<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Metaphors Are Lies: Sunday Good Reads]]></title><description><![CDATA[Links to stuff I enjoyed reading.  On Sundays.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/s/sunday-good-reads</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png</url><title>Metaphors Are Lies: Sunday Good Reads</title><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/s/sunday-good-reads</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2026 20:45:47 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Kevin Raybould]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[metaphors.are.lies09@gmail.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[metaphors.are.lies09@gmail.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[metaphors.are.lies09@gmail.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[metaphors.are.lies09@gmail.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for July 5th, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Happy 4th of July to all who celebrate!]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-july-4th-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-july-4th-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 05 Jul 2026 13:09:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Happy 4th of July to all who celebrate!</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://give.doctorswithoutborders.org/campaign/816122/donate?c_src=ADL266U8D229&amp;utm_source=SFMC&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;c_src2=SFMC.email.2026-06-29-Venezuela-RR-Lapsed-E5&amp;utm_campaign=2026-06-29-Venezuela-RR-Lapsed-E5">Donate to MSF</a>:  This is to help Doctors Without Borders help the victims of the Venezuelan earthquakes.</p><p><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/147907/let-america-be-america-again">Let America Be America Again | The Poetry Foundation</a>:  A perfect expression of American patriotism.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/science/957630/omb-killing-science-budget-grants-research">The war against &#8216;woke&#8217; could end US science as we know it | The Verge</a>:  Conservatives would rather their feelings be coddled and than cure diseases or understand the world.</p><p><a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-supreme-courts-corruption-must-be-broken">The Supreme Court&#8217;s Corruption Must Be Broken - TPM &#8211; Talking Points Memo</a>:  Another fine expression of American patriotism.</p><p><a href="https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/bosses-obsessed-with-ai">Bosses Are Becoming Obsessed With AI, Using It to Make Every Decision, Barraging Their Employees With Nonsensical ChatGPT Directives, and Even Asking It Who to Fire</a>:  There is a non-zero chance that obsessive imitative AI usage among the management class is permanently destroying American competitiveness.</p><p><a href="https://ew.com/supergirl-is-a-good-movie-backlash-opinion-12009121">'Supergirl' is good &#8212; so why is everyone acting like it's awful?</a>:  Thoughtful review of both the movie and the rotten internet culture that drives so much meaningless conflict.</p><p><a href="https://gizmodo.com/heres-why-weather-forecasts-have-seemed-so-inaccurate-lately-2000779436">Here's Why Weather Forecasts Have Seemed So Inaccurate Lately</a>:  Oh, hey.  Musk and Trump fsked your weather forecasts.  Shame if you rely on them to say, grow food or stay safe.</p><p><a href="https://www.cupofcoffeenews.com/cup-of-coffee-extra/">Cup of Coffee Extra</a>:  Racism is bad.  We need to start saying that unabashedly again.  It is no longer assumed.</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/c0nc0rdance.bsky.social/post/3mpo6mvylp227">Post by @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social &#8212; Bluesky</a>:  Science is as old as human beings.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7405441/2026/07/02/http-ron-weaver-mckelvey-texas-football-fake-name/">The 30-year-old who fooled Texas and played for the Longhorns under a fake name - The Athletic</a>:  Well, that&#8217;s one way to live your dream.</p><p><a href="https://lydialaurenson.substack.com/p/the-inside-story-of-leverage-research?r=g8sc&amp;utm_medium=ios&amp;triedRedirect=true">The Inside Story Of Leverage Research 1.0</a>:  So, so much of Silicon Valley and associated industries and belief systems, like effective altruism, are bug nuts.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-july-4th-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-july-4th-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for June 28th, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[How is this year only half over?]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-28th-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-28th-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 28 Jun 2026 12:07:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>How is this year only half over?</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/princesses">Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Princesses</a>:  The problem with strong female characters &#8230;.</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/post/206857/georgia-voter-fraud-elon-musk">Turns Out There Was Voter Fraud in Georgia&#8212;by Elon Musk | The New Republic</a>:  If we want our society to work again, rich people need to start going to jail for their crimes.</p><p><a href="https://countercraft.substack.com/p/there-are-more-than-five-povs?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=284412&amp;post_id=190067417&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">There Are More than Five POVs - by Lincoln Michel</a>:  Interesting craft note.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/950844/vibe-coding-security-risks-apps">Read this before you vibe-code another app | The Verge</a>:  Imitative AI is walking us into a security apocalypse.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/opinion/office-work-wfh-bosses.html?smid=bsky-nytopinion&amp;smtyp=cur">Opinion | The Secret Reason Bosses Want Everyone Back in the Office, Every Day of the Week - The New York Times</a>:  Hint &#8212; it is not productivity.</p><p><a href="https://www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-not-to-defeat-authoritarianism/">How Not to Defeat Authoritarianism - Boston Review</a>:  thoughtful piece on the value of policy, attitude, and labels on voters.</p><p><a href="https://www.everythingishorrible.net/p/my-daughters-friends?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=874254&amp;post_id=203194601&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">My Daughter's Friends - by Noah Berlatsky</a>:  Lovely piece on parenting and growing up.  Also, Noah is having a sale, so go subscribe.</p><p><a href="https://www.wheresyoured.at/cargo-culture/">Cargo Culture</a>:  A good explanation for why imitative AI has swarmed the tech financing world.</p><p><a href="https://www.wafb.com/2026/06/23/new-orleans-man-becomes-first-louisiana-functionally-cured-sickle-cell-disease/?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=bluesky_">New Orleans man becomes first in Louisiana functionally cured of sickle cell disease</a>:  Science is amazing.