Field Ledger Archive
13,281 entries across the years, 2003–2026.
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June 2026
astralcodexten.comThe Metaculus Democracy Threat IndexScott Alexander reviews the Metaculus Democracy Threat Index, a crowdsourced forecasting tool that aggregates 153 questions about US democratic health to produce a transparent, less expert-dependent alternative to traditional democracy indices. He weighs its strengths (transparency, finer-grained pr✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
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✎ Essay · Culture
MJH INC: Building a Personal Sovereign Internet
From chatrooms at thirteen to running a world in Ultima Online to building communities for companies — a life spent tending rooms online. Now I'm turning that instinct on my own data: pulling twenty years of my life off the platforms and onto ground I own, and building the habit of micro-journaling in my own garden instead of Meta's.
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wtop.comHumor laurels for comedian Bill Maher as the Kennedy Center navigates Trump-era upheavalComedian Bill Maher will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center, an event happening amid significant institutional upheaval after President Trump installed allies on the board and attempted to close and rename the venue. Maher's selection is notable given his long, con✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50Notes
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akrites.orgWe All Depend on Open Source. We Will Defend It TogetherAn open letter from the technology industry, and the launch of Akrites - a coordinated effort to remediate vulnerabilities in the open source software the world runs on.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
experimental-history.comReading the news is the new smokingI quit. I feel great. You can too.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
newscientist.comRead an extract from Slow Gods by Claire NorthThe New Scientist Book Club’s read for July is Claire North’s space opera Slow Gods. In this extract from its second chapter, we learn about the upbringing of its protagonist on the planet Tu-mdo✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
washingtonian.comMap: Navigating the National MallYour guide to road closures, fences, bathrooms, water fountains, and more.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
popville.com“D.C. Police Agree To Compensate District Resident Handcuffed for Playing Star Wars “Imperial March” Theme Near National Guard Troops”photo by Diane Krauthamer From the DC ACLU: "The District of Columbia has agreed to pay to settle a First Amendment lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU-D.C.), on behalf of Sam O’Hara, a D.C. resident who was handcuffed for playing the "Imperial March" from Star Wars while✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
lionsroar.comHow to Speak Up in Difficult MomentsA Buddhist practitioner recounts standing with interfaith clergy outside an LA detention center during ICE actions, speaking unprepared to riot-geared LAPD officers about the fear he sensed in them. He traces how the Eightfold Path, particularly Wise Speech and sila, helped him move past lifelong co✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
lionsroar.comUsing Heartbreak as PracticeA Latina Buddhist practitioner reflects on the bodhisattva vow through the story of Chenrezig shattering at the world's suffering. She argues that genuine practice should break us open in response to injustice like ICE raids, and warns against spiritual bypassing that hides behind concepts like equa✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
mexiconewsdaily.comWhy is Mexican candy both sweet and spicy? The answer might surprise youWhy is so much of Mexican candy not only sweet but spicy? The reason is chamoy, a local adaptation of a foreign fruit snack.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
toddhargrove.substack.comWalkingChapter 9 of Healthy Movements for Human Animals✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
washingtonian.comI Went to Trump’s Great American State Fair. It Was Bleaker Than I Expected.Opening day of the Freedom 250 event in DC was sparsely attended and shockingly boring.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
popville.comJUST IN: Action at the Atlantic Plumbing Movie Theatre in Shaw!2112 8th Street, NW Thanks to Jay for sending: "New chairs at Atlantic Plumbing movie theater Shaw" Nice!✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
wtop.comCityCenterDC unveils new public art exhibit: Urban Living RoomsOn Friday, city officials and leaders of the D.C. arts community gathered at CityCenter DC to unveil a brand new public art exhibit called “Urban Living Rooms.”✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50Notes
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strongerbyscience.comHold Still: What Does the Evidence Actually Say About Isometric Training for Strength and Hypertrophy?Isometric training has long been thought to be inferior to dynamic training, but the current evidence doesn’t support those claims.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
newscientist.comCan video games help us better understand quantum mechanics?The world of quantum video games is vast – there are hundreds that are either inspired by quantum mechanics or use quantum computers in their development. Columnist Karmela Padavic-Callaghan explores how these could change our understanding of quantum physics, or even help us make better devices✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
scientificamerican.comWill humans one day talk to animals? This scientist is bringing us closerJulie Elie has been studying zebra finch vocalizations for years. Now, she has won the Coller-Dolittle Prize for progress toward a world where humans can talk to animals✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
newscientist.comPhages could enable us to hijack vaccine immunity to kill cancer cellsPhages, viruses that infect bacteria, could be genetically manipulated to destroy cancerous cells using the immunity we have acquired from vaccines✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
themarginalian.orgKafka’s Approach to Creative Block and the Four Psychological Hindrances That Keep the Gifted from Living Up to Their GiftsThe most paradoxical thing about creative work is that it is both a way in and a way out, that it plunges you into the depths of your being and at the same time takes you out of yourself. Writing i…✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
toddhargrove.substack.comIs Nociception Required for Pain?Another Unfortunate Semantic Debate✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
nautil.usHow Fruit Flies Manage Their Exceptionally Long SpermResearchers at the Flatiron Institute used high-speed microscopy and mathematical modeling to study how fruit fly sperm—nearly as long as the fly's entire body—remain orderly inside a hair-thin seminal vesicle. Rather than tangling, the sperm form wave-like collective flows, propelling themselves by✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
strongerbyscience.comIs the Correlation Between Hypertrophy and Strength Gains Stronger Than We Realized?Hypertrophy probably contributes more to strength gains in new lifters than prior studies suggested … but the relationship is nowhere near as strong as it appears at first glance.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
themarginalian.orgMushrooms and Our Search for MeaningThis essay was originally published as the cover story in the Summer 2025 issue of Orion Magazine. “Who are you?” the caterpillar barks at Alice from atop the giant mushroom, and Alice, never quite…✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50Get MichaelFilter
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