Ethan Freedman
@ethanpfreedman.com
Reporter: science, nature, agriculture, climate. Bylines at Scientific American, Live Science, Hakai, Sierra, Slate, Fatherly, etc.
He/Him. RTs =/= Endorsement. Opinions solely my own. Old posts regularly delete en masse.
Chicago
www.ethanpfreedman.com
He/Him. RTs =/= Endorsement. Opinions solely my own. Old posts regularly delete en masse.
Chicago
www.ethanpfreedman.com
Reposted by Ethan Freedman
hello milwaukee and chicago
December 24, 2025 at 12:28 AM
hello milwaukee and chicago
Imagine how insufferable Seattle Franerisco would be
Google Gemini Pro: please generate a map of the western united states showing cities of over 250K population
December 22, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Imagine how insufferable Seattle Franerisco would be
Per capita, which US cities punch above and below their weight in terms of cultural influence?
For example, Portland and Twin Cities seem to have more influence than expected while San Jose and Jacksonville have less
For example, Portland and Twin Cities seem to have more influence than expected while San Jose and Jacksonville have less
December 22, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Per capita, which US cities punch above and below their weight in terms of cultural influence?
For example, Portland and Twin Cities seem to have more influence than expected while San Jose and Jacksonville have less
For example, Portland and Twin Cities seem to have more influence than expected while San Jose and Jacksonville have less
Reposted by Ethan Freedman
Mike Tomlin has clinched a 19th consecutive non-losing season with Sunday’s win over the Lions, the 200th of his Steelers career.
The streak lives on — as Pittsburgh survives in dramatic fashion.
The streak lives on — as Pittsburgh survives in dramatic fashion.
December 22, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Mike Tomlin has clinched a 19th consecutive non-losing season with Sunday’s win over the Lions, the 200th of his Steelers career.
The streak lives on — as Pittsburgh survives in dramatic fashion.
The streak lives on — as Pittsburgh survives in dramatic fashion.
That would have been the game-ender this season
But it wasn’t
Go Steelers
But it wasn’t
Go Steelers
Oh my god
December 22, 2025 at 12:56 AM
That would have been the game-ender this season
But it wasn’t
Go Steelers
But it wasn’t
Go Steelers
Aaaaaaaasaaaand DK Metcalf just punched a fan
I’m gonna regret posting this but the Steelers look… disciplined?
December 21, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Aaaaaaaasaaaand DK Metcalf just punched a fan
I’m gonna regret posting this but the Steelers look… disciplined?
December 21, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I’m gonna regret posting this but the Steelers look… disciplined?
When Mariah Carey sings “I don’t care about the presents“ all I can hear is “I don’t care about the presence” and imagine that Mariah is telling us to ignore the spectral apparition sitting under the Christmas tree
December 21, 2025 at 7:07 PM
When Mariah Carey sings “I don’t care about the presents“ all I can hear is “I don’t care about the presence” and imagine that Mariah is telling us to ignore the spectral apparition sitting under the Christmas tree
Reposted by Ethan Freedman
It's done.
The Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 2025
YouTube video by Todd in the Shadows
www.youtube.com
December 21, 2025 at 12:36 AM
It's done.
the live feed of the front door is what really got me
Spotted a 60-something man on the beach reading Olivia Nuzzi’s “American Canto.” His wife is nearby. She has Mar-a-Lago face and is wearing a trucker hat that says “Sun. Yoga. Champagne.” She’s been watching a live cam feed of her front door on a comically large tablet for the last 20 minutes.
December 20, 2025 at 3:14 AM
the live feed of the front door is what really got me
Like what are we doing here
December 20, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Like what are we doing here
I was reading the LRB takedown of Ocean Vuong‘s prose today and it made me want to read a few thousand words on why this kind of writing is being treated as good, inspired, etc
December 19, 2025 at 11:38 PM
I was reading the LRB takedown of Ocean Vuong‘s prose today and it made me want to read a few thousand words on why this kind of writing is being treated as good, inspired, etc
This whole thing was so dark, such an ugly example of the techno-panopticon by self-appointed morality police
The Ritual Shaming of the Woman at the Coldplay Concert
www.nytimes.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:50 PM
This whole thing was so dark, such an ugly example of the techno-panopticon by self-appointed morality police
This is good – don't dream of how to make communicative technologies better, dream of how to banish them from your lives as much as possible
Opinion | What Happened When My Yale Students Gave Up Their Phones For Four Weeks
www.nytimes.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:01 PM
This is good – don't dream of how to make communicative technologies better, dream of how to banish them from your lives as much as possible
This is what happens when you refuse to acknowledge externalities like global disasters and the biodiversity decline, when everything from the cost of electricity to human lives are lines on a spreadsheet, and when you have no capacity for thinking outside the lines of the box you drew for yourself
Opinion | Obama Supported It. The Left in Canada and Norway Does. Why Don’t Democrats?
www.nytimes.com
December 18, 2025 at 6:53 PM
This is what happens when you refuse to acknowledge externalities like global disasters and the biodiversity decline, when everything from the cost of electricity to human lives are lines on a spreadsheet, and when you have no capacity for thinking outside the lines of the box you drew for yourself
"ComEd monthly bills jumped about 11% in June. Another 2% increase is expected next June."
