Democracy
Palantir vs. the "Republik": US analytics firm takes magazine to court
Switzerland rejected Palantir on security grounds after independent journalism shed light on fundamental issues. Now the company is suing to tell its side of the story.
Ben Werdmuller
Ben Werdmuller helps leaders at newsrooms, non-profits, and mission-driven organizations to navigate their biggest technology challenges.
Media
Most Americans don’t pay for news and don’t think they need to
Only 8% of respondents believe individual Americans have a responsibility to pay for news. "I don't think that information should be a privilege," one respondent said.
Technology
Everyone is stealing TV
"Fed up with increasing subscription prices, viewers embrace rogue streaming boxes." The question is: what's on them?
Democracy
A note about personal security
I made a mistake last month that hopefully others can learn from. There are rumors that ICE is turning its attention to the Philadelphia area, where I live. I’m a natural-born American citizen, but based on accounts from Minneapolis, I’m not excited to run into them, and I’
Media
Journalism lost its culture of sharing
"The data are clear: The open-source culture that defined an earlier era of online journalism has collapsed."
AI
Hiring in an era of fake candidates, real scams and AI slop
"Red flags that both job seekers and employers should watch for, in an era of AI slop and application scams."
Notable links
Notable links: Jan 24, 2026
What does the future of engineering look like? And more.
Technology
On ICE, Verification, and Presence As Harm
"Bluesky built a verification system designed to distribute trust, and then didn't use it when it mattered."
AI
The Five Levels: from Spicy Autocomplete to the Software Factory
"I’ve now seen dozens of companies struggling to put AI to work writing code, and each one has moved through five clear tiers of automation. That felt familiar."
Business
The Forwardable Email
"A way to help others actually make that connection they said they would." I've used this for a decade, and it's probably useful for you, too.
Technology
Funding Open Source for Digital Sovereignty
"Open Source alone won't deliver digital sovereignty. Europe must fix procurement and fund those who actually build it."
Technology
Who owns your data?
A Supreme Court case about a bank robbery could redefine your digital rights.