Ben Dowsett
@bendowsett.bsky.social
sports & tech | regular contributor to WIRED | past: ESPN, Ringer, Scientific American, Guardian | tips: [email protected] Signal: bdows.99 | leftist who does not stick to sports | Free Palestine
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Ben Dowsett
@bendowsett.bsky.social
· Oct 24
Meet the Palestinian Teens Trying to Win Robotics Gold
Next week, five teens from Palestine will head to Panama to compete in one of the world’s largest youth robotics competitions. The goal? To win—and then teach STEM to their peers displaced by the Isra...
www.wired.com
Next week, 5 teens from Palestine will head to Panama to compete in one of the world’s largest youth robotics competitions.
The goal? To win—and teach STEM to their peers displaced by Israel's war and occupation of Palestine.
A special oral history for @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/meet-t...
The goal? To win—and teach STEM to their peers displaced by Israel's war and occupation of Palestine.
A special oral history for @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/meet-t...
It's tempting to laugh at these people for how stupid they are.
But this isn't actually stupidity - it's othering. They're trying to convince us that *those* politics aren't relevant, aren't real. It's very intentional.
But this isn't actually stupidity - it's othering. They're trying to convince us that *those* politics aren't relevant, aren't real. It's very intentional.
Analysis: Weeks before he set foot on the stage, Bad Bunny’s halftime performance had already become a media event.
But if you were looking for political commentary, the closest that you got was when he said “God bless America” in English.
But if you were looking for political commentary, the closest that you got was when he said “God bless America” in English.
Analysis | Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show was expected to provoke. Did it?
The Bad Bunny Super Bowl show nodded to injustices in Puerto Rico but mostly evoked wholesome family values that meshed with the more sentimental commercials.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:28 PM
It's tempting to laugh at these people for how stupid they are.
But this isn't actually stupidity - it's othering. They're trying to convince us that *those* politics aren't relevant, aren't real. It's very intentional.
But this isn't actually stupidity - it's othering. They're trying to convince us that *those* politics aren't relevant, aren't real. It's very intentional.
This is so cool, extensive breakdown of all the symbolism in the Bad Bunny show.
Honestly didn't know a ton about this guy until tonight, and I'm an instant fan.
Honestly didn't know a ton about this guy until tonight, and I'm an instant fan.
Disturbingly detailed analysis of my first rewatch incoming
February 9, 2026 at 5:26 AM
This is so cool, extensive breakdown of all the symbolism in the Bad Bunny show.
Honestly didn't know a ton about this guy until tonight, and I'm an instant fan.
Honestly didn't know a ton about this guy until tonight, and I'm an instant fan.
"Literally no one here knows Spanish but we're pretty sure he was being mean to us" is peak Fox News, no notes
February 9, 2026 at 3:43 AM
"Literally no one here knows Spanish but we're pretty sure he was being mean to us" is peak Fox News, no notes
Sitting through that was more impressive than anything these players did, give me the MVP
February 9, 2026 at 3:22 AM
Sitting through that was more impressive than anything these players did, give me the MVP
Give the people what they want, Dave Matthews Band halftime show next year
February 9, 2026 at 3:07 AM
Give the people what they want, Dave Matthews Band halftime show next year
Reposted by Ben Dowsett
That Super Bowl halftime show was beyond incredible, and fun. Here’s the story of how it came together, complete with beautiful photos from @d-jacks.bsky.social.
www.wired.com/story/bad-bu...
www.wired.com/story/bad-bu...
Inside Bad Bunny’s Historic Super Bowl Halftime Show
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance required 9,852 theatrical pyrotechnics, nearly 400 costumed extras, and a lot of ingenuity. And yes, that was a real couple featured in the wedding.
www.wired.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:01 AM
That Super Bowl halftime show was beyond incredible, and fun. Here’s the story of how it came together, complete with beautiful photos from @d-jacks.bsky.social.
www.wired.com/story/bad-bu...
www.wired.com/story/bad-bu...
I would read 10,000 words on the cryogenic facility where they store William Shatner and Matthew Broderick for the other 364 days of the year to keep them fresh for the yearly Super Bowl commercial
February 9, 2026 at 1:40 AM
I would read 10,000 words on the cryogenic facility where they store William Shatner and Matthew Broderick for the other 364 days of the year to keep them fresh for the yearly Super Bowl commercial
Hardly a word of English. They're so mad
February 9, 2026 at 1:33 AM
Hardly a word of English. They're so mad
Surprised Coinbase still has the funds to make godawful Super Bowl ads
February 9, 2026 at 1:01 AM
Surprised Coinbase still has the funds to make godawful Super Bowl ads
You all watch this sport 17 times (or more) every year for every team? This is boring as hell
February 9, 2026 at 12:22 AM
You all watch this sport 17 times (or more) every year for every team? This is boring as hell
American Idiot slaps currently
February 8, 2026 at 11:08 PM
American Idiot slaps currently
Imagine this happening in any other work setting.
