Whats Hername
@oldwhatsername.bsky.social
A girl has no name. For now anyway.
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We recently launched ProPublica Narrated, a podcast feed where you can listen to our best long-form investigations, read out loud.
First up: “Sick in a Hospital Town,” produced w/ Theater Of War Productions, tells the story of U.S. health care: https://bit.ly/4pO8lXd
First up: “Sick in a Hospital Town,” produced w/ Theater Of War Productions, tells the story of U.S. health care: https://bit.ly/4pO8lXd
December 23, 2025 at 11:01 PM
We recently launched ProPublica Narrated, a podcast feed where you can listen to our best long-form investigations, read out loud.
First up: “Sick in a Hospital Town,” produced w/ Theater Of War Productions, tells the story of U.S. health care: https://bit.ly/4pO8lXd
First up: “Sick in a Hospital Town,” produced w/ Theater Of War Productions, tells the story of U.S. health care: https://bit.ly/4pO8lXd
Reposted by Whats Hername
Today in The December Comfort Watches: Monsters, Inc., which is a triumph of worldbuilding, and showing how even an inherently terrifying concept can be adorable and hilarious if you know how to commit to the bit:
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/23/t...
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/23/t...
The December Comfort Watches 2025, Day Twenty-Three: Monsters, Inc
Because I am a nerd — no, really — every time I watch Monsters, Inc. I think about the biology and physiology of its monsters. As in, I very strongly believe that all the different mons…
whatever.scalzi.com
December 23, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Today in The December Comfort Watches: Monsters, Inc., which is a triumph of worldbuilding, and showing how even an inherently terrifying concept can be adorable and hilarious if you know how to commit to the bit:
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/23/t...
whatever.scalzi.com/2025/12/23/t...
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Bill Clinton releasing a statement saying 'release the Epstein files, you cowards' was not on my bingo list.
December 22, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Bill Clinton releasing a statement saying 'release the Epstein files, you cowards' was not on my bingo list.
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1 - the exec branch can't decline to spend $ Congress appropriated
2- the fed govt can't use federal $ to extort states over policy/political disagreements
3-the fed govt can't use federal $ to impose conditions unrelated to the funding program
4-the fed govt can't use federal $ to coerce states
2- the fed govt can't use federal $ to extort states over policy/political disagreements
3-the fed govt can't use federal $ to impose conditions unrelated to the funding program
4-the fed govt can't use federal $ to coerce states
Sean Duffy on blue states: "What I can do is I can pull their money. That's the leverage I do have ... I guarantee you that the federal taxpayer is not going to fund their roads and bridges and their systems when they are putting illegals on the roads."
December 23, 2025 at 2:32 PM
1 - the exec branch can't decline to spend $ Congress appropriated
2- the fed govt can't use federal $ to extort states over policy/political disagreements
3-the fed govt can't use federal $ to impose conditions unrelated to the funding program
4-the fed govt can't use federal $ to coerce states
2- the fed govt can't use federal $ to extort states over policy/political disagreements
3-the fed govt can't use federal $ to impose conditions unrelated to the funding program
4-the fed govt can't use federal $ to coerce states
Reposted by Whats Hername
The Trump supporter who runs CBS news just killed a story about Trump’s favorite torture prison. Here’s why America has a liberal media bias problem.
December 22, 2025 at 3:03 AM
The Trump supporter who runs CBS news just killed a story about Trump’s favorite torture prison. Here’s why America has a liberal media bias problem.
