Alan Henry
@halophoenix.bsky.social
Author: Seen, Heard, & Paid: https://amzn.to/4dXOAHv
Now: Managing Editor, @pcmag.com
Then: WIRED, NYT, Lifehacker. Forever: Yours. Recovering physicist. Always Black. He/Him. 🎨: @mavisdeluna.art
https://www.alan-henry.net | https://www.novawerks.net
Now: Managing Editor, @pcmag.com
Then: WIRED, NYT, Lifehacker. Forever: Yours. Recovering physicist. Always Black. He/Him. 🎨: @mavisdeluna.art
https://www.alan-henry.net | https://www.novawerks.net
Look out I'm being sincere on the TL again:
I'm thankful for you this year. Yeah, if you're reading this, I mean you. If you've clicked a link I've shared, subscribed to my newsletter, replied to or liked one of my posts, whatever.
Thank you for making my days more interesting and less lonely.
I'm thankful for you this year. Yeah, if you're reading this, I mean you. If you've clicked a link I've shared, subscribed to my newsletter, replied to or liked one of my posts, whatever.
Thank you for making my days more interesting and less lonely.
November 28, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Look out I'm being sincere on the TL again:
I'm thankful for you this year. Yeah, if you're reading this, I mean you. If you've clicked a link I've shared, subscribed to my newsletter, replied to or liked one of my posts, whatever.
Thank you for making my days more interesting and less lonely.
I'm thankful for you this year. Yeah, if you're reading this, I mean you. If you've clicked a link I've shared, subscribed to my newsletter, replied to or liked one of my posts, whatever.
Thank you for making my days more interesting and less lonely.
Reposted by Alan Henry
"Assume everyone I interact with online is struggling with their mental health" has only become a more important guiding principle in the past couple years
My personal guidelines for dealing with people on social media:
Assume everyone is a friend you haven't yet gotten to know.
Assume everyone is struggling with their mental health
Don't promise any emotional labor you might not be able to provide
If someone seems like a hater, disengage right away
Assume everyone is a friend you haven't yet gotten to know.
Assume everyone is struggling with their mental health
Don't promise any emotional labor you might not be able to provide
If someone seems like a hater, disengage right away
November 26, 2025 at 7:47 PM
"Assume everyone I interact with online is struggling with their mental health" has only become a more important guiding principle in the past couple years
This is so real. Sorry but I have dorky hobbies I'm passionate about and I expect you to have some too.
They don't have to be the same things! Just have some whimsy! Live your life!
They don't have to be the same things! Just have some whimsy! Live your life!
I'd take it a step further, if you have a partner who makes fun of *any* of your hobbies, run the fuck away
November 26, 2025 at 5:57 PM
This is so real. Sorry but I have dorky hobbies I'm passionate about and I expect you to have some too.
They don't have to be the same things! Just have some whimsy! Live your life!
They don't have to be the same things! Just have some whimsy! Live your life!
It's newsletter time! Inspired by layoffs, mergers, and the Vanity Fair ~thing~, we're talking about leaders who protect versus those who marginalize, and how to identify them.
Patreon subs get it tomorrow morning:
www.patreon.com/halophoenix
All subs get it on Friday:
buttondown.email/alanhenry
Patreon subs get it tomorrow morning:
www.patreon.com/halophoenix
All subs get it on Friday:
buttondown.email/alanhenry
November 25, 2025 at 4:50 PM
It's newsletter time! Inspired by layoffs, mergers, and the Vanity Fair ~thing~, we're talking about leaders who protect versus those who marginalize, and how to identify them.
Patreon subs get it tomorrow morning:
www.patreon.com/halophoenix
All subs get it on Friday:
buttondown.email/alanhenry
Patreon subs get it tomorrow morning:
www.patreon.com/halophoenix
All subs get it on Friday:
buttondown.email/alanhenry
Dang this reminds me that my Xbox 360 (still working, never red-ringed once!) is still sitting next to my TV, waiting to be plugged back in for a round of Burnout 3: Takedown or Ace Combat 6...
Happy birthday, Xbox 360
Unfortunately, I can’t have the same birthday as every Xbox
Unfortunately, I can’t have the same birthday as every Xbox
November 22, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Dang this reminds me that my Xbox 360 (still working, never red-ringed once!) is still sitting next to my TV, waiting to be plugged back in for a round of Burnout 3: Takedown or Ace Combat 6...
