Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 4h

"A liberal arts education encompasses the arts, the humanities, the social sciences and STEM. It rejects the notion that some branches of knowledge are more important than others. Instead, it emphasizes that tackling the big questions of our current moment requires cross-disciplinary approaches." 🙌

Andrea Kaston Tange @aktange.bsky.social · 5h

My latest: "Numerous studies show that majors in the humanities—typically, in departments of English, history, philosophy, religious studies, classics and languages—lead students to employment and life satisfaction outcomes as positive as those for majors traditionally championed as 'practical.'”

Counterpoint | Minnesota humanities graduates thrive in meaningful careers

"The stereotype of the underemployed history major is simply not true," professor Andrea Kaston Tange writes.

www.startribune.com

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Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 14h

OK, I think I'm ready for a Carrington Event now.

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 14h

Who had “self-swatting” on their dystopia bingo card.

Police are asking kids to stop pulling AI homeless man prank

The AI #homelessmanprank has gone viral, causing headaches for law enforcement.

www.theverge.com

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Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 14h

Vought is only 49 years old? Rage really consumes a person.

Thomas Zimmer @thomaszimmer.bsky.social · 15h

Sunday reading:

I wrote about the aggrieved extremist who is currently firing thousands of federal workers and ravaging state capacity based on conspiratorial nonsense - and about mainstream media’s infuriating tendency to sanitize Russell Vought and the regime he serves.

This week’s piece:

We need to talk about Russell Vought – But Properly

Why certain mainstream outlets insist on sanitizing Vought as a devout “small government” conservative – and what actually animates his war against pluralistic democracy

steady.page

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Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 1d

Some of my students were talking about this today and how they no longer trust anything they see online.

It's not a fun watch, but "Mountainhead" really captured the essence of this latest civilization-level threat of our own making.

Chuck Wendig @chuckwendig.bsky.social · 1d

I could tell this was AI right from the get-go but it’s like with the Terminators — every generation makes it harder and harder to tell. And that’s scary.

"How" @myoneandonlykat.bsky.social · 1d

Timeline cleanse!

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Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 1d

The backdrop of that stage was so weird, and then there was a fire alarm just as the event was starting, so Silver had to stand outside awkwardly avoiding all the fan bros crowding around. I guess that's why it's apparently burned into my brain.

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Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 1d

The human brain is baffling. There is so much I can't recall about my time on this planet, but I saw this photo and immediately remembered I was in the room when it was taken in 2016 😂

Vernors Herzog @vernorsherzog.bsky.social · 1d

“my programming needs are … somewhat unusual”

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Reposted by Britt Lundgren

Piper @yourfriendpiper.bsky.social · 1d

I love this piece and glad this part was noted: "The question of who wins or who loses in Triangle Posting Politics is divorced from material conditions, justice, or the common good."

sarah jeong @sarahjeong.bsky.social · 1d

I have a theory www.theverge.com/policy/79849...

American politics has devolved into shitposting and aura farming

The Frog is owning the president.

www.theverge.com

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Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 1d

"In the release, UNC said an implementation plan has yet to be developed, and they will turn to faculty and students to help determine what the new school will look like."

97.9 The Hill WCHL & Chapelboro.com @wchlchapelboro.bsky.social · 3d

UNC announced Thursday it will combine the School of Information and Library Science and the School of Data Science and Society into a new entity focused on information technologies such as generative AI.

UNC Combining Library Science, Data Science Schools Into New Entity - Chapelboro.com

The two schools will be combined into a new entity focused on information technologies such as generative AI.

chapelboro.com

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Reposted by Britt Lundgren

Triangle Blog Blog @triangleblogblog.bsky.social · 3d

“as first reported by triangleblogblog”

97.9 The Hill WCHL & Chapelboro.com @wchlchapelboro.bsky.social · 3d

UNC announced Thursday it will combine the School of Information and Library Science and the School of Data Science and Society into a new entity focused on information technologies such as generative AI.

UNC Combining Library Science, Data Science Schools Into New Entity - Chapelboro.com

The two schools will be combined into a new entity focused on information technologies such as generative AI.

chapelboro.com

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Reposted by Britt Lundgren

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 1d

www.dailytarheel.com/article/e9c7...

UNC ends Black Student Movement's 52-year 'co-ownership' of Upendo Lounge

BSM President Adam Sherif said administrators cited new federal guidelines that instruct all federally funded entities to ensure they are not engaging in "discriminatory practices, including those lab...

www.dailytarheel.com

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Reposted by Britt Lundgren

NightMar on Hicks Street, Part 4: The Rabbit’s Revenge @histoftech.bsky.social · 2d

The Virginia Senate just told UVA it’s not getting state funding if it accepts the compact since UVA exists to serve Virginia, its residents, & their interests—not be a tool of the federal govt. Scoop from our student newspaper, who’ve been doing vital reporting www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025...

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Jacqueline Sweet @jsweetli.bsky.social · 2d

WGN, this woman’s employer, is now reporting she was not charged with any crimes and was released.