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I strongly suspect many people would be a lot less aggressively anti-AI at this point if they hadn’t just spent two years feeling constantly pressured, often by very unpleasant people and actors, to use it Or Else
As a lawyer I’m getting a daily machine gun of come-ons to use AI in legal research, have AI draft my documents, let AI suggest my arguments, AI can take a flying fuck at a rolling seven-fingered doughnut
December 21, 2025 at 6:12 PM
I strongly suspect many people would be a lot less aggressively anti-AI at this point if they hadn’t just spent two years feeling constantly pressured, often by very unpleasant people and actors, to use it Or Else
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Pantone just updated their Color Of The Year
December 20, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Pantone just updated their Color Of The Year
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one of the great, pernicious myths perpetrated about higher ed—which media, higher ed administrators, politicians, and a number of faculty are complicit in spreading—is that humanities departments close due to some combination of cratering student demand and unjustifiable cost. It’s not true
My humanities dept was relevant. Majors were up. Courses were 100% enrolled. Revenue positive, GE serving, etc etc. We were still eliminated.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
The problem is ideological administrative destruction. Couldn’t write a report, a self study, or a spreadsheet against that.
'For humanities departments to continue to matter, they must challenge the modern world rather than accommodate it. Indeed, the most useful lesson the humanities have to offer today is a profoundly countercultural one: Difficulty is good, an end in its own right.' 2/2
December 15, 2025 at 1:37 PM
one of the great, pernicious myths perpetrated about higher ed—which media, higher ed administrators, politicians, and a number of faculty are complicit in spreading—is that humanities departments close due to some combination of cratering student demand and unjustifiable cost. It’s not true
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it was I think better when there were ways for people who hate being on screen to make a creative living
I don’t think it’s an improvement that we’re creating a culture where everyone creative also has to be hot
I don’t think it’s an improvement that we’re creating a culture where everyone creative also has to be hot
December 16, 2025 at 1:46 AM
it was I think better when there were ways for people who hate being on screen to make a creative living
I don’t think it’s an improvement that we’re creating a culture where everyone creative also has to be hot
I don’t think it’s an improvement that we’re creating a culture where everyone creative also has to be hot
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Egg producers suspect bird flu is traveling through the air.
After a disastrous Midwestern outbreak early this year, we tested that theory and found that where the wind blew, the virus followed.
Vaccines could help, but the USDA hasn’t approved them.
After a disastrous Midwestern outbreak early this year, we tested that theory and found that where the wind blew, the virus followed.
Vaccines could help, but the USDA hasn’t approved them.
What the U.S. Government Is Dismissing That Could Seed a Bird Flu Pandemic
Egg producers suspect bird flu is traveling through the air. After a disastrous Midwestern outbreak early this year, we tested that theory and found that where the wind blew, the virus followed. Vacci...
www.propublica.org
December 4, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Egg producers suspect bird flu is traveling through the air.
After a disastrous Midwestern outbreak early this year, we tested that theory and found that where the wind blew, the virus followed.
Vaccines could help, but the USDA hasn’t approved them.
After a disastrous Midwestern outbreak early this year, we tested that theory and found that where the wind blew, the virus followed.
Vaccines could help, but the USDA hasn’t approved them.
Reposted by Whats Hername
Lol, Zillow tried to rate the climate risks facing individual properties. The real estate industry *hated* it, precisely because it worked -- it made selling risky properties more difficult. So they rebelled & Zillow caved.
Don't look up!
Don't look up!
Zillow Removes Climate Risk Scores From Home Listings
www.nytimes.com
November 30, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Lol, Zillow tried to rate the climate risks facing individual properties. The real estate industry *hated* it, precisely because it worked -- it made selling risky properties more difficult. So they rebelled & Zillow caved.
Don't look up!
Don't look up!
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I just saw a recipe for a “protein hot chocolate.” And no. We have to stop.
November 30, 2025 at 11:40 PM
I just saw a recipe for a “protein hot chocolate.” And no. We have to stop.
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Chimpanzees use 22 types of tools in the wild but they are capable of doomscrolling like the rest of us.
This video of Sugriva using Instagram is shocking because it's so similar to how humans use social media--engaging with content that triggers our emotions, like images of our friends and foes.
This video of Sugriva using Instagram is shocking because it's so similar to how humans use social media--engaging with content that triggers our emotions, like images of our friends and foes.