Reposted by Alan Henry
The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund at the National Trust for Historic Preservation has completed the full rehabilitation of the humble, three-room clapboard house in Tryon, NC, where singer & civil rights activist Nina Simone was born. savingplaces.org/stories/nina...
5 Things to Know About the Nina Simone Childhood Home Project | National Trust for Historic Preservation
Explore the newly restored home of singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone in Tryon, North Carolina.
savingplaces.org
November 22, 2025 at 12:59 PM
The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund at the National Trust for Historic Preservation has completed the full rehabilitation of the humble, three-room clapboard house in Tryon, NC, where singer & civil rights activist Nina Simone was born. savingplaces.org/stories/nina...
Reposted by Alan Henry
Another week, another series of devastating breaches and a record breaking DDoS attack...and meanwhile the FCC decided to [checks notes] gut rules to improve telecomm security.
If that's confusing to you, well, it's confusing to us, too.
The Internet Is on Fire and the FCC Just Walked Away With the Extinguisher
If that’s confusing to you, well, it’s confusing to us, too. The usual semantics are at play in the FCC’s decision, so definitely check out the whole story, but the bottom line is that in a time where security is more important than ever, regulators charged with making sure tech companies actually care about it are less interested in doing so.
bit.ly
November 21, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Another week, another series of devastating breaches and a record breaking DDoS attack...and meanwhile the FCC decided to [checks notes] gut rules to improve telecomm security.
Another week, another series of devastating breaches and a record breaking DDoS attack...and meanwhile the FCC decided to [checks notes] gut rules to improve telecomm security.
If that's confusing to you, well, it's confusing to us, too.
The Internet Is on Fire and the FCC Just Walked Away With the Extinguisher
If that’s confusing to you, well, it’s confusing to us, too. The usual semantics are at play in the FCC’s decision, so definitely check out the whole story, but the bottom line is that in a time where security is more important than ever, regulators charged with making sure tech companies actually care about it are less interested in doing so.
bit.ly
November 21, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Another week, another series of devastating breaches and a record breaking DDoS attack...and meanwhile the FCC decided to [checks notes] gut rules to improve telecomm security.
Reposted by Alan Henry
Sets for Batman Returns were kept very cold for the comfort of the real-life penguins involved. This meant that cast/crew repeatedly got sick during filming. The real-life penguins though would often fall in love with their animatronic counterparts or feel so settled that they began mating.
November 21, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Sets for Batman Returns were kept very cold for the comfort of the real-life penguins involved. This meant that cast/crew repeatedly got sick during filming. The real-life penguins though would often fall in love with their animatronic counterparts or feel so settled that they began mating.
Reposted by Alan Henry
“What necessary perspectives do we lose, and what questions go unasked and unanswered, when Black journalists are among the first to be seen as disposable on a masthead?”
Where Have All The Black Journalists Gone?
In the wake of the Teen Vogue layoffs and the rollback of DEI initiatives in media, we have to ask: what necessary perspectives do we lose, and what questions go unasked and unanswered, when Black jou...
www.refinery29.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:54 AM
“What necessary perspectives do we lose, and what questions go unasked and unanswered, when Black journalists are among the first to be seen as disposable on a masthead?”
Just confirmed this myself, and this applies both to Gmail accounts AND Google Workspace accounts (like if you have Gmail for your own domain or your company email or something.)
Once you disable it'll force a reload, and the "updates/promotions/social" categories will be removed, fyi.
Once you disable it'll force a reload, and the "updates/promotions/social" categories will be removed, fyi.
If you use GMail, AI (Gemini) was turned on yesterday by default and now scans all of your content for machine learning. To turn off, go to Settings>General and scroll down. Uncheck the box for "Smart features."
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
There's other "Smart" add-ons as well, but that's the one that reads your content.
November 20, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Just confirmed this myself, and this applies both to Gmail accounts AND Google Workspace accounts (like if you have Gmail for your own domain or your company email or something.)
Once you disable it'll force a reload, and the "updates/promotions/social" categories will be removed, fyi.
Once you disable it'll force a reload, and the "updates/promotions/social" categories will be removed, fyi.
Apropos of nothing every single day prestige journalism finds a new way to disappoint me
November 19, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Apropos of nothing every single day prestige journalism finds a new way to disappoint me
It's really had to understate the importance of the AMOC - it's essentially the reason both sides of the Atlantic are comfortable.
PBS (yes, the same one the current administration defunded) has an excellent special on the AMOC and what a collapse would mean:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LrD...
