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
Today on @vulture.com: my list of the top 10 comedy books of 2025. Featuring great works by @felipetmedina.bsky.social @pulmyears.bsky.social @clearwing3.bsky.social and many more.
www.vulture.com/article/best...
www.vulture.com/article/best...
The Best Comedy Books of 2025
They all share the same desire: to reckon with history, dig deeper, and explore why comedy matters so much.
www.vulture.com
"Beyond just recounting great Onion moments, Christine Wenc notes how the paper hipped us to the dangers of news as entertainment...Wenc makes a case for The Onion’s position in a long string of Wisconsin-based progressive newspapers, alt-weeklies, chaotic zines, and mythological tricksters."
Reposted by Christine Wenc
Expect to see a lot of this classic Onion headline, from 23 years ago, over the coming weeks.
January 3, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Expect to see a lot of this classic Onion headline, from 23 years ago, over the coming weeks.
Reposted by Christine Wenc
Wow!
In 2024, energy-efficient heat pumps outsold gas furnaces in the U.S. for the third year in a row — by 27 percent. 🔥🔥🔥
reasonstobecheerful.world/how-heat-pum...
In 2024, energy-efficient heat pumps outsold gas furnaces in the U.S. for the third year in a row — by 27 percent. 🔥🔥🔥
reasonstobecheerful.world/how-heat-pum...
How Heat Pumps Became America's Hottest Home Energy System
The U.S. has gotten on the heat pump bandwagon, with the efficient heating and cooling technology outselling gas furnaces three years in a row.
reasonstobecheerful.world
December 31, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Wow!
In 2024, energy-efficient heat pumps outsold gas furnaces in the U.S. for the third year in a row — by 27 percent. 🔥🔥🔥
reasonstobecheerful.world/how-heat-pum...
In 2024, energy-efficient heat pumps outsold gas furnaces in the U.S. for the third year in a row — by 27 percent. 🔥🔥🔥
reasonstobecheerful.world/how-heat-pum...
There are so many places in Madison where you could do this!
We don’t speak enough about the need to restore street grids when large car-oriented developments interrupt it. Big box stores, large office complexes, and convention centers are just a few examples of past projects that messed with the street grid
cool project in minneapolis taking an old kmart lot, restoring the street grid, and developing the site into parks and mixed use/mixed income housing lims.minneapolismn.gov/Download/RCA...
January 3, 2026 at 8:33 PM
There are so many places in Madison where you could do this!
The money spent on this could have accelerated a US post-carbon infrastructure transformation that could shrink/eliminate fossil fuel dependence, create hundreds of thousands of good, long-term jobs in nearly all areas of the economy, reduce air pollution, and make life better for everyone. Oh well.
Surprise!
"We have the greatest oil companies in the world, the biggest, the greatest, and we’re going to be very much involved in it."
"We have the greatest oil companies in the world, the biggest, the greatest, and we’re going to be very much involved in it."
US will be ‘strongly involved’ in Venezuela oil industry, Trump says after Caracas attacked and Maduro captured – live
Donald Trump says Nicolás Maduro and wife will be taken to New York after being captured during US attack on Venezuela
www.theguardian.com
January 3, 2026 at 8:27 PM
The money spent on this could have accelerated a US post-carbon infrastructure transformation that could shrink/eliminate fossil fuel dependence, create hundreds of thousands of good, long-term jobs in nearly all areas of the economy, reduce air pollution, and make life better for everyone. Oh well.
I'm about 2/3 of the way through this. (70,000 words.) It is good.
My final newsletter of 2025: We're in The Enshittifinancial Crisis, the fourth stage of enshittification, where companies turn on their shareholders. Unprofitable, unsustainable AI threatens future of venture capital, private equity and the markets themselves.
www.wheresyoured.at/the-enshitti...
www.wheresyoured.at/the-enshitti...
