whet moser
@whetmoser.com
newsletters @ nyt. ex qz, chicago mag, chicago reader. i'm not a miracle worker, i'm a janitor
Reposted by whet moser
Oh my God you look great! Did you do a Faustian bargain too? You have got to tell me who your demon is
January 25, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Oh my God you look great! Did you do a Faustian bargain too? You have got to tell me who your demon is
Reposted by whet moser
I Consider Mids Loud--and I VOTE
January 26, 2026 at 8:27 PM
I Consider Mids Loud--and I VOTE
they won't even settle for the "classical liberal" dogwhistle anymore
January 26, 2026 at 8:29 PM
they won't even settle for the "classical liberal" dogwhistle anymore
Reposted by whet moser
had the great privilege of joining @bmluse.bsky.social and @wailinwong.bsky.social on today's episode of It's Been a Minute, talking through why the job market really does still suck despite topline (emphasis on topline) economic numbers looking sanguine as ever www.npr.org/2026/01/26/n...
You're not broken - the job market is. : It's Been a Minute
Job seekers are sending out hundreds of applications. Here’s why they’re not hearing back.The unemployment rate has been climbing over the past few years, but historically, it isn’t that high… Even so...
www.npr.org
January 26, 2026 at 8:15 PM
had the great privilege of joining @bmluse.bsky.social and @wailinwong.bsky.social on today's episode of It's Been a Minute, talking through why the job market really does still suck despite topline (emphasis on topline) economic numbers looking sanguine as ever www.npr.org/2026/01/26/n...
"Zerzan appeared interested mainly in the quantity of regulations that AI could produce" wait they want more regulations, i am so confused www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Government by AI? Trump Administration Plans to Write Regulations Using Artificial Intelligence
The Transportation Department, which oversees the safety of airplanes, cars and pipelines, plans to use Google Gemini to draft new regulations. “We don’t need the perfect rule,” said DOT’s top lawyer....
www.propublica.org
January 26, 2026 at 8:11 PM
"Zerzan appeared interested mainly in the quantity of regulations that AI could produce" wait they want more regulations, i am so confused www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Reposted by whet moser
some (rare) good news for the journalism industry: The Philadelphia Inquirer is profitable
www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...
www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...
Elizabeth Hughes: There is a path for Pittsburgh to save its newspaper
As publisher of The Inquirer, I believe that our own experience over the past decade offers a template for success.
www.inquirer.com
January 26, 2026 at 8:06 PM
some (rare) good news for the journalism industry: The Philadelphia Inquirer is profitable
www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...
www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...
Reposted by whet moser
Apply to become 100 Days' New Rural Landscape reporter by February 16 www.reportforamerica.org/reporters/
Reporters - Report for America
Apply now to be a Report for America corps member.
www.reportforamerica.org
January 26, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Apply to become 100 Days' New Rural Landscape reporter by February 16 www.reportforamerica.org/reporters/
dystopian thompson center
Amazing that the MTA spent $1.4 billion building a mall that they can’t even manage to keep occupied at one of the most prime locations on earth, and it wasn’t any sort of scandal that tarred anybody’s reputation or made anybody think twice about how the agency operates
January 26, 2026 at 7:53 PM
dystopian thompson center
oh this is great news
We've been selected as a 2026 Report for America newsroom partner.
We'll hire a reporter to investigate the effects of modern industry in Appalachia across environmental, economic and other systemic impacts that make up our region’s current dystopian landscape.
We'll hire a reporter to investigate the effects of modern industry in Appalachia across environmental, economic and other systemic impacts that make up our region’s current dystopian landscape.
January 26, 2026 at 7:52 PM
oh this is great news
Reposted by whet moser
@gilmored85.bsky.social calls it audience capture, and he's right
there's a ton of value to LLMs but you have to be an anchored, whole person to use them effectively. this stuff is a symptom of not being that and the epistemic closure in the Valley and SF specifically is a brainmelter
there's a ton of value to LLMs but you have to be an anchored, whole person to use them effectively. this stuff is a symptom of not being that and the epistemic closure in the Valley and SF specifically is a brainmelter
A sentence from hell:
“people in SF are putting multi-agent claudeswarms in charge of their lives, consulting chatbots before every decision, wireheading to a degree only sci-fi writers dared to imagine.”
“people in SF are putting multi-agent claudeswarms in charge of their lives, consulting chatbots before every decision, wireheading to a degree only sci-fi writers dared to imagine.”
January 26, 2026 at 7:52 PM
@gilmored85.bsky.social calls it audience capture, and he's right
there's a ton of value to LLMs but you have to be an anchored, whole person to use them effectively. this stuff is a symptom of not being that and the epistemic closure in the Valley and SF specifically is a brainmelter
there's a ton of value to LLMs but you have to be an anchored, whole person to use them effectively. this stuff is a symptom of not being that and the epistemic closure in the Valley and SF specifically is a brainmelter
Reposted by whet moser
yeah this was a tech issue not a political issue arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Data center power outage took out TikTok first weekend under US ownership
US TikTok users experienced a wide range of errors, sparking conspiracies.
arstechnica.com
January 26, 2026 at 7:49 PM
yeah this was a tech issue not a political issue arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Reposted by whet moser
*starts playing Ginuwine's Pony*
January 26, 2026 at 7:46 PM
*starts playing Ginuwine's Pony*
Reposted by whet moser
new w/ @erikwemple.bsky.social: The Washington Post has reversed course on its Olympics coverage — again
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/b...
