Stowe Boyd
@stoweboyd.bsky.social
Work anthropologist, researcher, analyst, writer.
www.workfutures.io.
@index@stoweboyd.io
The economics and ecology of work, in a time of accelerating uncertainty in our lives, society, and business.
Work touches everything.
www.workfutures.io.
@index@stoweboyd.io
The economics and ecology of work, in a time of accelerating uncertainty in our lives, society, and business.
Work touches everything.
Short Takes #12
Meta VR Layoffs | AI Layoffs. Oops. | Home Insurance Crisis | Trump’s Manufacturing Boom
When you’re setting out to understand a culture, it’s best to seek diverse sources of information that demonstrate a variety of biases.
| O’Toole, Bennis
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Meta VR Layoffs | AI Layoffs. Oops. | Home Insurance Crisis | Trump’s Manufacturing Boom
When you’re setting out to understand a culture, it’s best to seek diverse sources of information that demonstrate a variety of biases.
| O’Toole, Bennis
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Short Takes #12: A Variety Of Biases
O’Toole, Bennis | Meta VR Layoffs | AI Layoffs. Oops. | US Home Insurance Crisis | Remember Trump’s Promised Manufacturing Boom?
www.workfutures.io
January 15, 2026 at 11:37 AM
Short Takes #12
Meta VR Layoffs | AI Layoffs. Oops. | Home Insurance Crisis | Trump’s Manufacturing Boom
When you’re setting out to understand a culture, it’s best to seek diverse sources of information that demonstrate a variety of biases.
| O’Toole, Bennis
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Meta VR Layoffs | AI Layoffs. Oops. | Home Insurance Crisis | Trump’s Manufacturing Boom
When you’re setting out to understand a culture, it’s best to seek diverse sources of information that demonstrate a variety of biases.
| O’Toole, Bennis
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Adam Tooze | 'In its darkest incarnation, the administration embraces a vision of conservatism somewhere between steampunk and reactionary 19th-century Catholicism.'
And we are at the start of a science-driven renewable energy revolution, and sitting it out.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
And we are at the start of a science-driven renewable energy revolution, and sitting it out.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | Trump Broke the World Order. Now What?
With the president’s actions in Venezuela, we’re entering a new era. Here’s what it could look like.
www.nytimes.com
January 11, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Adam Tooze | 'In its darkest incarnation, the administration embraces a vision of conservatism somewhere between steampunk and reactionary 19th-century Catholicism.'
And we are at the start of a science-driven renewable energy revolution, and sitting it out.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
And we are at the start of a science-driven renewable energy revolution, and sitting it out.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
I appreciated Carlos Lozada observation: we invaded Panama in operation Just Cause and grabbed Noriega after they declared war on US and shot and killed a marine, but in Venezuela we grabbed Maduro just 'cause.
January 10, 2026 at 3:07 PM
I appreciated Carlos Lozada observation: we invaded Panama in operation Just Cause and grabbed Noriega after they declared war on US and shot and killed a marine, but in Venezuela we grabbed Maduro just 'cause.
Short Takes #11: Easier To Destroy
Manufacturing Down | They Say One Thing, But… | A New Car? Prepare To Pay.
It’s easier to destroy a social order than to build one. | David Brooks
Make The Office Great Again? For the managerial elite, but not for everybody.
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Manufacturing Down | They Say One Thing, But… | A New Car? Prepare To Pay.
It’s easier to destroy a social order than to build one. | David Brooks
Make The Office Great Again? For the managerial elite, but not for everybody.
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Short Takes #11: Easier To Destroy
David Brooks | Manufacturing Down For 10th Month | They Say One Thing, But… | A New Car? Prepare To Pay.
www.workfutures.io
January 9, 2026 at 8:48 PM
Short Takes #11: Easier To Destroy
Manufacturing Down | They Say One Thing, But… | A New Car? Prepare To Pay.
It’s easier to destroy a social order than to build one. | David Brooks
Make The Office Great Again? For the managerial elite, but not for everybody.
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Manufacturing Down | They Say One Thing, But… | A New Car? Prepare To Pay.
It’s easier to destroy a social order than to build one. | David Brooks
Make The Office Great Again? For the managerial elite, but not for everybody.
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Reposted by Stowe Boyd
It's so cool and forward thinking to take one of the most recognizable brands in human history, something that basically everyone who uses a computer is familiar with, and just smear a heaping shovel of dogshit all over it. Masterful gambit, sirs.