DHS said earlier she was arrested for assault for throwing objects at agents.

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Reposted by Britt Lundgren

Pauline Barmby @pbarmby.bsky.social · 2d

Also includes some Canadian universities, where the process is somewhat different (students are accepted by individual supervisors, not as members of a class) - I’m happy to answer questions about grad school in Canada.

Sarah Tuttle @niais.bsky.social · 2d

Are you someone who is interested in astronomy graduate school? This is a list of many/most departments and their expectations for admissions this year. Please feel free to spread it far and wide. If you are doing admissions and you'd like to update your entry, reach out as per the form!

US Astronomy Graduate Admissions, AY 2025-2026

docs.google.com

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Reposted by Britt Lundgren

Matthew Facciani @matthewfacciani.bsky.social · 3d

“A new study shows that receiving an updated COVID vaccine reduced people’s risk of severe disease and death in all age groups, regardless of immunity from prior infection or vaccination”
www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-...

Annual COVID Vaccines Save Lives, New Study Shows

A new study shows that receiving an updated COVID vaccine reduced people’s risk of severe disease and death in all age groups, regardless of immunity from prior infection or vaccination

www.scientificamerican.com

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Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 2d

Rowan doesn't even attempt to provide any supporting evidence for his laundry list of gripes. Compare it to the official response from MIT's President, an actual serious person: orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

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Reposted by Britt Lundgren

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 2d

Stephen Miller just said that Chicago ICE raid was one of the most successful law enforcement operations ever. I asked Pritzker to respond.

"If this was Pinochet’s Chile, if this was Argentina under authoritarian rule, maybe you’d call it successful," he said. 2/

newrepublic.com/article/2016...

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Josh Moody @byjoshmoody.bsky.social · 2d

MIT rejects "compact" proposed by the Trump administration.
MIT prez wrote: it "would restrict freedom of expression and our independence as an institution" and "is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone."
orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

Regarding the Compact | MIT Organization Chart

orgchart.mit.edu

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Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 2d

Did you go to college once and become a rich but disaffected investment banker? The NYT considers you an expert on the entire academic system & will gladly publish your loose collection of gripes about progressive society in an ROI trench coat. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/o...

Opinion | Academia Is Broken. Trump’s University ‘Compact’ Can Help Fix It.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Britt Lundgren

Jocelyn Leitzinger @jocelynl.bsky.social · 3d

Armed, masked thugs are kidnapping our neighbors and terrorizing our communities

This was in front of an elementary school in the West Loop in Chicago today. Sharing because everyone needs to see what is happening here daily

Originally posted by @erynfreepress on IG. Her story is in the alt text

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Reposted by Britt Lundgren

Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 4d

So far the astronomy PhD programs that have cancelled admissions are Washington, Michigan State, and Case Western.

Meg Schwamb @megschwamb.bsky.social · 5d

Sad to see the University of Washington Astronomy Department has suspended graduate admissions for the 2026-2027 Academic Year. astro.washington.edu/graduate-adm...

Graduate Admissions | Department of Astronomy | University of Washington

The Department of Astronomy has suspended graduate admissions for the 2026-2027 Academic Year. General Information for applying to UW Astronomy Graduate Program. Applications must be submitted using ...

astro.washington.edu

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Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 4d

"The wind points out of the plane of the galactic disk at a 45° angle and spans a length of about 3 light-years. That angle also implies that Sgr A* is spinning out of alignment with the orientation of the galactic plane, the researchers say."

Hannah Richter @hannah-richter.bsky.social · 5d

For essentially every supermassive black hole that astronomers have studied, they've spotted powerful winds blowing out from the event horizon to shape the surrounding galaxy. Except for the one in the Milky Way. 🌟 ⚫ 🌬️

The case may now be closed. @science.org tinyurl.com/5y99b7az #space #astronomy

Missing wind from Milky Way’s giant black hole finally found

Astronomers may have glimpsed a long-predicted wind of gas blowing out from Sagittarius A*

tinyurl.com

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Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 4d

Scrolled past an article that I don't want to share about people using AI to create deepfake videos of Stephen Hawking being physically attacked. This is the tech most folks' retirement savings are now deeply invested in.

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Britt Lundgren @brittlundgren.bsky.social · 4d

Can confirm that Rockford is the gateway to the upper midwest.

William Hazen @williamhazen.bsky.social · 5d

This is the most accurate depiction of the Midwest to date. Wichita has always felt like the last Midwest city while also being the first plains city.

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Reposted by Britt Lundgren

Henry Farrell @himself.bsky.social · 4d

"It wanted to signal strength. Instead, it’s revealing its weakness. The administration’s need to break the academy is forcing it to make a desperately risky gamble." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...

Opinion | You Beat Trumpism by Banding Together. It’s as Hard and as Simple as That.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Britt Lundgren

J. Nathan Matias @natematias.bsky.social · 5d

It’s hard not to see tools like this as a strong threat to the common human decency that I have spent the last 15 years working for. So I would genuinely like to know what public goods are worth all this.

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