Reposted by Natalia Cecire
Fascinating long read here.
January 3, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Fascinating long read here.
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
Excellent reporting.
This is the precisely the purpose of algorithms that displace human labor and human interaction; it’s not a glitch, and rather than focus on hypothetical harms and doomsday scenarios that only serve as PR for how powerful “AI” is, look at the harms it’s doing right now.
This is the precisely the purpose of algorithms that displace human labor and human interaction; it’s not a glitch, and rather than focus on hypothetical harms and doomsday scenarios that only serve as PR for how powerful “AI” is, look at the harms it’s doing right now.
You've probably been following the story about fraud in MN. I wrote about the people who provide services who are being driven into bankruptcy, thanks to the Walz' administration decision to hire Optum AI to screen all payments. It's a disaster.
Perry: Trusted providers are being unfairly swept up in Minnesota’s fraud crackdown
As the state's new anti-fraud screening system went into effect, the Holland Center expected to receive $212,000 in payments. It instead received $22,000, David M. Perry writes. If nothing changes soo...
www.startribune.com
January 4, 2026 at 3:02 AM
Excellent reporting.
This is the precisely the purpose of algorithms that displace human labor and human interaction; it’s not a glitch, and rather than focus on hypothetical harms and doomsday scenarios that only serve as PR for how powerful “AI” is, look at the harms it’s doing right now.
This is the precisely the purpose of algorithms that displace human labor and human interaction; it’s not a glitch, and rather than focus on hypothetical harms and doomsday scenarios that only serve as PR for how powerful “AI” is, look at the harms it’s doing right now.
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
Expect to see a lot of this classic Onion headline, from 23 years ago, over the coming weeks.
January 3, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Expect to see a lot of this classic Onion headline, from 23 years ago, over the coming weeks.
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
The Organization of American Historians is conducting an oral history open to those who worked for the federal government or were contractors. This includes those who retired or were forced to leave because of changes since January.
www.fecohp.org
www.fecohp.org
FECOHP – Federal Employees and Contractors Oral History Project
www.fecohp.org
January 3, 2026 at 8:15 PM
The Organization of American Historians is conducting an oral history open to those who worked for the federal government or were contractors. This includes those who retired or were forced to leave because of changes since January.
www.fecohp.org
www.fecohp.org
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
Some of these run from the port area or slightly offshore to a Chevron refinery in El Segundo, which is the 2nd-biggest refinery in California
www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports...
www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports...
January 3, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Some of these run from the port area or slightly offshore to a Chevron refinery in El Segundo, which is the 2nd-biggest refinery in California
www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports...
www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports...
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
Here's a bit I wrote back in July about Trump, war, and Benjamin. It's supposed to be part of a forthcoming roundtable on Trumpian Aesthetics, but between the writing the publishing, all the predictions have come true or worse.
January 3, 2026 at 7:42 AM
Here's a bit I wrote back in July about Trump, war, and Benjamin. It's supposed to be part of a forthcoming roundtable on Trumpian Aesthetics, but between the writing the publishing, all the predictions have come true or worse.
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
Some of my fellow manuscript nerds may not be familiar with the thriving practices around handwritten Torah scrolls, which should be remedied! So have a 🧵
Torah scrolls as we know them are about two thousand years old, and have been essentially identical to one another for the last thousand years.
Torah scrolls as we know them are about two thousand years old, and have been essentially identical to one another for the last thousand years.
January 2, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Some of my fellow manuscript nerds may not be familiar with the thriving practices around handwritten Torah scrolls, which should be remedied! So have a 🧵
Torah scrolls as we know them are about two thousand years old, and have been essentially identical to one another for the last thousand years.
Torah scrolls as we know them are about two thousand years old, and have been essentially identical to one another for the last thousand years.
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
Oh hey, we won an award! Cool.
Melanie Walsh @mellymeldubs.bsky.social and co-collaborators Sylvia Fernandez, Miriam Posner, Anna Preus, & Amardeep Singh’s project titled “Responsible Datasets in Context” received a Digital Project Award (Newcomer) from the American Studies Association. www.responsible-datasets-in-context.com
Home
Responsible Datasets in Context
www.responsible-datasets-in-context.com
January 3, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Oh hey, we won an award! Cool.
