Angela Collier on how the rise of pop science conspiracy is fueled by the audience. It's a long watch, but she breaks down how the audience responds to science content and how the media fuels bad faith arguments and the actors that capitalize on them.
posted by finalbroadcast at 7:46 PM Sep 30 2025 - 28 comments [34 favorites (18 in the past 24 hours)]

Do Viruses Trigger Alzheimer's? "In the summer of 2024 several groups of scientists published a curious finding: people vaccinated against shingles were less likely to develop dementia than their unvaccinated peers. Two preprints came from the lab of Pascal Geldsetzer at Stanford University. Analysing medical records from Britain and Australia, the researchers concluded that around a fifth of dementia diagnoses could be averted through the original shingles vaccine, which contains live varicella-zoster virus. Two other studies, one by GSK, a pharmaceutical company, and another by a group of academics in Britain, also reported that a newer ¡°recombinant¡± vaccine, which is more effective at preventing shingles than the live version, appeared to confer even greater protection against dementia." ungated. [more inside]
posted by storybored at 4:43 PM Oct 1 2025 - 18 comments [18 favorites]

The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas has become notorious as a compendium of name-dropping, of Picasso and Matisse and everyone else, but it¡¯s in fact far denser with the names of single women: Janet Scudder, Mildred Aldrich, a network of lesbian coding. Its major subject is always marriage ¨C an assertion of Stein¡¯s love for Toklas, and Toklas¡¯s love for Stein ¨C as the centre of a new history of literature, whose creator exists because another person loves her. from Devotion to the Cut by Adam Thirlwell [LRB; ungated]
posted by chavenet at 12:04 AM Oct 1 2025 - 2 comments [14 favorites (13 in the past 24 hours)]

Q-Up (link to free demo on Steam) is a new game from Frank Lantz, the Universal Paperclips guy. It asks, what if esports contained zero gameplay and literally random outcomes, but still had all of the addiction mechanics? The result is something with a lot of jokes, but that might also do the thing where a parody just becomes the thing it's supposed to be mocking.
posted by DoctorFedora at 11:38 PM Sep 30 2025 - 17 comments [13 favorites (10 in the past 24 hours)]

ABC News Obituary Jane Goodall, famed for her work with chimpanzees in Tanzania and her efforts via the Jane Goodall Institute has passed away at the age of 91 while on tour in the US.
posted by drewbage1847 at 12:11 PM Oct 1 2025 - 91 comments [10 favorites]

"Oh So Near: The Cars¡¯ Deep (and Deeply Underrated) Influence on the Future of Music" by Steven Hyden at The Ringer.
posted by goatdog at 3:34 PM Oct 1 2025 - 12 comments [9 favorites]

The transmission of knowledge ¡ª the most ancient function of the university ¡ª is breaking down in front of our eyes. Writers like Shakespeare, Milton and Jane Austen whose works have been handed on for centuries can no longer reach the next generation of readers. They are losing the ability to understand them. from The dawn of the post-literate society by James Marriott [Substack; ungated]
posted by chavenet at 12:02 AM Oct 2 2025 - 8 comments [9 favorites]

Jemaine Clement and Matt Berry want you to orchid the best you can. An advertisement/instruction manual for the Tame Impala synthesiser.
posted by Sebmojo at 7:49 PM Sep 30 2025 - 22 comments [12 favorites (8 in the past 24 hours)]

Million-year-old skull challenges timeline of human evolution. A crushed million-year-old skull found in China that has been digitally reconstructed reopens a debate in human evolution.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 7:50 AM Oct 1 2025 - 5 comments [7 favorites]

It would have been pretty keen.
posted by Turtles all the way down at 12:26 PM Sep 30 2025 - 48 comments [17 favorites (6 in the past 24 hours)]

Whatever the Bud Light fiasco was, it was just the beginning. On multiple fronts, the Republican Party has inaugurated an epidemic of teetotaling. Maybe it¡¯s not exactly surprising. Trump abstains from alcohol, though he also abstained from alcohol during his first term, during which time Republicans were tipping them back. from The Curious Conservative War on Beer [Slate; ungated]
posted by chavenet at 12:29 PM Oct 1 2025 - 44 comments [6 favorites]

The Global Sumud Flotilla (Novara Media coverage; previously) is now in the final stretch of its journey towards Gaza, with Israeli interception expected within the next 24¨C48 hours. [more inside]
posted by flabdablet at 9:43 AM Sep 30 2025 - 51 comments [24 favorites (5 in the past 24 hours)]

After 20 years, Reading Rainbow is coming back as a digital series beginning October 4th through KidZuko on YouTube operated by Sony Pictures. Link is through The Hollywood Reporter.
posted by ichimunki at 6:49 PM Sep 30 2025 - 10 comments [16 favorites (4 in the past 24 hours)]

Farmers paid to fence off land forever for conservation. Farmers in southern New South Wales are protecting parts of their land in perpetuity, fencing off tens of hectares for conservation.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 8:45 PM Sep 30 2025 - 8 comments [9 favorites (4 in the past 24 hours)]

Boston Mayor's Blowout Victory Jolts CEOs Seeking New Direction [ungated] - "Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is coasting to reelection after her main opponent quit the race, giving her a commanding mandate that's putting city business leaders on edge." [more inside]
posted by kliuless at 11:43 PM Oct 1 2025 - 1 comment [4 favorites]

The Nine Billion Names of God is a short film by Dominique Filhol adapting the short story of the same name by Arthur C. Clarke. It¡¯s been adapted by others too, including as a short comic book by Michael L. Davis. There are many interpretations of the story out there, and I like this recent video about the story as cosmic horror by Quinn Howard. And if you want a deep dive on the ¡°philosophical problem of some difficulty¡± mentioned in the story, here¡¯s Prof. Fran O¡¯Rourke¡¯s The Triplex Via of Naming God.
posted by Kattullus at 2:05 AM Oct 2 2025 - 0 comments [4 favorites]

Cooking oil turned into snack packaging in Australia-first trial. Hundreds of litres of used cooking oil is disposed of every year as a by-product of making some of Australia's favourite snacks, like chips ¡ª but one company is trialling a method to reduce waste.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 7:11 PM Oct 1 2025 - 0 comments [3 favorites]

BOTS (2025), 14min [SLYT]. Before Canadian film gets slapped with 100% tariffs, enjoy this short TIFF-selected film about a day at work at the IRA in mid-2024. Is it satire?
posted by anthill at 6:44 AM Sep 30 2025 - 3 comments [9 favorites (2 in the past 24 hours)]

To honour the XXVth anniversary of their debut album ¡°Spit¡± Kittie has released a reimagined, re-recorded EP with four of its songs: Kittie - Spit XXV. [more inside]
posted by signal at 4:35 PM Sep 30 2025 - 1 comment [4 favorites (2 in the past 24 hours)]

Generate an imaginary medieval town from scratch. A webtoy which does what it says on the tin. You can adjust parameters and reshape the results. [more inside]
posted by doctornemo at 6:06 AM Mar 1 2022 - 11 comments [61 favorites (1 in the past 24 hours)]