November 18, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Chimpanzees use 22 types of tools in the wild but they are capable of doomscrolling like the rest of us.
This video of Sugriva using Instagram is shocking because it's so similar to how humans use social media--engaging with content that triggers our emotions, like images of our friends and foes.
This video of Sugriva using Instagram is shocking because it's so similar to how humans use social media--engaging with content that triggers our emotions, like images of our friends and foes.
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Medicare for All would save $450B a year.
Every dollar spent on food stamps generates $1.50-$1.80 in economic activity.
Each dollar going to low-wage workers adds $1.20 to the economy overall.
It’s not about what this country can or can’t afford.
It’s about priorities.
Every dollar spent on food stamps generates $1.50-$1.80 in economic activity.
Each dollar going to low-wage workers adds $1.20 to the economy overall.
It’s not about what this country can or can’t afford.
It’s about priorities.
November 18, 2025 at 10:45 PM
Medicare for All would save $450B a year.
Every dollar spent on food stamps generates $1.50-$1.80 in economic activity.
Each dollar going to low-wage workers adds $1.20 to the economy overall.
It’s not about what this country can or can’t afford.
It’s about priorities.
Every dollar spent on food stamps generates $1.50-$1.80 in economic activity.
Each dollar going to low-wage workers adds $1.20 to the economy overall.
It’s not about what this country can or can’t afford.
It’s about priorities.
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"If the outbreak cannot be extinguished by Jan., the anniversary of the first cases in Texas, the U.S. will lose what is known as 'elimination status' as determined by the W.H.O., which it has had for 25 years."
Read about measles if you don't know. Airborne. Spreads like a virus in a sci fi movie.
Read about measles if you don't know. Airborne. Spreads like a virus in a sci fi movie.
SCOOP: CDC officials on Monday linked for the first time the measles outbreak that began in Texas with another in Utah and Arizona, a finding that could end America’s status as a nation that has eliminated measles.
(Gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/h...
(Gift link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/h...
C.D.C. Links Measles Outbreaks in Multiple States for the First Time
www.nytimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:19 AM
"If the outbreak cannot be extinguished by Jan., the anniversary of the first cases in Texas, the U.S. will lose what is known as 'elimination status' as determined by the W.H.O., which it has had for 25 years."
Read about measles if you don't know. Airborne. Spreads like a virus in a sci fi movie.
Read about measles if you don't know. Airborne. Spreads like a virus in a sci fi movie.
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I spent October traveling to schools throughout the South talking to students about American history. What I found were young people who understand we can tell a story that includes both the positive and the negative. As one 8th grader in Memphis said, “Doesn’t seem that hard, just say both things.”
Tell Students the Truth About American History
We owe it to Americans of all ages to be honest about the country’s past, including its contradictions.
www.theatlantic.com
November 17, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I spent October traveling to schools throughout the South talking to students about American history. What I found were young people who understand we can tell a story that includes both the positive and the negative. As one 8th grader in Memphis said, “Doesn’t seem that hard, just say both things.”
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1/ Egalitarianism should begin at home. I link to this article by @bencasselman.bsky.social in light of the communications between Larry Summers and Jeffrey Epstein that have just been released. The released emails and the fact of friendship are vile.
www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/b...
www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/b...
For Women in Economics, the Hostility Is Out in the Open (Published 2021)
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:32 PM
1/ Egalitarianism should begin at home. I link to this article by @bencasselman.bsky.social in light of the communications between Larry Summers and Jeffrey Epstein that have just been released. The released emails and the fact of friendship are vile.
www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/b...
www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/b...