PBS (yes, the same one the current administration defunded) has an excellent special on the AMOC and what a collapse would mean:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LrD...
This is the ocean current that sets things off in the Day After Tomorrow.
"Unfortunately, the 'good' models, the more realistic ones, are the ones where the AMOC weakens most... even for an intermediate emissions scenario, the probability of shutting down the AMOC is way above 50%... we will probably pass the point of no return for an AMOC shutdown in the next 10-20yrs" 😱
November 18, 2025 at 10:59 PM
It's really had to understate the importance of the AMOC - it's essentially the reason both sides of the Atlantic are comfortable.
PBS (yes, the same one the current administration defunded) has an excellent special on the AMOC and what a collapse would mean:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LrD...
PBS (yes, the same one the current administration defunded) has an excellent special on the AMOC and what a collapse would mean:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LrD...
Reposted by Alan Henry
I love the point @marisakabas.bsky.social makes about jumping to the head of the line by doing sensational “journalism” with questionable ethics. This has been a thing in sports media for a long time, as management thinks hiring influencers is the key to getting any more clicks.
Moral rot in elite journalism is killing the whole field
The Nuzzi/RFK Jr. mess and the revelation of Esptein's journo pals lay bare a profound moral absence at the heart of our free press.
www.thehandbasket.co
November 18, 2025 at 9:50 PM
I love the point @marisakabas.bsky.social makes about jumping to the head of the line by doing sensational “journalism” with questionable ethics. This has been a thing in sports media for a long time, as management thinks hiring influencers is the key to getting any more clicks.
Reposted by Alan Henry
No we just don't get pages and pages of fawning coverage.
Am I the only journalist who doesn't live like some kind of knock-off Rockefeller heir? What the hell is going on?
November 18, 2025 at 3:57 AM
No we just don't get pages and pages of fawning coverage.
Isn't it cute? Adorable even?
Yeah it got pulled from store shelves because it's AI-powered and wouldn't stop talking to kids about knives, kink, and knot-tying.
So....maybe better gifted to adults?
Yeah it got pulled from store shelves because it's AI-powered and wouldn't stop talking to kids about knives, kink, and knot-tying.
So....maybe better gifted to adults?
Called "Kumma," the $99 talking teddy bear comes from a toymaker called FoloToy.
Questions About Sex Positions? Knives? Ask This ChatGPT-Powered Teddy Bear
Called “Kumma,” the $99 talking teddy bear comes from a toymaker called FoloToy. But last week, the watchdog group US PIRG Education Fund flagged some unsettling behavior from the product, which uses OpenAI’s GPT-4o AI model as its default setting.
bit.ly
November 18, 2025 at 2:05 AM
Isn't it cute? Adorable even?
Yeah it got pulled from store shelves because it's AI-powered and wouldn't stop talking to kids about knives, kink, and knot-tying.
So....maybe better gifted to adults?
Yeah it got pulled from store shelves because it's AI-powered and wouldn't stop talking to kids about knives, kink, and knot-tying.
So....maybe better gifted to adults?
This industry is full of people who continue to either a: fail upward and get praise for it or b: continue getting just enough media attention to make sure they're well paid and in the game.
Meanwhile the rest of us just want to pay the rent and do good work, and I'm just so fucking tired, fam
Meanwhile the rest of us just want to pay the rent and do good work, and I'm just so fucking tired, fam
Chris Cuomo Lectures on Journalistic ‘Standards’ (Yes, Really)
Chris Cuomo Lectures on Journalistic ‘Standards’ (Yes, Really)
If you missed Chris Cuomo's show on Thursday night — and you probably did — the embattled host is now actually offering journalistic critiques of others ... in this case, Mediaite.
The post Chris Cuomo Lectures on Journalistic ‘Standards’ (Yes, Really) first appeared on Mediaite.
dlvr.it
November 14, 2025 at 10:58 PM
This industry is full of people who continue to either a: fail upward and get praise for it or b: continue getting just enough media attention to make sure they're well paid and in the game.
Meanwhile the rest of us just want to pay the rent and do good work, and I'm just so fucking tired, fam
Meanwhile the rest of us just want to pay the rent and do good work, and I'm just so fucking tired, fam
Reposted by Alan Henry
Speaking of which, did you hear that the password to the security system at the Louvre was "Louvre"?
The Password Was ‘Password’: Why Humans Keep Breaking the Internet
Speaking of which, did you hear that the password to the security system at the Louvre was “Louvre”?
bit.ly
November 14, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Speaking of which, did you hear that the password to the security system at the Louvre was "Louvre"?