If I called a fellow employee a bitch multiple times, in full view and earshot of other employees and customers, I’d be fired by EOD. So would everyone reading this.
But it’s a ref, so Sengun gives a bullshit apology and makes the All-Star team.
If I called a fellow employee a bitch multiple times, in full view and earshot of other employees and customers, I’d be fired by EOD. So would everyone reading this.
But it’s a ref, so Sengun gives a bullshit apology and makes the All-Star team.
What Alperen Sengun Really Said To A Female Referee👀:
Sengun: “He’s up on me.. you a b*tch! F*cking b*tch”
Brown: “Woah! Hey, get him out of here!”
Ref: “He can’t call me that, no!”
As he was getting ejected, Sengun called her a b*tch for a third time.
(via LegendZ)
#NBA
Sengun: “He’s up on me.. you a b*tch! F*cking b*tch”
Brown: “Woah! Hey, get him out of here!”
Ref: “He can’t call me that, no!”
As he was getting ejected, Sengun called her a b*tch for a third time.
(via LegendZ)
#NBA
February 8, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Imagine this happening in any other work setting.
If I called a fellow employee a bitch multiple times, in full view and earshot of other employees and customers, I’d be fired by EOD. So would everyone reading this.
But it’s a ref, so Sengun gives a bullshit apology and makes the All-Star team.
If I called a fellow employee a bitch multiple times, in full view and earshot of other employees and customers, I’d be fired by EOD. So would everyone reading this.
But it’s a ref, so Sengun gives a bullshit apology and makes the All-Star team.
Should be arrested and sent to the Hague while they're in town
There is simply no moral argument for allowing war criminals to compete at the Olympics.
February 8, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Should be arrested and sent to the Hague while they're in town
Reposted by Ben Dowsett
the much simpler and less ridiculous explanation is that the capitalist-owned American media wanted an excuse to focus on anything else that isn’t so destabilizing bc coverage of this inevitably makes people sympathize with the protestors. so they used the excuse Trump gave them
Trying not to put on my tin foil hat here, but if your strategy was to get the media to think you’d toned it down while actually going harder against the observers, a tactic you’d deploy would be to use a fifth column to divide the observers and box out the press, under a left-coded pretext.
A desperate plea sent to me by a Minneapolis resident who's been on the front lines since the beginning of the ICE occupation:
February 8, 2026 at 4:21 PM
the much simpler and less ridiculous explanation is that the capitalist-owned American media wanted an excuse to focus on anything else that isn’t so destabilizing bc coverage of this inevitably makes people sympathize with the protestors. so they used the excuse Trump gave them
That Jazz loss is one of the most egregious single-game tanks I’ve ever seen.
February 8, 2026 at 2:56 AM
That Jazz loss is one of the most egregious single-game tanks I’ve ever seen.
Reposted by Ben Dowsett
hard to think of a better example of "you may not believe in class war, but billionaires know they're in one" than this
This is bleak: Jes Staley, currently CEO of Barclays, reassuring Epstein that popular revolt against financial elites is unlikely because capitalism and pop culture have defanged social movements, leaving people more invested in consumption than justice.
February 7, 2026 at 3:53 AM
hard to think of a better example of "you may not believe in class war, but billionaires know they're in one" than this
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"This editor sure is taking a long time to get back to me about topics directly influencing my income and livelihood."
(The person I'm quoting is the exception)
"This editor sure is taking a long time to get back to me about topics directly influencing my income and livelihood."
(The person I'm quoting is the exception)
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
“And what did the room you guys were talking in look like?”
“And what did the room you guys were talking in look like?”
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"No, you can't leave that here."
"No, you can't leave that here."
February 7, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Without naming your job, tell me something you say over and over again at work.
"This editor sure is taking a long time to get back to me about topics directly influencing my income and livelihood."
(The person I'm quoting is the exception)
"This editor sure is taking a long time to get back to me about topics directly influencing my income and livelihood."
(The person I'm quoting is the exception)
The “question that defines the future of the party” is actually:
“Why do elected Democrats refuse to back policies and positions that their voters overwhelmingly support?”
“Why do elected Democrats refuse to back policies and positions that their voters overwhelmingly support?”
