Zac Audette
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zacaudette.com
Zac Audette
@zacaudette.com
proud union programmer @bethesda.net (views are my own and do not reflect my employer)

photographer at https://zacaudette.com/

for new classical music performed by women checkout https://newdownbeat.com
Reposted by Zac Audette
Ruth Wilson Gilmore's definition of racism gets at why it's not something that can be ignored: "the state-sanctioned and/or extralegal production and exploitation of group-differentiated vulnerability to premature death". --- THE PREMATURE DEATH part is not something that can be "ignored"
December 28, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Reposted by Zac Audette
You don't need to take my word for it. You can simply ask yourself what you would expect to see from an opposition party that was serious about abolishing ICE right now. Are you seeing these things from the Democratic party or from its voters?
December 27, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Reposted by Zac Audette
“These people were not doing anything bad. ... And as a Mexican American citizen here, what if they end up profiling me? ... And that’s something that hit me hard. I have not returned to a normal student teenage life ever since ICE hit.”

matternews.org/community/th...
The aftermath of ICE – Matter News
In the week since federal agents apprehended three staff members at one North Side hotel, employees and management have simultaneously navigated a mix of fear and grief while adjusting operations to b...
matternews.org
December 23, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
I don’t mean to sound extreme, but I don’t think we should have torture camps for people with criminal records either.
December 23, 2025 at 1:51 AM
Reposted by Zac Audette
It’s the entire point. There’s no plan to make this meaningful for students. No plan to use it administratively. Its design and implementation signals its only real intent. It’s best and easiest use case is for systematic harassment and to scare faculty into complying in advance.
We know the students don’t read the syllabuses. So who will? Right-wing activists looking for excuses to hound profs.
December 20, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
Do people realize that this is also happening with case law?

Like Do You Understand What That Fucking Means???
December 20, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Reposted by Zac Audette
Reposted by Zac Audette
Reposted by Zac Audette
We had a chance to interview legendary composer Yuka Kitamura (Elden Ring, Bloodborne, Dark Souls III, & Sekiro) about going freelance, her approach to music composition, wanting to release an original solo album, boss themes, DLC music, coffee, and more: www.rpgsite.net/interview/19...
December 19, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
This week for @matternews.bsky.social : Do we carry the flame? I wrote about Columbus educators' thoughts on Ohio's proposed Charlie Kirk bill.
matternews.org/voices/local...
Local Politics: Are we Charlie Kirk? – Matter News
Here’s what Columbus educators have to say about the proposed Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act.
matternews.org
December 18, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
“it’s reasonable to ask questions about trans girls in sports” was always intended to mainstream transphobia.

It’s absurd that people fell for it. Democrats are constantly letting oppressors set the terms of debate instead of just saying “no, fuck you.”
December 18, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
Why We're Boycotting Xbox:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybj1...
The Xbox Boycott (Still) Matters
YouTube video by People Make Games
www.youtube.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
In this #newblogpost, I discuss the relationship between Afrofuturism and Africanfuturism: how they help us understand and respond to law's inadequacy, dystopia, racial injustice, appropriation of trauma and the algorithmic racist bias of digital technologies.
folukeafrica.com/afrofuturism...
Afrofuturism and Africanfuturism Duelling and Dwelling Within ‘Black African Science Fiction’
An umbrella for reimagining racial justice covering a diversity of origins, methods, and futures
folukeafrica.com
December 18, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
"Wherever the agents appear, even when they lean idly, chatting, we see the cold threat of violence and the fragility of freedom. And in the brave crowds who gather to confront them, scrambling their illusion of total control, we see the power of solidarity..."

hammerandhope.org/article/ice-...
War at Home
A record of ICE’s assault on immigrants and the people’s resistance.
hammerandhope.org
December 17, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
This is a wild hack. a16z gave a million dollars to startup called Doublespeed. They use a phone farm to flood social media with AI generated influencers and ads. A hacker remotely broke into the phone farm, unmasking the AI influencers/fake accounts, gave us the data www.404media.co/hack-reveals...
Hack Reveals the a16z-Backed Phone Farm Flooding TikTok With AI Influencers
A hacker gained control of a 1,100 mobile phone farm powering covert, AI-generated ads on TikTok.
www.404media.co
December 17, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
“There are so many aspects of our work that our staff care about and want to improve, and we haven’t been able to without that collective voice. … We have to hold strong and remember this union is for us, and we are doing this to equalize the power.”

matternews.org/community/be...
Behind the worker-led push to unionize the Columbus Metropolitan Library  – Matter News
Last week, CML United initiated the unionization process when it delivered signed union cards representing a supermajority of eligible library workers to Ohio’s State Employment Relations Board, takin...
matternews.org
December 16, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
There is a family separations crisis that has already begun in Springfield, Ohio.
19thnews.org/2025/12/spri...
The Ohio grandma racing to help Haitian parents protect children as more deportations near
In Springfield, a city transformed by Haitian immigrants, Casey Rollins says she feels like the “town crier” warning of a looming family separation crisis.
19thnews.org
December 15, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
It would help if Ohio wasn’t the number one state for blocking clean energy projects.

cleanview.co/content/canc...
December 13, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
Reposting my @gamespot.com Clair Obscur article because it’s feeling relevant again

TLDR It feels like many of the JRPGs I’ve loved before but everyone likes it because it isn’t anime

www.gamespot.com/articles/cla...
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Is Great, But Its Popularity Raises Big Questions About How We View Japanese RPGs
Clair Obscur isn’t like the other turn-based RPGs--at least, that’s what the worst fans want you to think.
www.gamespot.com
December 13, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Reposted by Zac Audette
When the AI boom began, copywriters were singled out as one of the jobs most vulnerable to AI. Now, three years later, I wanted to hear from workers on the frontlines of the industry, to hear what had actually taken place on the ground.

For many, it was even worse than they'd feared.
"I was forced to use AI until the day I was laid off." Copywriters reveal how AI has decimated their industry
Copywriters were one of the first to have their jobs targeted by AI firms. These are their stories, three years into the AI era.
www.bloodinthemachine.com
December 12, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
New: here's how a U.S. citizen was scanned with ICE's facial recognition tech. Jesus Gutiérrez was stopped in Chicago by agents, he said he was a citizen. Still detained, put in a car. Only after they scanned his face did they let him go. From 404 Media and Reveal: www.404media.co/how-a-us-cit...
How a US Citizen Was Scanned With ICE's Facial Recognition Tech
Jesus Gutiérrez told immigration agents he was a U.S. citizen. Only after they scanned his face, did the agents let him go.
www.404media.co
December 13, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
2025 was a helluva year. Published some of the best work I’ve ever done, but still going into 2026 on the job market.

So check out my website and keep me in mind if you find yourself needing a writer/producer/editorial multi-hyphenate. Happy Holidays!!! www.mattkimwrites.com
December 13, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Reposted by Zac Audette
I wrote a new piece for @pghcitypaper.com about loving analog media in a digital world. If you’re someone who’s into vinyl, film photography, print media, and invaluable local businesses, you should check it out! I also coin the phrase “techno-bummerism” lol
In a digital world, Pittsburgh is an analog paradise
At places like Galaxie Electronics and Bernie's Photo Center, young people are relearning the joys of vinyl, film, and slowing down.
www.pghcitypaper.com
December 11, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Reposted by Zac Audette
doom creator id software just became the latest microsoft studio to unionize. though the neutrality agreement that has allowed CWA to organize so many studios recently lapsed, id devs told me that only applies to activision blizzard for now

aftermath.site/id-software-union-doom-microsoft-cwa
December 12, 2025 at 2:02 PM