Matthew Archer
@matthewarcher.bsky.social
anthropologist in maastricht interested in intersections of tech and sustainability in food and mineral supply chains
book! https://nyupress.org/9781479822027/unsustainable/
book! https://nyupress.org/9781479822027/unsustainable/
Pinned
Matthew Archer
@matthewarcher.bsky.social
· Aug 13
Unsustainable
A behind-the-scenes look at how corporate and financial actors enforce a business-friendly approach to global sustainabilityIn recent years, companies have f...
nyupress.org
BOOK THREAD
in february, i published my book UNSUSTAINABLE: MEASUREMENT, REPORTING, AND THE LIMITS OF CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY with #NYUPress @capacademicbooks.bsky.social
#greensky #anthrosky #geosky #newbook #sustainability #politicalecology
nyupress.org/978147982201...
in february, i published my book UNSUSTAINABLE: MEASUREMENT, REPORTING, AND THE LIMITS OF CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY with #NYUPress @capacademicbooks.bsky.social
#greensky #anthrosky #geosky #newbook #sustainability #politicalecology
nyupress.org/978147982201...
"ghost jobs" -- positions companies advertise that they never plan to fill, just to harvest your data, make themselves look like they're growing, etc.
columbialawreview.org/content/ghos...
columbialawreview.org/content/ghos...
GHOST JOBS - Columbia Law Review
Introduction A tight employment market, economic uncertainty, and the rising (and often clumsy) use of artificial intelligence in hiring have coagulated into a witches’ brew of turmoil for job seekers...
columbialawreview.org
January 25, 2026 at 1:48 PM
"ghost jobs" -- positions companies advertise that they never plan to fill, just to harvest your data, make themselves look like they're growing, etc.
columbialawreview.org/content/ghos...
columbialawreview.org/content/ghos...
nice thread about recent attempts to make environmental collapse a security issue (cf the icelandic report from nov.)
i'd add a 3rd issue, which is that it's actually very dangerous to frame this as a security issue because it invites military "solutions" and delegitimizes other kinds of responses.
i'd add a 3rd issue, which is that it's actually very dangerous to frame this as a security issue because it invites military "solutions" and delegitimizes other kinds of responses.
You may’ve seen coverage of a new report on the threat to national security from environmental collapse.
A common response that’s got my goat is: “Look, it’s not just tree-hugging enviros saying this, it’s hard-nosed spooks!”
A short thread on why this framing is bad history & bad politics🧵😡😉
A common response that’s got my goat is: “Look, it’s not just tree-hugging enviros saying this, it’s hard-nosed spooks!”
A short thread on why this framing is bad history & bad politics🧵😡😉
Biodiversity collapse threatens UK security, intelligence chiefs warn
Ecosystem destruction will increase food shortages, disorder and mass migration, with effects already being felt
www.theguardian.com
January 25, 2026 at 10:53 AM
nice thread about recent attempts to make environmental collapse a security issue (cf the icelandic report from nov.)
i'd add a 3rd issue, which is that it's actually very dangerous to frame this as a security issue because it invites military "solutions" and delegitimizes other kinds of responses.
i'd add a 3rd issue, which is that it's actually very dangerous to frame this as a security issue because it invites military "solutions" and delegitimizes other kinds of responses.
Reposted by Matthew Archer
“.. He cared about people deeply ..,” said Michael Pretti, Alex’s father. “He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street. He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong ..”
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/national/202...
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/national/202...
January 24, 2026 at 10:22 PM
“.. He cared about people deeply ..,” said Michael Pretti, Alex’s father. “He thought it was terrible, you know, kidnapping children, just grabbing people off the street. He cared about those people, and he knew it was wrong ..”
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/national/202...
@washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/national/202...
Reposted by Matthew Archer
'Crypto imaginaries, crypto escapes' @jcultecon.bsky.social youtu.be/0_gWAJrjkD4
Crypto imaginaries, crypto escapes
YouTube video by Cultural Economy in the Kitchen
youtu.be
January 23, 2026 at 4:30 PM
'Crypto imaginaries, crypto escapes' @jcultecon.bsky.social youtu.be/0_gWAJrjkD4
Reposted by Matthew Archer
"It’s far from unreasonable to expect scientists and the academic community to act in line with their own knowledge and warnings, and I think it’s fair to say that (like most other parts of society) academia isn’t responding robustly to a world that’s literally and metaphorically on fire."