</p><p><a href="https://www.syracuse.com/news/2026/06/federal-agents-track-down-syracuse-woman-demand-she-remove-instagram-post-about-ice.html">Federal agents track down Syracuse woman, demand she remove Instagram post about ICE - syracuse.com</a>:  We do not live in a free society of agents of the state are allowed to intimidate people over talking about publically available information.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7391151/2026/06/26/mexico-disappeared-world-cup/">Special report: Searching for Mexico&#8217;s disappeared in the shadow of the World Cup - The Athletic</a>:  Heartbreaking but important story.</p><p><a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5941650-sanders-releases-hhs-emails/">Sanders releases emails showing RFK Jr.'s vaccine influence</a>:  RFK jr doesn&#8217;t care of your kids live or die.</p><p><a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/centrists-this-is-on-you">&#8216;Centrists,&#8217; This Is on You - TPM &#8211; Talking Points Memo</a>:  As long as centrist is synonymous with cowardice, people are going to turn elsewhere.</p><p><a href="https://newjerseyglobe.com/media/nearly-400-local-newspapers-sue-openai-microsoft-over-alleged-copyright-theft/">Nearly 400 local newspapers sue OpenAI, Microsoft over alleged copyright theft - New Jersey Globe</a>:  The details of this make it pretty clear OpenAI knew what it was doing was wrong.  Now the only question is if it is too rich to be punished.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-28th-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-28th-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads For June 21st, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Happy Father&#8217;s Day for those who celebrate.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-21st-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-21st-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 21 Jun 2026 11:43:28 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Happy Father&#8217;s Day for those who celebrate.  </p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/did-a-medieval-flying-monk-spot-halleys-comet-twice-its-complicated/">Did a medieval flying monk spot Halley's comet, twice? It's complicated - Ars Technica</a>:  The past is a weird, weird place.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/column/948594/solid-state-batteries-semi-solid-state">Solid-state batteries still aren&#8217;t ready, but gels are | The Verge</a>:  Science will save us al.</p><p><a href="https://rapscallison.substack.com/p/book-of-reggelations?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=388592&amp;post_id=201996614&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">book of reggelations - by Allison Epstein</a>:  A new Dirtbag Through the Ages!  Funniest histories on the internet.</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/211819/2028-democrats-litmus-test-billionaires">2028 Democrats Litmus Test: Billionaires, I&#8217;m Coming After Your Money | The New Republic</a>:  Billionaires are a public policy failure.</p><p><a href="https://prospect.org/2026/06/12/new-documents-detail-nine-figure-silicon-valley-funded-abundance-movement/">New Documents Detail Nine-Figure, Silicon Valley&#8211;Funded Abundance Movement - The American Prospect</a>:  Surprising no one, the movement to get rid of regulations meant ot protect people and the environment is a front for rich people.</p><p><a href="https://www.wheresyoured.at/brokenomics/?ref=ed-zitrons-wheres-your-ed-at-newsletter">AI's Brokenomics</a>:  Good explanation of how the AI economy is likely to fail.</p><p><a href="https://www.thebroncosblitz.com/nfl-wants-to-attract-women-fans-but-league-has-a-domestic-violence-problem/">NFL Wants To Attract Women Fans, but League has a Domestic Violence Problem</a>:  Just what it says on the tin.</p><p><a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2026/06/15/texas-republican-party-convention-muslims-sharia-law/">Muslims at Texas GOP Convention told to leave party, country</a>:  Yes, they will eat your face, too.</p><p><a href="https://campaign-trails.ghost.io/a-tale-of-two-cities/">A Tale of Two Cities</a>:  Good discussion of what makes America America.</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.substack.com/p/hunter-bidens-version-of-sobriety?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=1520659&amp;post_id=202330790&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">Hunter Biden&#8217;s Version of Sobriety Is Way Better Than Donald Trump&#8217;s</a>:  Very thoughtful piece.</p><p><a href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/ai-economics-for-dummies?utm_content=buffer54506&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=bufferapp.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer">AI Economics for Dummies - McSweeney&#8217;s Internet Tendency</a>:  A finnier explanation of how the AI economy is likely to fail.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/05/your-doctors-ai-notetaker-may-be-making-things-up-ontario-audit-finds/">Your doctor&#8217;s AI notetaker may be making things up, Ontario audit finds - Ars Technica</a>:  Accuracy in medicine isn&#8217;t important, is it?</p><p><a href="https://www.planetearthandbeyond.co/p/ai-is-too-expensive-to-replace-us?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">AI Is Too Expensive To Replace Us</a>:  Even more ways the AI economy is likely to fail.</p><p><a href="https://www.404media.co/if-ai-is-sentient-then-so-is-age-of-empires-ii/">If AI Is Sentient Then So Is &#8216;Age of Empires II&#8217;</a>:  A very clever bit of work.</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2026/06/jd-vance-communion-faith-trump/687571/?gift=jQN1t1D1nkO2TQodBiz5KOar3dioWmKbkh7CBlBHQoE&amp;utm_source=copy-link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=share">Are You There, God? It&#8217;s Me, J. D. Vance, and I Have Some Notes. - The Atlantic</a>:  Alexandra Petri is a national treasure.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/06/hunter-gatherers-in-siberia-died-of-a-plague-outbreak-5500-years-ago/">Hunter-gatherers in Siberia died of a plague outbreak 5,500 years ago - Ars Technica</a>:  Science is fascinating and kind of gross.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/942854/apple-vehicle-motion-cues-review-really-work">Apple&#8217;s weird anti-nausea dots cured my car sickness | The Verge</a>:  This si brilliant.</p><p><a href="https://aftermath.site/fifa-world-cup-launch-edition-netflix-review-impressions/">Netflix's FIFA World Cup Video Game Is A Modern Hellscape And An Embarrassment To Everyone Involved</a>:  Money ruins everything.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/column/952744/optimizer-sunscreen-bemotrizinol-fda-health">Our long national sunscreen nightmare is almost over | The Verge</a>:  MY grandfather died of skin cancer &#8212; wear these new, much improved sunscreens.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-21st-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-21st-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for June 14th, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Many words, none of them about the Knicks.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-14th-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-14th-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2026 11:15:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Many words, none of them about the Knicks.