It’s the female gaze, stupid
Since July, at least 10 people have been shot by Dept. of Homeland Security officers, and three people have been killed. / The Washington Post [$]
Numerous ICE and Border Protection employees have sexual and violent criminal histories, including 20 involving underage victims. / The New Republic
Spencer Ackerman: Minnesota is showing the rest of the country that we can build political, social, and economic structures that pose actual alternatives. / Forever Wars
A cartoonist offers five ways to help vulnerable populations right now. / LA Taco
See also: “Your friends are still acting like everything is normal in America. What do you do?” / Vox [$]
Among the top 10 performing economies last year, seven were European. / Politico
Spain looks to make half a million undocumented migrants legal citizens. / Semafor
Meanwhile, California joins the World Health Organization (kinda). / NPR
In December, sales of fully electric vehicles surpassed those of gas-only for the first time in the European Union. / The Globe and Mail
Tesla says if humans can drive with vision alone, so can cars—which is pithy and memorable, “and in several ways misleading.” / Asterisk
Alyssa Battistoni: Pollution should be seen as an expression of capitalism’s core dynamics, and as a site of political struggle. / n+1
The number of US law school applicants is up 44 percent from just two years ago. In China, demand and social standing grow for vocational graduates. / The New York Times [$], Sixth Tone
Inside the lives of Indian tech workers suffering from burnout. “[My] mind is always online.” / rest of world
Saudi Arabia suspends construction of Riyadh’s cube-shaped skyscraper. / Reuters
James Turrell debuts a new “skyspace” in Denmark. / Colossal
How are vertical video “microdramas” succeeding where Quibi failed? “They’re basically OnlyFans for the female gaze.” / TechCrunch
And now a brief chat with new supporter Pat C.!
Pat, hi! Thanks so much for supporting. When did you start reading TMN? My memory is always jumbled nowadays, but I’m almost positive I subscribed to TMN originally because a friend of mine told me you had linked to one of my stories. It was 2022 and I was feeling especially nostalgic about life in the ’90s, and I wrote a series of essays about that time, including one about my friends’ band Modest Mouse. I think that’s the one you all linked to? I can’t find any evidence of it on the internet now, though. So maybe it was all a dream. Either way, I am pretty sure I subscribed then.
That Modest Mouse story is terrific! Any particular reason you decided to support today? This week I was reading the newsletter, like I have every morning since, when it occurred to me—I don’t want this to end. I really, really enjoy getting a fantastically curated list of links in my inbox each morning. Covering the news of the day, sure, but also links to stories that I would never find on my own. I’ve read so many good things because of your work delivered for free into my inbox. So I sent you all some money because it’s the least I can do for something I want to stick around.
Oh man, thank you, Pat! Thank you for what you guys are doing. Keep up the good work. I really appreciate it.
In the members area, unlocked links from the Washington Post, Vox, and the New York Times ↓