Nancy Friedman
@fritinancy.bsky.social
Name developer, writer, lapsed journalist, bay swimmer. Born in Los Angeles, semi-rooted in Oakland, California. “Queen of retail rabbit holes.” https://fritinancy.substack.com/
Pinned
Nancy Friedman
@fritinancy.bsky.social
· Nov 11
Interest is the most important thing in life; happiness is temporary, but interest is continuous. – Georgia O’Keeffe
New from Murdoch's News Corp: @californiapost.bsky.social. Based in L.A., launched Monday. www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/the-...
The California Post launches - Editor and Publisher
New York Post Media Group, home of The New York Post, Page Six and Decider, has launched its latest media venture, The California Post.
www.editorandpublisher.com
January 29, 2026 at 10:50 PM
New from Murdoch's News Corp: @californiapost.bsky.social. Based in L.A., launched Monday. www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/the-...
Havealook, Learnmore, Admire, Godknows: "Why are these bizarre English names so much more popular than names in Shona, Ndebele, Tonga, or any other indigenous language?"
Throughout Africa and beyond, Zimbabweans are known for choosing some of the most bold, head-turning English-language names. Kim Chakanetsa tells the story of how her country's history shaped its nation's naming traditions.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts 👉 https://bit.ly/49LuzDS
Listen wherever you get your podcasts 👉 https://bit.ly/49LuzDS
January 29, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Havealook, Learnmore, Admire, Godknows: "Why are these bizarre English names so much more popular than names in Shona, Ndebele, Tonga, or any other indigenous language?"
"Anthropic asked us to change our name (trademark stuff)"
Startup founders: Do your name/trademark research *before* you launch. Obtaining a URL is not the same as securing legal rights.
mashable.com/article/claw...
Startup founders: Do your name/trademark research *before* you launch. Obtaining a URL is not the same as securing legal rights.
mashable.com/article/claw...
Clawdbot is now Moltbot for reasons that should be obvious
We saw this one coming...
mashable.com
January 29, 2026 at 5:01 PM
"Anthropic asked us to change our name (trademark stuff)"
Startup founders: Do your name/trademark research *before* you launch. Obtaining a URL is not the same as securing legal rights.
mashable.com/article/claw...
Startup founders: Do your name/trademark research *before* you launch. Obtaining a URL is not the same as securing legal rights.
mashable.com/article/claw...
January links! Credits: @mashedradish.bsky.social @marthabarnette.bsky.social @paperairplane.pub @stancarey.bsky.social @stronglang.bsky.social @grammargirl.bsky.social & more! fritinancy.substack.com/p/january-li...
January linkstack
New newsletters, a new print magazine (!), the AI naming crisis, and more.
fritinancy.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 4:17 PM
“The slop stops here.”
January 27, 2026 at 7:21 PM
“The slop stops here.”
“Chaos” — my pick* for 2025 word of the year — continues to dominate the news.
* and no one else’s
* and no one else’s
January 27, 2026 at 5:45 PM
“Chaos” — my pick* for 2025 word of the year — continues to dominate the news.
* and no one else’s
* and no one else’s
Reposted by Nancy Friedman
“The imperial boomerang is the theory that governments that develop repressive techniques to control colonial territories will eventually deploy those same techniques domestically against their own citizens.” [en.wikipedia.org]
January 26, 2026 at 4:06 PM
“The imperial boomerang is the theory that governments that develop repressive techniques to control colonial territories will eventually deploy those same techniques domestically against their own citizens.” [en.wikipedia.org]
One-quarter of the @startribune.com's 200 reporters are covering the fed assault on Mpls-St. Paul. www.semafor.com/article/01/2...
“We’re not trying to recreate social media”: How Minnesota’s Star Tribune navigates a local crisis
The publication tries to offer a sober alternative to a social media swarm as a deadly shooting deepens the crisis in Minneapolis.
www.semafor.com
January 26, 2026 at 5:22 PM
One-quarter of the @startribune.com's 200 reporters are covering the fed assault on Mpls-St. Paul. www.semafor.com/article/01/2...
