The author argues that compulsive news consumption is the new smoking: harmful to the reader and those around them, fueling outrage, anxiety, and distorted perceptions of reality. After cutting news out in 2020, he felt calmer, more present, and noticed that the supposedly world-changing stories rarely actually changed anything. He backs this with research showing…
A coalition of major tech and finance companies (AWS, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, JPMorgan, etc.) announced Akrites, a coordinated effort to find, fix, and confidentially disclose vulnerabilities in critical open source software. The initiative responds to AI collapsing the attacker/defender equilibrium, where vulnerability discovery now takes minutes instead of weeks, overwhelming maintainer capacity. Akrites centralizes incident…
An extract from Claire North’s Slow Gods introduces a far-future society where every citizen is born into measurable debt to their corporate Venture, with social standing quantified as ‘Shine.’ The narrator describes growing up on Glastya Row, where names, debts, and even infant cries are inscribed into a totalizing economic system framed as fairness. Teaching:…
Washingtonian published an interactive map and guide to navigating the National Mall amid heavy road closures, fencing, and event-related disruptions through summer 2025. The piece consolidates information on closures, Metro adjustments, and major events like the Great American State Fair and Fourth of July celebrations to help visitors find their way. Teaching: • Use the…
A 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 conditioning to stay silent and avoid conflict. The piece argues…
A 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 equanimity and non-duality to justify inaction. Teaching: • Frame the…
Mexican chamoy-flavored candy traces back to Chinese see mui, a salted-dried fruit that arrived via the Manila galleon trade between 1565 and 1815. Mexicans adapted it with chile and lime, and mass production by Dulces Miguelito starting in 1971 cemented the sweet-spicy profile as a national signature. What feels quintessentially Mexican is actually a centuries-long…
The DC ACLU secured a settlement from the District of Columbia on behalf of Sam O’Hara, who was handcuffed by DC police for playing the Star Wars ‘Imperial March’ while walking behind National Guard troops deployed to DC in August 2025. The case continues against the Ohio National Guard sergeant who summoned police. O’Hara framed…
Todd Hargrove’s serialized chapter frames walking as the foundational bipedal movement humans evolved for, contrasting modern undermovement with ancestral norms of 5-10 miles daily. He outlines six theories for why bipedalism emerged (carrying, efficiency, thermoregulation, vision, threat display, postural feeding) and details the anatomical adaptations—longer legs, lumbar lordosis, arched feet, hip extension range—that made upright…
A qualitative study of 16 stakeholders in Senegalese elite sport found that injury prevention and management rely heavily on individual initiative rather than structured systems, with coaches filling roles far beyond their remit—first aid, return-to-play decisions, emotional and even financial support. Cultural factors like pain normalization, traditional medicine use, and mental health stigma shape care-seeking,…