Jennifer Ouellette
@jenlucpiquant.bsky.social
I cover science and culture at Ars Technica. Former science editor, Gizmodo. Ex-vangelical. Rodeo fan. Married to @seanmcarroll, servant to two cats: Ariel and Caliban. Baltimore, MD. She/her.
Pinned
This Atlantic analysis echoes the long convo I had recently with a European researcher who maintains that social media cannot be fixed because the problem lies in its very infrastructure and human nature cannot deal with it. I increasingly think he is correct. arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
Again, I beg of journalists to stop normalizing Trump's false claims he was wronged by using the word "retribution."
This is a GREAT piece.
Except this is not retribution.
This is a GREAT piece.
Except this is not retribution.
A REUTERS SPECIAL REPORT
Trump’s campaign of retribution:
At least 470 targets and counting
The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.
By PETER EISLER, NED PARKER, LINDA SO and JOSEPH TANFANI
Trump’s campaign of retribution:
At least 470 targets and counting
The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.
By PETER EISLER, NED PARKER, LINDA SO and JOSEPH TANFANI
November 26, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Again, I beg of journalists to stop normalizing Trump's false claims he was wronged by using the word "retribution."
This is a GREAT piece.
Except this is not retribution.
This is a GREAT piece.
Except this is not retribution.
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
St. Paul leaders face mounting questions about why police officers were on the scene — and why force was used — despite repeated assurances that the department would not participate in federal immigration actions.
Conflicting accounts emerge after St. Paul ICE raid
City vows full review as DHS, family and witnesses offer sharply different explanations for arrests and police use of force.
bit.ly
November 26, 2025 at 7:30 PM
St. Paul leaders face mounting questions about why police officers were on the scene — and why force was used — despite repeated assurances that the department would not participate in federal immigration actions.
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
James Bond supervillains threaten to blow up the world with their big laser unless you pay them a trillion dollars.
Real American supervillains embed themselves in the economy and threaten to cause a depression unless you subsidize their sex robots and the weird chatbots they use to avoid humans.
Real American supervillains embed themselves in the economy and threaten to cause a depression unless you subsidize their sex robots and the weird chatbots they use to avoid humans.
November 26, 2025 at 7:25 PM
James Bond supervillains threaten to blow up the world with their big laser unless you pay them a trillion dollars.
Real American supervillains embed themselves in the economy and threaten to cause a depression unless you subsidize their sex robots and the weird chatbots they use to avoid humans.
Real American supervillains embed themselves in the economy and threaten to cause a depression unless you subsidize their sex robots and the weird chatbots they use to avoid humans.
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis wrote the footnote in a 223-page opinion issued last week, noting that the practice of using ChatGPT to write use-of-force reports undermines agents’ credibility and “may explain the inaccuracy of these reports.”
Judge’s Footnote on Immigration Agents Using AI in Chicago Area Raises Accuracy and Privacy Concerns
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis wrote the footnote in a 223-page opinion issued last week, noting that the practice of using ChatGPT to write use-of-force reports undermines agents’ credibility and “ma...
news.wttw.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:09 PM
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis wrote the footnote in a 223-page opinion issued last week, noting that the practice of using ChatGPT to write use-of-force reports undermines agents’ credibility and “may explain the inaccuracy of these reports.”
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
I went to a black-tie wedding at the Bacara thrown by a client. By the end of it he was yelling at me that he wanted me to sue the ice sculpture vendor IMMEDIATELY.
The rich are different than normal people.
The rich are different than normal people.
Exclusive: President Trump has argued with the architect he handpicked to design a White House ballroom over the size of the project, reflecting a conflict between architectural norms and Trump’s grandiose aesthetic.
Trump wants a bigger White House ballroom. His architect disagrees.
The president and James McCrery had argued in recent weeks over the project’s size, with Trump pushing him to expand the ballroom.
wapo.st
November 26, 2025 at 7:13 PM
I went to a black-tie wedding at the Bacara thrown by a client. By the end of it he was yelling at me that he wanted me to sue the ice sculpture vendor IMMEDIATELY.
The rich are different than normal people.
The rich are different than normal people.
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
The new Ursula K. Le Guin exhibition at Oregon Contemporary is a sprawling love note to Portland's most far-out visionary.
The exhibition compiles her hand-drawn maps, and features a reproduction of her NW Thurman writing room... plus doodles of cats!!
The exhibition compiles her hand-drawn maps, and features a reproduction of her NW Thurman writing room... plus doodles of cats!!
Oregon Contemporary’s Le Guin Exhibition: Earthsea Maps, Cat Drawings, and a Full-Scale Reproduction of Her Writing Room
A Larger Reality: Ursula K. Le Guin isn’t a typical exhibition. Ursula Kroeber Le Guin wasn’t a typical artist. Curated by her son, Theo Downes-Le Guin, the new show installed at Oregon Contemporary i...
www.portlandmercury.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:47 AM
The new Ursula K. Le Guin exhibition at Oregon Contemporary is a sprawling love note to Portland's most far-out visionary.