Interview with @abiperrin.bsky.social : “academia isn’t responding robustly to a world that’s literally and metaphorically on fire”
allouryesterdays.info/2026/01/08/i...
allouryesterdays.info/2026/01/08/i...
Interview with Abi Perrin: "academia isn’t responding robustly to a world that’s literally and metaphorically on fire" - All Our Yesterdays
Dr Abi Perrin, who was one of the presenters at November’s National Emergency Briefing kindly did an email interview. Her website is here. This post is especially worth your time. She is on Bluesky as...
allouryesterdays.info
January 8, 2026 at 5:02 PM
"It’s far from unreasonable to expect scientists and the academic community to act in line with their own knowledge and warnings, and I think it’s fair to say that (like most other parts of society) academia isn’t responding robustly to a world that’s literally and metaphorically on fire."
Reposted by Matthew Archer
To understand today’s social malaise and generalized burn-out, I’m increasingly drawn to Herbert Marcuse’s strand of Freudian critical theory. A devastating critique of the work ethic and mass media manipulation that doesn’t dwell on melancholy but is actually serious about changing the world.
January 24, 2026 at 9:56 AM
To understand today’s social malaise and generalized burn-out, I’m increasingly drawn to Herbert Marcuse’s strand of Freudian critical theory. A devastating critique of the work ethic and mass media manipulation that doesn’t dwell on melancholy but is actually serious about changing the world.
Reposted by Matthew Archer
It's genuinely astonishing to me the number of people willing to claim with a straight face that this word association tshotchke that didn't exist a few years ago is absolutely necessary for the conduct of science.
January 22, 2026 at 8:32 PM
It's genuinely astonishing to me the number of people willing to claim with a straight face that this word association tshotchke that didn't exist a few years ago is absolutely necessary for the conduct of science.
Reposted by Matthew Archer
Feels almost quaint, at this point, to be reporting things like disclosure requirements and stricter labelling rules ‘did not materially alter the sustainability of [mutual fund] portfolios’.
www.ft.com/content/7535...
www.ft.com/content/7535...
EU green rules fail to boost funds’ ESG credentials, research finds
SFDR also did not boost flows to more sustainable funds, say academics
www.ft.com
January 24, 2026 at 8:29 AM
Feels almost quaint, at this point, to be reporting things like disclosure requirements and stricter labelling rules ‘did not materially alter the sustainability of [mutual fund] portfolios’.
www.ft.com/content/7535...
www.ft.com/content/7535...
Reposted by Matthew Archer
📢 A national AI board is needed in the Netherlands!
Our lab directors @natalihelberger.bsky.social and @claesdevreese.bsky.social, and our board member Pascal Wiggers, have signed an open letter asking the government to establish a regulatory body for AI.
Read more: www.aim4dem.nl/letter-to-th...
Our lab directors @natalihelberger.bsky.social and @claesdevreese.bsky.social, and our board member Pascal Wiggers, have signed an open letter asking the government to establish a regulatory body for AI.
Read more: www.aim4dem.nl/letter-to-th...
Letter to the informateur proposing national AI board signed by 60 academics & experts – AI, Media & Democracy Lab
AI, Media & Democracy Lab
www.aim4dem.nl
January 23, 2026 at 10:00 AM
📢 A national AI board is needed in the Netherlands!
Our lab directors @natalihelberger.bsky.social and @claesdevreese.bsky.social, and our board member Pascal Wiggers, have signed an open letter asking the government to establish a regulatory body for AI.
Read more: www.aim4dem.nl/letter-to-th...
Our lab directors @natalihelberger.bsky.social and @claesdevreese.bsky.social, and our board member Pascal Wiggers, have signed an open letter asking the government to establish a regulatory body for AI.
Read more: www.aim4dem.nl/letter-to-th...