The Enshittifinancial Crisis
Soundtrack: Lynyrd Skynyrd — Free Bird
This piece is over 19,000 words, and took me a great deal of writing and research. If you liked it, please subscribe to my premium newsletter. It’s $70 a year, ...
www.wheresyoured.at
December 30, 2025 at 4:18 AM
I'm about 2/3 of the way through this. (70,000 words.) It is good.
Saw Bill Berry from REM eating by himself in the tiny downtown Madison, WI Nepalese restaurant Himal Chuli ~1987. Nobody else was there. I stared at him for a moment trying to figure out why he looked familiar, he looked back, then I figured it out (those eyebrows!) & left him alone to eat in peace
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
December 30, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Saw Bill Berry from REM eating by himself in the tiny downtown Madison, WI Nepalese restaurant Himal Chuli ~1987. Nobody else was there. I stared at him for a moment trying to figure out why he looked familiar, he looked back, then I figured it out (those eyebrows!) & left him alone to eat in peace
Reposted by Christine Wenc
Thank you, New York Times. I too agree that The Onion had the same level of cultural impact this year that Sabrina Carpenter did.
December 28, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Thank you, New York Times. I too agree that The Onion had the same level of cultural impact this year that Sabrina Carpenter did.
Reposted by Christine Wenc
I can’t believe how stupid everything is
December 30, 2025 at 1:22 AM
I can’t believe how stupid everything is
Reposted by Christine Wenc
the epstein files as rick owens fall/winter 2024
December 19, 2025 at 10:43 PM
the epstein files as rick owens fall/winter 2024
Reposted by Christine Wenc
The Important Work is about to turn 1, and I wrote a final post about what I've learned and what resonated with readers. Here, a thread of some of our most read and most shared posts of 2025. theimportantwork.substack.com/p/the-import... /1
The Important Work continues
The conversation we’re having isn’t about AI; it’s about teaching and learning
theimportantwork.substack.com
December 27, 2025 at 6:58 PM
The Important Work is about to turn 1, and I wrote a final post about what I've learned and what resonated with readers. Here, a thread of some of our most read and most shared posts of 2025. theimportantwork.substack.com/p/the-import... /1
Reposted by Christine Wenc
When I was on CNN's northeast desk, the first job at 6a every morning was to read the local papers. That guided some of what the massive CNN machine followed every day.
When those papers die, CNN doesn't hire new regional reporters. What you get instead is more panel shows, more punditry.
When those papers die, CNN doesn't hire new regional reporters. What you get instead is more panel shows, more punditry.
"The newspaper industry served as a feeder for our entire news media ecosystem. So when we lose those newspapers, we've lost that journalism. In the early 2000s, we had 40 journalists per 100,000 people. We're now down to 8 journalists per 100,000 people," says @victorpickard.bsky.social.
December 16, 2025 at 7:25 PM
When I was on CNN's northeast desk, the first job at 6a every morning was to read the local papers. That guided some of what the massive CNN machine followed every day.
When those papers die, CNN doesn't hire new regional reporters. What you get instead is more panel shows, more punditry.
When those papers die, CNN doesn't hire new regional reporters. What you get instead is more panel shows, more punditry.
Reposted by Christine Wenc
This is quite remarkable
#birds
#birds
There’s no narration—just the rhythm of pedaling & the constant presence of mōlī. It’s an authentic glimpse of daily life on Midway, and a powerful reminder of why science-based management and dedicated volunteers are essential to protecting this extraordinary place.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L50X...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L50X...
Midway Atoll Sand Island Bike Tour January 2025
YouTube video by Eco🌎Nut
www.youtube.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:47 PM
This is quite remarkable
#birds
#birds
Reposted by Christine Wenc
People say you’re driving a moral panic, that you’re blocking good regulation, that there’s no point in resisting. And then you enforce a phone ban and miracles happen (qualitatively): nymag.com/intelligence...
