Author: Cory Doctorow

Pluralistic: 19 Mar 2020

Today's links

  1. The worst Democrat in Congress just lost his job: Dan Lipinski primaried by the amazing Marie Newman.
  2. Canada Reads documentary on Radicalized: The Great Canadian Book debate is indefinitely postponed, but here's an hour on my book!
  3. Africa's Facebook modders are world leaders: Technological self-determination through adversarial interoperability.
  4. Imagineering in a Box: Interdisciplinary theme park design lessons from Khan Academy and Disney.
  5. Data is the New Toxic Waste: It was never "the new oil."
  6. How to structure a fair covid bailout: Stimulus, not private jets.
  7. Fox News is a suicide cult: Telling your elderly viewers to perform tribal loyalty by engaging in high-risk behaviors is a career-limiting move.
  8. Grocery supply chains are resilient: One less thing to worry about.
  9. Magic in the time of coronavirus: Never let a good crisis go to waste, card-trick edition.
  10. This day in history: 2010, 2019
  11. Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

Continue reading "Pluralistic: 19 Mar 2020"

Pluralistic: 18 Mar 2020

Today's links

  1. Ethiopian factory sports Jack Ma quotes: Global trade currents are shifting fast.
  2. Charter orders all workers to keep showing up: Even the 15% of its workforce who could work from home.
  3. MAGA firefighters dismiss coronavirus as Democrat hoax: And/or a Chinese bioweapon.
  4. Flatter Me, a compliments card game: Kickstarting now.
  5. American Airlines blew billions, now it wants a bailout: Socializing losses, privatizing gains.
  6. John Green's mutual aid manifesto: The only way through is together.
  7. How to split a single ventilator for four patients: Peer-reviewed simulations.
  8. Bigoted Republican Congressjerk votes against coronavirus relief because it might cover same-sex partnerships: Rep Andy Biggs wants to send us all to meet Jesus.
  9. Epidemiology and public health in 14 minutes: An epidemiologist and an sf writer make an outstanding science communications team.
  10. 3D printed ventilator hero got a patent threat: Human rights vs property rights.
  11. If nothing is for sale, how will covid stimulus work? Can you fix a supply shock with stimulus?
  12. How to make your own toilet paper: A craft for your isolated kiddos.
  13. Plague precautions from 1665: No feasting, but you can tipple in a bar until 9PM.
  14. This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019
  15. Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

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Pluralistic: 17 Mar 2020

Today's links

  1. The Masque of the Red Death and Punch Brothers Punch: My latest podcast is Poe/Twain bathos crossover.
  2. Fill in your census online: Otherwise you and people you care about literally won't count.
  3. Naomi Klein: this disaster has no room for disaster capitalism: It's our moment to seize.
  4. Scalzi's canceled bookstore: Support your local indie bookseller, especially now.
  5. My Twitter account was suspended: I got in trouble for putting trolls on a list called "Colossal Assholes."
  6. Talking digital writing careers with the Writing Excuses podcast: Covering a lot of ground in 15 minutes.
  7. A new anxiety podcast from Nightvale's Joseph Fink: Proud to be in the debut episode.
  8. Patent trolls try to shut down covid testing: Monkey-selfies, Theranos, Softbank – it's a garbage matrioshke!
  9. How to live with your kids: "Working and Learning from Home with Young Children."
  10. Brave files GDPR complaint against Google: Sharing data between Google services is a no-no.
  11. This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019
  12. Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

Continue reading "Pluralistic: 17 Mar 2020"

Pluralistic: 16 Mar 2020

Today's links

  1. Covid At Home: A guide for isolation, illness and recovery
  2. Trump wants a US-only vaccine: Reality has a well-known globalist/collectivist bias.
  3. Folding@Home to beat covid: 23 distcomp projects to give your CPU to.
  4. Italian hospitals fix their ventilators with 3D printed parts: Fablabs to the rescue.
  5. How to prepare for coming layoffs: A guide for techies junior, senior and prickly.
  6. Leaked Tiktok moderation guidelines are a censoring mess: No poors or ugly people welcome.
  7. Canceled Bar Mitzvah is still a mitzvah: Today I am a mensch.
  8. Shmoocon 2020 videos online: Hours of entertainment and infosec funnies.
  9. This day in history: 2005, 2010
  10. Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

Continue reading "Pluralistic: 16 Mar 2020"

Pluralistic: 15 Mar 2020

Today's links

  1. HRDAG analyzes the best covid-19 studies: Ninja statisticians FTW.
  2. Chelsea Manning's supporters pay off her $256,000 fine in a day: She had our back so we have hers.
  3. The Onion is there for us: Doing for pandemic what they did for 9/11.
  4. The CIA's information security is really terrible: Root password was "123ABCdef".
  5. Euroleaks: exposing the secret workings of the Eurogroup: Where they decided to strangle Greece.
  6. Things to do with kids during lockdowns: A crowdsourced list.
  7. Covered Dish: A site for stories of mutual aid during a crisis.
  8. How to pull your business out of China: A guide for the anxious.
  9. This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019
  10. Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