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/seven-brides-for-seven-brothers-an-explainer?utm_content=buffer7981f&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=bufferapp.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer">Seven Brides for Seven Brothers: An Explainer - McSweeney&#8217;s Internet Tendency</a>:  the past is a foreign country.  A horrific, terrifying foreign country.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/features/940977/trans-teens-pediatric-care-closing">Trans teens have something to say | The Verge</a>:  Good on the Verge for paying attention to these kids in a story about them.</p><p><a href="https://docseuss.medium.com/have-you-heard-of-the-wizards-game-66e59d54d051">have you heard of the wizard&#8217;s game? | by Doc Burford | May, 2026 | Medium</a>:  Nice description of the principles behind game design.</p><p><a href="https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/stop-writing-open-letters-to-substack?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=1085754&amp;post_id=200952193&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">Stop Writing Open Letters to Substack - by Cole Haddon</a>:  You cannot fight systems by appealing to their owners.</p><p><a href="https://acoup.blog/2026/06/05/collections-pre-modern-armies-for-worldbuilders-part-i-why-they-fight/">Collections: Pre-Modern Armies for Worldbuilders, Part I: Why They Fight &#8211; A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry</a>:  the start of another fascinating series by Dr. Devereaux.</p><p><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/all-the-ways-europe-is-ditching-american-technology/?utm_source=nl&amp;utm_brand=wired&amp;utm_mailing=WIR_Daily_060826&amp;utm_campaign=aud-dev&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=WIR_Daily_060826&amp;bxid=5be9f07524c17c6adf0cca6d&amp;cndid=54255089&amp;hasha=c88bc67332fd559f6ecbc9f401fbd532&amp;hashc=2a94769aa65cd6b54cee77b7df3f08add3346d90fc341b6c4ddcd737b020cfed&amp;esrc=AUTO_PRINT&amp;utm_term=WIR_Daily_Active">All the Ways Europe Is Ditching American Technology | WIRED</a>:  Blue states could do this, too.</p><p><a href="https://www.offmessage.net/p/confront-trumps-california-election-lies-karen-bass-nithya-raman-spencer-pratt-kristen-welker-meet-the-press?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=1172514&amp;post_id=201031354&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">Confront Trump's California Election Lies</a>:  Dems need to use this stupidity to try and bury the election denialism.</p><p><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/06/15/andrew-tates-empire-of-abuse">Andrew Tate&#8217;s Empire of Abuse | The New Yorker</a>:  This is horrific and it reminds you that Trump deliberately acted to help Tate get out of confinement.</p><p><a href="https://www.wheresyoured.at/ai-is-slowing-down/?ref=ed-zitrons-wheres-your-ed-at-newsletter">AI Is Slowing Down</a>:  I wonder if ChatGPT can spell bubble?</p><p><a href="https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/48994598/nhl-stanley-cup-2026-dog-names-puns">Ranking every dog name and pun from the 2026 'Stanley Pup' - ESPN</a>:  This is quality journalism.</p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4gd2eyvp1o">I wrote a poem about my son - years later it appeared on his exam</a>:  This is amazing.</p><p><a href="https://www.404media.co/judge-learns-lawyers-on-both-sides-of-case-used-ai-cancels-trial-kicks-everyone-off-the-case/">Judge Learns Lawyers on Both Sides of Case Used AI, Cancels Trial, Kicks Everyone Off the Case</a>:  We are so screwed.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/10/magazine/trump-epstein-files-white-house-vance-doj.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pVA.yjju.bhRQa-bWtwJ6&amp;smid=nytcore-ios-share">Inside Trump&#8217;s White House, the Epstein Files Caused a Freakout - The New York Times</a>:  Man, its harder and harder to believe Trump was not an active participant with Epstein.</p><p><a href="https://www.gelliottmorris.com/p/2026-06-12-dem-voters-moderate-and-socialist?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=6273&amp;post_id=201713923&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">Democratic voters want the party to be more moderate &#8212; and more socialist?</a>:  Data is not the answers, it is an input.</p><p><a href="https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/huh-2">Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Huh</a>:  This would explain so much &#8230;.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/949259/the-worlds-first-trillionaire-is-a-killer">The world&#8217;s first trillionaire is a killer | The Verge </a>:  Succinct and accurate.</p><p><a href="https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/orange-cats-are-very-genetically-unique-indeed/">Orange Cats Are Genetically Unlike Any Other Mammal and Now We Know Why</a>:  Science is cool.</p><p><a href="https://buttondown.com/charliejane/archive/how-to-bring-back-doctor-who/">How to Bring Back Doctor Who &#8226; Buttondown</a>:  Someone put Charlie Jane Anders in charge of Doctor Who.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-14th-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-14th-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for June 7th, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Onto the words!]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-7th-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-7th-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 07 Jun 2026 12:18:27 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Onto the words!</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.change.org/p/shut-down-delaney-hall-0a713691-3c33-467e-a418-ee57fd9ef2e8">Petition &#183; Shut down Delaney hall - United States &#183; Change.org</a>:  Something you can do to help the issue at Delaney Hall.  Yeah, its a petition, but these kinds of  public shows of support help strengthen, sometimes, polticians&#8217; spines.</p><p><a href="https://www.404media.co/hackers-simply-asked-meta-ai-to-give-them-access-to-high-profile-instagram-accounts-it-worked/">Hackers Simply Asked Meta AI to Give Them Access to High-Profile Instagram Accounts. It Worked</a>:  My friends in security do not sleep peacefully anymore.</p><p><a href="https://www.gelliottmorris.com/p/2026-01-01-how-many-republicans-dem-need-texas?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=6273&amp;post_id=200190978&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">How many Trump voters does James Talarico need in order to win the Texas U.S. Senate race?</a>:  Interesting and surprising math.</p><p><a href="https://www.404media.co/microsoft-wants-to-make-people-addicted-to-scout-its-new-ai-assistant-internal-documents-reveal/">Microsoft Wants to 'Make People Addicted' to its New AI Assistant, Internal Documents Reveal</a>: These design patterns need to be outlawed.</p><p><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/he-blew-the-whistle-on-doge-then-his-brakes-were-cut/">He Blew the Whistle on DOGE. Then His Brakes Were Cut | WIRED</a>:  Violence is becoming, more and more, a tool of the right wing.