Ben Werdmuller
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Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

Letter from Jourdon Anderson: A Freedman Writes His Former Master

“Give my love to them all, and tell them I hope we will meet in the better world, if not in this. I would have gone back to see you all when I was working in the Nashville Hospital, but one of the neighbors told me that Henry intended to

20 May 2023

A million times this

And that's the thing -- the best thing doesn't win -- the one that is easiest for others to build off of is what wins! ~ Christina Warren on Mastodon, discussing ActivityPub and AT Protocol This is exactly right. It’s not about ideological purity or architectural

20 May 2023

See your identity pieced together from stolen data

“Have you ever wondered how much of your personal information is available online? Here’s your chance to find out.” Really well-executed.  #Technology [Link]

20 May 2023

Documentary

Little Richard: I Am Everything

A well-argued documentary that does an excellent job of showing the debt every rock musician has to Little Richard - and, in turn, how rock and roll was birthed as a Black, queer medium. Joyous and revelatory. #Documentary [Link]

20 May 2023

New York is sinking, and its bankers could go down with it

“When discussing climate change that banker suggested that sinking cities was the biggest problem he thought the sector faced. Over 80% of the property portfolio of many banks was, he suggested, in cities where the likelihood of flooding was likely to increase rapidly.”  #Climate [Link]

20 May 2023

One more dead in horrific eye drop outbreak that now spans 18 states

An actual nightmare.   #Health [Link]

20 May 2023

New York City is sinking due to weight of its skyscrapers, new research finds

“The Big Apple may be the city that never sleeps but it is a city that certainly sinks, subsiding by approximately 1-2mm each year on average, with some areas of New York City plunging at double this rate, according to researchers.”  #Climate [Link]

19 May 2023

Hollywood writers strike could impact diverse stories on TV and in film

“When Kyra Jones wrote for the ABC broadcast show “Queens,” she collected a $14,000 residuals check that helped her get through the months after the project ended and she was without work. Then last summer, she got her first residuals check for writing on the Hulu streaming show “Woke.

19 May 2023

Growing the Open Social Web

“I think there are two big things that would help the Open Social Web seize this opportunity to reach scale.” A big yes to all of this.  #Technology [Link]

18 May 2023

Unconstitutional TikTok ban would open the door to press censorship

“But if we accept the arguments for banning TikTok, what might come next? The consequences are even more catastrophic. Bans on foreign news websites that track Americans' clicks and comments? For example, the Guardian must have a gold mine of information on the millions of Americans that read it

18 May 2023

A personal update

I’ve loved every moment of working with The 19th. I was a supporter before I joined, and I’ll continue to be one afterwards. As well as well-executed journalism at the intersection of gender, politics, and policy, The 19th is a masterclass in building an equitable remote organizational culture

18 May 2023

Google Unveils Plan to Demolish the Journalism Industry Using AI

“If Google's AI is going to mulch up original work and provide a distilled version of it to users at scale, without ever connecting them to the original work, how will publishers continue to monetize their work?”  #AI [Link]

18 May 2023
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Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

Writing at the intersection of technology, journalism, and community.

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Ben Werdmuller explores the intersection of technology, democracy, and society. Always independently published, reader-supported, and free to read.