Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 5d

Celebrating a master of visual explanation: "Vale Stephen Biesty: Cross-Section King" @irondavy.bsky.social
(Plus- William Steig)

Showing (in addition to telling): roughlydaily.com/2025/10/03/w...

1 4

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 6d

Without Christopher Marlowe, there might not have been a Bard: "Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival" @harvardmagazine.bsky.social
(Plus- August Wilson)

Pondering profundity: roughlydaily.com/2025/10/02/w...

1

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 7d

The East India Company all over again? "The AI Raj: How tech giants are recolonizing power" @allisonstanger.bsky.social @thebulletin.org
(Plus- the Battle of Gaugamela)

Take it back: roughlydaily.com/2025/10/01/i...

1 3

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 9d

An early warning sign? "U.S. Container Imports Face Historic Decline as Tariff Effects Take Hold"
(Plus- the Crash of 2008)

Batten down: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/29/t...

2

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 10d

A telling stunt pulled by a master of marine art: "Ivan Aivazovsky’s Miniature Seascapes (ca. 1887)" @publicdomainrev.bsky.social
(Plus- Al Capp)

Tackling the tiny: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/28/i...

2

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 11d

The selling of Sydney Sweeney: "The Uggo Police" (Plus- Gwyneth Paltrow)

Pondering personae: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/27/i...

1

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 12d

Research that makes people laugh, then think: "Meet the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize winners" @jenlucpiquant.bsky.social @arstechnica.com
(Plus- Ron Toomer)

Have some serious fun: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/26/t...

1 5

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 13d

Obsolete (adj.): no longer in use or no longer useful: ""Is This the End of the Dictionary?" @stefanfatsis.bsky.social @theatlantic.com
(Plus- William Faulkner)

Look it up: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/25/i...

2

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 14d

Earth’s climate is chaotic and volatile. Climate change is simple and predictable. How can both be true? "The Climate Change Paradox" @quantamagazine.bsky.social @insideclimatenews.org
(Plus- "Don't Worry, Be Happy")

Facing reality: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/24/w...

1

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 15d

As global warming challenges traditional agriculture, scientists are looking to “probiotics” for crops as a possible new green revolution: "Better Farming Through Endophytes" @ahelt.bsky.social @jstordaily.bsky.social
(Plus- John Boyd Orr)

Musing on microbes: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/23/i...

1 3

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 16d

The respective vulnerabilities of tyrants and crowds: "Absolute power can be a terrible weakness," from @himself.bsky.social
(Plus- “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall”)

Get it together: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/22/p...

2

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 17d

A labor of love: "This trucker built a scale model of NYC over 21 years. It’s drawing museums’ attention" @gothamist.com
(Plus- the Great Fire of New York)

Get small: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/21/i...

1

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 18d

Two scholars predicted political upheaval in America in the 2020s. Their explanation of why it’s here and what we can do to temper it: "Welcome To The 'Turbulent Twenties'" @noemamag.com @raydalioofficial.bsky.social
(Plus- jumping the shark)

Buckle up: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/20/w...

2

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 19d

How social media algorithms are transforming language: "Our viral vocabulary" @etymology.substack.com.web.brid.gy (Plus- International Talk Like a Pirate Day)

Pause to parse: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/19/a...

1

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 20d

Clive James reviews "the most boring book in the world" @boingboing.net
(Plus- Samuel Johnson)

Tackling tedium: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/18/h...

1 3

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 21d

A fascinating interactive comparison of what different jobs pay: "Salary and Occupation" @flowingdata.com
(Plus- Emperor Norton)

Investigating inequality: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/17/a...

2

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 22d

Interrogating a defining-- but slippery--concept at the heart of many discussions of global culture or geopolitics: "The Idea of the West" @mereorthodoxy.bsky.social @noemamag.com
(Plus- “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On”)

Pondering a perplexingly plastic paradigm: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/16/i...

1

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 23d

If "printer's ink" is the lifeblood of democracy, we have an issue: "Why more and more people are tuning the news out: ‘Now I don’t have that anxiety’" @josieharvey.bsky.social @theguardian.com
(Plus- USA Today)

Surviving the surfeit: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/15/a...

1

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 24d

There's rule-of-law, and then there's rule-by-law: "Banksy mural of a judge beating a protester is scrubbed from London court" @apnews.com
(Plus- Hitler at Nuremberg)

Protect what's precious: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/14/t...

1

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 25d

On geologic byproducts, American automotive lore, and the hidden beauty of the industrial age: "Fordite" @ryantomorrow.bsky.social
(Plus- RIP, Henry Hale Bliss)

Rethinking remnants: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/13/t...

2

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 26d

A remarkable collection of beautiful playing cards (and divination decks) from the past @ebursztein.bsky.social (Plus- Lascaux)

Coming up aces: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/12/l...

1

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 27d

A question of perspective: "Africa wants its true size on the world map" @bigthink.com
(Plus- Joseph Nicollet)

Scrutinizing scale: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/11/i...

1

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 28d

Physicians (and other scientists) healing themselves: "Metascience Is More Important Now Than Ever" @cbo.bsky.social @undark.org
(Plus- Charles Sanders Peirce)

Committing to comprehension: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/10/t...

2

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · 29d

The idea of Abundance is having a moment. But are the folks behind it blowing their chance? "What *Isn't* Abundance?" @davekarpf.bsky.social
(Plus- William Bligh)

Musing on more: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/09/e...

1

Lawrence Wilkinson @lhwilkinson.bsky.social · Sep 8

Whence the witches- did the ever-pragmatic Shakespeare add witches to the Scottish play to please his new patron? "King James I and the Macbeth Witches" @jstordaily.bsky.social
(Plus- John Shakespeare)

Fire burn, cauldron bubble: roughlydaily.com/2025/09/08/b...

2