Nitish Pahwa
@nitishpahwa.com
staff writer for business/tech @slate.com and online media council member @wgaeast.bsky.social. words also in NYT, LARB, and POW Magazine. he/him. blurry visionary, blue-pill mercenary
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Nitish Pahwa
@nitishpahwa.com
· 27d
His Cartoons Were Beloved. He Created a Gen X Icon. But His Controversies Tarnished It All.
While generations of fans may have loved “Dilbert,” its creator devolved into something unrecognizable as he embraced the MAGA age.
slate.com
wrote about Scott Adams, a once-brilliant and -incisive cartoonist whom I used to genuinely admire—and whose work and worldview, in retrospect, were always blinkered and constricted in ways that presaged his racist MAGA turn and second career: slate.com/business/202...
Vulture about to get hit with the most WhatsApp referrals it's ever seen
(it'a a lovely profile, per usual Traister tackled this quite well)
(it'a a lovely profile, per usual Traister tackled this quite well)
www.vulture.com/article/what...
The Mayor’s Mother What Mira Nair taught Zohran Mamdani.
The Mayor’s Mother What Mira Nair taught Zohran Mamdani.
What Mira Nair Taught Zohran Mamdani
The mayor’s famous filmmaker mother reveals the origins of his ferocious ambition.
www.vulture.com
February 10, 2026 at 10:32 PM
Vulture about to get hit with the most WhatsApp referrals it's ever seen
(it'a a lovely profile, per usual Traister tackled this quite well)
(it'a a lovely profile, per usual Traister tackled this quite well)
Max B ridin the wave as only the Silver Surfer can 🏄♂️ 🌊 🫡
"Took Over The Algorithms ... The Algorithms Is The New Streets ... Neo In The Matrix -- Since I'm The One, I Took The Blue Pill"
February 10, 2026 at 10:18 PM
Max B ridin the wave as only the Silver Surfer can 🏄♂️ 🌊 🫡
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
I parsed through some of the emails in the Epstein files, and it’s very clear that Epstein was a eugenicist weirdo. Something he very much had in common with the billionaire class à la Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Donald Trump. New for @motherjones.com.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Epstein couldn't stop emailing people about eugenics
In the latest files, the trafficker gives it a Silicon Valley–pilled name: "genetic altruism."
www.motherjones.com
February 10, 2026 at 8:47 PM
I parsed through some of the emails in the Epstein files, and it’s very clear that Epstein was a eugenicist weirdo. Something he very much had in common with the billionaire class à la Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Donald Trump. New for @motherjones.com.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
One of the things I really want to emphasize is that while FunFactor is centred around retro gaming magazines, it’s really a show about games history, media, community, and the way video games shape our lives and culture.
Nostalgia for old gaming mags is not a requirement to enjoy the show!
Nostalgia for old gaming mags is not a requirement to enjoy the show!
It's FunFactor Fuuuuuuuuuesday!
In today's episode of @funfactorpod.com, @tyschalter.com paints a word picture, I get confused about Final Fantasy VIII's launch date, THE SPOILER gets spoiled, and we take a look at Game Informer #53's review of GoldenEye 64—a game we both respect more than like.
In today's episode of @funfactorpod.com, @tyschalter.com paints a word picture, I get confused about Final Fantasy VIII's launch date, THE SPOILER gets spoiled, and we take a look at Game Informer #53's review of GoldenEye 64—a game we both respect more than like.
Great FPS or Millennial friendslop? It's GoldenEye 64 in Game Informer #53!
YouTube video by FunFactor Podcast
youtu.be
February 10, 2026 at 9:37 PM
One of the things I really want to emphasize is that while FunFactor is centred around retro gaming magazines, it’s really a show about games history, media, community, and the way video games shape our lives and culture.
Nostalgia for old gaming mags is not a requirement to enjoy the show!