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
Will write up full story with details somewhere later and link here.
Shorter version: 1995, researching in New Orleans including a 1910s legal case. A party in the case had donated his papers to an archive; his copies were used for reference in standard book on the subject.
1/
Shorter version: 1995, researching in New Orleans including a 1910s legal case. A party in the case had donated his papers to an archive; his copies were used for reference in standard book on the subject.
1/
I think we need a mega thread of everyone's craziest archive stories.
December 25, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Will write up full story with details somewhere later and link here.
Shorter version: 1995, researching in New Orleans including a 1910s legal case. A party in the case had donated his papers to an archive; his copies were used for reference in standard book on the subject.
1/
Shorter version: 1995, researching in New Orleans including a 1910s legal case. A party in the case had donated his papers to an archive; his copies were used for reference in standard book on the subject.
1/
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
3. It creates a barrier between the user and the archive staff, reducing the kinds of interactions that can produce the biggest discoveries. That's a major theme in many responses. The best stuff happens when someone breaks down a door for you (literally in your case, but figuratively in others).
December 23, 2025 at 6:53 PM
3. It creates a barrier between the user and the archive staff, reducing the kinds of interactions that can produce the biggest discoveries. That's a major theme in many responses. The best stuff happens when someone breaks down a door for you (literally in your case, but figuratively in others).
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
I shouldn't be spending more time thinking about this than the DHS staffer who image searched "palm trees surf vintage car", but as I'm researching C19/C20 Florida development history, it's hard to avoid the similarities.
Here's the cover of a 1915 pamphlet promoting Miami. Palm trees/ocean/car.
Here's the cover of a 1915 pamphlet promoting Miami. Palm trees/ocean/car.
January 2, 2026 at 11:07 PM
I shouldn't be spending more time thinking about this than the DHS staffer who image searched "palm trees surf vintage car", but as I'm researching C19/C20 Florida development history, it's hard to avoid the similarities.
Here's the cover of a 1915 pamphlet promoting Miami. Palm trees/ocean/car.
Here's the cover of a 1915 pamphlet promoting Miami. Palm trees/ocean/car.
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality.
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
First-of-a-kind study shows encouraging data for trans kids who socially transition
Ninety-four percent of participants in a new study stood firm in their trans identity after five years, and "detransitioning" is rare.
www.popsci.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM
The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality.
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
"The logic is: "Why pay this guy $15 for a run when we know he’s desperate enough to do it for $6?" We save the good tips for the "casual" drivers to hook them in and gamify their experience, while the full-timers get grinded into dust."
“I’m a developer for a major food delivery app. The 'Priority Fee' and 'Driver Benefit Fee' go 100% to the company.
The driver sees $0 of it.”
www.reddit.com/r/confession...
The driver sees $0 of it.”
www.reddit.com/r/confession...
January 2, 2026 at 10:13 PM
"The logic is: "Why pay this guy $15 for a run when we know he’s desperate enough to do it for $6?" We save the good tips for the "casual" drivers to hook them in and gamify their experience, while the full-timers get grinded into dust."
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
January 2, 2026 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
Not duplicative of the 60 Minutes piece.
It's a deeper dive into how Berkeley students conducted an independent investigation re: the physical plant of CECOT that contributed to substantiating the testimony of men held there under inhumane conditions who were subjected to torture.
It's a deeper dive into how Berkeley students conducted an independent investigation re: the physical plant of CECOT that contributed to substantiating the testimony of men held there under inhumane conditions who were subjected to torture.
Berkeley Human Rights Center challenges CBS decision to pull '60 Minutes' El Salvador prison report:
abc7news.com/post/berkele...
abc7news.com/post/berkele...
Berkeley Human Rights Center challenges CBS decision to pull '60 Minutes' El Salvador prison report
HRC's co-faculty director Alexa Koenig said her team was "surprised" to learn the segment had been shelved despite clearing CBS's extensive legal and editorial review. Berkeley researchers had spent m...
abc7news.com
January 2, 2026 at 10:35 PM
Not duplicative of the 60 Minutes piece.
