Having lived through the Paris 2003 heatwave it really seemed elderly women were at greatest risk of death. Now we know. I've also read much anecdotal evidence (make of that what you will) that estradiol HRT can reduce heat tolerance, so be careful out there <all> my sisters in oestrogen-taking.

Lumumba as assassinated by a military coup supported by the Belgians whom had for generations destroyed the Congolese people as part of a colonial project that had left the region in a dire state to this day, this is a truly incredible display honestly.

NEW: Across Africa, the State Department has demanded access to health data for millions of people as a condition of giving countries billions of dollars in aid needed to address HIV, malaria, tuberculosis and other illnesses.

When utilized in literature review, LLMs consistently 1. fail to mention female authors in female-led literatures, 2. insist that men are more influential or more heavily cited when this is contradicted by objective citation counts, and 3. attribute women’s work to hallucinated male scholars.

Listen to Saul Goodman!

this is in fact amazingly good

Tommy Robinson detained at Heathrow under counter-terrorism laws

did you guys know they still allowed good news

I just—like, sure, being a trillionaire is cool I guess but what’s it all for if you haven’t even seen the wreckage of the titanic firsthand

The most disgusting behaviour I’ve ever witnessed in public spaces was directed at Sadiq Khan by ‘anti-Ulez’ protesters, who of course received way more coverage, much of it friendly, than the scheme’s incredible success ever will.

Want to share some thoughts. I know the rioting in Belfast has had lots of coverage. But I still think more needs to be said. This was so incredibly shocking. *people burned out of their homes because of the colour of their skin*.

MOTHERFUCKER

The world could have avoided three major outbreaks since the end of Covid-19 — mpox, hantavirus and Ebola — but has instead allowed another “preventable disaster” to play out in the Congo and Uganda, a group of former government leaders, academics and global health experts have said.

You'll all be shocked to learn that reorienting the whole economy around cramming AI into everything has not produced any economic benefit outside of the AI companies. www.apollo.com/wealth/the-d...

UK publishing generated £7.4 billion in revenue last year. Compare that to: Premier League football: £6.6 billion Home entertainment: £5.6 billion UK film industry: 2.8 billion Now tell me again why authors don't deserve fair contracts and better pay.

I don't know how to explain to the people who pop up when creatives complain about "AI" to say there are legit uses for it just how much they sound like someone saying "Well actually fire is used to make bread" when people are talking about an organized arson ring burning down their fucking houses

“The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself” — William Faulkner

📢 Calling all translators - we need your views and insights on our #TranslatorsOnTheCover campaign. Five years on from its launch, we’re working with Dr Pete Freeth (London Metropolitan University) to find out more about the campaign’s impact. buff.ly/uRuoZ1O

maybe you'd like to read an actual article about myra cheng and her research into AI and stanford break-up texts instead of some facebook screencaps?

This month, @globalvoices.org is putting a spotlight on how people and communities in the Global Majority are taking significant action to protect and improve their environment - stories that don't get enough coverage in the US-focused, rich-people-centered media. Like this story:

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Hey UK friends and residents, please consider signing this official petition to rejoin the EU (needs to hit 100k by June 8th when the petition closes in order to get a debate in Parliament) petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...

This is superb

(The must-follow @victoriastrauss.com already covered this scam using well-known editors spontaneously reaching out and promising easy industry inroads, though Beth Meacham isn't on the list of names in this blog. But the text of the email I got is otherwise the same.)

The human ear is not tuned to pick up infrasound, yet a growing body of research has shown that exposure to these frequencies nonetheless causes negative feelings in humans and many other animals. www.404media.co/scientists-i...

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Tomorrow! (Accurately this time)

African & diaspora writers, this fiction project on imagining the future of work looks pretty damn great. It's a collab between the African Speculative Fiction Society and Imperial College London and also includes expert workshops. More info on how to apply: appliedafricansf.com/call-for-pro...

Need a little genre tasting platter for your May Day? Catch me and 5 excellent NB and women authors reading at Strong Women Strange Worlds virtual lit event on Friday 1 May, 12pm EDT or 5pm UK. Tickets are free! Click here to get yours-> www.eventbrite.com/e/first-frid...

Every time I see someone talk about Claude I think about how they switched from female to male names as soon as they wanted the robots to seem like experts vs personal assistants.

Oh, would you look at that: Men are perceived as more creative than women even when competency is controlled for, and more deserving of rewards. Five studies shows men are routinely seen having more 'out of the box' creativity. But not only are women... adalovelaceday.substack.com/p/gender-ste...

Pretty excited about this! I've only just started reading it, but it's classic Newman so far!

A lady cop hunts a Detroit killer who makes artworks out of his victims. Ultra high-end writing from @laurenbeukes.com. The ‘change of gear’ from thriller to supernatural(ish) horror jolted a few readers, so be prepared. Amazing, scary and intoxicating. paulfinch-writer.blogspot.com/2016/04/nigh...

Stoked to be doing this on May 1st in such great company!

Orban’s defeat also removes a major part of the far-right populist infrastructure worldwide, which I wrote about this fall: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Péter Magyar victory speech: "We want to make a country where no one is persecuted because they think differently or because someone loves in a different way to others." He may not have campaigned as a liberal. But this is a huge change of direction and rhetoric from Orbán’s anti-LGBTQ+ crusade.

Oh boy. This time last year, I started The Fool's Journey and released the Tarot Interviews podcast. My guest was the fabulous @laurenbeukes.com In 2026 Tarot Interviews now reaches 30 countries and 350,000+ people. In 50 interviews I have met creatives just starting out, also household names.

This whole thread, on how mass public protest changes the incentives and options for politicians.

thinking about this while the biggest movie in the country is an original story done with in-camera effects, miniatures, puppets, and fully constructed sets

Kat is amazing, if you're looking for an editor!

Fascinating new study about men’s friendships. There’s a lot of evidence here that the “male loneliness crisis” is actually a white, wealthy man problem. Other men are building friendships with similar depth to women’s friendships.

I agree 100% with Steven Vickers that authors will be falsely accused of using AI in the coming years. In particular, authors like myself whose works were stolen to train AI systems are at risk. When we write in our own unique styles, AI trained on us will quite likely flag us as using AI.

Yeah, this just sucks. All of it sucks. I dunno how to combat something like this tbh.

"I know as an author we're supposed to aspire to express our shared humanity in unique and meaningful ways, but have you instead considered becoming the most mid, average, undifferentiated composite of everybody else?"

This is an excellent interview on the thief product. The quote that stood out for me, from the AI bro: "What are LLMs really good at? They’re really good at averaging what everybody says."

Over on The Other Sites, we have to censor words that can get us in trouble- words like "sex" and "trans" and "gynecologist". Here's an explainer post we just shared on Instagram about it! 1/2 www.instagram.com/p/DSdSsOBkiC6

Okay, the #TransRightsReadathon auction is up, and I have an offer in there! Drumroll... I will put your pet in my forthcoming book. Name, description, personality! (Nothing bad will happen to them, I'm not a monster.)

Now please may I have back everything that was already stolen?

This feeling in my chest...hope? Unfamiliar