You still have made a choice

"Technically, all pandemic flus start as bird flus." Everything you never wanted to know about H5N1. / Astral Codex Ten

Following the user exodus from X, Russia's "Matryoshka" disinformation network heads to Bluesky, posting videos to undermine US support of Ukraine. / The Insider

A violent criminal hacking ring has been targeting an unexpected wealth of non-public data: U-Haul user accounts. / 404 Media

"The popular vote result was almost entirely a collapse in support for Harris and Democrats, not an increase in support for Trump and MAGA." America didn't swing right, according to a new electoral analysis. / Weekend Reading

From 2021: If war correspondents reported on the MAGA riots in the same way they reported on coup attempts in other countries. / McSweeney's

Perhaps whether we are free or fated, morality and politics, science and medicine, art and literature will all go their merry or melancholy ways, unaffected. New books on free will. / The Hedgehog Review

A new documentary and book chronicle how New Wave music played a vital role for Vietnamese Americans growing up in Orange County in the 1980s. / Hyperallergic

Thanks to Illinois's newest and largest solar farm, all of Chicago's city buildings now run on 100% clean power. / Grist

When a geologist fought with cartographers over how to accurately shade relief maps in order to account for natural sunlight. / Swiss National Museum

How to ditch Duolingo and actually learn Japanese: First, you're going to need a grammar guide. / Unseen Japan

See also: Why Japanese cities are truly awesome. / Noahpinion

Ana Gavrilovska's favorite jazz albums of 2024. / Sick Sad Motherslug

An advent-style calendar of everything entering the public domain in 2025. / The Public Domain Review

Where every line is exposition: a very Hallmark supercut Christmas. / YouTube


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Your headlines are sourced and composed by Rosecrans Baldwin and Andrew Womack (☜), Monday through Friday. View this edition and the latest headlines at TMN.