Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · 6h

Rare case of someone who should lose their job because of AI

Luke Plunkett @lukeplunkett.com · 8h

kids teacher just sent this home as part of an assignment he's doing and i want to smash every computer at the school

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Reposted by Oli Franklin-Wallis

Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 11h

Every one of these "If only it were possible to..." plugs for AI is animated by an incredibly deep resentment of either talent or authorship.

Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social · 2d

Despite early, and familiar, copyright growing pains, Sora may be the prelude to AI-generated on-demand TV and movies

Want to See Marilyn Monroe in Game of Thrones? AI Could Make It Soon

Despite early, and familiar, copyright growing pains, Sora may be the prelude to AI-generated on-demand TV and movies

www.scientificamerican.com

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Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · 2d

I’m not the person to ask for hair care, but I think the Faith In Nature ones are great.

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Erica @briteeyedviolet.bsky.social · 3d

Does anyone use solid shampoo and/or conditioner?

I’ve been trying them out and would appreciate more recommendations.

(So far Grom or Hair Blocks are winning, but I’m not 100% won round yet.)

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Reposted by Oli Franklin-Wallis

Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 7d

As for this - in other words the government would rather we offshore our operations instead of generating jobs and exports in a high productivity sector in the UK. I despair...

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Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · 7d

This is the best magazine profile I've read in - oh, I don't know how long. Makes you nostalgic. Even if you don't care a jot about Ken Burns or his films (I've never even seen one), find some time for this. www.gq.com/story/ken-bu...

Ken Burns Loves America—and You Can, Too

Ken Burns’s obsession with this country can be felt in all 234 hours of his roughly 40 films—including his latest mega-doc, The American Revolution. At a moment when we are once again arguing about th...

www.gq.com

Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · 21d

This is just another masterful piece of writing by @tomlamont.bsky.social. Fascinating, entertaining, poetic, human. www.theguardian.com/news/2025/se...

The human stain remover: what Britain’s greatest extreme cleaner learned from 25 years on the job | Tom Lamont

From murder scenes to whale blubber, Ben Giles has seen it – and cleaned it – all. In their stickiest hours, people rely on him to restore order

www.theguardian.com

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Erica @briteeyedviolet.bsky.social · 25d

Finished reading Wasteland by @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social.
It’s excellently researched, beautifully written and very informative. It’s taken me a while because at times the topic was as bleak as you’d expect, but I am so glad I read it.
I feel better able to make my own small difference.

A photograph of a paperback book, in a hand, in a garden. The cover is light blue and contains an image of a squashed, blue-tinged plastic bottle that I assume would’ve contained water. It includes the words: Oliver Franklin-Wallis, Wasteland, and a few quotes of praise for the book.

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Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · 21d

Thanks for reading! Sorry about the bleak…

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Nick Kristof @nickkristof.bsky.social · 29d

An @nytimes investigation finds staggering levels of insider dealing: The Trump administration confers benefits on the UAE (despite security concerns) as the UAE confers riches on the Trump family. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/u...

Anatomy of Two Giant Deals: The U.A.E. Got Chips. The Trump Team Got Crypto Riches.

www.nytimes.com

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · Sep 6

It’s not enough. They should pay the $150k fine per book.

Anthropic Agrees to Pay $1.5 Billion to Settle Lawsuit With Book Authors

www.nytimes.com

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Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · Sep 5

You're right - I mispoke. I mean, abandon the manifesto pledges (no tax changes), not the fiscal rules. (Though those are also stupid, a straightjacket of our own creation.)

Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · Sep 5

Starmer should now appoint Reeves as Deputy PM, use her change of position to renegotiate the fiscal rules, suck up six months of shit press for it, and actually start doing some policy rather than this ming vase government.

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Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · Sep 5

The timing of this is objectively quite funny.

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Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · Sep 4

I have a version of this conversation about three times a month.

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Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · Sep 4

Having a fact-checking team is perhaps my favourite part about working at @gqmagazine.bsky.social, and this piece about the @newyorker.com's infamous fact-checking department captures some of the joys of the process. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

The History of The New Yorker’s Vaunted Fact-Checking Department

Reporters engage in charm and betrayal; checkers are in the harm-reduction business.

www.newyorker.com

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Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · Sep 4

This is an insane caper (emailing Mi5 from the Apple Store! A fake bomb hoax! Dead-drops in poo bags!). Make time to read it.

Will Coldwell @willcoldwell.bsky.social · Sep 4

When Daniel Khalife, a British soldier accused of spying for Iran, escaped from Wandsworth Prison, he became a social media celebrity... Was he a threat to national security? Or just a mixed up kid?

My latest for GQ, a story of angst and espionage...

www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/dani...

Daniel Khalife: Fugitive, Traitor? Soldier, Spy

When Daniel Khalife, a British soldier accused of spying for Iran, escaped from Wandsworth Prison, he became a social media celebrity. But the wild true story of his arrest, escape and recapture revea...

www.gq-magazine.co.uk

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Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · Aug 15

The plastics treaty has failed again. The petrostates are using waste and recycling as a distraction - it will allow them to keep producing in perpetuity. Hard to feel hopeful when the lobby has America’s backing.

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Brian Tyler Cohen @briantylercohen.bsky.social · Aug 14

Armed Trump administration agents wearing masks just showed up outside of Gavin Newsom’s press conference.

This is what rising fascism looks like.

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Reposted by Oli Franklin-Wallis

Ryan Broderick @ryanhatesthis.bsky.social · Aug 14

This is a nightmare

Reuters @reuters.com · Aug 14

A cognitively impaired New Jersey man grew infatuated with a Meta chatbot originally created in partnership with celebrity influencer Kendall Jenner. His fatal attraction shines a light on Meta's guidelines for its AI chatbots reut.rs/45DQIRj
@jeffhorwitz.bsky.social

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Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · Aug 14

I posted about not posting. (Or: ‘why being offline as a creative is career suicide’) open.substack.com/pub/oliverfr...

The problem with not posting

I’ve not really posted much lately.

open.substack.com

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Eliza Barclay @elizabarclay.bsky.social · Aug 7

"This is a high-stakes moment for anyone invested in what plastics might be doing to our health." Read @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social's latest for us! nytimes.com/2025/08/07/o...

Opinion | Two Words: Plastics Treaty

Even if the jury on microplastics is still out, there is enough evidence of the harmful effects of chemical additives in plastics for the U.N. to act now.

nytimes.com

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Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · Aug 7

We don’t know exactly what plastics are doing to us. But the evidence is bad enough for us to act now. My essay for @nytopinion.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/o...

Opinion | Two Words: Plastics Treaty

www.nytimes.com

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Samuel Roberts @samuelwroberts.bsky.social · Jun 18

Sharing this for the simple reason that it's worth knowing about. This will kill parts of the internet you dislike, but it will kill a much larger part that you probably value.

Thomas Germain @thomasgermain.bsky.social · Jun 16

Google has a new button. It might destroy the web as you know it. Experts say the new “AI Mode” is an asteroid aimed at the heart of the internet, one that could decimate millions of websites. It seems this chapter of online history is over. Here’s what comes next: www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Is Google about to destroy the web?

Google says adding more AI to its search engine will rejuvenate the internet. Others predict an apocalypse for websites. One thing is clear: this era of online history is closing.

www.bbc.com

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Oli Franklin-Wallis @olifranklinwallis.bsky.social · Jun 18

This is great. www.vulture.com/article/atte...

How I’m Fixing My Broken Attention Span

The infinite scroll has ruined our ability to focus. Is wasting more time the key to getting it back?

www.vulture.com

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