heroic imagination
/The very same situations that inflame the hostile imagination in some people, making them villains, can also instill the heroic imagination in other people, prompting them to perform heroic deeds. -Philip Zimbardo
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
Why We All Take the Same Travel Photos
/I knew it was silly to join the crowd of tourists clicking away at the Mona Lisa when I visited the Louvre a couple years ago—geotagging has made it all too clear how unoriginal those photos are. But I did it anyway, elbowing through a sea of smartphones and selfie sticks for a tourist-free shot at the front. The visit just didn’t feel complete without it. But why?
Photographing something is a way of possessing it—at least, that's what the critic Susan Sontag argued in her 1977 classic, On Photography. “To collect photographs is to collect the world," she wrote. It confirms your connection to places and objects once distant and remote, making the world slightly smaller and less alienating.
Ironically, though, "collecting the world" might mean also losing it. “A way of certifying experience, taking photographs is also a way of refusing it—by limiting experience to a search for the photogenic, by converting experience into an image, a souvenir,” Sontag wrote.
Laura Mallonee writing in Wired
through the shadows
/You can only come to the morning through the shadows. -J.R.R. Tolkien (born Jan. 3, 1892)
A Compass
/Use a compass instead of a clock. It’s more important what direction you are going than how quickly you get there.
Articles of Interest - Dec 31
/***2019 PREDICTIONS
Predictions for Journalism in 2019 Harvard’s Nieman Lab
PR predictions for 2019: 11 industry pros weigh in MuckRack
The 9 big design trends of 2019 Fast Company
Search Batten Down the Hatches for 2019 – A Media Storm Is Coming The Wrap
Seven New Year’s resolutions for Big Tech in 2019 MIT Technology Review
Why 2019 might finally bring a national privacy law for the US Yahoo Finance
***TECHNOLOGY
6 of the most amazing things that were 3D-printed in 2018 MIT Technology Review
The Best Technology Guides of 2018 Life Hacker
The 10 most intriguing inventions of 2018 MIT Technology Review
The Smartest Tech Products of 2018 Tech News World
***BIG DATA & AI
A data scientist has figured out the main character in 'Friends' Comic Sands
Hacker news book suggestions Toward Data Science
What’s frustrating about machine learning is that the algorithms can’t tell us why they work—so we don’t know if they can be trusted New York Times
Why Python is the real programming language of data science, not R Tech Republic
Why Is AI-Generated Music Still so Bad? MotherBoard
The Year in Math and Computer Science Quanta Magazine
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Death by selfie 1843 Magazine
How to Fix Your Facebook News Feed Wired
Instagram got rid of the scrolling feed for some users and people freaked out Recode
10 New Year's resolutions that will make your online life a little better Mashable
***PRIVACY & SECURITY
Your data was probably stolen in cyberattack in 2018 – and you should care USA Today
Use the Holidays to Explain Online Privacy and Security Settings to Your Family Life Hacker
Data Privacy Scandals and Public Policy Picking Up Speed: 2018 in Review Electronic Frontier Foundation
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
Merger of two glossy magazine printers adds to media upheaval New York Post
We Detox from Chartbeat Harvard’s Nieman Lab
***JOURNALISM
Confessions of a journalism contest judge (opinion) Journo Terrorist
The Gap Between Journalism and Research is too Wide Harvard’s Nieman Lab
My advice for aspiring explainer journalists Vox
Mobile Alerts Considered Standalone Platform In Newsrooms Media Post
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
18 lessons for the news business from 2018 Harvard’s Nieman Lab
Cyberattack Prevents Distribution Of Major U.S. Newspapers Deadline
Newsrooms Need to Build Trust with their Journalists not just with the Audience Harvard’s Nieman Lab
***FAKE NEWS
How Much of the Internet Is Fake? New York Magazine
These Are 50 Of The Biggest Fake News Hits On Facebook In 2018 BuzzFeed News
‘Fake news’ and school uniforms: Our most popular research roundups in 2018 Journalists Resource
I’ve reported on misinformation for more than a year: Here’s what I’ve learned Poynter