Washington Post Reverses Decision on Olympics Coverage
www.nytimes.com
January 26, 2026 at 7:45 PM
new w/ @erikwemple.bsky.social: The Washington Post has reversed course on its Olympics coverage — again
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/b...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/b...
Reposted by whet moser
That’s like 2008 levels of bloodbath
January 26, 2026 at 7:12 PM
That’s like 2008 levels of bloodbath
Reposted by whet moser
Whooo boy. Another Nixon Shock parallel. Spoooooky.
Looks like we're doing another round of "should foreigners get their official gold out of the U.S.?," given Trump's isolating attacks on America's allies.
Germany urged to repatriate £122bn in gold from Trump’s ‘risky’ America
Germany has been urged to withdraw gold worth more than £100bn from American vaults because Donald Trump’s unpredictability has made keeping it there too “risky”.
www.yahoo.com
January 26, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Whooo boy. Another Nixon Shock parallel. Spoooooky.
given how many bad decisions people in san francisco make, maybe if they're all using a statistical conventional wisdom machine like AI to claudeswarm their wireheading it'll actually be an improvement
January 26, 2026 at 7:18 PM
given how many bad decisions people in san francisco make, maybe if they're all using a statistical conventional wisdom machine like AI to claudeswarm their wireheading it'll actually be an improvement
Reposted by whet moser
For political journos / editors hit by this awful media moment, fyi:
vox iso exec editor
vox iso exec editor
Executive Editor, Vox
Remote (US Only)
job-boards.greenhouse.io
January 26, 2026 at 7:14 PM
For political journos / editors hit by this awful media moment, fyi:
vox iso exec editor
vox iso exec editor
Reposted by whet moser
The other thing to take into account: Homan at least has credibility among the rank-and-file of DHS given he was a career official, unlike Kristi Noem or Lewandowski, who are political appointees.
if Tom "Cava Bag" Homan is your emergency crisis comms guy, you're fucked
January 26, 2026 at 6:53 PM
The other thing to take into account: Homan at least has credibility among the rank-and-file of DHS given he was a career official, unlike Kristi Noem or Lewandowski, who are political appointees.
everyone trying to get right with god now
“I have the cultivated the information environment of a baby hummingbird. Just sweet nectar all over.”
January 26, 2026 at 6:59 PM
everyone trying to get right with god now
Reposted by whet moser
a theory about our great crime decline which, if true, could mean the conditions allowing it might not last much longer www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
January 26, 2026 at 6:45 PM
a theory about our great crime decline which, if true, could mean the conditions allowing it might not last much longer www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Reposted by whet moser
For non-Tony Thomas knowers
January 26, 2026 at 6:26 PM
For non-Tony Thomas knowers
Reposted by whet moser
dawg tony fucking thomas?
wow a guy who was evidently the former head of SOCOM under trump 1 has been (sorta) fed posting at admin officials the last day as well
January 26, 2026 at 6:20 PM
dawg tony fucking thomas?
Reposted by whet moser
The world’s first pocket music player was this tiny Mikiphone from the 1920s. A gramophone like machine.
www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/...
Invented by Hungarian siblings Miklós and Étienne Vadász though produced in Switzerland.
It could fit in a pocket, though only played 10” records.
www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/...
Invented by Hungarian siblings Miklós and Étienne Vadász though produced in Switzerland.
It could fit in a pocket, though only played 10” records.
January 26, 2026 at 5:49 PM
The world’s first pocket music player was this tiny Mikiphone from the 1920s. A gramophone like machine.
www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/...
Invented by Hungarian siblings Miklós and Étienne Vadász though produced in Switzerland.
It could fit in a pocket, though only played 10” records.
www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/...
Invented by Hungarian siblings Miklós and Étienne Vadász though produced in Switzerland.
It could fit in a pocket, though only played 10” records.
Reposted by whet moser
I have Catholic mommy bloggers now anti-ICE posting on my stories.
The gender gap for the midterms is going to be INSANE.
The gender gap for the midterms is going to be INSANE.
🚨ALERT🚨 They have lost the Mormon mommy bloggers 🚨🚨🚨
January 26, 2026 at 5:56 PM
I have Catholic mommy bloggers now anti-ICE posting on my stories.
The gender gap for the midterms is going to be INSANE.
The gender gap for the midterms is going to be INSANE.
Reposted by whet moser
Oh man. Writing the Marley piece I listened to a LOT of Sly Dunbar, the man who moved reggae past the one-drop and (with Robbie Shakespeare) formed one of the most incredible rhythm sections/production duos ever. RIP
January 26, 2026 at 5:54 PM
Oh man. Writing the Marley piece I listened to a LOT of Sly Dunbar, the man who moved reggae past the one-drop and (with Robbie Shakespeare) formed one of the most incredible rhythm sections/production duos ever. RIP