Reads, Listens, Watches

Reading list of books, magazines, newspaper articles, other physical documents, or online posts
Playlist of posts listened to, or scrobbled
Playlist of watched movies, television shows, online videos, and other visual-based events

👓 I Found HanAssholeSolo’s anti-Semitic Posts. Then, the Death Threats Started. | Politico

Read I Found HanAssholeSolo’s anti-Semitic Posts. Then, the Death Threats Started. (Politico Magazine)
This is what it’s like to report on extremism in the Trump era.

👓 The Pitch Drop Experiment | Atlas Obscura

Read The Pitch Drop Experiment by Dylan (Atlas Obscura)
Begun in 1927 by Professor Thomas Parnell, this experiment was meant to reveal the surprising properties of an everyday material: pitch. Pitch is the name of a number of hard tar-like substances and in this case, bitumen was used. Though at room temperature pitch appears to be a solid and can be shattered by a hammer, it is, in fact, a very high-viscosity liquid, and Professor Parnell wanted to prove it.

👓 Something New For Baby To Chew On: Rocket Science And Quantum Physics | NPR

Read Something New For Baby To Chew On: Rocket Science And Quantum Physics by Lynn Neary & Julie Depenbrock (NPR)
The books introduce subjects like rocket science, quantum physics and general relativity — with bright colors, simple shapes and thick board pages perfect for teething toddlers. The books make up the Baby University series — and each one begins with the same sentence and picture — This is a ball — and then expands on the titular concept.
Ooh! We definitely need more books like these in early childhood education.

👓 Republican Lawmakers Buy Health Insurance Stocks as Repeal Effort Moves Forward | The Intercept

Read Republican Lawmakers Buy Health Insurance Stocks as Repeal Effort Moves Forward by Lee Fang (The Intercept)
JUST AS THE HOUSE Republican bill to slash much of the Affordable Care Act moved forward, Rep. Mike Conaway, a Texas Republican and member of Speaker Paul Ryan’s leadership team, added a health insurance company to his portfolio.
Aren’t there ethics rules to cover nonsense like this?

👓 How to Talk to Famous Professors | The Chronicle

Read How to Talk to Famous Professors (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
A cheat sheet for making a potential contact without gushing or embarrassing yourself.
Most people just wanted to be treated like people…

👓 Carrie Fisher’s final assets revealed, Billie Lourd named beneficiary of the estate | Entertainment Weekly

Read Carrie Fisher's final assets revealed, Billie Lourd named beneficiary of the estate by Mike Miller (Entertainment Weekly)
The Star Wars actress’s assets, outlined in court documents obtained by PEOPLE, include several bank accounts, a 2016 Tesla S, full ownership of several LLCs, and a life insurance policy. Personal and household belongings like jewelry, artwork, and collectibles will also go to Lourd, Fisher’s only child from her relationship with talent executive Bryan Lourd.

👓 SoundCloud, Which Rose to Stardom on Indie Talent, Lays Off 173 | NYTimes

Read SoundCloud, Which Rose to Stardom on Indie Talent, Lays Off 173 by Ben Sisario (New York Times)
The layoffs cut the streaming music site’s work force by about 40 percent and could be a way to make it more attractive to a buyer.
Yet another reminder to own your own data and have your own website. Exporting and hosting all this data won’t be easy and if it goes under, it’s a huge hole in the internet.

👓 A Former Politico Editor Is Using Ethereum to Help Fix Journalism | CoinDesk

Read A Former Politico Editor Is Using Ethereum to Help Fix Journalism by Michael del Castillo (CoinDesk)
A new project staffed with media heavyweights envisions how news outlets could be disrupted and decentralized by blockchain tech.

👓 Media Companies Are Getting Sick of Facebook | Bloomberg

Read Media Companies Are Getting Sick of Facebook (Bloomberg)
News outlets are complaining about Facebook’s terms for TV-quality videos meant to compete with YouTube.

👓 Some Trump supporters thought NPR tweeted ‘propaganda.’ It was the Declaration of Independence. | Washington Post

Read Some Trump supporters thought NPR tweeted ‘propaganda.’ It was the Declaration of Independence. by Amy B. Wang (Washington Post)
Some Twitter users reacted angrily to the thread, accusing NPR of spamming them or pushing an agenda.
HA!

👓 Meet the Authors of a Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age | IEEE Spectrum

Read Meet the Authors of a Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age (IEEE Spectrum)
Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman wrote the first biography of the digital pioneer

📺 Brexit II | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Watched Brexit II from Last Week Tonight (HBO)
In the wake of a divisive election, the UK will begin the process of leaving the European Union. John Oliver and an intergalactic space lord propose a plan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyVz5vgqBhE

📺 Harding | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Watched Harding from Last Week Tonight (HBO)
John Oliver unveils Last Week Tonight's collection of presidential wax statues and brings Warren G. Harding's incredible life story to the big screen.
I’m so excited to see this as I’ve just made an offer on a house in a neighborhood known as “President’s Row” on a street named Harding!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cBV8KFFasY