Fake news is everywhere: Even in places that were once legitimate BigThink
(Mis)informed podcast: Is fact-checking the best way to fight misinformation? Poynter
Is this photo real? AI gets better at faking images Wired
***PERSONAL GROWTH
What Makes People Susceptible to Fake News Becoming (my blog)
Just Admit It, You’re in a Bad Mood The Cut
People adopt made-up social rules to be part of a group Ars Technica
An Anthropologist Investigates How We Think About How We Think New Yorker
The Effect Of Sleep On Happiness Tracking Happiness
Five Easy Ways To Boost Your Mental Health In 2019 Forbes
***WRITING & READING
The best Facts I learned from Books in 2018 New Yorker
Unplugged: what I learned by logging off and reading 12 books in a week The Guardian
***LANGUAGE
It’s time to put Woke to Sleep (opinion) NPR
University wants to ‘banish’ Trump’s favorite word in 2019 Mashable
***POETRY
Poetry Twitter Erupts over a Plagiarist in Their Midst Vulture
10 Poets On Their Favorite Poetry Collections Of 2018 BuzzFeed News
***GENDER
What happens to religious professionals when they stop believing in God Vice
Nearly a quarter of Americans support gender equality at work or at home, but not both Chicago Tribune
***RACE & ETHNICITY ISSUES
A millionaire paid Jews to move to a small town in Alabama: Now, a couple struggle with their choice Washington Post
911 calls on black people were one of 2018’s biggest stories about race Vox
***LEGAL ISSUES
Real Estate Appraisals and Copyrighting Facts Technology & Marketing Law Blog
Athletes Don’t Own Their Tattoos and That’s a Problem for Video Game Developers New York Times
15 of Our Favorite Long(er)reads of 2018 The Fashion Law Blog
Best and Worst Internet Laws Technology & Marketing Law Blog
***OF INTEREST TO EVANGELICALS
Religion Considered Important to 72% of Americans Gallup
A Utah man gave his mother a portrait of Obi-Wan Kenobi for Christmas and she hung it on her wall thinking it was Jesus This is Insider
What happens to religious professionals when they stop believing in God Vice
The Varieties of American Evangelicalism Center for Religion and Civic Culture
Facebook temporarily banned evangelist Franklin Graham from site The Hill
***GOOD NEWS
Dad books 6 flights on Christmas Eve to spend time with flight attendant daughter USA Today
Child uses Boy Scout skills to save mom's life San Diego Reader
Mollie Tibbetts' mother listened as Trump used her slain daughter to rail against illegal immigration: Then she took a different path The Washington Post
Teachers operate school food pantries twice a week Fox 13
Social Worker Led Frugal Life To Leave Nearly $11 Million To Children's Charities NPR
***ART & DESIGN
22 artists transform unsightly grain silo into the world's largest outdoor mural (video) You Tube
Of the trillion photos taken in 2018, which were the most memorable? The Conversation
***MUSIC
A rocker’s guide to management A look at the friendship and business sides of big rock bands 1843 Magazine
Why Is Everyone Rapping Offbeat? (video) YouTube
***FILM
Best Movies 2018: 'A Star Is Born' to Fill the 'Star Wars' Void Wired
***CRIME
When the Calendar Requires the Release of Insanity Defendants in Oregon, Harm Often Follows ProPublica
Convicted of Murder in Texas, Declared Innocent Thanks to ‘Junk Science’ Review Texas Monthly
We mapped 150,000 shootings. Here’s what we found The Trace
New Calif. Law Requires Documents On Police Shootings Be Made Public NPR
***STUDENT LIFE
Millennials Are Keeping Family Holiday Cards Alive The Atlantic
He Drew His School Mascot — and ICE Labeled Him a Gang Member ProPublica
***JOBS
Morning show producer KFMB Radio, San Diego
Growth and Strategy Intern (Spring 2019), VICE Media, Beverly Hills
It's Time to Rethink How You Find a Mentor at Work Glamour
***INTERNSHIPS/PROGRAMS
Internship (Summer 2019) San Diego Padres
Summer Journalism Program Princeton
Business journalism diversity program Bloomberg-UNC-Berkeley
Podcast internship (Remote or Los Angeles) Neon Hum Media
***BORDER STORIES
Disturbing Video Shows Immigrant Children Being Slapped, Pushed, And Dragged In Arizona Detention Facility BuzzFeed News
A Woman Facing Deportation Says She Was Denied Justice Because She Speaks An Indigenous Language BuzzFeed News
***BUSINESS & FINANCE
If You’re Over 50, Chances Are the Decision to Leave your Job will Not be Your Own ProPublica