It's not really a question for Democratic voters though
February 7, 2026 at 7:20 PM
The “question that defines the future of the party” is actually:
“Why do elected Democrats refuse to back policies and positions that their voters overwhelmingly support?”
“Why do elected Democrats refuse to back policies and positions that their voters overwhelmingly support?”
Reposted by Ben Dowsett
It's not really a question for Democratic voters though
February 7, 2026 at 7:13 PM
It's not really a question for Democratic voters though
1. Yes, let’s all take a minute first to laugh at JD Vance doing all this to get booed by tens of thousands of people.
2. But after that, let’s remember: We’re in a class war. One man requiring an entire aircraft just for his entourage’s food, all paid for by the taxes you and I pay.
2. But after that, let’s remember: We’re in a class war. One man requiring an entire aircraft just for his entourage’s food, all paid for by the taxes you and I pay.
Not only did they bring a small private army, but among the waste of taxpayer money was BRINGING A FULL PLANE OF FOOD.
To *Italy*.
To *Italy*.
February 7, 2026 at 5:55 PM
1. Yes, let’s all take a minute first to laugh at JD Vance doing all this to get booed by tens of thousands of people.
2. But after that, let’s remember: We’re in a class war. One man requiring an entire aircraft just for his entourage’s food, all paid for by the taxes you and I pay.
2. But after that, let’s remember: We’re in a class war. One man requiring an entire aircraft just for his entourage’s food, all paid for by the taxes you and I pay.
Reposted by Ben Dowsett
Understanding society is dangerous to reactionaries selling racial animus & crushing austerity, while enriching the rich
I do want to shout-out my fellow sociologists, who have collectively created a discipline so woke that not a single one of our introductory textbooks can make it past Florida's censors.
Great work everyone.
Great work everyone.
February 7, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Understanding society is dangerous to reactionaries selling racial animus & crushing austerity, while enriching the rich
Reposted by Ben Dowsett
For all their prestige, the Olympics tend to be a hotbed for scandals.
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
Sports Betting Is Skyrocketing. Will It Take Over the Olympics?
Typically, the Olympics aren’t a hotbed of gambling. For the 2026 Winter Games, sportsbooks and betting platforms are watching for illicit activity while testing new ways to get people to bet.
www.wired.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:30 PM
For all their prestige, the Olympics tend to be a hotbed for scandals.
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
From today's piece: Even with the best Big Data tools, the Olympics could still be at risk for gambling impropriety.
Read more: www.wired.com/story/sports...
Read more: www.wired.com/story/sports...
![It’s natural to assume an increase in sports gambling scandals over the past several years reveals a world where such activity is more prevalent than ever. But Bjorn celebrates new reports of suspicious bets or athletes being banned.
“The Jontay Porter thing, the Cleveland Guardians allegations, to me these are great things that they’re discovering,” he says. “Because this means that the integrity monitoring is actually working … It’s showing that some of these [scams] that existed for a very long time are actually getting found out now and caught.”
It’s tempting to think of the Olympics as something different, something more pure, that the rarity of the Games and their worldwide prestige make the average competitor less corruptible than other sports.
But thousands of athletes are competing in hundreds of events across a couple of weeks. It takes just one incident to break that illusion. One athlete who’s gotten themselves into money trouble and sees a way out, one greedy trainer looking to make a few extra bucks by leaking an athlete’s injury, even just one unintended slip of privileged information. If a cheating gambler is savvy enough, even the best integrity monitoring platforms might not matter.
“There are some dumb people out there who bet in certain manners and get themselves caught,” says Bjorn. “But there are a lot who are very sophisticated and place these kinds of wagers in ways that they will never get recognized and identified.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:bhdhzcuvh7hbvrhgfjzxcxqu/bafkreiet4w2o2vr35pwzunonxtshyxy4esvc7d45exusj5wkrlgpkh3hoy@jpeg)
February 6, 2026 at 6:22 PM
From today's piece: Even with the best Big Data tools, the Olympics could still be at risk for gambling impropriety.
Read more: www.wired.com/story/sports...
Read more: www.wired.com/story/sports...
For all their prestige, the Olympics tend to be a hotbed for scandals.
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
Sports Betting Is Skyrocketing. Will It Take Over the Olympics?
Typically, the Olympics aren’t a hotbed of gambling. For the 2026 Winter Games, sportsbooks and betting platforms are watching for illicit activity while testing new ways to get people to bet.
www.wired.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:30 PM
For all their prestige, the Olympics tend to be a hotbed for scandals.
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...
With sports betting more accessible than ever, is a gambling controversy inevitable?
I dove into how the IOC and other entities try to avoid betting scams. Will it be enough?
For @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/sports...