Ashoka Mukpo
@shokes.bsky.social
Features Writer, @mongabay.bsky.social ☀️
On the other hand, if the AI revolution is real and it plays out the way the billionaires are all promising - ie everyone loses their jobs - the left's argument that the future rests on political struggle rather than tech innovation is going to have a lot of new converts.
is there a technology that "the left" is excited about?
www.transformernews.ai/p/the-left-i...
www.transformernews.ai/p/the-left-i...
The left is missing out on AI
As a movement, it has largely refused to engage seriously with AI, ceding debate about a threat and opportunity to the right
www.transformernews.ai
February 18, 2026 at 12:43 PM
On the other hand, if the AI revolution is real and it plays out the way the billionaires are all promising - ie everyone loses their jobs - the left's argument that the future rests on political struggle rather than tech innovation is going to have a lot of new converts.
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
The left tried for decades to pass green energy subsidies, passed them, the subsidies worked, and now literally the entire planet's electricity grid is going to convert to solar+battery. It just doesn't feel like "tech" because it mostly produces kinda boring blue collar jobs instead of billionaires
is there a technology that "the left" is excited about?
www.transformernews.ai/p/the-left-i...
www.transformernews.ai/p/the-left-i...
The left is missing out on AI
As a movement, it has largely refused to engage seriously with AI, ceding debate about a threat and opportunity to the right
www.transformernews.ai
February 18, 2026 at 3:51 AM
The left tried for decades to pass green energy subsidies, passed them, the subsidies worked, and now literally the entire planet's electricity grid is going to convert to solar+battery. It just doesn't feel like "tech" because it mostly produces kinda boring blue collar jobs instead of billionaires
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
New from me.
1/2 A glimpse into Burundi’s silent decline
Overshadowed by war in its neighbourhood, economic depression, and continuing authoritarianism, Bujumbura feels threadbare.
Read more: open.substack.com/pub/continen...
Overshadowed by war in its neighbourhood, economic depression, and continuing authoritarianism, Bujumbura feels threadbare.
Read more: open.substack.com/pub/continen...
February 17, 2026 at 8:09 AM
New from me.
In the words of the great Too Short. RIP
February 17, 2026 at 11:38 AM
In the words of the great Too Short. RIP
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
A U.S.-hosted minerals summit signals a push to cut reliance on China by striking deals with African nations.
Guinea and Morocco signed agreements, while a prior deal with the DRC, home to 70% of global cobalt reserves, faces scrutiny over human rights and instability concerns.
Guinea and Morocco signed agreements, while a prior deal with the DRC, home to 70% of global cobalt reserves, faces scrutiny over human rights and instability concerns.
Scrutiny grows over DRC-US minerals deal, even as other African nations sign up
On Feb 4, the U.S. hosted the Critical Minerals Ministerial, a summit bringing together delegations from more than 50 countries, including seven African countries, with the aim of securing access to…
news.mongabay.com
February 14, 2026 at 10:21 PM
A U.S.-hosted minerals summit signals a push to cut reliance on China by striking deals with African nations.
Guinea and Morocco signed agreements, while a prior deal with the DRC, home to 70% of global cobalt reserves, faces scrutiny over human rights and instability concerns.
Guinea and Morocco signed agreements, while a prior deal with the DRC, home to 70% of global cobalt reserves, faces scrutiny over human rights and instability concerns.
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
Lydia Polgreen hits on a dynamic I’ve noticed: That as news organizations grew more skeptical and more questioning of government over the last decades of the 20th century, audiences liked them less.
Opinion | Why Did I Trust Jeff Bezos?
www.nytimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 3:43 PM
Lydia Polgreen hits on a dynamic I’ve noticed: That as news organizations grew more skeptical and more questioning of government over the last decades of the 20th century, audiences liked them less.
I think a lot of people's expectations for the media boil down to : "the place where i might some day get to see my name if i do really good"
This NYT column by @polgreen.bsky.social is the truest thing I've ever seen about the REAL reason public trust in the media collapsed
February 14, 2026 at 4:56 PM
I think a lot of people's expectations for the media boil down to : "the place where i might some day get to see my name if i do really good"
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
It’s so funny to think about the fact that there’s people out there deferring every life decision to this
February 14, 2026 at 9:53 AM
It’s so funny to think about the fact that there’s people out there deferring every life decision to this
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
Someone tell European policy makers that climate change will not just be a poor country problem, and that the biggest risk with climate is not that people will migrate but that people will die.
