Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · 2d

Real nice up here in the Amvrakikos Gulf, which is absolutely teeming with rays

Protected areas hit hard as Mekong countries’ forest cover shrank in 2024

Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · 2d

Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar especially smashed by deforestation in 2024 - new article by @geraldrflynn.bsky.social @mongabay.com

news.mongabay.com/2025/10/prot...

BANGKOK — The Mekong countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam lost a combined area of tree cover of nearly a million hectares in 2024, or an area almost the size of Lebanon. That’s a...

Can You Win a Congressional Seat Without Social Media?

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Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · 2d

"I do think that it's evil. I don't know that it's necessary. This campaign is a test for that."

www.404media.co/can-you-win-...

Carleigh Beriont is running for Congress as an “anti-social Democrat” and she thinks the party needs to abandon social media nationally also.

www.404media.co

Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · 3d

It was only a matter of time before shark meat appeared in Indonesia's new $10b school meals program.

The story making the rounds is from Ketapang, but how common is shark meat across the program as a whole? Indonesia is a top shark-catching country... and what species are they serving? sc.mp/vi2fw

Is there something fishy about fried shark in Indonesia’s free meals programme?

Critics say shark, which officials call a part of the regional diet, should not be served to children as it is potentially high in mercury.

sc.mp

Reposted by Philip Jacobson

Rhett Ayers Butler @rhettayersbutler.bsky.social · 6d

Reflection on my friendship with Jane: www.butlernature.com/2025/10/02/w...

What Jane Goodall showed me about hope

I find it hard to believe Jane Goodall is gone. She was more than an icon to me. She was a friend, a mentor, and someone whose presence—whether with presidents, students, or my own children—felt like ...

www.butlernature.com

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Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · 6d

Spent months building a giant database of public procurements of shark meat in Brazil - here's how we did it news.mongabay.com/2025/09/how-...

How we probed a maze of websites to tally Brazilian government shark meat orders

Mongabay recently published an investigation revealing widespread Brazilian government purchases of shark meat to feed schoolchildren, hospital patients, prisoners and more. The series has generated p...

Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · 14d

shark ("tope") on the menu at a random restaurant by my hotel in athens

“Worse Than a Death Sentence”: Inside India’s Sham Trials That Could Strip Millions of Citizenship

Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · 14d

this was really good from vice a few years ago www.vice.com/en/article/w...

"Foreigners Tribunals" in the state of Assam are deeply biased against Bengalis and Muslims, a VICE News investigation has found.

www.vice.com

Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · 14d

yeah dude. citizenship as a weapon trend is v troubling

Mongabay founder Rhett Butler named to Forbes Sustainability Leaders List

Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · 19d

“Mongabay has tended to fly under the radar. We’ve focused on the journalism rather than promoting ourselves, so this recognition is especially meaningful — and it reflects the contributions of everyone involved,” Bulter said. news.mongabay.com/short-articl... @mongabay.com

Rhett A. Butler, Mongabay founder and CEO, has been named to the 2025 Forbes Sustainability Leaders List, which honors 50 global leaders working to combat the climate crisis. “Mongabay has tended to f...

Pet sharks have become cool, but is owning them ethical?

Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · 20d

Pet sharks are trending, but pro aquarists say keeping them is very difficult to do ethically and often ends up harming the sharks. New @mongabay.com feature by Hallie Lieberman

news.mongabay.com/2025/09/pet-...

When Laurie was a kid, she had recurrent nightmares that featured her getting eaten by a shark. Decades later, Laurie goes to sleep next to them (or at least in the same house). She’s the proud owner ...

Exclusive: Leaked Messages from Charlie Kirk Assassin

Reposted by Philip Jacobson

Ken Klippenstein @kenklippenstein.bsky.social · 22d

New Tyler Robinson posts leaked to me tell a very different story than you've heard before:
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/exclusive-...

Accused shooter’s “politics” is not what government and media say

www.kenklippenstein.com

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Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · Aug 28

Latest article in our Brazil shark meat series

Mongabay @mongabay.com · Aug 27

A Brazilian lawmaker said he would call for a parliamentary hearing after Mongabay’s shark meat investigation.

Experts say the uncovered public tenders show greater extinction risk for sharks and urging stronger global protection.

Industry groups called Mongabay’s investigation “alarmist."

Mongabay shark meat exposé sparks call for hearing and industry debate

Endangered shark meat and heavy metals found in Brazil’s public food trigger a reckoning.

www.southernfriedscience.com

Reposted by Philip Jacobson

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Aug 26

Friends, I am offering a free online 2-hour crash course in how to write and publish a scientific paper, perfect for early career scientists and students considering writing their first paper soon.

All information can be found in this link:

www.southernfriedscience.com/im-offering-... 🧪🌎🦑

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Reposted by Philip Jacobson

Mikko Toivanen @mtoiv.bsky.social · Aug 20

I guess it'd been touch and go for a while but terrible news that The Projector is closing in Singapore. (And this text is a great eulogy by Kirsten.) So many of these kinds of stories recently, of the arts ravaged by cuts, spaces shut down, in Singapore, Finland, Berlin...

Kirsten Han 韩俐颖 @kirstenhan.com · Aug 20

A newsletter special on the sudden closure of The Projector, a beloved independent cinema in Singapore that provided space for many arts and civil society events that wouldn't have found a venue anywhere else in the city.

www.wethecitizens.net/this-city-wo...

This city won’t let us live

Thoughts on the closure of The Projector, an independent cinema that was about so much more than movies.

www.wethecitizens.net

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Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · Aug 18

Full EN version here: news.mongabay.com/custom-story...

That ‘fish’ on the menu? In Brazil’s schools and prisons, it’s often shark

Brazil, the world’s top importer of shark meat, is feeding much of it to preschoolers, hospital patients, military staff, public workers and more via government procurements, Mongabay has found. This ...

Tubarões viram comida em escolas e hospitais públicos do Brasil, com riscos à saúde e ao meio ambiente

Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · Aug 18

São Paulo's biggest newspaper ran a version of our article showing that Brazilian government agencies are bulk-buying shark meat for schools, hospitals, prisons and other public institutions

Folha de S.Paulo @folha.com · Jul 29

Tubarões viram comida em escolas e hospitais públicos

Em 20 anos, governos do Brasil gastaram R$ 112 milhões na compra de peixe conhecido como cação

www1.folha.uol.com.br

That ‘Fish’ on the Menu? In Brazil’s Schools and Prisons, It’s Often Shark

Reposted by Philip Jacobson

Pulitzer Center @pulitzercenter.org · Jul 30

Brazil is serving shark meat in thousands of schools, hospitals, prisons and other institutions, raising serious concerns.

A report by #ORN Fellow @philjaco.bsky.social, #RIN Fellow @bykarlamendes.bsky.social, and Pulitzer Center's @kuangkeng.bsky.social for @mongabay.com.

👉 bit.ly/40EuQ6E

Brazil, the world’s top importer of shark meat, is feeding much of it to preschoolers, hospital patients, military staff, public workers and more via government procurements, Mongabay has found. This....

pulitzercenter.org

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Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · Apr 22

Shatner on his trip to space variety.com/2022/tv/news...

Across the world, conservation projects reel after abrupt US funding cuts

Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · Feb 18

Conservation disrupted news.mongabay.com/2025/02/acro...

Conservation projects across the world are reeling from the Trump administration’s abrupt decision to shut down USAID and freeze foreign aid, as groups large and small scramble to fill sudden funding ...

Cambodia denies re-entry to Mongabay journalist who reported on illegal logging

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Reposted by Philip Jacobson

Mongabay @mongabay.com · Feb 3

Journalist Gerald Flynn was barred from Cambodia on January 5th, 2025, despite having a valid visa and work permit.

Flynn’s deportation appears to be retaliation for his journalistic work, particularly his reporting on environmental issues.

news.mongabay.com/2025/02/camb...

BANGKOK, Thailand — On Jan. 5, Mongabay journalist Gerald Flynn was denied entry to Cambodia. Flynn has lived and reported in the country since 2019, but upon his return from a brief visit to neighbor...

Revealed: Biomass firm poised to clear Bornean rainforest for dubious ‘green’ energy

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Reposted by Philip Jacobson

Erik Hoffner @erikhoffner.bsky.social · Oct 21

A coal company seeking to pivot to “green” energy goes for...wait for it...biomass

And not just any #biomass, but pellets made of a biodiverse rainforest that Indigenous communities call home

A tip sparked a new @mongabay.bsky.social investigation by @philjaco.bsky.social & Hans Jong:

LABAN NYARIT, Indonesia — Ipu Angit’s close relationship with the forest here in the interior of Borneo is evident as he identifies the plants and trees he uses to meet his daily needs, venturing deep...

Indonesian Presidential Election round-up

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Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · Feb 10

The cost of an Indonesian presidential campaign is estimated at $190m yet the three candidates' campaigns claim to have received just $11m, $1.9m and $250k - useful roundup of the business interests (and presumed dark money financiers) behind them: indonesiaweekly.substack.com/p/indonesian...

This week I’m changing up the usual format due to next Wednesday’s presidential election. With that, I’ve broken the newsletter into two parts: 1) Who are the candidates?, and 2) Campaign financing an...

indonesiaweekly.substack.com

Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · Dec 18

Video profile of Sarijan, one of the farmers highlighted in our recent piece about Indonesia's crackdown on slash-and-burn farming news.mongabay.com/2023/12/vide...

Video: For farmer imprisoned over wildfires, fear and poverty linger

LIMBUNG, Indonesia — Sarijan struggled to understand why they had come to arrest him. His mother tongue was Javanese, and he could parse only bits and pieces of Indonesian as the police officers int...