The Likelihood Of You Becoming A Millionaire Daily Infographic
***HEALTH
Elevated iron is at the center of a web of disease stretching from cancer to diabetes Nautil.us
Could Exercising In Frigid Temperatures Make Us Healthier? NPR
***PARENTING
Want to raise a child genius? A study running for 45 years has suggestions BigThink
Author Of 'The New Childhood' Advises Parents: Don't Panic About Screen Time NPR
The Way American Parents Think About Chores Is Bizarre The Atlantic
***SCIENCE
More science than you think is retracted. Even more should be (opinion) Washington Post
10 science stories in 2018 that made us go, “Whoa, that’s awesome” Vox
The Real Fake News: Top Scientific Retractions of 2018 Live Science
***NEUROSCIENCE
This Is Your Brain on Hate Researchers are studying how extreme ideology may rewire people Vice
The Must-Read Brain Books Of 2018 Forbes
***PRODUCTIVITY
How I got my attention back Wired
Why People Wait 10 Days to Do Something That Takes 10 Minutes: Chores are the worst The Atlantic
***RESEARCH
Taking a Closer Look at the Legal Aspects of Peer Review and Predatory Journals Drug & Device Law Blog
Dubious and Fraudulent Activities in Sports Nutrition Journal Human Kinetics
The Retraction Watch Database has launched: Here’s what you need to know Ahrecs
***HIGHER ED
Temple Will Pay $5.5M to Settle Suits Over False Rankings Data Inside Higher Ed
Ten education stories we’ll be reading in 2019 AEI
***TEACHING
Wolfram Alpha Is Making It Extremely Easy for Students to Cheat Wired
***ACADEMIC LIFE
Former student charged with threatening Mercer professor WRDW
What Makes People Susceptible to Fake News
/Susceptibility to fake news is driven more by lazy thinking than by partisan bias. Which on one hand sounds—let's be honest—pretty bad. But it also implies that getting people to be more discerning isn't a lost cause. Changing people's ideologies, which are closely bound to their sense of identity and self, is notoriously difficult. Getting people to think more critically about what they're reading could be a lot easier, by comparison.
Then again, maybe not.
Anyone who has sat and stared vacantly at their phone while thumb-thumb-thumbing to refresh their Twitter feed, or closed out of Instagram only to re-open it reflexively, has experienced firsthand what it means to browse in such a brain-dead, ouroboric state. Default settings like push notifications, autoplaying videos, algorithmic news feeds—they all cater to humans' inclination to consume things passively instead of actively, to be swept up by momentum rather than resist it.
This isn't baseless philosophizing; most folks just tend not to use social media to engage critically with whatever news, video, or sound bite is flying past. As one recent study shows, most people browse Twitter and Facebook to unwind and defrag—hardly the mindset you want to adopt when engaging in cognitively demanding tasks.
David Rand—a behavioral scientist at MIT—says he has experiments in the works that investigate whether nudging people to think about the concept of accuracy can make them more discerning about what they believe and share. In the meantime, he suggests confronting fake news espoused by other people not necessarily by lambasting it as fake, but by casually bringing up the notion of truthfulness in a non-political context. You know: just planting the seed. It won't be enough to turn the tide of misinformation. But if our susceptibility to fake news really does boil down to intellectual laziness, it could make for a good start.
Robbie Gonzalez writing in Wired Magazine
Grappling for Knowledge
/According to a 1995 study, a sample of Japanese eighth graders spent 44 percent of their class time inventing, thinking, and actively struggling with underlying concepts. The study’s sample of American students, on the other hand, spend less than one percent of their time in that state.
“The Japanese want their kids to struggle,” said Jim Stigler, the UCLA professor who oversaw the study and who co-wrote The Teaching Gapwith James Hiebert. “Sometimes the (Japanese) teacher will purposely give the wrong answer so the kids can grapple with the theory. American teachers, though, worked like waiters. Whenever there was a struggle, they wanted to move past it, make sure the class kept gliding along. But you don't learn by gliding.”
Daniel Coyle, The Talent Code
Articles of Interest - Dec 24
/***TECHNOLOGY
Bose is set to Release Augmented Reality Audio Sunglasses with built-in speakers built-in and a microphone PC Magazine
It will soon be possible to send a satellite to repair another Or to destroy it Economist
***BIG DATA & QUANTUM TECH
$1.2 billon law to boost US quantum tech MIT Tech Review
Quantum computers pose a security threat that we’re still totally unprepared for MIT Tech Review
In what sense is quantum computing a science? Medium
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Rising Instagram Stars Are Posting Fake Sponsored Content The Atlantic
'Happier without Facebook': Users who deleted the social network say they're not looking back USA Today
***PRIVACY & SECURITY
DC slaps Facebook with latest suit targeting privacy lapses Associated Press
Anonymous Hacker Breaks Into A Personal Security System To Prove It's Possible NPR
Man sues feds after being detained for refusing to unlock his phone at airport Arstechnica
Facebook doesn’t need to sell your data. It has been giving it away free for years Recode
***PRODUCING MEDIA
Jungle Creations’ Jamie Bolding: Content is King, ‘Now More than Ever’ Story Hunter
5 Ways to Make Your Website Gen-Z Friendlier Tech News World
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
The biggest brand in digital media has lost much of its lustre Economist
Media year in review: All the big changes from 2018 CNN
***JOURNALISM
Trust in the media is starting to make a comeback Axios
The most engaging stories of 2018 Chartbeat
The top 10 tools for journalism in 2018 Poynter
The U.S. Has Been Named as One of the Deadliest Places in the World for Journalists TIME
The funny, the weird and the serious: 33 media corrections from 2018 Poynter
‘Fake news’ and school uniforms: Our most popular research roundups in 2018 Journalists Resource
Der Spiegel to Press Charges Against Reporter Who Made Up Articles New York Times
Towards a rethinking of journalism on social media Harvard’s Nieman Lab
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
Telemundo Plans English-Language Newscast For YouTube Media Post
The numbers are in: Local news isn't dying if you look to TV Radio Television Digital News Association
***FAKE NEWS
How to recognize fake AI-generated images Medium
Who, what, why, where? Verification of online data Exposing the Invisible
What psychology experiments tell you about why people deny facts Economist
Reporter For German Magazine Falsified Articles, Including One About Trump Supporters NPR
Facebook’s anti-misinformation boss talks about the future of the company’s fact-checking program Poynter
Facebook's foot-dragging responses deepen its trust crisis Axios
***PERSONAL GROWTH
She Wrapped Him in Swaddling Clothes Becoming (my blog)
Nobel Prize-winning psychologist says most people don’t really want to be happy Quartz
***GRAMMAR
Check yourself for these five common grammatical mistakes Fast Company
***LANGUAGE
9 Books For People Who Love Language, Words, And Grammar BuzzFeed News
Here's how many people in each state speak a language other than English at home Business Insider
***LITERATURE
Alice Walker and David Icke: the New York Times By the Book feature controversy Slate
What Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice Teaches Readers The Atlantic
***GENDER
Twitter Abuse Toward Women Is Rampant, Amnesty Report Says Wired
'You freak me out': Assistant principal allegedly harassed trans student NBC News
***FREE SPEECH
Texas Makes Public Colleges Forbid Contractors to Boycott Israel: A Lawsuit Says That Violates the First Amendment Chronicle of Higher Ed
Big Wins for Privacy and Free Speech: 2018 in Review Electronic Frontier Foundation
***LEGAL ISSUES
BuzzFeed wins defamation suit over dossier publication CNN
For the First Time in More Than 20 Years, Copyrighted Works Will Enter the Public Domain Smithsonian Magazine
How software code could help you grapple with the legal code Wired
Candy Cane, Carlton, and The Floss: Are These Dances Protected by Copyright? 1709 Blog
***RELIGION
A Christmas Dragon Nativity Scene Riles the Neighbors CityLab
W.Va. mom says her daughter was bullied after they balked at Bible classes in public school NBC News
For Evangelicals, A Year Of Reckoning On Sexual Sin And Support For Donald Trump NPR
***RELIGION OUTSIDE THE U.S.
5 facts about Catholics in Europe Pew Research Center
Religious Rift Grows Between Ukraine And Russia NPR
A Nun In India Accuses A Bishop Of Rape, And Divides The Country's Christians NPR
18 international charities including World Vision Forced Out of Pakistan After 13 Years Christianity Today
***GOOD NEWS
Retiree has driven 64,000 miles helping low-income students get to college Telegram
Homeless Man Turns In $17,000 He Found in a Bag Outside Food Bank Inside Edition
Bowling partners not bothered by age gap of almost a century Australian Broadcasting Corporation
This toy factory is run by volunteers who give away all the toys for free The Washington Post
Man gives away frequent flyer miles to strangers for holidays USA Today
With school delayed due to a storm, driver buys breakfast for every kid on his bus The Week
***ART & DESIGN
22 artists transform grain silo into the world's largest outdoor mural The Week
Stendhal syndrome: can art really be so beautiful it makes you ill? The Guardian
Accessibility guidelines for UX Designers UX Collective
***FILM
Movies That Bombed So Hard They Bankrupted Studios (video) YouTube
Movies With Female Leads Consistently Outperform Movies With Male Leads, Study Finds CBS News