</p><p><a href="https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/bari-weiss-cbs-scott-pelley-marisa-kabas?utm_source=www.thehandbasket.co&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=a-tale-of-two-media-women&amp;_bhlid=dc151350f94c76305d7e0c9898075a8a3f69b634">A tale of two media women</a>:  excellent piece on the value of journalism and what happens when a &#8220;jounralist&#8221; lacks morals.</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/philosophy/2026/06/no-artificial-intelligence-is-not-conscious/687378/">No, Artificial Intelligence Is Not Conscious - The Atlantic</a>:  Ted Chiang makes the case eloquently</p><p><a href="https://www.publicnotice.co/p/trump-madness">Why does the media ignore Trump&#8217;s madness?</a>:  Our press is incapable of reporting certain subjects honestly.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/942629/as-ai-gets-better-it-reveals-an-empty-promise">As AI gets better, it reveals an empty promise | The Verge</a>:  Thoughtful rumination on tech in a broken world.</p><p><a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/06/05/1138427/are-ai-chatbots-making-us-lose-control-of-our-brains/">Are AI chatbots making us lose control of our brains? | MIT Technology Review</a>: Spolier: yes.  But the mechanism is interesting.</p><p><a href="https://willrobinson.substack.com/p/the-internet-has-crossed-a-line?r=219cz0&amp;utm_medium=ios&amp;triedRedirect=true">The Internet Has Crossed a Line</a>:  You are arguing with a bot.</p><p><a href="https://reactormag.com/every-human-in-star-wars-is-really-a-humanoid-bee//">Every Human in Star Wars is Really a Humanoid Bee - Reactor</a>:  It disturbs me how plausible this feels.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-7th-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-june-7th-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for May 31st, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[This year is both moving incredibly quickly and never-ending.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-31st-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-31st-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 31 May 2026 11:10:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>This year is both moving incredibly quickly and never-ending.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/22/you-can-no-longer-google-the-word-disregard/">You can no longer Google the word 'disregard' | TechCrunch</a>:  Has any hyped technology ever been this bad?</p><p><a href="https://unicornriot.ninja/2023/fbi-bookstore-spying-in-chicago-eyes-abortion-rights-cop-city-anti-development-activists/">FBI Bookstore Spying in Chicago Eyes Abortion Rights, Cop City, Anti-Development Activists - UNICORN RIOT</a>:  the FBI, protecting us form local bookstores since 1941.</p><p><a href="https://www.wideleft.football/p/the-cowardice-of-political-incuriosity?utm_campaign=email-half-post&amp;r=misi&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">The Cowardice of Political Incuriosity - by Arif Hasan</a>:  Excellent look at how being &#8220;above&#8221; politics as a reporter merely allows bad actors to escape scrutiny.</p><p><a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/america-us-donald-trump-way-of-war-isnt-working/">America&#8217;s way of war isn&#8217;t working &#8211; POLITICO</a>:  It really looks like the Trump admin is completely unable to adjust ot the reality of modern war.</p><p><a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/48866788/how-nba-championship-finals-rosters-built-draft-free-agency-trades-spurs-outlier">How NBA championship rosters are built: Spurs are an outlier - ESPN</a>:  It doesn&#8217;t look as if tanking works, at least in the NBA.  As a Blackhawk fan I really hope this isn&#8217;t true in the NHL.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/opinion/writing-creativity-ai.html?unlocked_article_code=1.llA.BkU_.lDueKGlxd_x2&amp;smid=url-share">Opinion | Writing Is Fundamental to How We Think - The New York Times</a>:  Imitative AI stifles your own creativity.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/05/26/opinion/wealth-tax-california-billionaire.html?unlocked_article_code=1.lVA.-VIu.j9h4eNpJSDd5&amp;smid=url-share">Opinion | The Case for California&#8217;s Billionaire Wealth Tax - The New York Times</a>:  A compelling case.</p><p><a href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ai-ignore-evidence-trust-science">AI bots ignore evidence. Can we trust them with science?</a>:  Guess that whole imitative AI will cure cancer isn&#8217;t going so great, huh?</p><p><a href="https://www.theregister.com/ai-ml/2026/05/27/ai-hiring-algorithms-reject-black-asian-job-seekers-at-higher-rates/5247387?utm_source=dlvr.it&amp;utm_medium=bluesky">AI hiring algorithms reject Black, Asian job seekers at higher rates</a>:  And imitative IA is really racist, too!</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7315282/2026/05/28/jannik-sinner-tennis-heat-impact/">Jannik Sinner might have a heat problem, but tennis has a bigger one - The Athletic</a>:  Climate change is coming for your favorite sports.</p><p><a href="https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/delaney-hall-hunger-strike-newark-new-jersey-ice-violence-protests?utm_source=www.thehandbasket.co&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=starved-smashed-and-bloodied-the-violence-at-ice-s-delaney-hall&amp;_bhlid=201e35506b6891ce62dcdc8030d4d1b2285836ab">Starved, smashed and bloodied: The violence at ICE&#8217;s Delaney Hall</a>:  ICE is running concentration camps.</p><p><a href="https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/week-one-in-250-to-250?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=20533&amp;post_id=199822730&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">Week One in 250 to 250</a>:  A wonderful tribute to the actual USA.</p><p>Have a the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-31st-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-31st-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for Sunday May 24th.]]></title><description><![CDATA[Happy Memorial Day to Americans.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-sunday-may</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-sunday-may</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 24 May 2026 14:10:25 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Happy Memorial Day to Americans.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.offmessage.net/p/bracing-for-the-next-redemption-polis-trump">Bracing For The Next Redemption - by Brian Beutler</a>:  Excellent analysis.</p><p><a href="https://markharbinger.substack.com/p/magic-thinking-and-the-divine-right">Magic Thinking and the Divine Right of LLMs</a>:  Really good thought exercise.</p><p><a href="https://prospect.org/2026/05/18/hawaii-state-legislature-citizens-united-corporations-politics/">Hawaii Just Found a Way to Keep Corporations Out of Politics - The American Prospect</a>:  This kind of thinking at the state level has to be a piece of how we revert the authoritarianism in the country.</p><p><a href="https://thisisanewsletter.substack.com/p/whos-afraid-of-a-velociraptor-lyta">Who's Afraid of a Velociraptor?: Lyta Gold on Jurassic Park</a>:  Lyta Gld is an excellent cultural critic.  You should go<a href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/does-fiction-have-power-a-short-review"> buy her book.</a></p><p><a href="https://countercraft.substack.com/p/llms-are-revealing-how-low-the-bar?