Reposted by Matthew Archer
New book officially out 🚨
If you ever wanted to know what Italian philosophy has been up to in the last 10-20 years, look no further. “An introduction to Contemporary Italian Thought” is out today with chapters on cyberfascism, technology & work, pandemic biopolitics, and posthumanism.
If you ever wanted to know what Italian philosophy has been up to in the last 10-20 years, look no further. “An introduction to Contemporary Italian Thought” is out today with chapters on cyberfascism, technology & work, pandemic biopolitics, and posthumanism.
An Introduction to Contemporary Italian Thought
Over the past three decades, Italian thought has emerged as a major field within continental philosophy. But what are the latest developments since Italian theo…
www.bloomsbury.com
January 22, 2026 at 10:41 AM
New book officially out 🚨
If you ever wanted to know what Italian philosophy has been up to in the last 10-20 years, look no further. “An introduction to Contemporary Italian Thought” is out today with chapters on cyberfascism, technology & work, pandemic biopolitics, and posthumanism.
If you ever wanted to know what Italian philosophy has been up to in the last 10-20 years, look no further. “An introduction to Contemporary Italian Thought” is out today with chapters on cyberfascism, technology & work, pandemic biopolitics, and posthumanism.
Reposted by Matthew Archer
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
January 21, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Our paper on the mysterious Devonian organism Prototaxites has now finally been published! See the paper here (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) and our explainer thread below!
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Prototaxites reconstruction by Matt Humpage
Reposted by Matthew Archer
It's a sign of the times that Big Tech has switched from greenwashing to datacentre-washing. In actual fact, the AI industry has revitalised fossil fuel and the imperialist credo that burning as much energy as possible is the route to worldly power. arstechnica.com/ai/2026/01/m...
Microsoft vows to cover full power costs for energy-hungry AI data centers
Company responds to community concerns over electricity bills and water use.
arstechnica.com
January 21, 2026 at 7:50 AM
It's a sign of the times that Big Tech has switched from greenwashing to datacentre-washing. In actual fact, the AI industry has revitalised fossil fuel and the imperialist credo that burning as much energy as possible is the route to worldly power. arstechnica.com/ai/2026/01/m...
Reposted by Matthew Archer
January 21, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Reposted by Matthew Archer
"Meticulously researched and lucidly written, 'Hard Work' uncovers the multiplicitous meanings and manifestations of work among the Mengen of Papua New Guinea."
- Dr. Sophie Chao, University of Sydney
Find Tuomas Tammisto's 'Hard Work' (2024) at: doi.org/10.33134/HUP.... It's fully #openaccess!
- Dr. Sophie Chao, University of Sydney
Find Tuomas Tammisto's 'Hard Work' (2024) at: doi.org/10.33134/HUP.... It's fully #openaccess!
January 14, 2026 at 11:21 AM
"Meticulously researched and lucidly written, 'Hard Work' uncovers the multiplicitous meanings and manifestations of work among the Mengen of Papua New Guinea."
- Dr. Sophie Chao, University of Sydney
Find Tuomas Tammisto's 'Hard Work' (2024) at: doi.org/10.33134/HUP.... It's fully #openaccess!
- Dr. Sophie Chao, University of Sydney
Find Tuomas Tammisto's 'Hard Work' (2024) at: doi.org/10.33134/HUP.... It's fully #openaccess!
Reposted by Matthew Archer
Out now!
I've edited a special issue of New Political Economy on 'Centring exploitation in global political economy'.
Link to the intro:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Other articles (all brilliant!) and a short summary 👇
1/
I've edited a special issue of New Political Economy on 'Centring exploitation in global political economy'.
Link to the intro:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Other articles (all brilliant!) and a short summary 👇
1/
January 20, 2026 at 10:05 AM
Out now!
I've edited a special issue of New Political Economy on 'Centring exploitation in global political economy'.
Link to the intro:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Other articles (all brilliant!) and a short summary 👇
1/
I've edited a special issue of New Political Economy on 'Centring exploitation in global political economy'.
Link to the intro:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Other articles (all brilliant!) and a short summary 👇
1/
Reposted by Matthew Archer
Valentino Garavani, the iconic Italian designer known for his glamorous gowns and signature "Valentino red," has died at 93.
