Linkage

[lirazel]

+ Policy 360 explainers (either in a podcast episode or an article): Dismantling Department of Education, Dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, etc.

+ How Covid Changed Everything from Know Your Enemy. Tries to take an honest look at what Covid did to us. (I specifically asked them to share this one with the main feed, and since others did too, they listened!)

+ Republic Makeup. This ended up being way more interesting than I thought it would be and I wish it was longer. Fascism, anti-trans-ness, privilege, performance of wealth, artificiality, aspirations to godhood, the most annoying song I've ever heard in my life...I could read a whole book about this.

+ The FBI stole a money launderer's identity and ran his business for a year. Nobody is out here doing reporting like 404 Media.

+ This AI Calls Your Elderly Parents If You Can't Be Bothered. I hate this world!!!!! The way we're trying to outsource every single thing that makes us human and gives life meaning to technology!!!! All so we can, what, be more productive little capitalists???

+ The 'She Made Him Do It' Theory of Everything. I love Rebecca Solnit.

+ What Exactly Does Trump Think Is in the Smithsonian? This is a WaPo link, but it's so good--I was so moved. You should be able to access this even if you don't have a subscription (which I do not).

+ My Strange Weekend with the Pronatalists.

+ Are People Bad at Their Jobs or Are The Jobs Just Bad?

+ Mis-perceptions of parity in m/f relationships. Yikes.

+ DOGE Is About Sex. Also yikes, but gets at something I think is very true and under-discussed.

+ Simulacra for Bootlickers - The McMansion Hell lady on the intersection of architecture and fascism by way of snark.

Comments

[ambyr]

My dad has about 300k followers across TikTok and Instagram. It's a whole thing.

[lirazel]

Very cute! Can I ask what his schtick is? (Totally fine if you don't want to share.)

[ambyr]

He does center-left, pro-Zionist political commentary. Daily videos, plus posts on various text-based platforms. Everyone need a retirement hobby, I guess! Although this one is closer to a part-time job.

[lirazel]

That's so interesting! I'm assuming he stumbled into this and didn't know how big it was going to get instead of being like, "I will become an influencer!"

[ambyr]

Hah. That's a reasonable assumption, but not exactly. Dad is a novelist; his agent told him that having a social media platform was a more and more important part of marketing, so he started consciously trying to build a big online audience in advance of his next book. His material started out much more focused on literature and family storytelling. But the algorithm loves the political videos, so they sort of metastasized and became an end in and of themselves.

[lirazel]

Ah, I see. Well, I'm glad it's worked for him!