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=284412&amp;post_id=198462184&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">LLMs Are Revealing How Low the Bar Is (And Lowering It Even Further)</a>:  The problem isn&#8217;t LLM writing, per se.  It is standards.</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/05/callais-louisiana-voting-rights-act/687208/">Democracy Is a Racial Entitlement Now - The Atlantic</a>:  Adam Sewer on the new Jim Crow</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/210602/ai-backlash-opportunity-democrats">The AI Backlash Is an Opportunity for Democrats | The New Republic</a>:  the fact that Dems haven&#8217;t jumped on the backlash to a technology that is powered by people who hate them is a testament to how <em>Citizens United</em> has warped our politics.</p><p><a href="https://www.vulture.com/article/social-media-feeds-chaotic-good-projects-clipping.html">Your Feed Is the Product of a Stealth Marketing Campaign</a>:  Capitalism ruins everything, eventually.</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2026/05/ai-commencement-speech/687236/?gift=jQN1t1D1nkO2TQodBiz5KOMjJvSGHUuLAZwAeRR3OIc&amp;utm_source=copy-link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=share">Greetings, Class of 2026! Have You Heard About AI? Wait, Why Are You Booing? - The Atlantic</a>:  Alexandra Petri is a national treasure.</p><p><a href="https://reactormag.com/the-perpetual-post-isabel-j-kim/">The Perpetual Post - Reactor</a>:  I love time travel stories.</p><p><a href="https://www.publicnotice.co/p/christian-castro-ice-shooting-north-minneapolis">How Hennepin County unwound an ICE agent's web of lies</a>:  Justice might be coming for at least one ICE goon.</p><p><a href="https://www.wheresyoured.at/anthropics-profitability-swindle/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">Anthropic's "Profitability" Swindle</a>:  This is notionally about imitative AI, but its really about how lose our accounting standards are as a country.</p><p><a href="https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/android-17-will-excite-the-rich-but-what-about-the-rest-of-us/">Android 17 Will Excite the Rich. But What About the Rest of Us? - CNET</a>:  Class war at CNET?  What next, &#710;The Economist advocating for a higher minimum wage?  Article&#8217;s not wrong, either.</p><p><a href="https://charlotteclymer.substack.com/p/the-inconvenient-faith-of-stephen">The Inconvenient Faith of Stephen Colbert</a>:  Wonderful look at what makes Colbert truly special.</p><p><a href="https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/starbucks-dumps-ai-powered-inventory-tool-counting-errors/">PYMNTS | Starbucks Dumps AI-Powered Inventory Tool Due to Errors</a>:  You cannot trust imitative AI, especially over a large task or timeframe.  We invented barcodes for a reason, dear Starbuck clueless CEO.</p><p><a href="https://www.theringer.com/2026/05/22/national-affairs/cornell-car-scandal-president-michael-kotlikoff-higher-education">Who&#8217;s to Blame When Cornell&#8217;s President Drives Into His Students? - The Ringer</a>:  The single most important thing that needs to be done about saving Americna Universities and the economic and cultural engines that they drive is to take them out of the hands of people who hate them.</p><p><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/22/you-can-no-longer-google-the-word-disregard/">You can no longer Google the word 'disregard' | TechCrunch</a>:  I am amazed the Onion can stay in business.</p><p>Have the best possible week, and if you have tomorrow off, I hope you get to have fun with the people closest to you.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-sunday-may?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-sunday-may?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads For May 17th, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Dead car batteries suck.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-17th-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-17th-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 17 May 2026 11:14:49 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Dead car batteries suck.  The following articles are more insightful and no less trues.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://countercraft.substack.com/p/scavenging-in-the-media-wastelands?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=284412&amp;post_id=197034882&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">Scavenging in the Media Wastelands: Or, Substacking While Trying to Make a Living Writing</a>:  Writing isn&#8217;t a career any more, not in the sense that normal people can make a living doing it.</p><p><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/openai-sued-chatgpts-alleged-role-guiding-fsu-shooter-rcna344443">OpenAI sued over ChatGPT&#8217;s alleged role in guiding FSU shooter</a>:  These products are faulty and OpenAI should pay for this.</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/may/10/fiction-writing-professor-ai?CMP=bsky_gu&amp;utm_source=Bluesky&amp;utm_medium#Echobox=1778445045">I knew my writing students were using AI. Their confessions led to a powerful teaching moment | AI (artificial intelligence) | The Guardian</a>:  Fascinating article about how a teacher dealt with imitative AI in writing class.</p><p><a href="https://www.404media.co/your-ai-use-is-breaking-my-brain/">Your AI Use Is Breaking My Brain</a>:  AI slop is a difference in kind from the normal garbage we have had to live with until know.</p><p><a href="https://defector.com/nathaniel-butler-nba-photographer-interview">Longtime NBA Photographer Nathaniel S. Butler Explains How He Sees Basketball | Defector</a>:  Great discussion about how a photographer makes art out of basketball.</p><p><a href="https://jessica.substack.com/p/cps-separating-teens-abortion">Exclusive: She Helped Plan Her Teen's Abortion, So CPS Took Her Daughter Away</a>:  Red states are coercing children to give birth.  Monsters.</p><p><a href="https://popular.info/p/violent-crime-plummets-in-democrat">Violent crime plummets in &#8220;Democrat run cities&#8221; blasted by Trump</a>:  The least understood story of the last two decades is jsut how much crime has cratered in the US.</p><p><a href="https://aftermath.site/bungie-marathon-playstation-performance-reviews/">Sony&#8217;s &#8216;Underperformance&#8217; Is Bungie&#8217;s Miracle</a>:  Number go up mindset destorys every perfectly profitable business it infests.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/05/will-i-be-ok-teen-died-after-chatgpt-pushed-deadly-mix-of-drugs-lawsuit-says/">&#8220;Will I be OK?&#8221; Teen died after ChatGPT pushed deadly mix of drugs, lawsuit says - Ars Technica</a>:  These products are defective to the point of actively helping to kill people and their creators needs to be held accountable.</p><p><a href="https://www.notus.org/trump-white-house/fbi-kash-patel-trump-payback-squad-political-cases-james-comey-john-brennan">FBI Created &#8216;Payback Squad&#8217; to Handle Political Cases, Sources Say - NOTUS &#8212; News of the United States</a>:  Gonna need to fumigate the entire government when he is gone.</p><p><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/meet-the-sad-wives-of-ai/">Meet the Sad Wives of AI | WIRED</a>:  This sounds really terrible for these poor women.