Around 450,000 households in southern France left without power Friday after a storm tore through the region, ripping up trees and flooding roads
u.afp.com/S6JR
u.afp.com/S6JR
February 13, 2026 at 8:29 AM
Someone tell European policy makers that climate change will not just be a poor country problem, and that the biggest risk with climate is not that people will migrate but that people will die.
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
I’m torn. I agree with this but I also know, with a lot of frustration, the limits of reporting. I’ve written about and published stories about Alabama’s prison crisis for 20 years, and it feels next to impossible to get people to care about the horrific violence happening in their names.
Really don’t need everyone to publicly self-flagellate but Bret is right that the only hope we have is for media to realize that ONGOING coverage of things is the only way to penetrate into the realm of low/no info voters
February 13, 2026 at 12:43 PM
I’m torn. I agree with this but I also know, with a lot of frustration, the limits of reporting. I’ve written about and published stories about Alabama’s prison crisis for 20 years, and it feels next to impossible to get people to care about the horrific violence happening in their names.
Category with lots of competition but i think prediction markets are the most dystopian new element of modern life. Real fall of civilization stuff
February 13, 2026 at 12:37 PM
Category with lots of competition but i think prediction markets are the most dystopian new element of modern life. Real fall of civilization stuff
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
Just going to note again, because somehow we've all completely retconned this and I feel like I'm taking crazy pills, that pound-for-pound Biden had one of the most draconian border security regimes of any U.S. president ever, second only to Trump, *many of whose policies he inherited and kept*
Not going to read them all because jesus fucking christ but this is nasty work from Friedersdorf
February 12, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Just going to note again, because somehow we've all completely retconned this and I feel like I'm taking crazy pills, that pound-for-pound Biden had one of the most draconian border security regimes of any U.S. president ever, second only to Trump, *many of whose policies he inherited and kept*
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
CBP didn’t give her or anyone any water; she asked 3 times accg to other reports. CBP killed a 7yr old.
“8 hours after the girl & her father were taken into custody, she began having seizures & her body temperature was measured at 105.7 degrees by emergency medical technicians. shorturl.at/d2OTJ
“8 hours after the girl & her father were taken into custody, she began having seizures & her body temperature was measured at 105.7 degrees by emergency medical technicians. shorturl.at/d2OTJ
7-Year-Old Migrant Girl Dies Of Dehydration And Shock In U.S. Border Patrol Custody
The girl's death underscores the crisis precipitated by large groups of families seeking asylum where there are inadequate facilities to detain them.
shorturl.at
February 13, 2026 at 1:33 AM
CBP didn’t give her or anyone any water; she asked 3 times accg to other reports. CBP killed a 7yr old.
“8 hours after the girl & her father were taken into custody, she began having seizures & her body temperature was measured at 105.7 degrees by emergency medical technicians. shorturl.at/d2OTJ
“8 hours after the girl & her father were taken into custody, she began having seizures & her body temperature was measured at 105.7 degrees by emergency medical technicians. shorturl.at/d2OTJ
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
Some children in Dilley were so distraught they cut themselves or talked about suicide, parents told ProPublica.
They said kids lost their appetites after finding worms and mold on their food, had trouble sleeping, and were constantly sick.
They said kids lost their appetites after finding worms and mold on their food, had trouble sleeping, and were constantly sick.
The Kids Trump Sent to ICE’s Dilley Detention Center
ProPublica went inside the immigrant detention center for families in Dilley, Texas. Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of...
www.propublica.org
February 12, 2026 at 4:00 AM
Some children in Dilley were so distraught they cut themselves or talked about suicide, parents told ProPublica.
They said kids lost their appetites after finding worms and mold on their food, had trouble sleeping, and were constantly sick.
They said kids lost their appetites after finding worms and mold on their food, had trouble sleeping, and were constantly sick.
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
For anyone wondering what Greg Bovino has been up to lately…
February 12, 2026 at 4:25 AM
For anyone wondering what Greg Bovino has been up to lately…
The way these people speak, particularly about women, makes me so furious. Tech as a whole is full of deeply stunted people.
February 11, 2026 at 10:10 AM
The way these people speak, particularly about women, makes me so furious. Tech as a whole is full of deeply stunted people.
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
Framing climate action as “do more good” instead of “do less bad” makes people more likely to act — and expect greater happiness — according to research.