***POLITICS
Secret Experiment in Alabama Senate Race Imitated Russian Tactics New York Times
The Political Insiders’ Guide to 2019 Politico
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
I worked at CBS. I didn’t want to be sexually harassed: I was fired Boston Globe
More than 500 priests accused of sexual abuse not yet publicly identified by Catholic Church Chicago Tribune
***CRIME
The story of the mob’s man in Hollywood Economist
Using Statistics to Grapple With Crime Undark
***SOCIAL ISSUES
A visual journey through addiction New York Times
The 18 most striking trends from 2018 Pew Research Center
'Sesame Street' Addresses Issue of Homelessness With New Muppet, Lily NPR
***BUSINESS & FINANCE
The Best Budgeting Apps For Finally Getting Your Expenses in Check Popular Mechanics
The mysterious government organization that pops up at moments of financial crisis Quartz
***ENVIRONMENT
The White House rolls back a rule on polluting wetlands Economist
New houseplant can clean your home's air Science Daily
***HEALTH
How Hits To The Head Are Transferred To The Brain NPR
Can Parkour Teach Older People to Fall Better? CityLab
Gut bacteria may offer a treatment for autism: A common probiotic holds the key Economist
If You Feel Thankful, Write It Down. It's Good For Your Health NPR
***SCIENCE
The dean of UCLA Law explains the uncertain future of forensic science The Verge
The 10 Weirdest Science Stories of 2018 Live Science
***PSYCHOLOGY
Kanye West and the Dangers of Going off Psychiatric Meds The Atlantic
***NEUROSCIENCE
Altering Memories to Treat Addiction Undark
Your brain on art: neuroscientists define the aesthetic experience Missouri S&T
***PHILOSOPHY
6 essential books on existentialist philosophy Big Think
If universities sacrifice philosophy on the altar of profit, what’s next? The Guardian
***HISTORY
***RESEARCH
Journal removes poop drawing with Donald Trump's face — but offers no explanation Canadian Broadcast Company
Journal removes poop drawing with Donald Trump's face — but offers no explanation Canadian Broadcast Company
Preying On The Predatory Journals: A Case Study Center for Inquiry
Is it time to start using the emoji in biomedical literature? BMJ
More Chinese Censorship of International Journals Inside Higher Ed
A recent study on ego depletion can’t confirm an old one. Who is right? Probably everyone Science News
What can be done about research misconduct, scandals and spins? AMJ Med
How (as an editor) I choose lists of reviewers Scientist Sees Squirrel
***RESEARCH AUTHORSHIP
Assigning authorship for research papers can be tricky: These approaches can help Science Mag
Definition of authorship in social science journals Springer
***HIGHER ED
Tales Of Rural Students In College NPR
Blockchain Could Rewire Higher Ed. But Should It? Ed Surge
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Tenured Theology professor dismissed by Southwest Baptist Bolivar Herald
The irony of a Southern Baptist seminary’s report on slavery and racism (opinion) Baptist News Global
***TEACHING
***STUDENT MEDIA
Students at Missouri Strt Petition to Keep student media TV space Change.org
***STUDENT LIFE
The Rise of Anxiety Baking This year has been rough. Make some cookies The Atlantic
With most student news organizations in financial jeopardy, can paying staff be a priority? Student Press Law Center
A College Student Was Told To Remove A "Fuck Nazis" Sign Because It Wasn't "Inclusive" BuzzFeed News
Millennials Strike Again: This Time We Are Killing Cash And 'Merry Christmas' NPR
She Wrapped Him in Swaddling Clothes
/And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them (Luke 2:7 NIV)
“She wrapped him in cloths.” Literally, he was wrapped in strips of cloth to kept him warm. The old King James translation uses the memorable phrase “swaddling clothes.” It’s still practiced in some countries today.
Did he cry? Do you think he cried? When you think of the manger and the child, do you imagine him crying?
Mary put diapers on God.
The mention of a manger is where we get the idea he was born in a stable. Often, stables were caves, with feeding troughs for animals.. mangers. It was probably dark and dirty. This is not the way the messiah was expected to appear. How often our expectations and God’s reality are not in sync. How often he appears in unexpected places.
Stephen Goforth
Regretting your Choices
/The choices we make are statements to the world about who we are. When all you could do was buy Lee’s or Levi’s, the jeans you bought were not a statement to the world about who you are because there wasn’t enough variety in the jeans you bought to capture the variety of human selves. When there are 2,000 kinds of jeans, or 20,000 kinds of jeans, well, now all of a sudden it is a statement to the world about who you are because there’s so much variety out there. This is true of jeans. It’s true of drinks. It’s true of music videos. It’s true of movies. That makes even trivial decisions seem important, and when that happens, people want the best. We’ve got a bunch of studies that show that large choice sets induce people to regard the choices they make as statements about the self, and that, in turn, induces them to raise their standards.If there are 200, and you buy a pair of jeans that don’t fit you as well as you hoped, now it’s hard to avoid blaming yourself. The only way to avoid regretting a decision is not making it, so I think a lot of the reason people don’t pull the trigger is that they’re so worried that when they do pull the trigger, they’ll regret a choice they made.