I couldn't limit myself to one WotW.
ht @davidjroth.bsky.social @kjezermorton.bsky.social @mollyjongfast.bsky.social et al.
fritinancy.substack.com/p/ten-words-...
ht @davidjroth.bsky.social @kjezermorton.bsky.social @mollyjongfast.bsky.social et al.
fritinancy.substack.com/p/ten-words-...
Ten words of the week
From "algothracy" to "Donroe Doctrine" to "violence worker community," what a year this month has been.
fritinancy.substack.com
January 26, 2026 at 3:28 PM
I couldn't limit myself to one WotW.
ht @davidjroth.bsky.social @kjezermorton.bsky.social @mollyjongfast.bsky.social et al.
fritinancy.substack.com/p/ten-words-...
ht @davidjroth.bsky.social @kjezermorton.bsky.social @mollyjongfast.bsky.social et al.
fritinancy.substack.com/p/ten-words-...
What's the “one other thing” that comes with the meager government-recommended dinner?
By @petridishes.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
By @petridishes.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
The ‘One Other Thing’ That Comes With Every Trump-Era Dinner
The Agriculture secretary suggests one corn tortilla, one piece of broccoli, one piece of chicken, and one inscrutable last thing.
www.theatlantic.com
January 24, 2026 at 3:59 PM
What's the “one other thing” that comes with the meager government-recommended dinner?
By @petridishes.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
By @petridishes.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
Reposted by Nancy Friedman
"Oh my gosh, it was so nice to see you! Have a lovely day, fuck ICE!"
"Oh you too hon! Stay safe in that traffic, fuck ICE!'
- two older Minnesota ladies, bidding farewell after the protest
"Oh you too hon! Stay safe in that traffic, fuck ICE!'
- two older Minnesota ladies, bidding farewell after the protest
January 23, 2026 at 11:17 PM
"Oh my gosh, it was so nice to see you! Have a lovely day, fuck ICE!"
"Oh you too hon! Stay safe in that traffic, fuck ICE!'
- two older Minnesota ladies, bidding farewell after the protest
"Oh you too hon! Stay safe in that traffic, fuck ICE!'
- two older Minnesota ladies, bidding farewell after the protest
Reposted by Nancy Friedman
Our Nitrate Film Festival returns to the Egyptian next month! Dangerous, beautiful, temperamental + rarely screened over the past 75 years 🎞️✨
Don’t pass up the chance to see these glorious archival prints — it may be your last!
Join us Feb. 13th - 22nd:
www.americancinematheque.com/series/ameri...
Don’t pass up the chance to see these glorious archival prints — it may be your last!
Join us Feb. 13th - 22nd:
www.americancinematheque.com/series/ameri...
January 23, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Our Nitrate Film Festival returns to the Egyptian next month! Dangerous, beautiful, temperamental + rarely screened over the past 75 years 🎞️✨
Don’t pass up the chance to see these glorious archival prints — it may be your last!
Join us Feb. 13th - 22nd:
www.americancinematheque.com/series/ameri...
Don’t pass up the chance to see these glorious archival prints — it may be your last!
Join us Feb. 13th - 22nd:
www.americancinematheque.com/series/ameri...
All "in wake of" headlines are bad, but this one is especially bad.
January 23, 2026 at 8:58 PM
All "in wake of" headlines are bad, but this one is especially bad.
Thread.
Another friend put it to me like this: "ICE has made the classic Nazi mistake. They've invaded a winter people in the winter."
January 23, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Thread.
"In Greenland, MAGA means 'Make America Go Away'." - @hunterschwarz.bsky.social www.yellopolitics.com/i/185446004/...
Here's the plan to fix what DOGE broke after Trump's term in office
Plus: Macron’s aviators put a global spotlight on this French luxury eyewear brand
www.yellopolitics.com
January 23, 2026 at 12:43 AM
"In Greenland, MAGA means 'Make America Go Away'." - @hunterschwarz.bsky.social www.yellopolitics.com/i/185446004/...
All my posts are free (for now), and there's a pledge button on every one.
I also invite readers to buy me a coffee or three (or more):
buymeacoffee.com/nancyfriedman
I also invite readers to buy me a coffee or three (or more):
buymeacoffee.com/nancyfriedman
January 22, 2026 at 6:55 PM
All my posts are free (for now), and there's a pledge button on every one.