How the Phone Ban Saved High School
Since the bell-to-bell device lockup, teens in New York have rediscovered the simple pleasures of conversation, board games, and poker.
nymag.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:27 PM
People say you’re driving a moral panic, that you’re blocking good regulation, that there’s no point in resisting. And then you enforce a phone ban and miracles happen (qualitatively): nymag.com/intelligence...
"Technology’s potential uses are not its actual uses, [which] are shaped by the institutions that take it up...To ask about LLMs and science is to ask what program was already running when they arrived...& it was not optimized for epistemic depth."
artificialbureaucracy.substack.com/p/context-wi...
artificialbureaucracy.substack.com/p/context-wi...
Context Widows
or, of GPUs, LPUs, and Goal Displacement
artificialbureaucracy.substack.com
December 17, 2025 at 2:52 PM
"Technology’s potential uses are not its actual uses, [which] are shaped by the institutions that take it up...To ask about LLMs and science is to ask what program was already running when they arrived...& it was not optimized for epistemic depth."
artificialbureaucracy.substack.com/p/context-wi...
artificialbureaucracy.substack.com/p/context-wi...
Reposted by Christine Wenc
How Your Private ChatGPT And Gemini Chats Are ‘Sold For Profit’
How Your Private ChatGPT And Gemini Chats Are ‘Sold For Profit’
These Chrome extensions see everything — and take everything. It may already be too late.
www.forbes.com
December 15, 2025 at 7:28 PM
How Your Private ChatGPT And Gemini Chats Are ‘Sold For Profit’
Reposted by Christine Wenc
"Beyond just recounting great Onion moments, Christine Wenc notes how the paper hipped us to the dangers of news as entertainment...Wenc makes a case for The Onion’s position in a long string of Wisconsin-based progressive newspapers, alt-weeklies, chaotic zines, and mythological tricksters."
Today on @vulture.com: my list of the top 10 comedy books of 2025. Featuring great works by @felipetmedina.bsky.social @pulmyears.bsky.social @clearwing3.bsky.social and many more.
www.vulture.com/article/best...
www.vulture.com/article/best...
The Best Comedy Books of 2025
They all share the same desire: to reckon with history, dig deeper, and explore why comedy matters so much.
www.vulture.com
December 15, 2025 at 8:52 PM
"Beyond just recounting great Onion moments, Christine Wenc notes how the paper hipped us to the dangers of news as entertainment...Wenc makes a case for The Onion’s position in a long string of Wisconsin-based progressive newspapers, alt-weeklies, chaotic zines, and mythological tricksters."
"Beyond just recounting great Onion moments, Christine Wenc notes how the paper hipped us to the dangers of news as entertainment...Wenc makes a case for The Onion’s position in a long string of Wisconsin-based progressive newspapers, alt-weeklies, chaotic zines, and mythological tricksters."
Today on @vulture.com: my list of the top 10 comedy books of 2025. Featuring great works by @felipetmedina.bsky.social @pulmyears.bsky.social @clearwing3.bsky.social and many more.
www.vulture.com/article/best...
www.vulture.com/article/best...
The Best Comedy Books of 2025
They all share the same desire: to reckon with history, dig deeper, and explore why comedy matters so much.
www.vulture.com
December 15, 2025 at 8:52 PM
"Beyond just recounting great Onion moments, Christine Wenc notes how the paper hipped us to the dangers of news as entertainment...Wenc makes a case for The Onion’s position in a long string of Wisconsin-based progressive newspapers, alt-weeklies, chaotic zines, and mythological tricksters."
Reposted by Christine Wenc
One of the reasons my book takes The Onion seriously is because of this theonion.com/no-way-to-pr...
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens
PROVIDENCE, RI—In the hours following a violent rampage in Rhode Island in which a lone attacker killed at least two individuals and injured several others, citizens living in the only country where t...
theonion.com
December 15, 2025 at 8:31 PM
One of the reasons my book takes The Onion seriously is because of this theonion.com/no-way-to-pr...
Honored to have my book Funny Because It's True: How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire on this best-of-2025 list. Thank you @brianboone.bsky.social
@theonion.com
@bencollins.bsky.social
#theonion #Wisconsin
@uwmadison.bsky.social
#Madison
@theonion.com
@bencollins.bsky.social
#theonion #Wisconsin
@uwmadison.bsky.social
#Madison
The best nonfiction comedy books released in 2025 were focused on the past — on comedy’s history, themes, and steadfast examples of greatness and insight.
The Best Comedy Books of 2025
The best nonfiction comedy books released in 2025 were focused on the past — on comedy’s history, themes, and steadfast examples of greatness and insight.
www.vulture.com
December 15, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Honored to have my book Funny Because It's True: How The Onion Created Modern American News Satire on this best-of-2025 list. Thank you @brianboone.bsky.social
@theonion.com
@bencollins.bsky.social
#theonion #Wisconsin
@uwmadison.bsky.social
#Madison
@theonion.com
@bencollins.bsky.social
#theonion #Wisconsin
@uwmadison.bsky.social
#Madison
Reposted by Christine Wenc
Today on @vulture.com: my list of the top 10 comedy books of 2025. Featuring great works by @felipetmedina.bsky.social @pulmyears.bsky.social @clearwing3.bsky.social and many more.
www.vulture.com/article/best...
www.vulture.com/article/best...
The Best Comedy Books of 2025
They all share the same desire: to reckon with history, dig deeper, and explore why comedy matters so much.
www.vulture.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Today on @vulture.com: my list of the top 10 comedy books of 2025. Featuring great works by @felipetmedina.bsky.social @pulmyears.bsky.social @clearwing3.bsky.social and many more.
www.vulture.com/article/best...
www.vulture.com/article/best...
Reposted by Christine Wenc
New! We worked with the Public Interest Research Group to test a bunch of LLM-driven toys ahead of the Christmas. That sexual talking teddy bear wasn't a one-off; it turns out disturbing behavior is deeply built into these toys across the board.
AI toys for kids talk about sex and issue Chinese Communist Party talking points, tests show
New research from Public Interest Research Group and tests conducted by NBC News found that a wide range of AI toys have loose guardrails.
www.nbcnews.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:24 PM
New! We worked with the Public Interest Research Group to test a bunch of LLM-driven toys ahead of the Christmas. That sexual talking teddy bear wasn't a one-off; it turns out disturbing behavior is deeply built into these toys across the board.
Reposted by Christine Wenc
Since China is no longer buying soybeans from the US, the demand has crashed, meaning US manufacturers will definitely be cutting costs by using it in stuff what didn't previously.
I wonder if anyone's tracking the rate at which this happens, products suddenly switching recipes to dump this soy
I wonder if anyone's tracking the rate at which this happens, products suddenly switching recipes to dump this soy
December 15, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Since China is no longer buying soybeans from the US, the demand has crashed, meaning US manufacturers will definitely be cutting costs by using it in stuff what didn't previously.
I wonder if anyone's tracking the rate at which this happens, products suddenly switching recipes to dump this soy
I wonder if anyone's tracking the rate at which this happens, products suddenly switching recipes to dump this soy
Reposted by Christine Wenc
Side note Frank Oz absolutely has that shit ON here
December 12, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Side note Frank Oz absolutely has that shit ON here
#birds Red-tailed hawk pair doing courtship flights and hanging out together in big oak and elm trees, Dane County WI, November-December. (Like, today.) Is this the typical time for this? Cornell & Audubon say they don't usually mate until a bit later in the season but not sure what's typical here.
December 13, 2025 at 4:17 PM
#birds Red-tailed hawk pair doing courtship flights and hanging out together in big oak and elm trees, Dane County WI, November-December. (Like, today.) Is this the typical time for this? Cornell & Audubon say they don't usually mate until a bit later in the season but not sure what's typical here.