January 5, 2026 at 6:37 PM
It's so cool and forward thinking to take one of the most recognizable brands in human history, something that basically everyone who uses a computer is familiar with, and just smear a heaping shovel of dogshit all over it. Masterful gambit, sirs.
Changing One's Views
Allostasis | 401(k) Participation | The ‘No-Shoes’ Office | A Lesson From The Nordics
Faced with the choice between changing one’s views and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everybody gets busy on the proof.
| J K Galbraith
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Allostasis | 401(k) Participation | The ‘No-Shoes’ Office | A Lesson From The Nordics
Faced with the choice between changing one’s views and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everybody gets busy on the proof.
| J K Galbraith
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
January 5, 2026 at 8:42 PM
Changing One's Views
Allostasis | 401(k) Participation | The ‘No-Shoes’ Office | A Lesson From The Nordics
Faced with the choice between changing one’s views and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everybody gets busy on the proof.
| J K Galbraith
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Allostasis | 401(k) Participation | The ‘No-Shoes’ Office | A Lesson From The Nordics
Faced with the choice between changing one’s views and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everybody gets busy on the proof.
| J K Galbraith
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Reposted by Stowe Boyd
“Can’t believe NYC elected a Muslim as mayor.”
In truth—a Black American Christian woman swearing in a Ugandan American Muslim of South Asian ethnicity as his Syrian American wife holds the Qurans he swears in on, all while standing on the steps of a subway station—is the most NYC thing imaginable.
In truth—a Black American Christian woman swearing in a Ugandan American Muslim of South Asian ethnicity as his Syrian American wife holds the Qurans he swears in on, all while standing on the steps of a subway station—is the most NYC thing imaginable.
January 1, 2026 at 11:43 AM
“Can’t believe NYC elected a Muslim as mayor.”
In truth—a Black American Christian woman swearing in a Ugandan American Muslim of South Asian ethnicity as his Syrian American wife holds the Qurans he swears in on, all while standing on the steps of a subway station—is the most NYC thing imaginable.
In truth—a Black American Christian woman swearing in a Ugandan American Muslim of South Asian ethnicity as his Syrian American wife holds the Qurans he swears in on, all while standing on the steps of a subway station—is the most NYC thing imaginable.
Reposted by Stowe Boyd
Microsoft released a study showing the 40 jobs most at risk by AI:
December 29, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Microsoft released a study showing the 40 jobs most at risk by AI:
No Other Choice
Gilles Deleuze | Dying, Er, Killing For A Job | Related Notes
What we most lack is a belief in the world, we’ve quite lost the world, it’s been taken from us.
| Gilles Deleuze
…
And who took it?
www.workfutures.io/p/no-other-c...
Gilles Deleuze | Dying, Er, Killing For A Job | Related Notes
What we most lack is a belief in the world, we’ve quite lost the world, it’s been taken from us.
| Gilles Deleuze
…
And who took it?
www.workfutures.io/p/no-other-c...
No Other Choice
Gilles Deleuze | Dying, Er, Killing For A Job | Related Notes
www.workfutures.io
December 29, 2025 at 7:28 PM
No Other Choice
Gilles Deleuze | Dying, Er, Killing For A Job | Related Notes
What we most lack is a belief in the world, we’ve quite lost the world, it’s been taken from us.
| Gilles Deleuze
…
And who took it?
www.workfutures.io/p/no-other-c...
Gilles Deleuze | Dying, Er, Killing For A Job | Related Notes
What we most lack is a belief in the world, we’ve quite lost the world, it’s been taken from us.
| Gilles Deleuze
…
And who took it?
www.workfutures.io/p/no-other-c...
Reposted by Stowe Boyd
“Car bloat”—increasingly oversized automobiles—worsens road safety, affordability and the environment.
Here are some of the stories I wrote in 2025 examining the trend and proposing solutions. 🧵
In @vox.com, I likened car bloat to secondhand smoke (which helped bring down the US tobacco industry).
Here are some of the stories I wrote in 2025 examining the trend and proposing solutions. 🧵
In @vox.com, I likened car bloat to secondhand smoke (which helped bring down the US tobacco industry).
Gigantic SUVs are a public health threat. Why don’t we treat them like one?
The anti-tobacco playbook could help turn the US public against their beloved oversized cars.
www.vox.com
December 28, 2025 at 1:08 PM
“Car bloat”—increasingly oversized automobiles—worsens road safety, affordability and the environment.
