Pluralistic: 31 Aug 2021

Today's links

Inequality, not gerontocracy: Who killed interest rates?
Monopoly power and political corruption: Starve the (corporate) beast, shrink it until it fits in a bathtub.
This day in history: 2006, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

India's 'toxic' ed-tech giant: How Byju's hard-sells desperate parents into taking out predatory loans for their kids' education.
Podcasting "Utilities and Empires" and "FB's War on Switching Costs": A twofer from EFF's Deeplinks blog, on this week's podcast.
This day in history: 2001, 2011, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

The "work ethic" is a dirty trick we play on ourselves: Rationalizing away the pointlessness and indignity of low-waged work.
Facebook's war on switching costs: Network effects attract users, switching costs take them hostage.
This day in history: 2001, 2006, 2020.
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Vaccinate workers at (almost) any price: Corporate America sabotaged paid vaccination leave.
This day in history: 2001, 2011, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Big Box stores' other shoe drops: Lowe's is a parasite that is killing its host.
Belarusian dictator pwned by "cyber-partisans": When a secretive autocrat has no more secrets.
This day in history: 2001, 2006, 2011, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Are privacy and antitrust on a collision course?: Harmful dominance, democratic privacy controls, interop and illegitimate greatness.
This day in history: 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Podcasting "Disneyland at a stroll": Winding up my series on "amusement parks, crowd control, and load-balancing" (for now).
The Unraveling: Ben Rosenbaum's stunning debut novel.
What kind of emergency is our emergency?: Kim Stanley Robinson on the structure of feeling of this perilous moment.
The secrets of hospital bills: What do you call a "market" where no one chooses the services or knows the prices?
This day in history: None
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Bubble: Fantastic graphic novel adaptation of the brilliant comedy/sf podcast.
This day in history: 2001, 2011, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Machine learning's crumbling foundations: Doing 'data science' with bad data.
Hench: The madcap rage of life under vigilante rule.
This day in history: 2001, 2006, 2011, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

The Sacklers threaten us all with a good time: "Give us total impunity or we won't accede to the total impunity deal" is a hell of an ultimatum.
This day in history: 2006, 2011, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading