Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Denise Hearn

Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 3d

Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...

Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."

130 5.3K 15K

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · 7d

Tim Wu's new book: "Age of Extraction" is available for pre-order, and his book tour is live!

"The Age of Extraction tells the story of what happened to the promise that the Internet would make everyone rich, and how we might recapture its potential as an engine of mass prosperity."

timwu.net

The Age of Extraction by Tim Wu: 9780593321249 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

Tim Wu explores how today’s dominant platforms manipulate attention, extract wealth, and deepen inequality—urging us to recognize their influence and reclaim control to create a balanced economy...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

2

Reposted by Denise Hearn

Writers' Trust of Canada @writerstrust.bsky.social · 9d

Announcing finalists for the 2025 #BalsilliePrize for Public Policy — congratulations to:

◢ @vincebeiser.bsky.social

◢ @vassb.bsky.social & @denisehearn.bsky.social

◢ Pamela Cross

◢ Stephen J.A. Ward

$70K winner announced Nov 25 at a live event in Toronto bit.ly/4g8wCDv

1 5 5

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · 9d

The Big Fix is shortlisted for the Balsillie Prize for Public Policy! Makes the endless hours of agonizing over every word worth it. Helps to have a great co-author: @vassb.bsky.social !

www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/arti...

Balsillie Prize finalists raise uncomfortable questions for policy makers and citizens

Nominated books focus on domestic violence, politics, metals and corporate consolidation

www.theglobeandmail.com

2 8

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · 9d

I'm elated to share that I've joined @longnow.org as Director of Strategic Initiatives. While a long / deep time perspective can feel like a luxury in times such as ours, I'm grateful for a community of thinkers & practitioners hopefully creating the conditions for the many potential futures ahead.

The Long Now Foundation @longnow.org · 9d

We are thrilled to welcome @denisehearn.bsky.social as our new Director of Strategic Initiatives. She is an accomplished speaker (listen to her 02024 Long Now Talk, “Embodied Economies” t.co/MqaDE8GQjN), as well as an author, advisor, and Berggruen Institute fellow.

1 6

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · 10d

Latest piece coming along. Title: Vortex

2

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · 10d

"China’s example marks a new orientation in the way the international community has sought to curb climate change, shifting from idealistic appeals to planetary conscience at endless summits to a more hard-headed green realpolitik."

www.noemamag.com/green-giant/

Green Giant | NOEMA

China’s massive scaling of clean energy pays off for the whole planet.

www.noemamag.com

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · 15d

Latest reading haul 😍😍

@blaiseaguera.bsky.social
@nationalgeographic.bsky.social

2

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · 15d

Thanks to @writerstrust.bsky.social and Politics and the Pen for having @vassb.bsky.social and me last night in Ottawa & congrats to the five finalists for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing and winner, Raymond Blake.

www.writerstrust.com

4

Reposted by Denise Hearn

VassB @vassb.bsky.social · 15d

Denise @denisehearn.bsky.social + I got to celebrate fellow authors last night, and mingle with journalists, politicians, and people making change happen. I’m looking forward to reading Raymond’s book. Earlier in the day we had the honour of presenting at the Library of Parliament (on competition).

The Globe and Mail @theglobeandmail.com · 15d

Raymond Blake wins political writing prize for book on Canada’s postwar prime ministers

Canada’s Prime Ministers and the Shaping of a National Identity awarded Shaughnessy Cohen Prize at Politics and the Pen gala

www.theglobeandmail.com

1 3

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · 16d

“The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.” —Marge Piercy
www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57673/...

www.poetryfoundation.org

1

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · 17d

True “vibe coding”:

“Deep down, the model appears capable of exhibiting any behavior we may be interested in. AI models seem to align with a certain “vibe” that’s somehow communicated from their users.”

www.quantamagazine.org/the-ai-was-f...

The AI Was Fed Sloppy Code. It Turned Into Something Evil. | Quanta Magazine

The new science of “emergent misalignment” explores how PG-13 training data — insecure code, superstitious numbers or even extreme-sports advice — can open the door to AI’s dark side.

www.quantamagazine.org

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · 21d

However, "the strategy has worked to chill the public representation of certain climate-related corporate and financial institution activities." @wsj.com

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · 21d

My take on AG subpoenas of SBTi and CDP: "a continuation of the same strategy of intimidation and miring organizations in legal responses, but it is hard to know if there is merit to the allegations, given they have only issued a press release announcing the subpoenas."
www.wsj.com/articles/rep...

Republican Attorneys General Accuse Net-Zero Standards Setters of Running Climate Cartel

Investigations into the Science Based Targets initiative and the CDP follow months of anti-ESG bills from the House and lawsuits from Republican attorneys general.

www.wsj.com

1

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · 21d

Cool new @quantamagazine.bsky.social special issue on understanding how we came to know the earth through climate science: www.quantamagazine.org/how-we-came-...

How We Came To Know Earth | Quanta Magazine

Climate science is the most significant scientific collaboration in history. This series from Quanta Magazine guides you through basic climate science — from quantum effects to ancient hothouses, from...

www.quantamagazine.org

1 1 2

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · 21d

Very excited to have joined @berggruen.org as a Fellow with the Planetary Program.

My research will focus on governance frameworks for nature-related data technologies, helping to advance the emerging field of planetary-data governance research and policy.

1

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · Sep 10

My biggest vice

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsundoku

Tsundoku - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · Sep 10

“We were inspired in part by forest fires. Fires can grow stronger when burning through dense forest, & weaker when crossing open gaps. That same principle applies to information, jokes, or diseases. They can intensify or weaken depending on the conditions.“ @sfiscience.bsky.social

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · Sep 10

Virality is a product of something changing overtime — being remixed, like an evolutionary process at warp speed.

“This new research takes into account the fact that things don’t just spread — they change as they spread, & that change actually helps them spread further…
santafe.edu/news-center/...

Going viral: How ideas, beliefs, and innovations spread in the digital age

Why do some ideas catch fire? An interdisciplinary team of researchers offers a new theory

santafe.edu

1 1

Reposted by Denise Hearn

KRQE News 13 @krqe.com · Sep 9

Governor announces New Mexico will now provide free universal child care

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico is becoming the first state in the U.S. to offer free early childhood education to every family in the state. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a universal ch…

www.krqe.com

110 1.9K 8.2K

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · Sep 8

Thanks so much!

1

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · Sep 8

When activist investors and trustbusters agree:

www.wsj.com/finance/the-...

The Year’s Buzziest Deals Are Corporate Breakups

Companies are splitting themselves up to appease frustrated investors.

www.wsj.com

3

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · Sep 8

Researchers found that the following ~20 indicators demonstrated a sweet spot for effectiveness and broad consensus.

Denise Hearn @denisehearn.bsky.social · Sep 8

New paper analyzing 200+ different alternative proposals for GDP, showing most have strong similarities / consensus indicating that “achieving international consensus on a new indicator to move beyond GDP is both possible and desirable.”

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Building consensus on societal wellbeing: a semantic synthesis of indicators to move beyond GDP

To achieve sustainable wellbeing for both humanity and the rest of nature, we must shift from a narrow focus on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to a broa…

www.sciencedirect.com

1 1

Reposted by Denise Hearn

John Woodside @woodsideful.bsky.social · Sep 4

With power demand spiking from AI data centres, in July Google quietly scrubbed its net zero pledge. Great work here from @rorywh.bsky.social and @dariussnieckus.bsky.social www.nationalobserver.com/2025/09/04/i...

Google deletes net-zero pledge from sustainability website

Five years ago, Google’s climate action ambitions were the gold standard for Big Tech. Then, with power demand spikes from AI data centres, in July it scrubbed its sustainability website of its 2030 n...

www.nationalobserver.com

13 21