Here are some of the stories I wrote in 2025 examining the trend and proposing solutions. 🧵
In @vox.com, I likened car bloat to secondhand smoke (which helped bring down the US tobacco industry).
Here are some of the stories I wrote in 2025 examining the trend and proposing solutions. 🧵
In @vox.com, I likened car bloat to secondhand smoke (which helped bring down the US tobacco industry).
Short Takes #8: Some Form Of Reincarnation
Razib Khan | Office Space | Color Me Productive | It's Not AI, It's Interest Rates | Will We Overcome Divisions In 2026?
25% of Americans believe in reincarnation, or some form of reincarnation. | Razib Khan
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Razib Khan | Office Space | Color Me Productive | It's Not AI, It's Interest Rates | Will We Overcome Divisions In 2026?
25% of Americans believe in reincarnation, or some form of reincarnation. | Razib Khan
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Short Takes #8: Some Form Of Reincarnation
Razib Khan | Office Space | Color Me Productive | It's Not AI, It's Interest Rates | Will We Overcome Divisions In 2026?
www.workfutures.io
December 28, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Short Takes #8: Some Form Of Reincarnation
Razib Khan | Office Space | Color Me Productive | It's Not AI, It's Interest Rates | Will We Overcome Divisions In 2026?
25% of Americans believe in reincarnation, or some form of reincarnation. | Razib Khan
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Razib Khan | Office Space | Color Me Productive | It's Not AI, It's Interest Rates | Will We Overcome Divisions In 2026?
25% of Americans believe in reincarnation, or some form of reincarnation. | Razib Khan
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
My favorite novel of 2025: The Orenda, by Joseph Boyden.
I am a great fan of historical fiction.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ore...
I am a great fan of historical fiction.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ore...
The Orenda - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
December 25, 2025 at 12:58 PM
My favorite novel of 2025: The Orenda, by Joseph Boyden.
I am a great fan of historical fiction.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ore...
I am a great fan of historical fiction.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ore...
Mathew Walther | 'Coalitions organized around symbolic enmities and ideological absolutes rather than shared material interests are prone to sudden collapse.'
The dissolution of MAGA?
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/o...
The dissolution of MAGA?
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/o...
Opinion | The Strange Death of Make America Great Again
www.nytimes.com
December 25, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Mathew Walther | 'Coalitions organized around symbolic enmities and ideological absolutes rather than shared material interests are prone to sudden collapse.'
The dissolution of MAGA?
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/o...
The dissolution of MAGA?
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/o...
Reposted by Stowe Boyd
Lutnick isn’t stupid. He knows what he’s saying here is a lie. Kellyanne knows this is a lie. But they have nothing but contempt for the Fox audience, and serving up lies to the lemmings has worked so well for so long. A tiny handful are doing well, millions are not.
December 24, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Lutnick isn’t stupid. He knows what he’s saying here is a lie. Kellyanne knows this is a lie. But they have nothing but contempt for the Fox audience, and serving up lies to the lemmings has worked so well for so long. A tiny handful are doing well, millions are not.
Ezra Klein | 'Trump won the 2024 election narrowly: 49.9 percent of the popular vote and an edge in the battleground states so slim that flipping 175,000 votes would have thrown the election to Kamala Harris.'
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/o...
Opinion | The Trump Vibe Shift Is Dead
www.nytimes.com
December 21, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Ezra Klein | 'Trump won the 2024 election narrowly: 49.9 percent of the popular vote and an edge in the battleground states so slim that flipping 175,000 votes would have thrown the election to Kamala Harris.'
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/21/o...
Short Takes #7: We Can Teach Our Children Nothing
AI Vending Machine Flops | Just In Time For Holiday Travel | Tech Layoffs | TikTok Brain
We can teach our children nothing. … Each must learn its lesson anew. | Albert Einstein
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
AI Vending Machine Flops | Just In Time For Holiday Travel | Tech Layoffs | TikTok Brain
We can teach our children nothing. … Each must learn its lesson anew. | Albert Einstein
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Short Takes #7: We Can Teach Our Children Nothing
Albert Einstein | AI Vending Machine Flops | Just In Time For Holiday Travel | Tech Layoffs | TikTok Brain
www.workfutures.io
December 20, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Short Takes #7: We Can Teach Our Children Nothing
AI Vending Machine Flops | Just In Time For Holiday Travel | Tech Layoffs | TikTok Brain
We can teach our children nothing. … Each must learn its lesson anew. | Albert Einstein
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
AI Vending Machine Flops | Just In Time For Holiday Travel | Tech Layoffs | TikTok Brain
We can teach our children nothing. … Each must learn its lesson anew. | Albert Einstein
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
I think Romanians and Moldovans -- who speaak Romanian -- might be more like Italy, Spain, and Portugal. It's a Romance language, after all.
