Mike Minded

Torres Strait Islander artist Brian Robinson creates multilayered work drawing on Indigenous storytelling, biblical narratives, pop culture, and cosmology. His practice spans illustration, printmaking, sculpture, and large public installations, often blending traditional Torres Strait motifs with everyday objects and science references. Robinson sees magic in ordinary lifeu2014from light bulbs to traditional charmsu2014and layers personal history…

Sports betting companies like FanDuel are using personalized video messages from star athletes to retain high-value users, including those with gambling addictions. A lawsuit accuses these platforms of deliberately fostering addiction, with surveys showing 42% of active bettors feel they spend more than they should, and over half of men aged 18-49 having active betting…

Foreign state actors—primarily China, Russia, and Iran—are exploiting American ambivalence about AI data centers through propaganda campaigns in state media and covert social media operations. These efforts aim to deepen domestic divisions around hot-button issues like energy costs, environmental impact, and technological development, following a familiar playbook used for other polarizing topics. While the direct…

Stupidity is not the absence of intelligence but its misapplication—using sophisticated tools, theories, or systems to make simple problems harder rather than easier. Unlike ignorance or honest error, stupidity involves the elaborate defense and institutionalization of wrong approaches, requiring intelligence to construct. The capacity for stupidity scales with intelligence: the more powerful the cognitive or…

Dan Tomasulo presents the ‘best possible self’ exercise as a psychological tool for combating unclear or pessimistic futures. The method involves systematically imagining an optimal future self across multiple life domains, which research shows can improve mood, increase optimism, and create actionable pathways forward. This structured visualization practice helps people move from vague worry to…

The District Fringe Festival offers emerging playwrights and performers an affordable platform to stage new work across three D.C. venues over three weekends. By charging creators just $400 versus typical $5,000+ theater rentals, the festival prioritizes accessibility and audience-building for untested material ranging from drama to puppetry. Organizers emphasize that intimate, low-budget productions can deliver…

Despite headlines about decreased international flights to Mexico and travelers delaying plans around the 2026 World Cup, Cancun is projected to be Mexico’s top destination this summer, contradicting the narrative of decline. The article highlights the disconnect between media framing and actual travel patterns. Teaching: • Use the Cancun example when discussing how narrative versus…

Research analyzing 2,000+ vocalizations across 98 species found animals communicate at roughly 2.7 Hz (three vocalizations per second), a rhythm likely evolved because brains process sound structure best at this speed. Humans speak faster due to complex language needs, but revert to this ancestral rhythm when clarity matters—slowing down when there’s noise or difficulty understanding….

A guide to writing fast, clear, functional emails that prioritize speed and decision-making over warmth or narrative. The author argues emails should start with the point, separate facts from judgment, make next steps obvious, and be short enough to forward without explanation. Teaching: • Apply the ‘start with the point’ rule to verbal cueing: name…

Music critic Amanda Petrusich writes about losing her husband suddenly in 2022 and her experience with EMDR therapy. The most impactful element wasn’t the therapeutic protocol itself but her therapist’s repeated instruction to actually grieve—to stop resisting pain and instead value it as an essential internal system, like releasing tension in a finger trap rather…