Barry Schwartz quoted in Vox
Information overload is nothing new
/The ever-expanding array of digital material can leave you feeling overwhelmed, constantly interrupted, unable to concentrate or worried that you are missing out or falling behind. No wonder some people are quitting social media, observing “digital sabbaths” when they unplug from the internet for a day, or buying old-fashioned mobile phones in an effort to avoid being swamped.
This phenomenon may seem quintessentially modern, but it dates back centuries, as Ann Blair of Harvard University observes in “Too Much to Know”, a history of information overload. Half a millennium ago, the printing press was to blame. “Is there anywhere on Earth exempt from these swarms of new books?” moaned Erasmus in 1525. New titles were appearing in such abundance, thousands every year. How could anyone figure out which ones were worth reading? Overwhelmed scholars across Europe worried that good ideas were being lost amid the deluge.
Figuring out book reviews, indexes and the rest took several centuries, so we shouldn’t expect an immediate solution. In the meantime we must endure information overload: the feeling that arises in the space of time between a sudden increase in the flow of information and the development of the tools to enable us to cope with it.
Tom Standage writing in 1843 magazine
Articles of Interest - Dec 17
/***TECHNOLOGY
‘Deepfake’ technology can now create completely real-looking human faces BigThink
Taylor Swift used facial recognition to track her stalkers at a concert Quartz
Morgan Stanley's Numbers on Flying Cars: $2.9 Trillion, 20 Years Bloomberg
The rise of the internet and a new age of authoritarianism Harpers
The Growing Gulf Between Silicon Valley and Washington The Atlantic
Google says it won’t sell face recognition for now—but it will be hard to slow its use MIT Technology Review
***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA
Microsoft launches its Clarity web analytics tool for A/B testing sites The Next Web
Magazines and the iPad Bloomberg
The downfall of digital media (podcast) Columbia Journalism Review
How Companies Like Bored Panda, REI, and Vox Are Growing Their Organic Reach on Social Media Buffer
New media hit stumbling block, scaring away some investors Washington Post
***JOURNALISM
Time's 2018 'Person of the Year' is killed and imprisoned journalists NBC News
The Best of Nonprofit News 2018 Institute for Nonprofit News Institute for Nonprofit News
Beyond 800 words: What user testing taught me about writing news for young people BBC News Lab
'They don't care': Facebook factchecking in disarray as journalists push to cut ties The Guardian
New Report Finds That More Than 250 Journalists Were Jailed For Their Work in 2018 NPR
ProPublica Picks 14 Newsrooms and Investigative Projects for Year 2 of Its Local Reporting Network Propublica
Best News Bloopers of 2018 News Be Funny
Journalists perpetuate myth about suicide during winter holidays Journalists Resources
Access to police records is an issue all across the country Muck Rock
What happens when the third-party tools journalists rely on are shut down? Poynter
***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM
Local Newspaper Closures Come With Hefty Price Tag For Residents NPR
How to understand different reader types and drive each type to subscribe American Press Institute
Jessica Starr, Fox 2 meteorologist, commits suicide at age 35 New York Post
Popular Young Reporter For NewsChannel 9 Terminated By Sinclair As She Battles Cancer The Chattanoogan
***FAKE NEWS
Troll Factory Contributes To Russia's Worldwide Interference NPR
How Whatsapp fuels fake news and violence in india Wired
How do you make fact-checking viral? Make it look like misinformation Poynter
How Russian trolls used meme warfare to divide America Wired
***BIG DATA & AI
Kevin Kelly talks about the brain, the mind, what it takes to make AI Gigaom
***SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook exposed 6.8 million users' photos to cap off a terrible 2018 Wired
We asked 19 fact-checkers what they think of their partnership with Facebook Poynter
Social media is ruining our minds—it also might save them Wired
***PRIVACY & SECURITY
Homeland Security will let computers predict who might be a terrorist on your plane — just don’t ask how it works The Intercept
Mapping Service Accidentally Locates Secret Military Bases Popular Mechanics
***INTERNET
Google's top searches in 2018 Engadget
How Google’s Autotype Contradicts Orwell’s Advice The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Most Googled 'Should I?' Question Of Each State In 2018, Mapped Digg
YouTube ‘Rewind’ was supposed to celebrate 2018: It’s now the most disliked video in the site’s history Washington Post
***PERSONAL GROWTH
Seeking the Best is a Trap Becoming (my blog)