I’m convinced that this map is reflecting reality perfectly.
December 18, 2025 at 2:09 PM
I think Romanians and Moldovans -- who speaak Romanian -- might be more like Italy, Spain, and Portugal. It's a Romance language, after all.
Gen Z Stare Aesthetic
Leset has adopted the same style as Everlane
www.stoweboyd.io
December 18, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Short Takes #6: If We Change
Outcomes, Not Tasks and Skills | The Quarter-Zip Generation | Flexicurity
I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better. | Georg C Lichtenberg
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Outcomes, Not Tasks and Skills | The Quarter-Zip Generation | Flexicurity
I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better. | Georg C Lichtenberg
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Short Takes #6: If We Change
Georg C Lichtenberg | Outcomes, Not Tasks and Skills | The Quarter-Zip Generation | Flexicurity
www.workfutures.io
December 17, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Short Takes #6: If We Change
Outcomes, Not Tasks and Skills | The Quarter-Zip Generation | Flexicurity
I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better. | Georg C Lichtenberg
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Outcomes, Not Tasks and Skills | The Quarter-Zip Generation | Flexicurity
I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better. | Georg C Lichtenberg
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Short Takes #5: The Best Test of Truth
All-Time Low Life Evaluation | Utility Costs | China Shock 1.0 and 2.0
The best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market. | Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
All-Time Low Life Evaluation | Utility Costs | China Shock 1.0 and 2.0
The best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market. | Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Short Takes #5: The Best Test of Truth
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr | All-Time Low Life Evaluation | Utility Costs | China Shock 1.0 and 2.0
www.workfutures.io
December 16, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Short Takes #5: The Best Test of Truth
All-Time Low Life Evaluation | Utility Costs | China Shock 1.0 and 2.0
The best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market. | Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
All-Time Low Life Evaluation | Utility Costs | China Shock 1.0 and 2.0
The best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market. | Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
www.workfutures.io/p/short-take...
Reposted by Stowe Boyd
Why is the man that miraculously regrew an ear having so much trouble with “hand-shaking” injuries?
December 14, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Why is the man that miraculously regrew an ear having so much trouble with “hand-shaking” injuries?
Reposted by Stowe Boyd
You can’t “fix” X, The Everything App by going back and posting there because the owner has this thumb on the scale of the algorithm to promote the worst ideas and people. It’s not a viable solution, you have to let it go.
Dear Bluesky liberals. Come back to Twitter. Please. PLEASE.
December 14, 2025 at 11:59 PM
You can’t “fix” X, The Everything App by going back and posting there because the owner has this thumb on the scale of the algorithm to promote the worst ideas and people. It’s not a viable solution, you have to let it go.
Reposted by Stowe Boyd
Don't mistake incompetence for accident. The degradation of your social media feed, the collapse of your news, the defunding of your school—it is all functional.
They are happy to rule over the ashes, as long as they are the ones holding the match.
They are happy to rule over the ashes, as long as they are the ones holding the match.
December 14, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Don't mistake incompetence for accident. The degradation of your social media feed, the collapse of your news, the defunding of your school—it is all functional.
They are happy to rule over the ashes, as long as they are the ones holding the match.
They are happy to rule over the ashes, as long as they are the ones holding the match.
Max Read | 'In employment law, as in criminal defense law, the answer to the question “should I consult a lawyer?” is always yes.'
The nature of work is inherently adversarial.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/b...
The nature of work is inherently adversarial.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/b...
My Boss Got Way Too Drunk at the Christmas Party
www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Max Read | 'In employment law, as in criminal defense law, the answer to the question “should I consult a lawyer?” is always yes.'
The nature of work is inherently adversarial.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/b...
The nature of work is inherently adversarial.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/b...
EJ Dionne | 'Republicans will regret what they allowed [Trump] to throw away.'
2026 is coming.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/o...
2026 is coming.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/o...
Opinion | Trump Confronts a Backlash of the Reasonable
www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2025 at 1:55 PM
EJ Dionne | 'Republicans will regret what they allowed [Trump] to throw away.'
2026 is coming.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/o...
2026 is coming.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/13/o...