</p><p><a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/48750958/2026-nfl-tight-ends-13-personnel-rams-mcvay-trends-draft-jumbo-barnwell">Can more NFL teams copy the Rams' TE-heavy offense in 2026? - ESPN</a>:  I love these kind of deep looks into the rules underlying the chaos of NFL offenses.</p><p><a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/anthony-olson-thomas-weiner-montana-st-peters-hospital-leukemia?utm_campaign=propublica-sprout&amp;utm_content=1778715901&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=bluesky">Dr. Thomas Weiner Patient Endured Years of Chemotherapy for Nonexistent Cancer &#8212; ProPublica</a>:  Amazing and horrifying story.</p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/knight-rider-car-speeding-ticket-new-york-24d37fa3e975363d8bcef5bbbb7bf089">Museum baffled by 'Knight Rider' look-alike car's traffic ticket | AP News</a>:  Has anyone seen David Hasselhoff recently?</p><p><a href="https://defector.com/the-saddest-place-in-america-is-wherever-the-washington-post-films-this-podcast">The Saddest Place In America Is Wherever The Washington Post Films This Podcast | Defector</a>:  Our rich people are truly broken.</p><p><a href="https://www.news-press.com/story/news/politics/2026/05/11/key-west-couple-sues-after-being-told-to-paint-over-rainbow-fence/90027595007/?gnt-cfr=1&amp;gca-cat=p&amp;gca-uir=true&amp;gca-epti=z115031e009580v115031d--55--b--55--&amp;gca-ft=134&amp;gca-ds=sophi&amp;utm_campaign=baseline_greeting&amp;utm_content=pftm-fortmyers-nletter68&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=newspress-florida-today-strada&amp;utm_term=hero">Key West couple sues after being told to paint over rainbow fence</a>:  There is no freedom of expression in red states.</p><p><a href="https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/truth-power-and-honest-journalism">Truth, power, and honest journalism - by Radley Balko</a>:  Most right wing reporting is propaganda, not reporting.</p><p><a href="https://buttondown.com/MaxGladstone/archive/whats-fun-not-whats-easy/">What's Fun, Not What's Easy &#8226; Buttondown</a>:  Great writing advice.</p><p><a href="https://buttondown.com/charliejane/archive/make-temporary-disposable-art-its-fun/">Make Temporary Disposable Art! It's Fun! &#8226; Buttondown</a>:  Also great writing advice.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/931479/andon-labs-ai-radio-companies">Andon Labs&#8217; AI radio stations show why Grok and Gemini can&#8217;t be trusted | The Verge</a>:  in Claude&#8217;s case, the revolution will apparently be hallucinated.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-17th-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-17th-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for May 10th, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Happy Mothers Day to all who celebrate!]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-10th-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-10th-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 10 May 2026 11:44:49 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Happy Mothers Day to all who celebrate!  I have articles about Mother&#8217;s Day.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.planetearthandbeyond.co/p/openais-ceo-is-not-what-he-seems?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=922948&amp;post_id=196351640&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">OpenAI's CEO Is Not What He Seems</a>:  So much of our economy seems built on scams.</p><p><a href="https://davekarpf.beehiiv.com/p/what-sort-of-ai-bubble-are-we-in?utm_source=davekarpf.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=what-sort-of-ai-bubble-are-we-in&amp;_bhlid=8d8c19d21f9a461632536b9ac54c4c94abd1facc">What Sort of AI Bubble Are We In?</a>:  Interesting look at how the bubble might hurt people.</p><p><a href="https://www.scottsantens.com/replace-the-standard-deduction-with-a-375-monthly-fully-refundable-tax-credit-for-everyone-ubi/">Replace the Standard Deduction With $375 a Month for Everyone</a>:  Thoughtful piece on making lives better.</p><p><a href="https://reactormag.com/the-sheer-unbridled-joy-of-the-original-star-wars/">The Sheer, Unbridled Joy of Star Wars - Reactor</a>:  Star Wars succeeded, I think, because it was just fun.</p><p><a href="https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/what-really-went-wrong-with-the-star">What Really Went Wrong With the 'Star Wars' Prequels...Maybe</a>:  This makes a lot of sense &#8230;</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/games/921391/housemarque-interview-saros-ps5">With Saros, Housemarque makes a case for doing next-gen games differently | The Verge</a>:  The video game industry is broken, and part of that is the amount of time and money it takes to make phot-realistic games.  I wonder if the industry&#8217;s salvation looks more like these people than the normal AAA games.</p><p><a href="https://theintercept.com/2026/04/23/chatgpt-ai-false-confession-interrogation-crime/">ChatGPT Confessed to a Crime It Couldn&#8217;t Possibly Commit</a>:  Ignore the ChatGPT of it all &#8212; this is really an article about how police departments are trained, at least somewhat unwittingly, on how to get false confessions.</p><p><a href="https://lytagold.substack.com/p/ai-stupidity-psychosis-is-spreading?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=1605591&amp;post_id=196318256&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">AI stupidity + psychosis is spreading - by Lyta Gold</a>:  We are creating a class of people are having their minds eaten by chatbots.</p><p><a href="https://www.scottsantens.com/think-like-a-martian-about-money-and-universal-basic-income-ubi/">Think Like a Martian About Money and Universal Basic Income (UBI)</a>: Another excellent brief for universal basic income.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/transportation/923704/ford-ev-skunkworks-lab-long-beach">Inside the lab where Ford is trying to crack the code on cheap EVs | The Verge</a>:  excellent look at how For is trying to think differently about how to build a car.</p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/chinese-surveillance-silicon-valley-uyghurs-tech-xinjiang-8e000601dadb6aea230f18170ed54e88">How Silicon Valley enabled China's digital police state | AP News</a>:  As a reminder, Larry Ellison thinks a citizenry under constant surveillance will be on it sbest behavior.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/925696/yarbo-robot-lawn-mower-hack-remote-control-camera-access-mqtt">The man with an army of Yarbo robot lawn mowers | The Verge</a>:  the internet of things is a security and privacy disaster.</p><p><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/pope-leo-bank-prank-call-prevost-b2972060.html?#">Pope Leo&#8217;s bank in the US hung up on him as they thought it was a prank call | The Independent</a>:  Truly, a Pope of the people.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7262074/2026/05/08/nba-viewership-streaming-accessibility-broadcast-partners/">Why is watching the NBA playoffs at a bar harder than it should be? - The Athletic</a>:  The cable era was better for everyone.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/policy/927071/doge-chatgpt-grants-canceled">DOGE used ChatGPT in a way that was both dumb and illegal, judge rules | The Verge</a>:  These people need to go to jail.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/opinion/meta-facebook-zuckerberg.html?unlocked_article_code=1.g1A.wEAZ.X-sRtLc42s03&amp;smid=nytcore-ios-share">Opinion | Mark Zuckerberg Is Running Meta Into the Ground - The New York Times</a>:  Unfortunately, there is a lot of ruin in a monopoly.</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/post/210208/larry-ellison-promised-fire-cnn-anchors-donald-trump-takeover">Larry Ellison Promised to Fire CNN Anchors If Trump Approved Takeover | The New Republic</a>:  But the real threats to free speech are college kids heckling far-right speakers.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/827820/large-language-models-ai-intelligence-neuroscience-problems">The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake | The Verge</a>:  Apretty conclusive case that language is not intelligence.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-10th-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-10th-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for May 3rd, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Some words for the end of the week.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-3rd-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-3rd-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 03 May 2026 11:06:46 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Some words for the end of the week.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://handyai.substack.com/p/your-ceo-is-suffering-from-ai-psychosis">Your CEO is suffering from AI psychosis - by Jake Handy</a>:  Imitative AI is cutting a swatch through people susceptible to flattery.</p><p><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/has-steve-kerr-had-enough">Has Steve Kerr Had Enough? | The New Yorker</a>:  Steve Kerr is an incredibly thoughtful man, and I hope he follows up his sports career with one in public service.</p><p><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/beautiful-minds/the-role-of-luck-in-life-success-is-far-greater-than-we-realized/?ref=scottsantens.com">The Role of Luck in Life Success Is Far Greater Than We Realized | Scientific American</a>:  Luck decides our fate much more than people want to admit.  </p><p><a href="https://www.scottsantens.com/the-angine-de-poitrine-argument-for-ubi/">The Angine de Poitrine Argument for UBI</a>:  Excellent argument on behalf of UBI.</p><p><a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/48610760/texas-tech-brendan-sorsby-college-gambling-scandal">Brendan Sorsby and college football's first biggest gambling scandal - ESPN</a>:  We are creating an entire generation of gambling addicts and we are not ready for the damage this is going to do.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/policy/915237/palantir-manifesto">We translated the Palantir manifesto for actual human beings | The Verge</a>:  the Verge has its fault, but it speaks plainly about the monsters in tech.</p><p><a href="https://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">We translated the Palantir manifesto for actual human beings | The Verge</a>:  A gentle reminder.</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2026/04/pope-tom-homan-ice-ride-along/686982/?link_source=ta_bluesky_link&amp;taid=69f352680258230001753284&amp;utm_campaign=the-atlantic&amp;utm_content=edit-promo&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=bluesky">The Pope Goes on an ICE Ride-Along - The Atlantic</a>:  Alexandra Petri is a national treasure.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/920401/gen-z-ai">The more young people use AI, the more they hate it | The Verge</a>:  The kids are all right.</p><p><a href="https://www.gelliottmorris.com/p/2026-05-01-cross-pressured-voters-a-second-look?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=6273&amp;post_id=196077992&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">Pundits are wrong about the Democrats&#8217; "missing" voters</a>:  Fascinating look at voters and what they want and how they see the world.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7175839/2026/05/02/tony-x-10-years-later-love-story-blues-nhl/">Tony X, 10 years later: How a viral tweet led to a hockey love story you won&#8217;t believe - The Athletic</a>:  This is adorable.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-3rd-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-may-3rd-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for April 26th, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Late words, an a moment of silence for the Ottawa Senators.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-april-26th</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-april-26th</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 26 Apr 2026 13:30:36 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Late words, an a moment of silence for the Ottawa Senators.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7196265/2026/04/15/pacers-couple-viral-shaq-inside-the-nba-interview/">What&#8217;s an Indiana Pacers couple to do when viral moment goes off the rails? - The Athletic</a>:  Virality is terrible for normal people, especially women.</p><p><a href="https://bylinetimes.com/2026/04/14/the-neo-nazi-enforcer-who-helped-build-peter-thiels-online-influence-empire/">The Neo-Nazi Enforcer Who Helped Build Peter Thiel&#8217;s Online Influence Empire &#8211; Byline Times</a>:  Our ruling class is fundamentally dangerous.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7196519/2026/04/17/uppies-and-downies-the-medieval-football-game-that-has-no-rules-and-no-time-limit/">Uppies and Downies, the medieval football game that has no rules and no time limit - The Athletic</a>:  Sports are cool.  And not entirely sane.</p><p><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/madison-square-garden-jim-dolan-surveillance-machine/">The Shocking Secrets of Madison Square Garden&#8217;s Surveillance Machine | WIRED</a>: Our ruling class is incredibly petty.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tldr/915176/nft-metaverse-ai-weirdos?view_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpZCI6IjRHS0tSZlVhc1kiLCJwIjoiL3RsZHIvOTE1MTc2L25mdC1tZXRhdmVyc2UtYWktd2VpcmRvcyIsImV4cCI6MTc3NzE0OTA2MiwiaWF0IjoxNzc2NzE3MDYyfQ.EAgdP89HSvutFYY7JaKPeIcIGHNwdBFWPfAonGlY6lY&amp;utm_medium=gift-link">Silicon Valley has forgotten what normal people want | The Verge</a>:  Our ruling class has their heads up their own &#8230; marketing plans.</p><p><a href="https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/project-hail-mary-blueprint-save-hollywood-our-future?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=1085754&amp;post_id=194765752&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">'Project Hail Mary' Is the Blueprint to Save Hollywood (and Our Future)</a>:  Hopepunk for the win.</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/post/209375/cdc-blocks-study-proving-covid-vaccine-works">CDC Blocks Journal From Publishing Study Proving Covid Vaccine Worked | The New Republic</a>: The Barbara Streisand Effect administration.</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/09/ukraines-strategy-to-win-the-war/684356/?gift=hVZeG3M9DnxL4CekrWGK36__WTPfyGK2X4Bkg9usEv0&amp;utm_source=copy-link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=share">Ukraine&#8217;s Plan to Starve the Russian War Machine - The Atlantic</a>:  I wonder if wars are now going to be long term, attrition affairs due to drones.