Nostalgia for old gaming mags is not a requirement to enjoy the show!
ah turns out the Rick Ross thing is that old TMZ video going around again. my least favorite type of "trending" "news": thing that went viral like 16 years ago goes viral again, this time with a fraction of the durability and resonance
February 10, 2026 at 9:19 PM
ah turns out the Rick Ross thing is that old TMZ video going around again. my least favorite type of "trending" "news": thing that went viral like 16 years ago goes viral again, this time with a fraction of the durability and resonance
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
We've lost the plot
February 10, 2026 at 8:19 PM
We've lost the plot
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
this excellent Adam Shatz essay articulated this dynamic quite well I thought www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
February 10, 2026 at 8:53 PM
this excellent Adam Shatz essay articulated this dynamic quite well I thought www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
SCOOP: Tensions at Palantir have grown in recent weeks over the company's work with ICE.
On Friday, CEO Alex Karp tried to calm concerns in an hourlong video that offered few specifics—instead offering NDAs to workers who want to understand how it's empowering ICE.
www.wired.com/story/palant...
On Friday, CEO Alex Karp tried to calm concerns in an hourlong video that offered few specifics—instead offering NDAs to workers who want to understand how it's empowering ICE.
www.wired.com/story/palant...
Palantir CEO Alex Karp Recorded a Video About ICE for His Employees
In a video shared with Palantir employees, Alex Karp did not explain how ICE is utilizing the company's products. Instead, workers were told they can sign NDAs if they want detailed information.
www.wired.com
February 10, 2026 at 8:04 PM
SCOOP: Tensions at Palantir have grown in recent weeks over the company's work with ICE.
On Friday, CEO Alex Karp tried to calm concerns in an hourlong video that offered few specifics—instead offering NDAs to workers who want to understand how it's empowering ICE.
www.wired.com/story/palant...
On Friday, CEO Alex Karp tried to calm concerns in an hourlong video that offered few specifics—instead offering NDAs to workers who want to understand how it's empowering ICE.
www.wired.com/story/palant...
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
Posting must come first
February 10, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Posting must come first
wow the TPUSA Kid Rock spectacle even lost GROK
(no idea what's going on with that Rick Ross item though)
(no idea what's going on with that Rick Ross item though)
February 10, 2026 at 8:29 PM
wow the TPUSA Kid Rock spectacle even lost GROK
(no idea what's going on with that Rick Ross item though)
(no idea what's going on with that Rick Ross item though)
there are some streamers I do enjoy and keep up with, but I never became a stan of anyone like that mostly because like … there are undoubtedly better ways to spend all these hours of my time, even after quality control
February 10, 2026 at 8:27 PM
there are some streamers I do enjoy and keep up with, but I never became a stan of anyone like that mostly because like … there are undoubtedly better ways to spend all these hours of my time, even after quality control
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
A little update to this. A source emailed me to say they'd used an industry tool to look up Coral Hart's sales and they totaled only 37 copies for the books under that pen name.
So, yeah I do not believe the six figures on 50k sales the NYT reported.
So, yeah I do not believe the six figures on 50k sales the NYT reported.
I wrote about why I'm skeptical of that AI author earning six figures pumping out 200 books a year story, but also about how authors might need to surf above the waves of slop countercraft.substack.com/p/surfs-up-i...
Surf's Up in Slop City
How should authors navigate a world with disappearing books coverage and a rising flood of AI slop books?
countercraft.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 8:18 PM
A little update to this. A source emailed me to say they'd used an industry tool to look up Coral Hart's sales and they totaled only 37 copies for the books under that pen name.
So, yeah I do not believe the six figures on 50k sales the NYT reported.
So, yeah I do not believe the six figures on 50k sales the NYT reported.
yes, and this is (unfortunately and infuriatingly) why so many of the federal bills introduced to address "child safety"/deepfakes rarely contain any policies that *would* protect kids online, and instead describe "offending content" in the haziest, vaguest manner: slate.com/technology/2...
When a sitting representative refers to the Super Bowl halftime show as “pornography,” people should use that to reflect on how they and other representatives are simultaneously working to ban, censor, and restrict “pornography” and what that actually means
February 10, 2026 at 7:48 PM
yes, and this is (unfortunately and infuriatingly) why so many of the federal bills introduced to address "child safety"/deepfakes rarely contain any policies that *would* protect kids online, and instead describe "offending content" in the haziest, vaguest manner: slate.com/technology/2...
