Pluralistic: Conspiratorialism as a material phenomenon (29 Oct 2024)

Today's links

Conspiratorialism as a material phenomenon: What work does a conspiracy fantasy do?
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Instagram's slow-mo appeals court: A nanosecond to block, 28 months to review.
DOD lie-detector manual leaked: How credible is the National Center for Credibility Assessment?
Farewell to Beyond the Beyond: Wired retires Bruce Sterling's blog, and he has thoughts.
Neoliberals won't waste this crisis: When the left abandoned leninism, the right swiped it.
This day in history: None
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

The right's theories about human behavior are bankrupt: Immortan Joe is a shitty behavioral economist.
Adjacent, similar NYC neighborhoods with wildly different outcomes: Early warning saved Flushing, Queens.
Honey in a glue dispenser: Easy spreading ahoy.
Iceland's world-beating coronavirus app didn't help much: Shoe-leather contact tracing beats automated exposure notification.
Thunderspy: a devastating attack on Thunderbolt: Evil Maid, 2020 edition.
Talking Canada Reads and Radicalized: My chat with Canada Reads American Style.
Plane ticket refunds (without airline cooperation): Call your credit card issuer.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Armed Michigan voters escort their state rep to work: If the police won't stop the flu klux klan…
Konstantine Anthony for Burbank City Council: A candidate for working Burbankers.
Flooding Ohio's "work-refusal" snitchline: Volcano gods go hungry tonight.
Brett Favre received $1.1m in welfare money for speeches he never gave: Part of Mississippi's $98m corruption scandal.
The real Lord of the Flies kids were really nice to each other: Another paradise built in hell.
Phil Ochs rarities: Treasures from a lost and beautiful radical musician and writer.
This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Rural swing-state voters' social media show growing disapproval for Trump: Putting his literal signature on covid response makes it hard to argue it's not his fault.
The Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act: Ilhan Omar's bill to protect renters and mortgage payers during and after the crisis.
Garbage Math: XKCD on the mathematics of uncertainty
ICANN pauses selloff of .ORG registry: The GOP billionaires behind Ethos capital have to wait a while longer.
Delivery services are gouging restaurants to death: Call the restaurant, order your meal, and pick it up.
Post-collapse maker utopia sim: Not quite Walkaway, but interesting nevertheless.
This day in history: 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Solnit on the revelations of crisis: Pandemic speeds up processes that were too slow to notice.
Nurse suspended for distributing crowdfunded PPE: Shame on Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.
Cleveland Plain Dealer executed by union-busting owners: Firing health reporters during a pandemic.
Monster-themed covid pinup PSAs: By Alejandra Oviedo.
The Onion on Wisconsin's election: We need strategic Onion reserves for all our calamities.
NSO Group says Facebook tried to buy its malware: NSO is worse than Facebook, but it's a close-run thing.
How to pay for covid: Unearthing Keynes's "How to Pay for the War."
Smart lock hemorrhages user data: And it broadcasts its unlock code over Bluetooth.
TSA wanted to inspect 16 year old trans girl's genitals: Jon Corbett is on the case.
Roger Fuckebythenavele vs Bannatyne Manuscript: Black Plague-era f-bomb eclipsed by 14th century frottage artist.
Rube Goldberg feeding device: Now that's physical comedy.
Public domain Zoom backgrounds: Fantastic backdrops for an absurd moment.
This day in history: 2010, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Pickled 2001 computer store: Deadstock ahoy!
A farewell to APIs: Greed, spam and entropy killed mashups.
Machine learning model performs butthole recognition: Peak Internet of Shit.
Covid loteria cards: Cabronavirus.
California's fiber for all bill: Tell your senator to support SB1130.
1978 Doonesbury stereotype: Come for the Indochina political humor, stay for the printer's lore.
LA crime plummets: Down 23% (domestic violence is down 11%).
US stimulus is one week's cash: Deflation ahoy.
Private equity blinks on cuts to health workers' wages: Speeding up slow destruction makes it impossible to ignore.
Virtual greenscreen: Incredible computer science paper from the 2020 IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition.
Landlord changes church's locks: The pastor of Cross Culture Christian Center in Lodi, CA refused to stop holding services.
This day in history: 2010, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading