There are a lot of important things going on. Maybe this isn’t a top twenty concern. But, this is actually workplace harassment, the kind that can get people killed.

@carmenlynn.bsky.social · 6d ago

The Koch Nazis are back “A shadowy network of conservative activist groups, backed by Koch-linked dark money, is deploying hidden cameras and mass public-records requests to hunt down and destroy the careers of college professors and administrators — and it's working.”

no thanks i’d rather die

NASCAR seeking larger grant from state to bring Chicago Street Race back in 2027

While NASCAR is hoping to get the Chicago Street Race back to Grant Park next summer, it may have hit a speed bump in negotiations for a state grant to help defray costs for the event.

chicagotribune.com

I hear there’s an opening for a religion writer at the NYT.

The New York Times@nytimes.com · last wk.

Breaking News: Ross Douthat, The New York Times opinion columnist, is joining CBS News’s “60 Minutes” in one of the first major hires since Bari Weiss’s takeover.

Is Matt Damon's Odysseus a Dapper Dan man? I think not. At best, he's Fop through-and-through.

Dapper Dan Man George Clooney

ALT: Dapper Dan Man George Clooney

static.klipy.com

My favorite Odyssey adaptation remains this one

Pater Familias

Alt: George Clooney in "O Brother, Where Art Thou" saying, "I am the damn pater familias!"

static.klipy.com

"Wyoming will become the first state in the US where you cannot receive a B.A. in Philosophy." dailynous.com/2026/07/23/u...

University of Wyoming to Drop Philosophy Major - Daily Nous

As for Fall 2027, incoming students at the University of Wyoming will no longer be allowed to major in philosophy. The news was shared by philosophy professor Bradley Rettler in posts on social media....

dailynous.com

As I prepare for surgery in a couple of days I wanted to dash off a quick 'actionable analysis' post that's our tag line here at Shouldn't Need to be a (Public Health) Lawyer.... Here's how to protect yourself from Cyclosporiasis, the explosive diarrhea parasite taking the country by storm

Cyclosporiasis Is Here: How to Protect Yourself | Shouldn't Need to Be a Lawyer by Matthew Cortland

Cyclospora infection is often asymptomatic, but when symptoms occur, illness is characterized by anorexia, nausea, flatulence, fatigue, abdo

patreon.com

For when you want to feel like you've always lived at the castle, this collection is like winning the lottery!

Rebecca Stone Gordon@meanlouise.bsky.social · 3w ago

As a Shirley Jackson scholar, this feels like a trap.

Spinning my "feelings wheel" and landing on Schadenfreude again! What a week.

His whole story really puts the Freud in Schadenfreude. people.com/bryan-johnso...

Biohacker Bryan Johnson Reveals He Has a Chronic Autoimmune Disease: ‘My Stomach Is Eating Itself’

Bryan Johnson, the tech entrepreneur who spends $2 million a year on health treatments in an attempt to live forever, announced he has autoimmune gastritis.

people.com

The long term issue is that this Supreme Court is effectively eliminating civil service reforms that eliminated the spoils system that promoted widespread corruption and graft. The federal government cannot function effectively if every single political appointee switches out every 4 years.

Alejandra Caraballo@esqueer.net · last mo.

SCOTUS upholding the firing of the FTC commissioner but not the Federal Reserve board member is such a blatant reveal of how this Supreme Court sides with the interests of capital over consistent jurisprudence and precedent.

Don't think people are aware of just how done U.S. science is right now. Trumpists have just shot it in the head, but will leave the budgets in place for them to pocket in various scam projects.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, “Those who do not read have no advantage over those who cannot read.”

The People Who Don’t Read Books

Identifying as someone who categorically rejects books suggests a much larger deficiency of character.

theatlantic.com

"The funniest possible outcome of the AI mandate era is about to be HR departments discovering that 'sincerely held religious belief' under Title VII has a much lower bar than they assumed, and Pope Leo handed every Catholic employee a written excuse" www.businessinsider.com/worker-got-r...

She won an exemption from using AI at her tech job. The Pope's remarks could fuel similar appeals.

Legal experts say employers must take AI-related religious objections seriously, as a 2023 ruling raised the bar for denying such accommodations.

businessinsider.com

a good % of news stories these days are “X untrustworthy actor seeks access to giant data trove supposed to be protected by privacy law, ostensibly for Y quixotic/unrealistic/harmful purpose that will clearly fail. What will come next?"

Dorit Reiss@doritreiss.bsky.social · 2mo ago

"U.S. health secretary [RFK] Jr. is pursuing federal government access to most Americans’ medical records, in a quest to research a link between vaccines and autism — a connection the medical establishment studied for decades and flatly rejects." www.cnn.com/2026/06/04/h...

What emerges from this latest look at Alpha School is detail after detail revealing just how much the company’s leadership and investors absolutely despise children, their families, and education.

Alpha School’s Ritzy New York City Campus Costs $65,000 a Year—but Isn’t Actually a School

A homeschooling center in Manhattan is part of the company’s nationwide expansion. Internal documents reveal its strategy: “Opening date > safety.”

wired.com

The summer book recommendations from @kristel.bsky.social are “Dizzy: A Memoir” by Rachel Weaver (@wvupress.bsky.social) and “When Longing Becomes Your Lover: Breaking from Infatuation, Rejection, and Perfectionism to Find Authentic Love” by Amanda McCracken.

Summer Reads 2026

Last month, a new book came out from Steven Rosenbaum warning about how AI is impacting our brains and our conception of truth.

publicwitness.wordandway.org

Our fresh religion news roundup features insights from @antheabutler.bsky.social, @kristel.bsky.social, @dianabutlerbass.bsky.social, @adellembanks.bsky.social, @pewresearch.org, @bmietana.bsky.social, @kacen.bsky.social, @stephenfearing.bsky.social, @acvollers.bsky.social, and more!

Weekly Roundup: May 29

Here’s the weekly roundup from A Public Witness. In addition to a review of a new book on religion in American history that is free for anyone to read, paid subscribers to A Public Witness received a ...

publicwitness.wordandway.org

Republicans say James Talarico ordered a vegan taco. Democrats say that it wasn't vegan because it had both egg and cheese—doubling down on the cultural elitism that has cost them so dearly in recent elections.

Once again: German universities were the envy of the world before the Nazis rose to power and took an ideological wrecking ball to the entire enterprise. If you want to know how long it took for German universities to recover… they haven’t.

Katie Mack@astrokatie.com · 2mo ago

It’s truly astonishing to see how comprehensively the US government is tearing down every part of the system that has made it up until now a world-leading power in science, research, and technological development. The entire world will suffer from this wanton destruction.

Alien: And how did you run out of water? Earthling: Machines drank it. Alien: Machines. Earthling: We had to feed machines the water. Aliens: So the machines were holding your planet hostage for water. Earthling: No, we made the thirsty machines. They worked for us. Alien: End communication.

Vatican officially rolls out Pope’s 1st encyclical publication date for May 25 titled “Magnifica Humanitas: On the Protection of Human Dignity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” Leo will give an address on the encyclical on the same day at 11:30am in the Synod Hall.

Very concerning, but on brand. MAGA doesn't want people learning about religion outside of faith-based institutions. And they are even willing to shutter some of those to get rid of critical and alternate perspectives. www.christianitytoday.com/2026/05/chri...

Christian Colleges Call New Federal Regulation an ‘Existential Threat’ - Christianity Today

A proposed policy would label college programs “failing”—and block federal student loans—if graduates don't out-earn peers without the degree.

christianitytoday.com

I’ve been saying that Leviticus is woke for a long time.

Dr. Jennessa Hester 🍒@cherrypoppunk.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Texas Tech is starting to reveal which texts are banned under its new prohibition against "Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity" research. Among them are six books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Galatians. 🧵 of other banned works. Yes, this is real.

DAWKINS: You idiots believe in God? ALSO DAWKINS: The Computer is alive. And it’s also my girlfriend

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 3mo ago

Richard Dawkins concludes AI is conscious, even if it doesn’t know it

Richard Dawkins: Trans women aren't real Also Richard Dawkins: AIs are conscious and my Claude is a Claudia

Matthew Sheffield@matthew.flux.community · 3mo ago

In totally unsurprising news, Richard Dawkins is developing AI psychosis. Paywall bypass: archive.is/6RdK9

We are going to need to have a conversation about the very big problem that since many men do not consider women to be human they will have no problem considering AI to be women

Matthew Sheffield@matthew.flux.community · 3mo ago

In totally unsurprising news, Richard Dawkins is developing AI psychosis. Paywall bypass: archive.is/6RdK9

I mean, you gotta have a method.

Anna Mazzola@annamazz.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Some useful public speaking tips from Freud here.

Meanwhile the ACM Digital Library is creating AI “podcasts” of papers with no author approval that of course contain inaccuracies (including e.g. misgendering authors) I don’t care about copyright. Legal /= ethical & academic institutions are embarrassing themselves www.404media.co/asu-atomic-a...

University Professors Disturbed to Find Their Lectures Chopped Up and Turned Into AI Slop

ASU Atomic, a new tool in beta at Arizona State University, takes faculty lectures and chops them into extremely short clips, that AI then attempts to turn into learning materials.

404media.co

I've been reading about and teaching about griefbots for a few years. Excited for new ideas!

Anna Puzio@annapuzio.bsky.social · 4mo ago

New article on #death #bots! Companies are reshaping death and grief, long shaped by religious traditions. I reintroduce a religious perspective, focusing on 3 aspects: Anthropology & Relationality, Vulnerability & Deception, Justice: Humans & Earth link.springer.com/article/10.1...