MrBeast just did a Super Bowl ad for this guy's company.
anyway remember the time Benioff invited Trump to sic the National Guard on San Francisco
anyway remember the time Benioff invited Trump to sic the National Guard on San Francisco
This is an example of “Silicon Valley CEOs and their inability to divorce ICE and the complete lack of understanding of why that makes them monsters,” a Salesforce employee told 404 Media.
In October, Salesforce told ICE that it would be willing to allow the agency to use its AI to hire.
In October, Salesforce told ICE that it would be willing to allow the agency to use its AI to hire.
Marc Benioff 'Jokes' ICE Is Watching Salesforce Employees Who Traveled to the U.S.
"Employees are going absolutely apeshit in internal Slack about how completely awful it was."
www.404media.co
February 10, 2026 at 7:45 PM
MrBeast just did a Super Bowl ad for this guy's company.
anyway remember the time Benioff invited Trump to sic the National Guard on San Francisco
anyway remember the time Benioff invited Trump to sic the National Guard on San Francisco
relatedly washingtonian.com/2026/02/09/a...
February 10, 2026 at 7:35 PM
relatedly washingtonian.com/2026/02/09/a...
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
A federal government MAHA website, advertised during the superbowl, is directing users to Grok to "get real answers about real food"? (Via @almsnatalie.bsky.social)
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
Trump’s nutrition website directs users to Elon Musk’s Grok
The inclusion of Elon Musk’s chatbot in the government website follows backlash over the chatbot creating millions of sexualized images of women and children.
www.nextgov.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:43 PM
A federal government MAHA website, advertised during the superbowl, is directing users to Grok to "get real answers about real food"? (Via @almsnatalie.bsky.social)
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...
KD remains the single funniest player in the league and it ain't close
Kevin Durant becomes the new face of legs.
For years fans were mocking KD's ashy legs.
Well, now he used it to get a new bag
For years fans were mocking KD's ashy legs.
Well, now he used it to get a new bag
February 10, 2026 at 6:31 PM
KD remains the single funniest player in the league and it ain't close
"In the three years that I worked at the Post, I fielded mail from all manner of people. … What they often evinced was better than interest, better even than bibliophilia; it was the rare and precious capacity to be interested in what they didn’t already know interested them."
The End of Books Coverage at the Washington Post
Becca Rothfeld, a former critic at the Washington Post, on the death of the paper’s books section.
www.newyorker.com
February 10, 2026 at 6:15 PM
"In the three years that I worked at the Post, I fielded mail from all manner of people. … What they often evinced was better than interest, better even than bibliophilia; it was the rare and precious capacity to be interested in what they didn’t already know interested them."
remember the stretch where B & R cheated on their significant others *with* each other [Kevin Smith voice]
February 10, 2026 at 5:52 PM
remember the stretch where B & R cheated on their significant others *with* each other [Kevin Smith voice]
How I Met Your Mother might have the record for most horrific relationships throughout
With Valentine’s Day coming up… what’s your LEAST favorite romance in a sitcom?
February 10, 2026 at 5:48 PM
How I Met Your Mother might have the record for most horrific relationships throughout
he flipped a swing sweat upstate! he definitely has the potential, provided he gets any support now—so many once-promising NY Dems have rightly raged against the machine only to get lost in their own sauce
February 10, 2026 at 4:40 PM
he flipped a swing sweat upstate! he definitely has the potential, provided he gets any support now—so many once-promising NY Dems have rightly raged against the machine only to get lost in their own sauce
for *his* political future, absolutely
February 10, 2026 at 4:36 PM
for *his* political future, absolutely
I think Delgado's run def played a role in getting Hochul closer to Mamdani (who then saw how her rep improved just by her willingness to take *some* stands on things), but his journey from "beloved swing-district Dem" to "alienated from the local party" seems to me a wholly unforced error
February 10, 2026 at 4:36 PM
I think Delgado's run def played a role in getting Hochul closer to Mamdani (who then saw how her rep improved just by her willingness to take *some* stands on things), but his journey from "beloved swing-district Dem" to "alienated from the local party" seems to me a wholly unforced error