Reposted by Whats Hername
As always, nice reporting from the Crimson here
While Summers has broken no laws, and he’s free to correspond with whom he chooses, there’s a lot here to support the idea that he should not be taken as an authoritative spokesman on so many important issues
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
While Summers has broken no laws, and he’s free to correspond with whom he chooses, there’s a lot here to support the idea that he should not be taken as an authoritative spokesman on so many important issues
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Harvard Faculty Disturbed by Revelations of Summers’ ‘Cozy Friendship’ With Epstein | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard professors responded with outrage to a tranche of emails showing a close yearslong correspondence between former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers and sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein, reop...
www.thecrimson.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:12 PM
As always, nice reporting from the Crimson here
While Summers has broken no laws, and he’s free to correspond with whom he chooses, there’s a lot here to support the idea that he should not be taken as an authoritative spokesman on so many important issues
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
While Summers has broken no laws, and he’s free to correspond with whom he chooses, there’s a lot here to support the idea that he should not be taken as an authoritative spokesman on so many important issues
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
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Far below the top political tiers, when you think about the perverse incentives around who would even be willing to run for office…
We cannot hope for sanity without treating algorithms and those who profit from them as the real enemy.
We cannot hope for sanity without treating algorithms and those who profit from them as the real enemy.
November 15, 2025 at 4:28 AM
Far below the top political tiers, when you think about the perverse incentives around who would even be willing to run for office…
We cannot hope for sanity without treating algorithms and those who profit from them as the real enemy.
We cannot hope for sanity without treating algorithms and those who profit from them as the real enemy.
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I beg everyone to switch from “for you” to “following” in every platform which even allows this.
Be your own curator of reality.
Be your own curator of reality.
November 15, 2025 at 4:30 AM
I beg everyone to switch from “for you” to “following” in every platform which even allows this.
Be your own curator of reality.
Be your own curator of reality.
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I just don’t see how we can pretend even for a moment that anything involving our federal government is remotely normal when the president is covering up his involvement in a child sex trafficking ring. Like, what are we doing here
November 15, 2025 at 1:14 AM
I just don’t see how we can pretend even for a moment that anything involving our federal government is remotely normal when the president is covering up his involvement in a child sex trafficking ring. Like, what are we doing here
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Priests being arrested
November 14, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Priests being arrested
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The man President Trump wanted to be attorney general was allegedly paying for sex with a 17-year old girl who was working at a McDonald’s, saving up for braces, and partly living at a homeless shelter. trib.al/3bvlJCy
17-Year-Old Girl in Gaetz Probe Was Homeless and Trying to Save Up
She was a high school student who wanted to pay for braces.
trib.al
November 13, 2025 at 10:18 PM
The man President Trump wanted to be attorney general was allegedly paying for sex with a 17-year old girl who was working at a McDonald’s, saving up for braces, and partly living at a homeless shelter. trib.al/3bvlJCy
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"This could take down Democrats, too."
I know. And I frankly wouldn't give even an itty bitty damn if it implicated every Democratic man in Congress, every Democratic hopeful for 2028 and every Democrat who has even thought about running for office.
Down with the sex predators, wherever they are.
I know. And I frankly wouldn't give even an itty bitty damn if it implicated every Democratic man in Congress, every Democratic hopeful for 2028 and every Democrat who has even thought about running for office.
Down with the sex predators, wherever they are.
November 13, 2025 at 1:15 AM
"This could take down Democrats, too."
I know. And I frankly wouldn't give even an itty bitty damn if it implicated every Democratic man in Congress, every Democratic hopeful for 2028 and every Democrat who has even thought about running for office.
Down with the sex predators, wherever they are.
I know. And I frankly wouldn't give even an itty bitty damn if it implicated every Democratic man in Congress, every Democratic hopeful for 2028 and every Democrat who has even thought about running for office.
Down with the sex predators, wherever they are.
Reposted by Whats Hername
"This woke Me-Too bullshit has gone too far," said the former Harvard President and Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to the billionaire pedophile sex trafficker in a private email that the Justice Department under both parties kept secret for years
November 13, 2025 at 1:46 AM
"This woke Me-Too bullshit has gone too far," said the former Harvard President and Secretary of the U.S. Treasury to the billionaire pedophile sex trafficker in a private email that the Justice Department under both parties kept secret for years