Becca Lewis
@beccalew.bsky.social
Assistant prof of comparative media studies @MIT. Cultural and political histories of Silicon Valley and the internet.
“Harvard paid McKinsey & Company at least $250,000 to consult on the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ staff restructuring efforts, according to internal documents obtained by The Crimson.” www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...
Harvard Paid McKinsey $250,000 For FAS Consultation, Internal Documents Show | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard paid McKinsey & Company at least $250,000 to consult on the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ staff restructuring efforts, according to internal documents obtained by The Crimson.
thecrimson.com
sakura christmas@prof-christmas.bsky.social · 6d agoUnsurprising that all these cuts being made to #Harvard —from the Office of Student Services to the Writing Center to now the Dudley Co-op—are happening with input from McKinsey, a firm made up of The Second Worst People I knew in college there
It’s Erving goffman’s world, we’re all just presenting versions of ourselves in it
Kevin Elliott@kjephd.bsky.social · 2w agoA great essay. We hardly deserve paragraphs like this:
Trump's senseless war of choice is having devastating effects on everyday people all over the world. apnews.com/article/nige...
Nigerian children pay the price for the Iran war as malnutrition and poverty surge
Health workers in northern Nigeria say more children are relapsing into malnutrition and cite knock-on effects from the war in the Middle East.
apnews.com
We should invent a kind of canceling where the guy goes away
“But the bigger problem is how much of the media of ‘the left’ is dominated by men who appear to have no understanding of sexual abuse or intimate partner violence, but do have a pretty hefty sexist streak that they either aren’t aware of or don’t care to remedy.” YES @juliedicaro.bsky.social
We have an even bigger problem than Graham Platner
The candidate's rise and fall perfectly illustrates the sexism in lefty media
losingmyperspicacity.beehiiv.com
i am fascinated by the extent to which eisenberg's portrayal shaped public perception of zuck. it's an amazing artistic performance, but it's not accurate! at the time, zuck's vibes were all frat bro
Robert Evans (the Only Robert Evans)@iwriteok.bsky.social · 4w agojesse eisenberg played mark zuckerberg so well I've hated him for more than a decade and apparently he's now donating his kidney to a stranger i can admit when i judged someone poorly
as for the former platner defenders: never trust a man who uses progressive politics as a way to feel virile
I’ve been noticing a trend of people calling things “red pilling” that are actually just deeply entrenched, widely accepted misogyny
The techlash needs a target close to home, say Arjun Hassard and Erin McElroy, arguing tenant screening—with its algorithmic discrimination, junk fees, and lifelong digital stigma—is the bold, common-sense tech fight candidates should pick.
Populist Candidates Need More Tech Policy—Reforming Tenant Screening Is A Good Start
The regulation of tenant screening software presents a tailor-made policy opening, write Arjun Hassard and Erin McElroy.
buff.ly
The ideology in question is opposing fascism. This horrific action is a shot across the bow at all of us—everyone who cares about their neighbors, who dares to dream of a better world, who opposes ICE terror and authoritarian repression. We cannot allow the state to disappear them.
DFW Support Committee@dfwsupportcommitt.bsky.social · last mo.Judge O’Connor stated from the bench that he is giving maximum sentences to the Prairieland sentences because “the state wants to send a message to anyone who shares a similar ideology.”
this is really funny research from a microsoft ai guy who is basically like: the arguments being made to suggest LLMs are sentient can be made regarding literally anything www.404media.co/if-ai-is-sen...
If AI Is Sentient Then So Is ‘Age of Empires II’
“The point of the paper is to formally show that we anthropomorphise too readily."
404media.co
New: Regretful cities are literally covering their Flock cameras with black trash bags because they cannot figure out how to immediately exit their surveillance contracts or get the cameras taken down: www.404media.co/cities-are-c...
Cities Are Covering Flock Cameras With Trash Bags
Regretful cities aren't sure how to cancel their surveillance contracts, so they are literally covering their cameras.
404media.co
MIT boasts a $27b endowment
eileen chengyin chow@chowleen.bsky.social · 2mo ago“I write with dismay, grief and sorrow for the permanent closure of MIT Libraries Barker, Dewey and Rotch, and termination of library staff in those libraries. For MIT to be closing three of its four major libraries..." fnl.mit.edu/may-june-202...
“I write with dismay, grief and sorrow for the permanent closure of MIT Libraries Barker, Dewey and Rotch, and termination of library staff in those libraries. For MIT to be closing three of its four major libraries..." fnl.mit.edu/may-june-202...
Lament for the MIT Libraries - MIT Faculty Newsletter
fnl.mit.edu
Probably shouldn't have let a handful of weird business perverts unwind the cultural miracle of American research universities
TODAY! In WILLIAMSTOWN, MA catch @beccalew.bsky.social for a live post-screening Q&A at Images Cinema! TONIGHT! TUES MAY 26 6:30 PM TICKETS! www.imagescinema.org/movie/ghost-...
Ghost in the Machine
Following the screening there will be a post-film discussion with our featured guest, Dr. Becca Lewis. Becca Lewis is an Assistant Professor in Media Studies at MIT. She was previously a Postdoct...
imagescinema.org
Now you can keep track of how many billions the AI companies are losing on AI. (Red is spending, green is revenue.) isaiprofitable.com
It’s impossible to create public media when tech is captured by individualism. New from me in @knightcolumbia.org "Reconstructing Free Expression" series, with thanks to @katygb.bsky.social, @jameeljaffer.bsky.social. knightcolumbia.org/blog/is-indi...
Is Individualism the Problem? Toward a System of Free Expression that Challenges the Media Individualism Complex
knightcolumbia.org
Silicon Valley's anti-democratic right-wing politics have a history with roots in the 1980s, something I noticed in the 2000s as a student in university. In 2025, some like Wired’s Steven Levy were “surprised” by this. Why? To explore this history, here is @beccalew.bsky.social at @westernu.ca:
Becca Lewis - Reactionary Futurism - 2025/2027 Rogers Chair Series
YouTube video by Western University
youtube.com
yesss
The Syllabus@the-syllabus.bsky.social · 3mo agoDuring the 1980s and 1990s, networks of evangelists and venture capitalists fused technological boosterism with reactionary social ideals. Our video of the week examines the deep roots of Silicon Valley's shift toward the right. Featuring @beccalew.bsky.social at @westernu.ca buff.ly/ydgntnc
During the 1980s and 1990s, networks of evangelists and venture capitalists fused technological boosterism with reactionary social ideals. Our video of the week examines the deep roots of Silicon Valley's shift toward the right. Featuring @beccalew.bsky.social at @westernu.ca buff.ly/ydgntnc
Why do they keep inviting people that don't respect the nature of knowledge and the process of learning to speak at institutions that were founded in the service of those goals? Don't answer, I know. The root is that the institutions have been corrupted from their mission in the first place.
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 3mo agoThere’s a long list of reasons to boo this man.
My latest @nytimes.com oped shows that the White House is dramatically understating the cost of the war in Iran. By my calculations—and I show my work—this war will cost the typical American family thousands, and it could cost them tens of thousands. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/o...
Opinion | Hegseth Says This War Has Cost $25 Billion. I Tallied Up the True Amount.
nytimes.com
Breaking news: Indiana University plant microbiologist Roger Innes has been locked out of his laboratory by the school in response to a request by one of his federal funders. The move comes after Innes complained about the government’s prosecution of Chinese postdocs. https://scim.ag/4tsDqRr
After USDA request, Indiana plant biologist locked out of lab by school
Move comes after Roger Innes complained about the government’s prosecution of Chinese postdocs
scim.ag
I brings me great pleasure to see this fascist hack fail. It brings me no pleasure to know that the folks coming up behind him in conservative media are somehow even worse.
Drew Harwell@drewharwell.com · 3mo agoNew: How Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire lost its grip on the conservative internet. The "anti-woke" empire that invested tens of millions in fantasy shows and Shapiro scented candles now faces sweeping layoffs and criticism its MAGA relevance has slipped away wapo.st/3QWgKvj
New: How Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire lost its grip on the conservative internet. The "anti-woke" empire that invested tens of millions in fantasy shows and Shapiro scented candles now faces sweeping layoffs and criticism its MAGA relevance has slipped away wapo.st/3QWgKvj
Inside Ben Shapiro’s MAGA meltdown
The Daily Wire was once ascendant in right-wing media. Now, the “anti-woke” company faces contentious layoffs, ideological battles and dwindling relevance online.
wapo.st
'“The humanities are not a luxury,” she said. “They are how a democracy understands itself. Today’s decision is a step toward honoring the will of Congress and our mission as a nation — to seek the truth, know ourselves and build a better future on that knowledge.”' www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/a...
DOGE’s Termination of Humanities Grants Is Ruled Unconstitutional
nytimes.com