thinks I'm an AI.

Plutopia News Network Sci-Fi Saturday: "Paradise" season 2 begins on the post-apocalypse surface of earth, where there are a few survivors, and where Xavier Collins has gone to search for his wife Teri. Mayday! youtu.be/wQfqQ-oIXiA?...

Plutopia News Network Sci-Fi Saturday: Set in the post-Burn 32nd century, "Starfleet Academy" follows the first new class of cadets in over a century, led by 400-year-old chancellor Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter). The show's commitment to decency riles anti-woke conservatives. youtu.be/rHDDzcyNWGs?...

Gareth Branwyn discusses “Dreaming for Creatives,” which focuses less on dream interpretation and more on mining the “dream-time mind” for creative material. youtu.be/ydATw6jinr0?...

On the Plutopia podcast, Shira Chess, author of "The Unseen Internet: Conjuring the Occult in Digital Discourse," discusses how online culture has always been shaped not just by code and commerce but by myth, ritual, and “enchanted logic.” plutopia.io/shira-chess-...

Jon Lebkowsky sits down with @Doomscroll for a thoughtful Mastodon interview on digital culture, healthy online communities, decentralization, platforms vs. humans, and the fragility — and resilience — of democracy in the internet age. Read the full Q&A: plutopia.io/jon-lebkowsk...

Plutopia News Network Sci-Fi Saturday: A young predator, considered the runt of the clan by his father, stalks the invincible Kalisk on planet Genna with the help of a legless and seemingly stranded corporate synth. A furious, alien coming-of-age tale: "Predator: Badlands." youtu.be/43R9l7EkJwE?...

Sales of party balloons are down along the border. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...

In this interview I reflect on digital culture, online community, platform design, and the fragility of democratic norms in a wide-ranging Mastodon interview. He emphasizes real human hosting over tech fixes and explores what makes healthy spaces online. plutopia.io/jon-lebkowsk...

The immigrants we should be deporting are the Russians that live inside Donald Trump's head.

Plutopia News Network Sci-Fi Saturday: "Repo Man": A suburban punk named Otto finds himself in pursuit of the inexplicable. "It's all part of a cosmic unconsciousness." youtu.be/3nPEM5d-MtQ?...