The exhibition compiles her hand-drawn maps, and features a reproduction of her NW Thurman writing room... plus doodles of cats!!
The exhibition compiles her hand-drawn maps, and features a reproduction of her NW Thurman writing room... plus doodles of cats!!
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
what was “administration pedophile protection project” one too many words
Newly released emails show the FBI spent almost $1 million in overtime analyzing the Epstein files as part of an effort dubbed the “Special Redaction Project."
FBI’s Frantic Scramble to Redact Epstein Files Revealed
A trove of emails shows all-nighters and almost $1 million in overtime as Trumpworld debated releasing the Epstein files.
trib.al
November 26, 2025 at 6:57 PM
what was “administration pedophile protection project” one too many words
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
I am, of course, one of the individuals listed under the law firm/lawyers who have been targeted. We're fighting back and will not stop until the Rule of Law prevails.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
www.reuters.com/investigates...
www.reuters.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:40 PM
I am, of course, one of the individuals listed under the law firm/lawyers who have been targeted. We're fighting back and will not stop until the Rule of Law prevails.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
www.reuters.com/investigates...
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
@timmiller.bsky.social: "You can do border control and you can do deportations without having masked guys coming and grabbing you because of the way you look…How do you think it makes sense for a masked person to jump out of their car and grab you? How is that legal?"
November 26, 2025 at 7:41 PM
@timmiller.bsky.social: "You can do border control and you can do deportations without having masked guys coming and grabbing you because of the way you look…How do you think it makes sense for a masked person to jump out of their car and grab you? How is that legal?"
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
People keep posting about how “maybe Leavitt will learn a lesson now that it’s happening to her sister-in-law” and…you are missing a key point. The woman is Leavitt’s brother’s *ex* & Leavitt’s entire family - including her brother & his new wife - seem pretty eager to deport this woman.
“After Ferreira was detained, Dos Santos Rodrigues said Michael Leavitt Sr. and his father, Bob Leavitt, reached out to her.”
“‘They just kept saying, ‘Tell her to self-deport,’” she recalled. “Self-deport to where? Brazil is not her home.’” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
“‘They just kept saying, ‘Tell her to self-deport,’” she recalled. “Self-deport to where? Brazil is not her home.’” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
‘Brazil is not her home.’ Mother of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, brought to US as child, detained by ICE. - The Boston Globe
Bruna Ferreira, 33, was brought to the United States as a child in 1998. She is now in removal proceedings in Louisiana.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:01 PM
People keep posting about how “maybe Leavitt will learn a lesson now that it’s happening to her sister-in-law” and…you are missing a key point. The woman is Leavitt’s brother’s *ex* & Leavitt’s entire family - including her brother & his new wife - seem pretty eager to deport this woman.
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
A researcher identified gamma ray emissions that appear to have originated from dark matter...but other physicists still aren’t convinced 🧪
Controversial New Study Points to the Most Promising Dark Matter Signal Yet
A researcher identified gamma ray emissions that appear to have originated from dark matter, but other physicists still aren’t convinced.
gizmodo.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:41 PM
A researcher identified gamma ray emissions that appear to have originated from dark matter...but other physicists still aren’t convinced 🧪
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
“Art is valuable precisely because it is not easy to create. We are interested in art, in any and all of its forms, because humans made it. That’s the very thing that makes it interesting; the who, the how, and especially the why.” [joshcollinsworth.com]
Alchemy
Some thoughts on attempts to create gold out of nothing, and how generative AI, in many ways, mirrors that doomed pursuit
joshcollinsworth.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:42 PM
“Art is valuable precisely because it is not easy to create. We are interested in art, in any and all of its forms, because humans made it. That’s the very thing that makes it interesting; the who, the how, and especially the why.” [joshcollinsworth.com]
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
Actually, they haven't hidden this as well as they hoped.
Trump’s Forever Chemical Romance
The Trump administration has been quietly easing regulations on the nation’s toxic forever chemicals.
www.levernews.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Actually, they haven't hidden this as well as they hoped.
Otherworldly Photos of Forests by Michelle Blancke Explore Mysticism and Transformation www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/11/mich...
Otherworldly Photos of Forests by Michelle Blancke Explore Mysticism and Transformation
Michelle Blancke's ethereal photographs of trees, glens, and foliage invite us into a familiar yet uncanny world.
www.thisiscolossal.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Otherworldly Photos of Forests by Michelle Blancke Explore Mysticism and Transformation www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/11/mich...
RFK Jr.’s new CDC deputy director prefers “natural immunity” over vaccines arstechnica.com/health/2025/...
RFK Jr.’s new CDC deputy director prefers “natural immunity” over vaccines
Ralph Abraham is “dangerous,” but somehow not the worst among those considered.
arstechnica.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:42 PM
RFK Jr.’s new CDC deputy director prefers “natural immunity” over vaccines arstechnica.com/health/2025/...
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
The most recent rise in Texas Islamophobia has also corresponded with a broader normalization of Christian nationalism - led by the same education leaders who called CAIR reps terrorist leaders last week.
