sara m. b. simon
@sarambsimon.bsky.social
phd student in us history (quantification & government data, esp. vital statistics) • former newsroom software engineer & data journalist • she/her • chicago
smbsimon.github.io
smbsimon.github.io
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
Zohran Mamdani just keeps making winning moves. Alondra on your technology committee is pretty much as good as it gets. Hot Damn.
Honored to serve on Mayor-elect @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social Transition Committee on Technology. For too long, too many New Yorkers have been left behind. NYC deserves governance that centers affordability, equity, and the public good-looking forward to the work ahead. www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news...
NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announces transition committees
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani announced Monday the creation of 17 transition advisory committees made up of more than 400 people.
www.cbsnews.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Zohran Mamdani just keeps making winning moves. Alondra on your technology committee is pretty much as good as it gets. Hot Damn.
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
book machine day book machine day
Books We Love is back with a brand new batch of hand-picked titles. Mix and match tags like “Book Club Ideas” and “Eye-Opening Reads.” Find 380+ new 2025 reads, and stick around to browse more than 4,000 books from the last 13 years.
Books We Love
Here are 380+ great reads from 2025 handpicked just for you by NPR staffers and trusted critics.
n.pr
November 24, 2025 at 12:48 PM
book machine day book machine day
built a successful career in journalism. pitched an idea to my editor, and he didn't love it. spent months trying to convince him, and he said people wouldn't find it interesting, probably no one would care. but i trusted my gut. five years later, it's now my dissertation topic
November 23, 2025 at 5:25 PM
built a successful career in journalism. pitched an idea to my editor, and he didn't love it. spent months trying to convince him, and he said people wouldn't find it interesting, probably no one would care. but i trusted my gut. five years later, it's now my dissertation topic
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
I think the shortest version of why LLMs are an anti education technology is that education is fundamentally about making shared context to understand ourselves, each other, and the world
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
November 23, 2025 at 12:57 PM
I think the shortest version of why LLMs are an anti education technology is that education is fundamentally about making shared context to understand ourselves, each other, and the world
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
And by design LLMs destroy shared context
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
The big picture we must examine is why is there a market for free births and related quackery?
The founders of Free Birth Society are monsters but their marks are not entirely unreasonable for wanting the sovereignty & dignity they were sold.
Maybe the medical establishment can do better.
The founders of Free Birth Society are monsters but their marks are not entirely unreasonable for wanting the sovereignty & dignity they were sold.
Maybe the medical establishment can do better.
This is one of the most horrific and evil things I have ever read. www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
A year-long investigation reveals how mothers lost children after being radicalised by uplifting podcast tales of births without midwives or doctors
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:26 PM
The big picture we must examine is why is there a market for free births and related quackery?
The founders of Free Birth Society are monsters but their marks are not entirely unreasonable for wanting the sovereignty & dignity they were sold.
Maybe the medical establishment can do better.
The founders of Free Birth Society are monsters but their marks are not entirely unreasonable for wanting the sovereignty & dignity they were sold.
Maybe the medical establishment can do better.
i had to read this a few times before i saw it, lol. which is why my proofreading process always involves asking the 'say' command on my computer's terminal to read my work aloud to me
A typo in the first sentence of a book is…not something I’ve encountered before.
November 22, 2025 at 5:58 PM
i had to read this a few times before i saw it, lol. which is why my proofreading process always involves asking the 'say' command on my computer's terminal to read my work aloud to me
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
I need everyone, esp anyone working in education or tech (but really everyone) to WATCH THIS CLIP of @drtanksley.bsky.social discussing the technologies infiltrating our schools & psyches and how she is addressing it with our young people. youtu.be/5mtcSL4S3HQ
Howard University AI Panel
YouTube video by Tiera Tanksley
youtu.be
November 22, 2025 at 1:43 PM
I need everyone, esp anyone working in education or tech (but really everyone) to WATCH THIS CLIP of @drtanksley.bsky.social discussing the technologies infiltrating our schools & psyches and how she is addressing it with our young people. youtu.be/5mtcSL4S3HQ
friday night before thanksgiving, the perfect time to make sure your public library hold list contains all the novels you want to read over winter break
November 21, 2025 at 11:13 PM
friday night before thanksgiving, the perfect time to make sure your public library hold list contains all the novels you want to read over winter break
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
We were thrilled to be invited by the Department of Aviation to decorate a tree at out O'Hare! We hope you get to take a look in your holiday travels! Find us at Terminal 5 between gates M18 and M20. All images from our portal featuring members' collections!