It's getting hotter every year and air conditioning is gonna cost more -- but thank god we can create on-demand pictures of Kermit the Frog riding a horse next to Anwar Sadat on the moon
It's getting hotter every year and air conditioning is gonna cost more -- but thank god we can create on-demand pictures of Kermit the Frog riding a horse next to Anwar Sadat on the moon
Illinois running low on power as AI data centers spike electricity demand
The news is a blow to Gov. JB Pritzker’s climate change-fighting goals too, as demand from AI data centers soars while wind and solar development stalls.
chicago.suntimes.com
December 17, 2025 at 11:30 PM
"ComEd monthly bills jumped about 11% in June. Another 2% increase is expected next June."
It's getting hotter every year and air conditioning is gonna cost more -- but thank god we can create on-demand pictures of Kermit the Frog riding a horse next to Anwar Sadat on the moon
It's getting hotter every year and air conditioning is gonna cost more -- but thank god we can create on-demand pictures of Kermit the Frog riding a horse next to Anwar Sadat on the moon
Reposted by Ethan Freedman
I wrote about the best books I read last year -- and defended the constantly growing pile of unread books that lives in my house.
If you're looking for something fun, insightful, or clarifying to dive into over the holidays, pick up one of these bad boys from your local bookstore ⬇️
If you're looking for something fun, insightful, or clarifying to dive into over the holidays, pick up one of these bad boys from your local bookstore ⬇️
The Best Books I Read in 2025
Featuring conspiracy theorists, German naturalists, and Carlos Alcaraz
open.substack.com
December 16, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I wrote about the best books I read last year -- and defended the constantly growing pile of unread books that lives in my house.
If you're looking for something fun, insightful, or clarifying to dive into over the holidays, pick up one of these bad boys from your local bookstore ⬇️
If you're looking for something fun, insightful, or clarifying to dive into over the holidays, pick up one of these bad boys from your local bookstore ⬇️
I wrote about the best books I read last year -- and defended the constantly growing pile of unread books that lives in my house.
If you're looking for something fun, insightful, or clarifying to dive into over the holidays, pick up one of these bad boys from your local bookstore ⬇️
If you're looking for something fun, insightful, or clarifying to dive into over the holidays, pick up one of these bad boys from your local bookstore ⬇️
The Best Books I Read in 2025
Featuring conspiracy theorists, German naturalists, and Carlos Alcaraz
open.substack.com
December 16, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I wrote about the best books I read last year -- and defended the constantly growing pile of unread books that lives in my house.
If you're looking for something fun, insightful, or clarifying to dive into over the holidays, pick up one of these bad boys from your local bookstore ⬇️
If you're looking for something fun, insightful, or clarifying to dive into over the holidays, pick up one of these bad boys from your local bookstore ⬇️
People on this website love to complain about what "the media" does or doesn't do, with no understanding of the pressures and squeezes and roadblocks currently inflicted on the many, many, many journalists who try to do really good work comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable
Please keep this in mind every time you post "Why isn't this a bigger story?" amid a sea of 2 million potential stories every single day
"The newspaper industry served as a feeder for our entire news media ecosystem. So when we lose those newspapers, we've lost that journalism. In the early 2000s, we had 40 journalists per 100,000 people. We're now down to 8 journalists per 100,000 people," says @victorpickard.bsky.social.
December 16, 2025 at 7:22 PM
People on this website love to complain about what "the media" does or doesn't do, with no understanding of the pressures and squeezes and roadblocks currently inflicted on the many, many, many journalists who try to do really good work comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable
"The people who are making culture are actively dumbing it down, which I fear leads to a vicious cycle where we do, indeed, get dumber... The powers that be are coddling us into a frictionless existence, carried through life like swaddled babies, completely lacking in agency."
Fleshed out this argument—about arrested development culture and Christmas—in a new essay, which you can read here: open.substack.com/pub/thedesko...
December 16, 2025 at 4:16 PM
"The people who are making culture are actively dumbing it down, which I fear leads to a vicious cycle where we do, indeed, get dumber... The powers that be are coddling us into a frictionless existence, carried through life like swaddled babies, completely lacking in agency."
Read this
Two nights playing with fire at Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce's steakhouse: defector.com/two-nights-p...
Two Nights Playing With Fire At Patrick Mahomes And Travis Kelce's Steakhouse | Defector
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As celebrity restaurant mascots, athletes offer a tidy sense of vertical integration: Why not supply the very calories they need to expend on the field? I’m surprised there are so…
defector.com
December 16, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Read this