Valentino, fashion designer to the jet set, dies aged 93 in Rome
Valentino Garavani, the iconic Italian designer known for his glamorous gowns and signature "Valentino red," has died at 93.
bit.ly
January 19, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Valentino Garavani, the iconic Italian designer known for his glamorous gowns and signature "Valentino red," has died at 93.
Reposted by Matthew Archer
RIP German anthropologist Johannes Fabian, who passed away last Tuesday. Fabian was most widely known as the author of "Time and the Other: How Anthropology Makes its Object" (1983), a then-radical & still-influential critique of anthropological writing, knowledge-making & fieldwork relations. RIP.
January 15, 2026 at 10:39 PM
RIP German anthropologist Johannes Fabian, who passed away last Tuesday. Fabian was most widely known as the author of "Time and the Other: How Anthropology Makes its Object" (1983), a then-radical & still-influential critique of anthropological writing, knowledge-making & fieldwork relations. RIP.
a bright spot: jill scott has a new album coming soon
January 19, 2026 at 3:12 PM
a bright spot: jill scott has a new album coming soon
Reposted by Matthew Archer
‘We regularly call the cops on our students. Now we’ve sold them to Microsoft’.
Big announcement from @manchester.ac.uk today:
"The University of Manchester has announced a strategic collaboration with Microsoft, becoming the first university in the world to give Microsoft 365 Copilot access and training to every student and colleague."
#GenerativeAI #Research #Manchester
"The University of Manchester has announced a strategic collaboration with Microsoft, becoming the first university in the world to give Microsoft 365 Copilot access and training to every student and colleague."
#GenerativeAI #Research #Manchester
World-first AI partnership between The University of Manchester and Microsoft announced
The University of Manchester becomes first university in the world to provide Microsoft 365 Copilot access and training to all students and staff.65,000 staff and students will receive full Microsoft ...
www.manchester.ac.uk
January 19, 2026 at 12:29 PM
‘We regularly call the cops on our students. Now we’ve sold them to Microsoft’.
Reposted by Matthew Archer
#Poland: A sample of #farmers who diversified, i.e. who sell 15-50% of their products into short food #supplychains (and not only into normal/long food supply chains), have higher perceived #resilience, i.e. higher perceived adaptability & transformability of their farms: doi.org/10.1186/s401...
Are farms in short food supply chains more resilient to external shocks? The assessment of Polish farmers’ perception - Agricultural and Food Economics
The aim of the study is to indicate perceived resilience of Polish farms during the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic crisis. Hence, one of our research question is: do farmers involved in short foo...
doi.org
January 18, 2026 at 2:26 PM
#Poland: A sample of #farmers who diversified, i.e. who sell 15-50% of their products into short food #supplychains (and not only into normal/long food supply chains), have higher perceived #resilience, i.e. higher perceived adaptability & transformability of their farms: doi.org/10.1186/s401...
what a truly horrible system we’ve built
January 18, 2026 at 4:18 PM
what a truly horrible system we’ve built
Reposted by Matthew Archer
Grok is so much worse than you think.
January 17, 2026 at 8:45 AM
Grok is so much worse than you think.
Reposted by Matthew Archer
Tech companies want us to outsource all cognitive labor to their models. Instead, academics must defend universities by barring toxic, addictive AI technologies from classrooms, argue @olivia.science and @irisvanrooij.bsky.social .
bit.ly/48FNcJj
bit.ly/48FNcJj
AI Is Hollowing Out Higher Education
Olivia Guest & Iris van Rooij urge teachers and scholars to reject tools that commodify learning, deskill students, and promote illiteracy.
bit.ly
October 17, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Tech companies want us to outsource all cognitive labor to their models. Instead, academics must defend universities by barring toxic, addictive AI technologies from classrooms, argue @olivia.science and @irisvanrooij.bsky.social .
bit.ly/48FNcJj
bit.ly/48FNcJj
Reposted by Matthew Archer
move over, Wittgenstein
January 16, 2026 at 5:15 PM
move over, Wittgenstein
Reposted by Matthew Archer
