Christine Wenc
@clearwing3.bsky.social
Funny Because It's True: How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire. Say Wenc like sense. Agent: Daniel Greenberg@lgrliterary. The House On The Rock shaped my brain. Offspring's cool electronic project The Jaws of Life: https://tinyurl.com/da4xuwwv
Pinned
Christine Wenc
@clearwing3.bsky.social
· Jul 13
The History of The Onion You Didn't Know You Needed
This is a workplace story
annehelen.substack.com
Interview with me on Ann Helen Petersen's Substack Culture Study! (my favorite so far) annehelen.substack.com/p/the-histor...
Maybe the teleprompter text is AI-generated
Trump: "For generations Miami has been a haven for those fleeing communist tyranny in South Africa. I mean, if you take a look at what's going on in parts of South Africa. Look at South Africa, what's going on. Look at South America, what's going on. You know, we have a G20 meeting in South Africa."
November 5, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Maybe the teleprompter text is AI-generated
Everyone should go back and look at political speeches from the mid-20th century. They make today's speeches sound like Barney the Dinosaur. Even Joe McCarthy sounds like freaking Cicero.
Here's another bit of conventional wisdom Zohran completely blew away: His speech was at well above a 10th-grade level. It was complex, erudite, punctuated by deep and fluent references. You don't have to condescend to voters with baby talk! Part of re-establishing norms is speaking like an adult.
November 5, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Everyone should go back and look at political speeches from the mid-20th century. They make today's speeches sound like Barney the Dinosaur. Even Joe McCarthy sounds like freaking Cicero.
Reposted by Christine Wenc
ah, perhaps instead of pumping millions into endless factional infighting Dem donors could invest in making local Dem organizations genuine civic spaces that can reach people during and between elections
November 5, 2025 at 12:49 PM
ah, perhaps instead of pumping millions into endless factional infighting Dem donors could invest in making local Dem organizations genuine civic spaces that can reach people during and between elections
Reposted by Christine Wenc
Reposted by Christine Wenc
“What keeps us going, ultimately, is our love for each other, and our refusal to bow our heads, to accept the verdict, however all-powerful it seems. It’s what ordinary people have to do. You have to love each other. You have to defend each other. You have to fight.” —Mike Davis
November 5, 2025 at 3:50 AM
“What keeps us going, ultimately, is our love for each other, and our refusal to bow our heads, to accept the verdict, however all-powerful it seems. It’s what ordinary people have to do. You have to love each other. You have to defend each other. You have to fight.” —Mike Davis
Reposted by Christine Wenc
Gosh, thanks, Google (whose algorithms have long pushed users toward extremist content, because profit is everything and humanity is nothing, to Google).
November 3, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Gosh, thanks, Google (whose algorithms have long pushed users toward extremist content, because profit is everything and humanity is nothing, to Google).
Reposted by Christine Wenc
We speak with Lauren Arrington about her forthcoming book on women artists in the Federal Arts Project.
Women in the Federal Arts Project with Lauren Arrington
We speak with Lauren Arrington about her forthcoming book on women artists in the Federal Arts Project. The Great Depression rendered 140,000 women and girls across the United States homeless. In 1…
moneyontheleft.org
November 3, 2025 at 12:38 AM
We speak with Lauren Arrington about her forthcoming book on women artists in the Federal Arts Project.
Reposted by Christine Wenc
Yet again, we can't afford to let LLMs become a source of epistemic grounding for society.
Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory
An intensive international study was coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and led by the BBC
www.bbc.co.uk
October 24, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Yet again, we can't afford to let LLMs become a source of epistemic grounding for society.
Reposted by Christine Wenc
I would gladly read a followup on this focused entirely on IRBs. I've been surprised by how often researchers say they could never got approval to run tests mimicking the sort of interventions that major platforms undertake on far larger populations as a matter of course on a daily basis.
October 24, 2025 at 4:42 PM
I would gladly read a followup on this focused entirely on IRBs. I've been surprised by how often researchers say they could never got approval to run tests mimicking the sort of interventions that major platforms undertake on far larger populations as a matter of course on a daily basis.
Reposted by Christine Wenc
Now is a GREAT time to learn about nuclear testing. As it happens, earlier this year I published a story from the very tunnels where America's most top-secret tests are done. First time journalists had been inside since the 1990s.
www.npr.org/2025/01/29/n...
www.npr.org/2025/01/29/n...
Step inside the secret lab where America tests its nukes
A thousand feet beneath the desert, the United States conducts experiments to verify that its weapons work. But some fear a live test could come soon.
www.npr.org
October 30, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Now is a GREAT time to learn about nuclear testing. As it happens, earlier this year I published a story from the very tunnels where America's most top-secret tests are done. First time journalists had been inside since the 1990s.
www.npr.org/2025/01/29/n...
www.npr.org/2025/01/29/n...
Eight out of ten transcriptions had hallucinations. apnews.com/article/ai-a...
Researchers say an AI-powered transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said
Whisper is a popular transcription tool powered by artificial intelligence, but it has a major flaw. It makes things up that were never said.
apnews.com
October 23, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Eight out of ten transcriptions had hallucinations. apnews.com/article/ai-a...
Reposted by Christine Wenc
This is the best political news I’ve seen in a very long time — so please pass it on👇
Each state can limit Citizens United in their own state & they don’t have to wait for other states to do it.