Clear, positive alternatives help people engage rather than feel deprived, with driving the only action where framing made little difference.
Clear, positive alternatives help people engage rather than feel deprived, with driving the only action where framing made little difference.
Encouragement boosts people’s likelihood to take climate action
The fight against climate change is often framed as a sacrifice: eat less meat and drive less often. But those actions could also be framed positively: eat more plants and ride bikes more often. A…
news.mongabay.com
February 10, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Framing climate action as “do more good” instead of “do less bad” makes people more likely to act — and expect greater happiness — according to research.
Clear, positive alternatives help people engage rather than feel deprived, with driving the only action where framing made little difference.
Clear, positive alternatives help people engage rather than feel deprived, with driving the only action where framing made little difference.
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
"They are building a massive concentration camp apparatus, and they will not abandon the objective of filling those camps."
Always essential @mskellymhayes.bsky.social on the situation and how to fight it.
organizingmythoughts.org/when-the-hea...
Always essential @mskellymhayes.bsky.social on the situation and how to fight it.
organizingmythoughts.org/when-the-hea...
When the Headlines Change but the Violence Doesn’t
“This is not a cruel novelty project. It’s infrastructure, designed for permanence and expansion.”
organizingmythoughts.org
February 8, 2026 at 3:27 AM
"They are building a massive concentration camp apparatus, and they will not abandon the objective of filling those camps."
Always essential @mskellymhayes.bsky.social on the situation and how to fight it.
organizingmythoughts.org/when-the-hea...
Always essential @mskellymhayes.bsky.social on the situation and how to fight it.
organizingmythoughts.org/when-the-hea...
Berlin trying to drop ecologically friendly deicing salt because of skyrocketing surgeries for people who slipped feels kinda on the nose for Europe www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Salt war heats up in ice-glazed Berlin
As a winter cold snap grips Germany, Berliners have been slip-sliding on ice-covered footpaths, driving a heated debate on whether the capital should use environmentally damaging salt to melt away the...
www.france24.com
February 6, 2026 at 8:49 PM
Berlin trying to drop ecologically friendly deicing salt because of skyrocketing surgeries for people who slipped feels kinda on the nose for Europe www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
the Spectator accidentally recycled a subhed from a previous day’s article about Tehran
February 6, 2026 at 6:07 PM
the Spectator accidentally recycled a subhed from a previous day’s article about Tehran
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 11:50 AM
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
When I started out in journalism in the mid-2000’s, there were almost a dozen US papers with bureaus in critical areas like the Middle East. Papers like The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Miami Herald, and Washington Post each had correspondents who were fierce competitors and colleagues.
February 5, 2026 at 9:54 PM
When I started out in journalism in the mid-2000’s, there were almost a dozen US papers with bureaus in critical areas like the Middle East. Papers like The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Miami Herald, and Washington Post each had correspondents who were fierce competitors and colleagues.
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
Humans warehoused in camps for months, some for years.
Remarkable organizers doing all to support, monitor, and relay from outside.
Indie media like @lataco.bsky.social, started as a taco site, now the vanguard of journalism in this country, deserving your $.
lataco.com/captive-loti...
Remarkable organizers doing all to support, monitor, and relay from outside.
Indie media like @lataco.bsky.social, started as a taco site, now the vanguard of journalism in this country, deserving your $.
lataco.com/captive-loti...
February 6, 2026 at 5:51 AM
Humans warehoused in camps for months, some for years.
Remarkable organizers doing all to support, monitor, and relay from outside.
Indie media like @lataco.bsky.social, started as a taco site, now the vanguard of journalism in this country, deserving your $.
lataco.com/captive-loti...
Remarkable organizers doing all to support, monitor, and relay from outside.
Indie media like @lataco.bsky.social, started as a taco site, now the vanguard of journalism in this country, deserving your $.
lataco.com/captive-loti...
Reposted by Ashoka Mukpo
The morning after mass layoffs, The Washington Post publishes this as their lead editorial. The owner and publisher clearly have no idea why they are losing subscribers. Meanwhile they have destroyed a storied brand.
Support independent media. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
Support independent media. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
February 5, 2026 at 12:29 PM
The morning after mass layoffs, The Washington Post publishes this as their lead editorial. The owner and publisher clearly have no idea why they are losing subscribers. Meanwhile they have destroyed a storied brand.
Support independent media. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
Support independent media. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0