The quest for the best: a psychologist explains why it makes us miserable Vox
***WRITING & READING
How Emily Dickinson Writes A Poem Nerdwriter1
How the CIA Helped Shape the Creative Writing Scene in America Open Culture
***LANGUAGE
Jane Austen’s Subtly Subversive Linguistics Daily Jstor
'Justice' Is Merriam-Webster's 2018 Word Of The Year NPR
***RACE & ETHNICITY ISSUES
Santas of color, once met with controversy, now in high demand MPR
***FREE SPEECH
Report: 9 in 10 American colleges restrict free speech The Fire
LA College settles Lawsuit after Student Barred from handing out copies of the U.S. Constitution on Campus City News Service
***LEGAL ISSUES
Tribute Bands - Are They Legal? Music Think Tan
Paramount Defeats 'Wolf of Wall Street' Libel Suit From Stratton Oakmont Alum Hollywood Reporter
Katie Couric Wins Appeal Against Gun Rights Group Arguing Documentary Was Defamatory Hollywood Reporter
Appeals court rules that secret OxyContin documents must be released Stat News
Donald Trump, Wedding Crasher, Ends Up Being Bad Copyright News for Esquire.com Hollywood Reporter
***CRIME
Shooting Victims Face Lifelong Disabilities, Financial Burdens, Newspaper Finds NPR
Report: Half of US adults have immediate family member who has been in jail or prison CNN
***RELIGION
Max Lucado Reveals Past Sexual Abuse at Evangelical #MeToo Summit Christianity Today
The Return of Paganism New York Times
Evangelical Author Rethinks his Book “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” NPR
Christianity Today's 2019 Book Awards Christianity Today
Judge sides with religious groups in ObamaCare birth control mandate fight The Hill
At Trump's hotel, spiritual warriors pray for the president in his 'darkest hour' Religion News Service
***MEGACHURCHES
Minister accused of stealing $800,000 from Houston's First Baptist Church ABC-13
Houston pastor on $200K Lamborghini gift Houston Chronicle
***THE BIBLE
Meme Confuses Lincoln’s Bible With A Quran Fact Check
Slave Bible From The 1800s Omitted Key Passages That Could Incite Rebellion NPR
***GOOD NEWS
California woman and her dog reunite after Camp Fire evacuation CNN
Teens Surprised Their Professor After She Told Them The Holidays Are Difficult For Her BuzzFeed News
DNA Test Helps Mother Reunite With Daughter She Thought Died Nearly 70 Years Ago New York Times
***ART & DESIGN
We made our own artificial intelligence art (and so can you) Wired
The world's best cities for street art Afar
The 75 best book covers of 2018 according to book cover designers LitHub
***MUSIC
Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' becomes most-streamed song of the 20th century Entertainment Weekly
Our Favorite Songs of 2018 The New Yorker
The 51 Best Albums of 2018 Spin
'Blurred Lines' suit against Robin Thicke, Pharrell ends in $5 million judgment CNN
Vladimir Putin Makes Moves To Control Rap Music In Russia Huffington Post
Beyoncé, Kendrick, Cardi, and more: The Year in Good Music News 2018 Pitchfork
How Music Can Awaken Patients with Alzheimer’s and Dementia Open Culture
***SEXUAL HARASSMENT & ASSAULT
Ex-Baylor frat president indicted on 4 counts of sex assault won't go to prison CNN
What Went Wrong in a University Harassment Investigation — and How Officials Are Trying to Fix It Chronicle of Higher Ed
***BUSINESS & FINANCE
How the IRS Was Gutted ProPublica
More Americans are making no weekly purchases with cash Pew Research
How Many Hours Americans Need to Work to Pay Their Mortgage How Much
***ENVIRONMENT
New studies suggest coral reefs are more resilient than previously thought Royal Society Publishing
Five years of record warmth intensify Arctic's transformation Nature
The state of climate change coverage: An analysis Columbia Journalism Review
***HEALTH
Questions About Treatments For Pregnant Women Arise From Study NPR
Sleeping too much can be just as damaging to your health as having too little MarketWatch
Exercise Wins: Fit Seniors Can Have Hearts That Look 30 Years Younger NPR
Rare brain-eating amoebas killed Seattle woman who rinsed her sinuses with tap water Seattle Times
Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder Reuters
***HEALTH & DIET
Scant Evidence Behind the Advice About Salt New York Times
What Is Behind the Spread of a Mysterious Allergy to Meat? The Guardian
***VACCINES
Newly elected Tennessee Rep. Mark Green says he'll question vaccines NBC News
Was a Scientist Jailed After Discovering a Deadly Virus Delivered Through Vaccines? Snopes
How personalized medicine is transforming your health care National Geographic
***TRAVEL
These Are The Hottest Travel Destinations for 2019, According to Airbnb Thrillist
A U.S. Transit Atlas That Ranks the Best (and Worst) Cities for Bus and Rail CityLab
***FOOD
What's lurking in your stadium food? ESPN
***FAMILY
Researchers found one way that long-term marriages get happier Quartz