Our new @rollingstone.com piece based on our new book MASTER PLAN. Get the book at LeverNews.com/book
Each state can limit Citizens United in their own state & they don’t have to wait for other states to do it.
Our new @rollingstone.com piece based on our new book MASTER PLAN. Get the book at LeverNews.com/book
October 18, 2025 at 2:56 PM
This is the best political news I’ve seen in a very long time — so please pass it on👇
Each state can limit Citizens United in their own state & they don’t have to wait for other states to do it.
Our new @rollingstone.com piece based on our new book MASTER PLAN. Get the book at LeverNews.com/book
Each state can limit Citizens United in their own state & they don’t have to wait for other states to do it.
Our new @rollingstone.com piece based on our new book MASTER PLAN. Get the book at LeverNews.com/book
Reposted by Christine Wenc
I try not to make too many predictions given how laughably wrong I've been about so many things! but my money is on seeing a big shift in the direction of bold and explicit uncooperativeness from elites, now that they have proof of the political temperature beyond polls
October 19, 2025 at 1:59 AM
I try not to make too many predictions given how laughably wrong I've been about so many things! but my money is on seeing a big shift in the direction of bold and explicit uncooperativeness from elites, now that they have proof of the political temperature beyond polls
Reposted by Christine Wenc
Once again kind of funny how different the contemporary ultra-left is from the classical far left. Communists, socialists, and anarchists of 100 years ago literally believed the LAWS OF HISTORY DICTATED that “we are going to win.”
Today it’s all “boot on our face forever” all the time
Today it’s all “boot on our face forever” all the time
I realize that all the "we are going to win" inspiration posting codes as aesthetically liberal (being left is being unimpressed) and invites the responses you'd guess from a certain genre of more radical than thou poster but still surprised at the particular condescension strategies people go for
October 19, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Once again kind of funny how different the contemporary ultra-left is from the classical far left. Communists, socialists, and anarchists of 100 years ago literally believed the LAWS OF HISTORY DICTATED that “we are going to win.”
Today it’s all “boot on our face forever” all the time
Today it’s all “boot on our face forever” all the time
Reposted by Christine Wenc
Batteries. Won’t solve oceanic shipping or long-haul flights, but can solve pretty much everything else (and has already solved intermittency issues for solar and wind). With big impacts on grid mix to go with it (and - potentially - consumers as your capital investors for grid-level storage).
October 19, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Batteries. Won’t solve oceanic shipping or long-haul flights, but can solve pretty much everything else (and has already solved intermittency issues for solar and wind). With big impacts on grid mix to go with it (and - potentially - consumers as your capital investors for grid-level storage).
@anildash.com thank you for this! "Stop being so goddamn creepy and weird about the technology! It's just tech, everything doesn't have to become some weird religion that you beat people over the head with, or gamble the entire stock market on."
The Majority AI View - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
www.anildash.com
October 18, 2025 at 6:50 PM
@anildash.com thank you for this! "Stop being so goddamn creepy and weird about the technology! It's just tech, everything doesn't have to become some weird religion that you beat people over the head with, or gamble the entire stock market on."
Reposted by Christine Wenc
This two-parter below is exactly why it's hard to make clothes in the United States.
Let's look at how much it costs to produce a button-up shirt in the US. 🧵
Let's look at how much it costs to produce a button-up shirt in the US. 🧵
October 12, 2025 at 9:38 PM
This two-parter below is exactly why it's hard to make clothes in the United States.
Let's look at how much it costs to produce a button-up shirt in the US. 🧵
Let's look at how much it costs to produce a button-up shirt in the US. 🧵
Reposted by Christine Wenc
I’m a subscriber to The Onion print edition and trust me, the ads alone are worth it
October 14, 2025 at 11:33 PM
I’m a subscriber to The Onion print edition and trust me, the ads alone are worth it
Reposted by Christine Wenc
October 9, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Reposted by Christine Wenc
The Illinois governor donned body armor to lampoon Trump’s “war-torn Chicago” claims Thursday night on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker Answers Jimmy Kimmel’s ‘#ShowMeYourHellhole’ Challenge
The Illinois governor donned body armor to lampoon Trump’s “war-torn Chicago” claims Thursday night on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
dlvr.it
October 10, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The Illinois governor donned body armor to lampoon Trump’s “war-torn Chicago” claims Thursday night on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
On the power of comedy to disarm what feels scary (From my recent book, Funny Because It's True tinyurl.com/3hxbxkct about America's finest news source, The Onion @theonion.com )
October 10, 2025 at 5:24 PM
On the power of comedy to disarm what feels scary (From my recent book, Funny Because It's True tinyurl.com/3hxbxkct about America's finest news source, The Onion @theonion.com )
I've always kind of hated brunch. And so I want to read this book
Matty Matheson FTW
October 10, 2025 at 5:14 PM
I've always kind of hated brunch. And so I want to read this book
Asters are the best!
Good to see our Burning Bush (euonymus alatus) living up to its name .. such a glorious bright red pop of colour in the fading autumn garden. Also, very glad I went big on asters last year!
October 10, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Asters are the best!
Reposted by Christine Wenc
“Fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.” (gift article) Go, MIT!
M.I.T. Rejects a White House Offer for Special Funding Treatment
www.nytimes.com
October 10, 2025 at 4:46 PM
“Fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.” (gift article) Go, MIT!