It's a deeper dive into how Berkeley students conducted an independent investigation re: the physical plant of CECOT that contributed to substantiating the testimony of men held there under inhumane conditions who were subjected to torture.
It's a deeper dive into how Berkeley students conducted an independent investigation re: the physical plant of CECOT that contributed to substantiating the testimony of men held there under inhumane conditions who were subjected to torture.
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
My beloved alma mater getting hosed by Ponzi austerity EdTech.
Breaking down Workday’s $265 million cost - Student Life
The cost of Workday has been criticized by some members of the University community. On Oct. 23, undergraduate and graduate students and faculty protested outside a meeting between Gray and the WashU ...
www.studlife.com
January 2, 2026 at 11:58 AM
My beloved alma mater getting hosed by Ponzi austerity EdTech.
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
"We used a freakishly advanced language model built on trillions of pages of text and crazy linear algebra engines powered by cubic meters of natural gas to achieve a task that could have been done with some dice and a look up table" is like 80% of popular AI applications
The parents of the first baby born in 2026 in this county outside Baltimore got their name ideas from ChatGPT. Hudson Oakley Winkler.
www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/01/c...
www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/01/c...
ChatGPT named Carroll County’s first-born baby in 2026
The first baby born in Carroll County in 2026 was named with help from ChatGPT, a generative artificial intelligence chatbot.
www.baltimoresun.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:39 PM
"We used a freakishly advanced language model built on trillions of pages of text and crazy linear algebra engines powered by cubic meters of natural gas to achieve a task that could have been done with some dice and a look up table" is like 80% of popular AI applications
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
Cover reveal. It's about how & why colonies/states controlled international & domestic migration until 1888, why in the late 19th c the feds took over, & what it was like for politically disfavored groups to live under that arrangement of power. You can't understand voluntary migration history 1/
January 2, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Cover reveal. It's about how & why colonies/states controlled international & domestic migration until 1888, why in the late 19th c the feds took over, & what it was like for politically disfavored groups to live under that arrangement of power. You can't understand voluntary migration history 1/
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
In 2026 I want all of the decent people to remember one thing.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
January 1, 2026 at 10:30 PM
In 2026 I want all of the decent people to remember one thing.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
Still one of my favorite poems, and a good read for the first day of the year.
January 1, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Still one of my favorite poems, and a good read for the first day of the year.
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
2025 has been a rotten year for most early career postdoctoral researchers, especially in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
For a better 2026, check out (or repost) this short thread on a free resource for UK-based SHAPE PhDs within 10 years (excluding career breaks) of the doctorate. 1/3
For a better 2026, check out (or repost) this short thread on a free resource for UK-based SHAPE PhDs within 10 years (excluding career breaks) of the doctorate. 1/3
Early Career Researcher Network
An inclusive, researcher-led network for UK-based early career researchers working in the humanities and social sciences
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
December 31, 2025 at 2:47 PM
2025 has been a rotten year for most early career postdoctoral researchers, especially in Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
For a better 2026, check out (or repost) this short thread on a free resource for UK-based SHAPE PhDs within 10 years (excluding career breaks) of the doctorate. 1/3
For a better 2026, check out (or repost) this short thread on a free resource for UK-based SHAPE PhDs within 10 years (excluding career breaks) of the doctorate. 1/3
and the Duke Herbarium dukechronicle.com/article/pape...
January 1, 2026 at 2:05 PM
and the Duke Herbarium dukechronicle.com/article/pape...
Reposted by Natalia Cecire
This is a really great post.
The next post, on the UK's shameful For Women Scotland Supreme Court decision on defining the word 'female' to exclude trans women.
I'm actually proudest of this, because I think it sets out clearly the EU law counter-position to the UK SC's bad reasoning.
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-tra...
I'm actually proudest of this, because I think it sets out clearly the EU law counter-position to the UK SC's bad reasoning.
www.thegist.ie/the-gist-tra...
The Gist: Trans rights are Data rights
A UK court has made a decision defining genders which has put it at odds with a less noticed, more important, decision from the CJEU. This is the Gist.
www.thegist.ie
January 1, 2026 at 12:36 PM
This is a really great post.