November 21, 2025 at 9:55 PM
We were thrilled to be invited by the Department of Aviation to decorate a tree at out O'Hare! We hope you get to take a look in your holiday travels! Find us at Terminal 5 between gates M18 and M20. All images from our portal featuring members' collections!
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
Come work for me! I'm hiring at @usdigitalresponse.org—somebody with experience as a government procurement FTE who wants to join me in providing pro bono support to governments in the U.S. who want to move to a user-centered, Agile software procurement approach. Remote, full-time, $145–165k.
Procurement Specialist at U.S. Digital Response
About U.S. Digital Response
U.S. Digital Response (USDR) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to helping governments and civic institutions respond quickly and efficiently to support the...
us-digital-response.breezy.hr
November 21, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Come work for me! I'm hiring at @usdigitalresponse.org—somebody with experience as a government procurement FTE who wants to join me in providing pro bono support to governments in the U.S. who want to move to a user-centered, Agile software procurement approach. Remote, full-time, $145–165k.
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
We are working on *lots of things* but last night we soft-launched a change I am psyched about that makes our timelines filterable. Now you can see all of a case's entries on a given timeline in one place:
unbreaking.org/issues/immig...
unbreaking.org/issues/immig...
November 21, 2025 at 6:20 PM
We are working on *lots of things* but last night we soft-launched a change I am psyched about that makes our timelines filterable. Now you can see all of a case's entries on a given timeline in one place:
unbreaking.org/issues/immig...
unbreaking.org/issues/immig...
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
Have you ever asked students to keep a research journal or a research log as a step toward the completion of an essay? I'd love to see what the assignment looked like.
November 21, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Have you ever asked students to keep a research journal or a research log as a step toward the completion of an essay? I'd love to see what the assignment looked like.
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
Earlier today, I was notified that someone was at my door.
This is who it was:
This is who it was:
November 21, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Earlier today, I was notified that someone was at my door.
This is who it was:
This is who it was:
validating thread for those of us english majors turned journalists turned budding historians
Ok BlueSky: what are your favorite history books in terms of sheer page-turning, narrative propulsion? Thinking along the line of Killers of the Flower Moon, etc. Nonfiction chronicles that read like novels or movies.
November 19, 2025 at 11:54 PM
validating thread for those of us english majors turned journalists turned budding historians
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
Several Chicago newsrooms have been quietly collaborating to bring big ICE stories to the forefront.
In this story today, we found that feds used chemical weapons on Chicagoans at least 49 times during immigration raids — even after a judge said to stop.
In this story today, we found that feds used chemical weapons on Chicagoans at least 49 times during immigration raids — even after a judge said to stop.
Feds Used Chemical Weapons On Chicagoans At Least 49 Times — Even After Judge Said To Stop
Contrary to federal claims about attacks on agents, most of these incidents appear to involve nonviolent protesters or bystanders.
blockclubchicago.org
November 19, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Several Chicago newsrooms have been quietly collaborating to bring big ICE stories to the forefront.
In this story today, we found that feds used chemical weapons on Chicagoans at least 49 times during immigration raids — even after a judge said to stop.
In this story today, we found that feds used chemical weapons on Chicagoans at least 49 times during immigration raids — even after a judge said to stop.
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
“‘With banknotes damaged, banks gone, and no way to get dollars in or out, I can only do commerce and import necessities using cryptocurrencies,’ said Rafat Naim, a food merchant in Gaza.”
jewishcurrents.org/cryptocurren...
jewishcurrents.org/cryptocurren...
Cryptocurrency Comes to Gaza
With formal banking infrastructure in ruins, Palestinians in Gaza are forced to rely on unregulated digital currencies for survival.
jewishcurrents.org
November 19, 2025 at 7:35 PM
“‘With banknotes damaged, banks gone, and no way to get dollars in or out, I can only do commerce and import necessities using cryptocurrencies,’ said Rafat Naim, a food merchant in Gaza.”
jewishcurrents.org/cryptocurren...
jewishcurrents.org/cryptocurren...
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
I spoke to Mahmood Mamdani about his new book, his expulsion from Uganda, his son Zohran, and *that* NYT article.
Mahmood Mamdani on Zohran, Uganda and forced expulsion: ‘Who is part of the nation and who is not?’