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Pluralistic: 14 Mar 2020

Today's links

  1. Masque of the Red Death: Macmillan Audio gave me permission to share the audiobook of my end-of-the-world novella.
  2. When Sysadmins Ruled the Earth: A new podcast audiobook of my 2005 end-of-the-world story.
  3. Ada Palmer on historical and modern censorship: Part of EFF's Speaking Freely project.
  4. Glitch workers unionize: First-ever tech union formed without management opposition.
  5. Women of Imagineering: A 384-page illustrated chronicle of the role women play in Disney theme-park design.
  6. Tachyon celebrates 30 years of sff publishing with a Humble Bundle: DRM-free and benefits EFF.
  7. Honest Government Ads, Covid-19 edition: Political satire is really hard, but The Juice makes it look easy.
  8. TSA lifts liquid bans, telcos lift data caps: Almost as though there was no reason for them in the first place.
  9. CBC postpones Canada Reads debates: But you can read a ton of the nominated books online for free.
  10. Star Wars firepits: 750lbs of flaming backyard steel.
  11. This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019
  12. Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

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Pluralistic: 13 Mar 2020

Today's links

  1. Announcing the third Little Brother book, Attack Surface: And a new Little Brother/Homeland reissue, with an intro by Ed Snowden!
  2. Where I Write: A column for the CBC that's really about how I write.
  3. Stream 200+ global news channels: Each hand-picked, no registration required.
  4. AT&T's CEO fired 23,000 workers and gave himself a 10% raise: Life on the easiest setting.
  5. Chelsea Manning is free: But she's been fined $256K for refusing to testify to the Grand Jury.
  6. Rep Katie Porter forces CDC boss to commit to free testing: Literally the most effective questioner in Congress.
  7. Trump's unfitness in a plague: It's not because he's an ignoramus, it's because he's a nihilist.
  8. Malware that hides behind a realtime Covid-19 map: Peter Watts' prophecy comes true.
  9. Locked-down Siennese sing their city's hymn: A cause for hope in the dark.
  10. This day in history: 2015, 2019
  11. Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

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Pluralistic: 12 Mar 2020

Today's links

  1. TSA boss doubles down on taking away health care from part-time screeners: They're touching your junk with diseased hands.
  2. Akil Augustine on Radicalized: My book's Canada Reads champion lays out the case for Radicalized.
  3. A former top Cigna exec rebuts Joe Biden's healthcare FUD: Wendell Potter is the prodigal corporate villain.
  4. Ars Technica's Covid-19 explainer is the best resource on the pandemic: Beth Mole has outdone herself.
  5. Boeing is even worse at financial engineering than they are at aircraft engineering: The $43B they incinerated through stock buybacks would sure come in handy about now.
  6. Senate Republicans kill emergency sick leave during pandemic: Sick leave is cheaper than pandemics, but pandemics generate cost-plus contracts for the donor class.
  7. The EU's new Right to Repair rules finally come for electronics: Snoods cocked at Apple and other US Big Tech monopolists.
  8. How to run a virtual classroom: Masterclass from the 14-year-old Stanford Online High School.
  9. This day in history: 2010, 2015, 2019
  10. Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

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Pluralistic: 11 Mar 2020

Today's links

  1. Obesity and unsaturated fats: Blaming unsaturated fats for obesity is very plausible, but likely wrong, alas.
  2. The satiety index: Which foods cause or satisfy cravings?
  3. Sensor Tower's VPNs and adblockers spied on users: Like sneaking laxative into Immodium.
  4. Twitter's new Terms of Service help academics: Good bots welcome.
  5. Italy's "I Stay in the House" law: The comprehensive quarantine plan.
  6. Scam-buster hacks into a scam-factory: He gets their CCTVs, recordings of their calls, transaction data, Whatsapp chats, and more. Delicious.
  7. Postmortem: the catastrophic EU Copyright Directive. Testimony from yesterday's Senate hearing.
  8. Podcast: A Lever Without a Fulcrum Is Just a Stick: My latest Locus column, on how copyright failed artists and enriched corporations.
  9. This day in history: 2010, 2015, 2019
  10. Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

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Pluralistic: 10 Mar 2020

Today's links

  1. Safe and moral societies need "firewalls" between immigration and public services: The UK's "hostile environment" puts everyone at risk.
  2. Detroit will reconnect water services during the Covid-19 emergency: But it's $25/month thereafter.
  3. Thomas Piketty endorses Sanders: both his program and his electability.
  4. Sonos "recycling mode" no longer bricks working speakers: Fire the person who came up with this deeply shitty idea.
  5. Brave will randomize browser profiles to fight fingerprinting attacks: More from the most privacy-friendly browser.
  6. This day in history: 2005, 2010
  7. Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

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