Ben Werdmuller
  • About me
  • Let's build together
  • Notable links
Sign in Subscribe

Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

NotableLinks

Novel attack against virtually all VPN apps neuters their entire purpose

"Researchers have devised an attack against nearly all virtual private network applications that forces them to send and receive some or all traffic outside of the encrypted tunnel designed to protect it from snooping or tampering." Except, oddly, on Android, which doesn't implement the DHCP setting

06 May 2024

My employer won a Pulitzer

ProPublica, the newsroom I work for as Senior Director of Technology, won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service journalism for its work on Supreme Court justices’ beneficial relationships with billionaire donors. You’ve probably heard something about Clarence Thomas’s corruption in particular; that story was broken by us.

06 May 2024

The best thing about blogging is the replies

By far the coolest thing about blogging is the replies. I’ve had a bunch of responses to my latest iteration of the baby stack across various platforms: universally other dads, none of which I’ve met before, who are looking for recommendations. I think that’s really neat. Some

06 May 2024

NotableLinks

How to recognize a psyop in three easy steps

"So, how do you distinguish between a psyop – a weaponized story – from other kinds of communication? Walk with me through these three simple steps." This is a great introduction - I can't wait to read the full book. It reminds me a little of some of

06 May 2024

NotableLinks

North Yorkshire Council to phase out apostrophe use on street signs

"A local authority has announced it will ban apostrophes on street signs to avoid problems with computer systems." It's rare to see bad database security design advertised so openly! I can't wait to see what havoc the local residents will cause.  #Technology [Link]

06 May 2024

The baby stack at 20 months

When our son reached nine months old, I published this UsesThis-style list of products and services we were using; I had previously published one before he was born. He’s twenty months old now: walking around and using words. He straddles the worlds between being a baby and a little

05 May 2024

The kids are alright

The biggest thing to be concerned about in all these student protests is not the students, but the severity and strength with which the police are entering the fray. A police officer fired a gun on the Columbia campus. Tear gas is being used on multiple campuses. In multiple cases

04 May 2024

A quiet week

I’ve been pretty sick for over a week now. Daycare is a Petri dish of germs and viruses, but most have them have passed me by; this one, in contrast, hit me like a ton of bricks. I’ve been the sickest I’ve felt in years: a really

03 May 2024

NotableLinks

Mastodon forms new U.S. non-profit

Mastodon has established itself as a US 501(c)(3) with a really exciting new board. I'm a long-term fan of Esra’a Al Shafei in particular - but the whole group is quite something. This coincides with Germany stripping Mastodon of non-profit status for unknown reasons. Hopefully

27 Apr 2024

NotableLinks

I Am a Jewish Student at Columbia. Don’t Believe What You’re Being Told About ‘Campus Antisemitism’

"Here’s what you’re not being told: The most pressing threats to our safety as Jewish students do not come from tents on campus. Instead, they come from the Columbia administration inviting police onto campus, certain faculty members, and third-party organizations that dox undergraduates." A useful first-hand

27 Apr 2024

NotableLinks

Struggling with a Moral Panic Once Again

"I have to admit that it's breaking my heart to watch a new generation of anxious parents think that they can address the struggles their kids are facing by eliminating technology from kids' lives." I've got so much more to say about this,

27 Apr 2024

NotableLinks

‘In the US they think we’re communists!’ The 70,000 workers showing the world another way to earn a living

"Mondragón has become a beacon for the co-operative model, as a more humane and egalitarian way of doing business that puts “people over capital”. Every worker has a stake in the company’s fortunes and a say in how it is run, and receives a share of the profits.

27 Apr 2024
See all
Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

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

Recommendations

  • Elena Rossini
    Elena Rossini
    news.elenarossini.com

    Elena Rossini is an Italian filmmaker, photographer and activist. Her work focuses on issues of media literacy, digital sovereignty, and harnessing the power of the internet for change.

  • Relay, By We Distribute
    Relay, By We Distribute
    newsletter.wedistribute.org

    A weekly newsletter about the open social web. We Distribute is the best website about the next generation of social networks - their newsletter is a regular dive into what's going on.

  • Internet Exchange
    Internet Exchange
    internet.exchangepoint.tech

    Feminist perspectives on digital justice and tech from some of the most important voices in ethical tech.

  • When The Going Gets Weird
    When The Going Gets Weird
    newsletter.mathewingram.com

    Mathew Ingram, a longtime journalist whose bylines have chronicled the intersection of journalism and the web, shares links that interest him.

  • Point C
    Point C
    pointc.co

    Corey Ford has been a mentor and friend for over a decade. His advice changed my professional life, and now it can change yours, too.

Ben Werdmuller
Mastodon
Bluesky
Threads

Subscribe to new posts

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