Ben Werdmuller
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Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

We reject the free speech-trampling rules set by J.D. Vance and Ron DeSantis for covering their rally

“Think about what they were doing here. They were staging an event to rally people to vote for Vance while instituting the kinds of policies you’d see in a fascist regime.”  #Democracy [Link]

23 Aug 2022

Taste

The best part of traveling is the food. You can learn so much from how and what people eat. The way they gather, the smell of the spices, the sizzle of oil in great pans, the delicacies that only come from the sorts of hole-in-the-wall places that locals protect with

23 Aug 2022

Farewell, house

Well, we sold the house. A new family gets to enjoy the space, and the incredible surrounds. It’s the start of a new chapter for us, too. I was there over the weekend, and the memories were overwhelming: the four walls of my parents’ former bedroom held newly-staged furniture

22 Aug 2022

As list of banned books in schools grows, ‘soft’ censorship is spreading

“Free speech advocates say these practices are as troubling as bans — particularly when the books singled out overwhelmingly have themes related to race, gender and sexuality and are written by authors who are women, LGBTQ+ and/or people of color.”  #Culture [Link]

22 Aug 2022

Healing Polarized Communities

“We cannot begin bridging communities beyond our newsrooms without building — and supporting — more diverse communities within our newsrooms.” So proud to work here.  #Media [Link]

22 Aug 2022

Ask Damon: I want to redistribute my slave-owning ancestor's wealth

“Anyway, if you’re sincere in your desire to attempt to right your family’s wrongs, find those descendants, show them the money and then hand it to them.”  #Society [Link]

22 Aug 2022

Class action against Oracle's worldwide surveillance machine

“Oracle’s dossiers about people include names, home addresses, emails, purchases online and in the real world, physical movements in the real world, income, interests and political views, and a detailed account of online activity.”  #Technology [Link]

22 Aug 2022

A Dad Took Photos of His Naked Toddler for the Doctor. Google Flagged Him as a Criminal.

““This is precisely the nightmare that we are all concerned about,” Mr. Callas said. “They’re going to scan my family album, and then I’m going to get into trouble.””  #Technology [Link]

21 Aug 2022

A home on the web, revisited

I’ve been thinking a lot about redesigning my website, or even moving platforms. That’s a bit of an emotional decision, because my website runs on Known, a codebase I mostly wrote myself, and started while I was taking care of my mother post-lung-transplant. It’s the reason I’

21 Aug 2022

The School for Good Mothers, by Jessamine Chan

A ton of ideas about parenting, society, and the present moment, crammed into an emotional near-future science fiction story. I wish the protagonist had been more sympathetic - but the future it paints is alarmingly plausible. #Fiction [Link]

20 Aug 2022

Kids Born Near Fracking Sites More Likely to Have Leukemia, Study Says

“Children who are born near fracking sites are as much as three times more likely to be diagnosed with leukemia later on, according to new Yale research.”  #Health [Link]

19 Aug 2022

For years, Black trans women have been told their life expectancy is 35 years. That’s false.

“Willis says the statistic once communicated an urgency in the community. Today, she thinks trans people need more complicated stories.”  #Health [Link]

18 Aug 2022
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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.