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Zeb Larson

@zeblarson.bsky.social

7.4K followers 1.5K following 9.2K posts

Freelance writer with a PhD in history. Ex-academic; studied the anti-apartheid movement. Emeritus adjunct. Became a software engineer in 2020. Words in Teen Vogue, Smithsonian, Jacobin, BBC. He/Him zeb-larson.com

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Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · Aug 24

I’m pinned beneath a very sleepy, probably sick baby and need a diversion to stay awake.

1 like = 1 album I love and why

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 4m

My wife and I (being kind of morbid types) joke that if one of us dies, the other will be totally adrift if they start dating again. We got together before dating apps were a thing. And every year, this joke gets truer.

Simon HB @norock.bsky.social · 1h

Just when you think 'people getting ChatGPT to write their messages for them' was as grim as it was going to get, you hit the bit where men can't even be arsed to write the prompts for the AI and get those off Reddit
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

‘I realised I’d been ChatGPT-ed into bed’: how ‘Chatfishing’ made finding love on dating apps even weirder

Where once people were duped by soft-focus photos and borrowed chat-up lines, now they have to watch out for computer-generated charm. But it’s one thing to use a witty phrase – another thing entirely...

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Zeb Larson

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 12h

I’m curious. If you’re a PhD grad, are you ever in contact with your old department or advisors? And did you stay in academia, or get a different job?

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 32m

This unfortunately feels very normal. I’m sorry.

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 1h

So perfectly put.

Reposted by Zeb Larson

K. Chen @tznkai.bsky.social · 9h

This is a great explanation for what I've referred to as verbal pollution on Bluesky.

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · Jul 27

Bluesky’s unique poster archetype is “depressed liberal/leftist who is making others responsible for their emotions” and they all need to be muted.

Sarah J. Jackson @sjjphd.bsky.social · Jul 27

Half the time I post something related to race on this website I get someone in the comments like, “yeah america is a racist country what do you expect.” I’m starting to think folks like this are bots or ops designed to make people feel helpless. Think we should call it “doomsplaining”

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 10h

I’m so sorry. Threads like this always drive home how much abuse is in academia.

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 11h

I'm so sorry. Good riddance, bad rubbish.

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 11h

Nah, I think it’s relevant (though the bar for them maintaining contact has been set at “should not fail this”). And congrats, it sounds like!

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 11h

That’s honestly amazing! Very cool, frankly.

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 11h

Ok, that’s just maddening. Never had that happen to me.

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 11h

I feel like “{X Department} cares a bit more about non-academic stuff than they did twenty years ago, but not much” is par for the course.

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 11h

Ugggghhhh

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 12h

I’m curious. If you’re a PhD grad, are you ever in contact with your old department or advisors? And did you stay in academia, or get a different job?

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 12h

You know, if you never did I don’t know that you’re missing much.

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 13h

Baffling. Maybe I’m forgetting something, but his list of good films is handful of supporting roles in the 90s and Requiem for a Dream, right? (A movie I need never watch again, even if it was good)

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 13h

Somebody let Jared Leto near a movie once and now we endlessly suffer for this decision.

Cosmic Marvel @dailycosmicmarvel.bsky.social · 19h

‘TRON: ARES’ has earned $14.3M in its opening day at the domestic box office.

For comparison, ‘MORBIUS’ opened to $17.3M.

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 13h

bsky.app/profile/zebl...

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · Jul 27

Bluesky’s unique poster archetype is “depressed liberal/leftist who is making others responsible for their emotions” and they all need to be muted.

Sarah J. Jackson @sjjphd.bsky.social · Jul 27

Half the time I post something related to race on this website I get someone in the comments like, “yeah america is a racist country what do you expect.” I’m starting to think folks like this are bots or ops designed to make people feel helpless. Think we should call it “doomsplaining”

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 13h

And then going online and demanding that people share in that misery in a hamfisted attempt to transfer their feelings to somebody else.

Reposted by Zeb Larson

Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · 13h

legitimately i really do wish people would stop mistaking their own major depressive disorder for politics. it would be better for themselves and also the world

politiBOO! @politiburb.bsky.social · 13h

I feel like there's just a segment of the population, trans or cis or otherwise, who will always insist that being happy is fundamentally a character flaw that implies you are insufficiently aware of/don't care enough about the world's problems

Reposted by Zeb Larson

Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin @ecmclaughlin.bsky.social · 16h

Holy shit.

To all my fellow parents with kids with an IEP: good luck to us, I guess.

Sara Partridge, Ph.D. @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 18h

There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 16h

Lyndon Johnson was right, *any* jackass can tear down a barn

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 1d

The editors of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) were apparently fired today.

The precursor to MMWR began in 1878 to address emerging public health threats rapidly.

We are not “great” without it. We are vulnerable to threats from sporadic foodborne illness to bioterrorism.

Reposted by Zeb Larson

Qasim Rashid, Esq. @qasimrashid.com · 18h

Reminder that a billionaire owns what is now this rag outlet & his only goal is to stroke Trump's ego so Trump helps him become a trillionaire.

Cancel these rag media outlets & invest in people committed to actual justice. No paywall. Paid sub is entirely optional:
www.qasimrashid.com/subscribe

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 18h

I can set my baby in his high chair and turn on Kraftwerk and he’ll sway and bop to the beat. This will never get old.

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 18h

“The southern slave owner who treated his slaves decently is the reason slavery is gone”

Nope, pretty sure it was Union muskets

Zeb Larson @zeblarson.bsky.social · 18h

My deep and personal hatred of RFK does start with the fact that he seems determined to make sure my kid gets measles (or something worse) at some point