Much more on that push here:
Much more on that push here:
🧵🧵 Texas Republicans have been increasingly open and aggressive about Christianizing America via schools - to, in the words of the state education board chair, center classrooms around "GOD, GOP & USA."
That fight just escalated, and you should pay attention - because your state could be next.
That fight just escalated, and you should pay attention - because your state could be next.
November 26, 2025 at 6:43 PM
The most recent rise in Texas Islamophobia has also corresponded with a broader normalization of Christian nationalism - led by the same education leaders who called CAIR reps terrorist leaders last week.
Much more on that push here:
Much more on that push here:
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
A prominent Texas Republican is running for Railroad Commission in order to fight the "Islamic invasion." He's vying for a seat vacated by a former commissioner, who is now running for Texas Comptroller on a vow to protect girls' sports.
The latest on Texas' (increasingly Islamophobic) primaries:
The latest on Texas' (increasingly Islamophobic) primaries:
What Does the Railroad Commision Have to Do With “Radical Islam”? Everything, One Candidate Says
Tarrant County GOP chair Bo French, known for his incendiary online presence, recently tendered his resignation to seek a position on the regulatory body that oversees the oil-and-gas industry.
www.texasmonthly.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:37 PM
A prominent Texas Republican is running for Railroad Commission in order to fight the "Islamic invasion." He's vying for a seat vacated by a former commissioner, who is now running for Texas Comptroller on a vow to protect girls' sports.
The latest on Texas' (increasingly Islamophobic) primaries:
The latest on Texas' (increasingly Islamophobic) primaries:
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
Public transport isn't just for Middle Earth. Narnia's getting in on the act!
I've drawn a subway map covering all 7 books of The Chronicles of Narnia. Follow the plots lines, but don't touch the third rail! #Narnia #Maps #Subway
You can buy prints on my Etsy store:
www.etsy.com/listing/4345...
I've drawn a subway map covering all 7 books of The Chronicles of Narnia. Follow the plots lines, but don't touch the third rail! #Narnia #Maps #Subway
You can buy prints on my Etsy store:
www.etsy.com/listing/4345...
November 26, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Public transport isn't just for Middle Earth. Narnia's getting in on the act!
I've drawn a subway map covering all 7 books of The Chronicles of Narnia. Follow the plots lines, but don't touch the third rail! #Narnia #Maps #Subway
You can buy prints on my Etsy store:
www.etsy.com/listing/4345...
I've drawn a subway map covering all 7 books of The Chronicles of Narnia. Follow the plots lines, but don't touch the third rail! #Narnia #Maps #Subway
You can buy prints on my Etsy store:
www.etsy.com/listing/4345...
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
The Hidden History of Women Game Designers daily.jstor.org/the-hidden-h...
The Hidden History of Women Game Designers - JSTOR Daily
Nineteenth-century women turned music lessons into interactive entertainment, complete with spinning wheels and ivory counters.
daily.jstor.org
November 26, 2025 at 6:42 PM
The Hidden History of Women Game Designers daily.jstor.org/the-hidden-h...
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
SCOOP: The Trump administration has instructed employees and grantees not to use U.S. funds to commemorate World AIDS Day — because the observance was started by the World Health Organization.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/h...
Trump Administration Cancels U.S. Observance of World AIDS Day
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:41 PM
SCOOP: The Trump administration has instructed employees and grantees not to use U.S. funds to commemorate World AIDS Day — because the observance was started by the World Health Organization.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/h...
This Pharaoh Crashed Another King’s Tomb With His Own Afterlife Workforce gizmodo.com/this-pharaoh...
This Pharaoh Crashed Another King’s Tomb With His Own Afterlife Workforce
The Ushbati figurines were meant to work for the dead.
gizmodo.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:42 PM
This Pharaoh Crashed Another King’s Tomb With His Own Afterlife Workforce gizmodo.com/this-pharaoh...
Tech firm’s new CTO gets indicted; company then claims he was never CTO arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Tech firm’s new CTO gets indicted; company then claims he was never CTO
Corvex named Brian Raymond as CTO days before indictment for illegal chip exports.
arstechnica.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Tech firm’s new CTO gets indicted; company then claims he was never CTO arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Reposted by Jennifer Ouellette
The problem with ICE is not that it's targeting people who aren't criminals. The problem with ICE is that it's an unaccountable secret deportation police. It cannot be reformed under a better president. It can be made less terrible, but the instrument of repression remains for the next tyrant.
November 26, 2025 at 5:04 PM
The problem with ICE is not that it's targeting people who aren't criminals. The problem with ICE is that it's an unaccountable secret deportation police. It cannot be reformed under a better president. It can be made less terrible, but the instrument of repression remains for the next tyrant.
Mars Has Lightning, Scientists Prove www.scientificamerican.com/article/mars...
Mars Has Lightning, Scientists Prove
The presence of electrical activity has implications for surface chemistry, future human exploration and habitability on the Red Planet
www.scientificamerican.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:36 PM
Mars Has Lightning, Scientists Prove www.scientificamerican.com/article/mars...