Rediscovering My Daughter Through Instagram New York Times
Why shaming your children on social media may make things worse The Conversation
Most parents – and many non-parents – don’t expect to have kids in the future Pew Research
***ANIMALS
Rare white reindeer calf spotted on camera in Norway BBC
A City in Spain Plans to Exile 5,000 Pigeons New York Times
***SCIENCE
Scientists identify vast underground ecosystem containing billions of micro-organisms The Guardian
Blood Splatter: How a Dubious Forensic Science Spread Like a Virus Propublica
***PSYCHOLOGY
What it’s like to live with a chronic urge to die Huffington Post
The bad news on human nature, in 10 findings from psychology Aeon
***HISTORY
Histomap: Visualizing the 4,000 Year History of Global Power Visual Capitalist
Showering Has a Dark, Violent History The Atlantic
America returns treasured church bells it stole during the Philippine-American war New York Times
***ETHICS
Amid ethics outcry, should journals publish the ‘CRISPR babies’ paper? Stat News
You can donate your wedding dress to a person in need New York Times
***RESEARCH
EPA science adviser allowed industry group to edit journal article Science Magazine
China introduces ‘social’ punishments for scientific misconduct Nature
Independent bodies – not universities – should investigate suspicions of scientific misconduct (opinion) Horizons
It is getting harder to publish in prestigious journals if you haven’t already Science Magazine
How art and craft can boost reproducibility Nature
***HIGHER ED
Fallout from on-campus tragedies and athletic program controversies prompts donors to circle the wagons -- or flee Inside Higher Ed
Facing Enrollment Declines, Colleges Seek Out New, Creative Ways To Make Money NPR
***CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS
Azusa Pacific University board members resign amid LGBTQ policy turmoil San Gabriel Valley Tribune
Southern Baptist Convention’s flagship seminary details its racist, slave-owning past in stark report Washington Post
Catholic U. fires professor for relationship with subordinate Washington Post
Bridging the gulf between conservative Christian colleges and the arts Christian Century
***LIBERAL ARTS
How Can Colleges Help Liberal-Arts Majors Enter the Job Market? Chronicle of Higher Ed
The Liberal Arts May Not Survive the 21st Century The Atlantic
***TEACHING
Teaching the Students We Have, Not the Students We Wish We Had Chronicle of Higher Ed
How 2 Professors Use a ‘Grade Insurance’ Project to Motivate Students Chronicle of Higher Ed
How to Help a Student in a Mental-Health Crisis Chronicle of Higher Ed
***STUDENT MEDIA
Ganging Up on a Student Journalist? Inside Higher Ed
***STUDENT LIFE
What Straight-A Students Get Wrong (opinion) New York Times
Does It Matter Where You Go to College? The Atlantic
Trump administration held back report revealing bank charged high fees to students Politico
Researchers find an easy way to improve high school students' grades: Let them sleep in Science Mag
Sleepless No More In Seattle — Later School Start Time Pays Off For Teens NPR
***STUDENTS & DRUGS
Binge drinking among US high schoolers hit a record low in 2018 Quartz
Teen Vaping Soared In 2018 NPR
***ACADEMIC LIFE
University of Illinois professor fired for falsifying data in grant applications Chicago Tribune
Scientists are leaving academic work at unprecedented rate Inside Higher Ed
University of Illinois professor fired for falsifying data in grant applications Chicago Tribune
Professor sent mercenaries to save her student from ISIS The local
Man charged with beating instructors at community college KARE 11
Seeking the Best is a Trap
/We have this sense that there is an objective best, and in virtually no area of life is that true. It’s not even that, “Well, there’s the best for me, and then there’s the best for you.” It isn’t even clear that there is a best for me. There’s a whole set of things that are probably more or less equivalent.
If you have this mindset that says, “I have to get the best,” it’s so hard to figure out what that is that you end up looking in panic around you at what other people are choosing as a way to help you figure out what is the best. I think it’s partly because they are struggling to define the best, and they can’t do it on their own, so they’re madly checking out other people’s decisions as a way of figuring out what really is the best. It’s extremely destructive.
Barry Schwartz quoted in Vox
To be manifestly loved
/To be manifestly loved, to be openly admired are human needs as basic as breathing. Why, then, wanting them so much ourselves, do we deny them so often to others? -Arthur Gordon
dead inside
/Think about what it will be like when you are old, when you approach death. When you have already died inside or will your mind be alive with new ideas that are unmistakably around?
Ken Bain