After being expelled from his homeland in 1972, the academic has grappled with questions of political belonging – a major theme of his son’s mayoral campaign
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:53 PM
I spoke to Mahmood Mamdani about his new book, his expulsion from Uganda, his son Zohran, and *that* NYT article.
it's only monday
November 18, 2025 at 2:52 AM
it's only monday
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
What this reveals is that for most people in charge right now “AI” is less useful as a technology than as a piece of language to shift a conversation in whatever direction they need it to go. In one minute it will propel a new economy; in another it’s the reason for a recession.
November 17, 2025 at 1:39 PM
What this reveals is that for most people in charge right now “AI” is less useful as a technology than as a piece of language to shift a conversation in whatever direction they need it to go. In one minute it will propel a new economy; in another it’s the reason for a recession.
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
who benefits when you cheat yourself?
"Students can use AI to replace the previously irreplaceable: studying w friends, learning from professors, + putting their thoughts into writing. The gray area of cheating not the system but themselves."
thenewjournalatyale.com/2025/10/insi...
"Students can use AI to replace the previously irreplaceable: studying w friends, learning from professors, + putting their thoughts into writing. The gray area of cheating not the system but themselves."
thenewjournalatyale.com/2025/10/insi...
Inside Yale’s Quiet Reckoning with AI | The New Journal
Amid ChatGPT's rising popularity and a computer science cheating scandal, Yale students, professors, and administrators wrestle privately with the proper role of AI in education. What happens when eve...
thenewjournalatyale.com
November 17, 2025 at 12:23 PM
who benefits when you cheat yourself?
"Students can use AI to replace the previously irreplaceable: studying w friends, learning from professors, + putting their thoughts into writing. The gray area of cheating not the system but themselves."
thenewjournalatyale.com/2025/10/insi...
"Students can use AI to replace the previously irreplaceable: studying w friends, learning from professors, + putting their thoughts into writing. The gray area of cheating not the system but themselves."
thenewjournalatyale.com/2025/10/insi...
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
if you have ever taken photos of pigeons that are unique looking would you be willing to share them with me?
November 17, 2025 at 3:14 AM
if you have ever taken photos of pigeons that are unique looking would you be willing to share them with me?
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
It’s sort of clarifying to see him describe this dynamic so directly www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
November 17, 2025 at 2:28 AM
It’s sort of clarifying to see him describe this dynamic so directly www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
@bsky.app Friday, Nov 21, 3pm CT: Join @andrewhartman.bsky.social & me for the next Newberry Capitalism seminar. UIC's Penelope Dean will share her new work on capitalism, xerox, and YOU. Comment by @elicook.bsky.social
Free registeration for paper and zoom info: www.newberry.org/calendar/pen...
Free registeration for paper and zoom info: www.newberry.org/calendar/pen...
Penelope Dean, University of Illinois Chicago
Capitalism and You
www.newberry.org
November 16, 2025 at 4:29 PM
@bsky.app Friday, Nov 21, 3pm CT: Join @andrewhartman.bsky.social & me for the next Newberry Capitalism seminar. UIC's Penelope Dean will share her new work on capitalism, xerox, and YOU. Comment by @elicook.bsky.social
Free registeration for paper and zoom info: www.newberry.org/calendar/pen...
Free registeration for paper and zoom info: www.newberry.org/calendar/pen...
Reposted by sara m. b. simon
Even in the pre-AI era, I was thinking about how it's maybe not obvious from the student's perspective that "producing kind of crap writing so the next version is a bit less crap" is the whole learning process. Ungrading advocates are probably right, students too fixated on the evaluation
New feature article from TNJ (nation's best student magazine): Inside Yale’s Quiet Reckoning with AI thenewjournalatyale.com/2025/10/insi...
November 16, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Even in the pre-AI era, I was thinking about how it's maybe not obvious from the student's perspective that "producing kind of crap writing so the next version is a bit less crap" is the whole learning process. Ungrading advocates are probably right, students too fixated on the evaluation
reporting for sibling duty to provide a regular reminder about my brother's global magazine store in pdx. the shop's called chess club, and it's an amazing space. print's back, baby
November 16, 2025 at 4:28 PM
reporting for sibling duty to provide a regular reminder about my brother's global magazine store in pdx. the shop's called chess club, and it's an amazing space. print's back, baby