Reposted by Alan Henry
Read a few of those leaked emails between illiterate billionaires and the first paragraph of the NYT glazing Nuzzi and you will be inoculated against impostor syndrome for the next 10 years. Do you have a halfway functioning brain? Congratulations you are a golden god
November 14, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Read a few of those leaked emails between illiterate billionaires and the first paragraph of the NYT glazing Nuzzi and you will be inoculated against impostor syndrome for the next 10 years. Do you have a halfway functioning brain? Congratulations you are a golden god
Reposted by Alan Henry
socializing on social media is like socializing in a school cafeteria. it is carefully cultivated and maintained by others and the threat of suspension for saying something objectionable is high.
but the socializing sure is convenient!
but the socializing sure is convenient!
Maybe we need to accept that social platforms at scale peaked and it's time to make different choices in terms of how we connect and communicate w/each other.
Unless we want to continue eating at the same restaurant that serves terrible food and complaining about how bad it is in the restaurant?
Unless we want to continue eating at the same restaurant that serves terrible food and complaining about how bad it is in the restaurant?
at a freakin minimum the censors should disclose this detail about their chilling, de-platforming choices
November 14, 2025 at 3:27 PM
socializing on social media is like socializing in a school cafeteria. it is carefully cultivated and maintained by others and the threat of suspension for saying something objectionable is high.
but the socializing sure is convenient!
but the socializing sure is convenient!
Reposted by Alan Henry
Are you yearning for hope? Do you need some friends in the resistance? It's time to pre-order your copy of "We Will Rise Again," a glorious anthology of speculative fiction and essays about political protest and resistance. Coming 12/3! Perfect the holidays! www.simonandschuster.com/books/We-Wil...
We Will Rise Again
From genre luminaries, esteemed organizers, and exciting new voices in fiction, an anthology of stories, essays, and interviews that offer transfor...
www.simonandschuster.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Are you yearning for hope? Do you need some friends in the resistance? It's time to pre-order your copy of "We Will Rise Again," a glorious anthology of speculative fiction and essays about political protest and resistance. Coming 12/3! Perfect the holidays! www.simonandschuster.com/books/We-Wil...
Reposted by Alan Henry
businesses that don't make money get to spend money like it's monopoly money, but us working stiffs have money taken away from us just by existing--often to have the government use our money to pay those companies that don't make any money.
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/12/a...
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/12/a...
Anthropic to spend $50 billion on U.S. AI infrastructure, starting with Texas, New York data centers
Anthropic rival OpenAI has secured more than $1.4 trillion worth of deals with Nvidia, Broadcom, Oracle and the major cloud providers.
www.cnbc.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:03 PM
businesses that don't make money get to spend money like it's monopoly money, but us working stiffs have money taken away from us just by existing--often to have the government use our money to pay those companies that don't make any money.
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/12/a...
www.cnbc.com/2025/11/12/a...
Born to be a shitposting gremlin loudmouth
Forced to be a laid back, thoughtful, vibes for days, warm and playful guy
Follow and we can hang out sometime?
twitch.tv/halo_phoenix
(both of these by my friend @nightfawn.bsky.social, who has a vgen: vgen.co/nightfawn)
Forced to be a laid back, thoughtful, vibes for days, warm and playful guy
Follow and we can hang out sometime?
twitch.tv/halo_phoenix
(both of these by my friend @nightfawn.bsky.social, who has a vgen: vgen.co/nightfawn)
November 12, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Born to be a shitposting gremlin loudmouth
Forced to be a laid back, thoughtful, vibes for days, warm and playful guy
Follow and we can hang out sometime?
twitch.tv/halo_phoenix
(both of these by my friend @nightfawn.bsky.social, who has a vgen: vgen.co/nightfawn)
Forced to be a laid back, thoughtful, vibes for days, warm and playful guy
Follow and we can hang out sometime?
twitch.tv/halo_phoenix
(both of these by my friend @nightfawn.bsky.social, who has a vgen: vgen.co/nightfawn)
Reposted by Alan Henry
Yes, and: There are lots of reporting jobs at startup nonprofit local news organizations doing really important work outside of corporate ownership, for any journalists willing to consider living outside of the nation's three largest cities!
November 12, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Yes, and: There are lots of reporting jobs at startup nonprofit local news organizations doing really important work outside of corporate ownership, for any journalists willing to consider living outside of the nation's three largest cities!