I also invite readers to buy me a coffee or three (or more):
buymeacoffee.com/nancyfriedman
I also invite readers to buy me a coffee or three (or more):
buymeacoffee.com/nancyfriedman
Reposted by Nancy Friedman
What I think whenever I hear the term 'Board of Peace'
January 22, 2026 at 6:40 PM
What I think whenever I hear the term 'Board of Peace'
New from me: On "Praxis," a trite name for a sinister project.
Ht @assignedmale.bsky.social
@gilduran.com
@motherjones.com
@vanityfair.com
fritinancy.substack.com/p/praxis-mak...
Ht @assignedmale.bsky.social
@gilduran.com
@motherjones.com
@vanityfair.com
fritinancy.substack.com/p/praxis-mak...
January 22, 2026 at 4:24 PM
New from me: On "Praxis," a trite name for a sinister project.
Ht @assignedmale.bsky.social
@gilduran.com
@motherjones.com
@vanityfair.com
fritinancy.substack.com/p/praxis-mak...
Ht @assignedmale.bsky.social
@gilduran.com
@motherjones.com
@vanityfair.com
fritinancy.substack.com/p/praxis-mak...
"In AI, we have something genuinely new -- a category of technology that doesn’t fit our existing frames -- and we’re trying to describe it with words inherited from the past." - @zoescaman.bsky.social
zoescaman.substack.com/p/the-naming...
zoescaman.substack.com/p/the-naming...
The Naming of Things
How the words we choose for AI will shape who it serves
zoescaman.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:11 PM
"In AI, we have something genuinely new -- a category of technology that doesn’t fit our existing frames -- and we’re trying to describe it with words inherited from the past." - @zoescaman.bsky.social
zoescaman.substack.com/p/the-naming...
zoescaman.substack.com/p/the-naming...
👇
Was talking to a true and very kind normal person at the gym today. Told her about Trump and Greenland and the threats of getting into a trade and currency war with Europe. She'd heard about precisely none of it before. "That sounds crazy!" she said. I agreed.
January 21, 2026 at 8:50 PM
👇
Reposted by Nancy Friedman
It's Offense and Derogation week in Intro #linguistics class and I am here to say that the word 'clanker' is a very useful example for teaching these concepts without doing harm to my students.
fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-th...
@fritinancy.bsky.social
fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-th...
@fritinancy.bsky.social
Word of the week: Clanker
Is it OK to use the C-word for AI?
fritinancy.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:27 PM
It's Offense and Derogation week in Intro #linguistics class and I am here to say that the word 'clanker' is a very useful example for teaching these concepts without doing harm to my students.
fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-th...
@fritinancy.bsky.social
fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-th...
@fritinancy.bsky.social
New to me: "compère," a fancy (BrE) way of saying "host."
January 19, 2026 at 5:23 PM
New to me: "compère," a fancy (BrE) way of saying "host."
Word of the week: Fawn. fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-th...
Word of the week: Fawn
Do you like this post? Please tell me you like this post.
fritinancy.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Word of the week: Fawn. fritinancy.substack.com/p/word-of-th...
Bidets, and bidet attachments, are cheap, easy to install, and hygienic.
It doesn't take a lot to make a top story at the Fox News homepage, but a few key hurdles need to be cleared. Brown People Behaving Badly + Liberal Hypocrisy + Commies + They're Being Mean to Mister Trump Again is a start. (Spoiler: $45 at Home Depot)
headsuptheblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/its-...
headsuptheblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/its-...
January 18, 2026 at 3:32 AM
Bidets, and bidet attachments, are cheap, easy to install, and hygienic.
Reposted by Nancy Friedman
Had an intriguing editorial discussion recently: how did people in the past talk about 'minutes' when they didn't have watches or standardised times? How does that affect your thinking?
Come down an Elizabethan/Jacobean rabbit hole with me.
1/
Come down an Elizabethan/Jacobean rabbit hole with me.
1/
January 17, 2026 at 10:34 AM
Had an intriguing editorial discussion recently: how did people in the past talk about 'minutes' when they didn't have watches or standardised times? How does that affect your thinking?
Come down an Elizabethan/Jacobean rabbit hole with me.
1/
Come down an Elizabethan/Jacobean rabbit hole with me.
1/