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/917380/ai-monetization-anthropic-openai-token-economics-revenue">You&#8217;re about to feel the AI money squeeze | The Verge</a>:  Imitative AI as a business can only exist if it is subsidized.</p><p><a href="https://www.404media.co/the-ai-compute-crunch-is-here-and-its-affecting-the-entire-economy/">The AI Compute Crunch Is Here (and It's Affecting the Entire Economy)</a>:  Very large subsidies.</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/208876/tech-world-evil-musk-bezos-thiel">How the Tech World Turned Evil | The New Republic</a>:  Our tech overlords are evil.</p><p><a href="https://www.liberalcurrents.com/what-is-woke-2/">What Is Woke 2?</a>:  Very thoughtful piece on cultural change and its relationship to power.</p><p><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/palantir-employees-are-starting-to-wonder-if-theyre-the-bad-guys/">Palantir Employees Are Starting to Wonder if They&#8217;re the Bad Guys | WIRED</a>:  Yes, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToKcmnrE5oY">you are the baddies.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/the-wiretap/2026/04/22/anthropics-claude-is-pumping-out-vulnerable-code-cyber-experts-warn/?utm_source=bluesky&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=forbes">Anthropic&#8217;s Claude Is Pumping Out Vulnerable Code, Cyber Experts Warn</a>:  it really feels as if we are about to enter a golden age, so to speak, of hacking and vulnerabilities.</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/209432/justice-department-klan-splc-suit?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=tnr_daily&amp;vgo_ee=R0OLrnD%2BJiZ9lfIU9dzE%2FUhRbek4VSNnv%2BigiD20zfh66MHiQtD%2F0A%3D%3D%3Ab%2FafjQL3Ddhp43FmFsUPIAhL2ObFJKil">The Justice Department Sides With the Ku Klux Klan | The New Republic</a>:  This administration is run on pure gutter racism.</p><p><a href="https://prospect.org/2026/04/24/congress-has-become-almost-totally-irrelevant/">Congress Has Become Almost Totally Irrelevant - The American Prospect</a>:  Presidential systems always seem to end up broken or in some form of authoritariansim.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/podcast/917029/software-brain-ai-backlash-databases-automation?utm_content=buffer67eea&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=bsky.app&amp;utm_campaign=verge_social">BEWARE SOFTWARE BRAIN | The Verge</a>:  Excellent diagnosis of the fundamental problem with our ruling class.</p><p><a href="https://countercraft.substack.com/p/why-bookscan-is-different-from-book?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=284412&amp;post_id=194579139&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">Why BookScan Is Different from Book Sales (Which Are Different from Royalty Statements)</a>:  It doesn&#8217;t see as of there are good public numbers about how many books have been sold.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7226563/2026/04/25/nhl-playoffs-tamed-blood-feuds-evolution/?unlocked_article_code=1.dlA.bJ6X.NxfDXpDqa1tU&amp;smid=ta-android-share">Are NHL blood feuds a thing of the past? How the league&#8217;s evolution has tamed its playoffs - The Athletic</a>:  Fun look at how the NHL culture, as thus the culture at large, has changed over the last could of decades.</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/05/billionaire-consequence-free-reality/686588/?gift=SCYx-5scVta3-cr_IlgTyS-dDYKgrDyp9kauNtFD7UI">What I Learned About Billionaires at Jeff Bezos&#8217;s Private Retreat - The Atlantic</a>:  Billionaires are a society problem.  </p><p>Have the best possible week everyone, and good luck to the L.A. Kings in avoiding elimination &#8230;. Nope.  Can&#8217;t do it.  I hope they go down.  Sports fandom is a terrible, terrible thing.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-april-26th?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-april-26th?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for April 19th, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[For a variety of life-related reasons, I don&#8217;t have hardly anything to post this week.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-april-19th</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-april-19th</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 19 Apr 2026 11:37:47 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>For a variety of life-related reasons, I don&#8217;t have hardly anything to post this week.  So I thought I would recommend newsletters as a whole this time.  These are in no order, but I enjoy them all.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://countercraft.substack.com/">Counter Craft:</a> Thoughtful writing about literature and its associated craft.  </p><p><a href="https://colehaddon.substack.com/">5AM StoryTalk</a>:  Writing and society from the perspective of a professional screen writer.</p><p><a href="https://rapscallison.substack.com/">Dirtbags Through the Ages</a>:  Hilarious history.  Probably the best history writer on the internet.</p><p><a href="https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/">Blood in the Machine</a>:  Brian Merchant&#8217;s excellent look at technology.  <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/blood-in-the-machine-the-origins-of-the-rebellion-against-big-tech-brian-merchant/a375fa0af7c1e86c?ean=9780316487740&amp;next=t">Buy his book, too.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.readtpa.com/">Parker Malloy.</a>  Outstanding journalism.</p><p><a href="https://www.everythingishorrible.net/">Everything Is Horrible</a>:  Noah always makes me think about art and politics, even when I disagree with him.</p><p><a href="https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/">Letters from an American</a>: Measured, intelligent look at politics and the history that lead to those politics.  Fascinating work.</p><p><a href="https://jessica.substack.com/">Abortion, Every Day</a>:  Excellent reporting on abortion and health care.  Every day.</p><p><a href="https://www.the-downballot.com/">The Downballot</a>:  Great look at the mechanics and numbers of elections at every level.  Ridiculously comprehensive.</p><p><a href="https://www.offmessage.net/">Off Message</a>:  The most intelligent look at Americna politics around.</p><p><a href="https://backofmind.substack.com/">Dan Davies:</a>  Thoughtful piece son how systems actually work.  May sound boring, but it never is and it covers the ways and whys of how organizations work and impact our lives with a clarity not often seen.</p><p><a href="https://www.gelliottmorris.com/">Strength In Numbers</a>:  Data done right, with context and expertise given their proper value.</p><p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/cw/LyzLenz">Men Yell At Me:</a>  Excellent reporting and commentary on politics and life and feminism.</p><p>Hope you enjoy and have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-april-19th?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-april-19th?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for April 12th, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Many words.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-april-12th</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-april-12th</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 12 Apr 2026 11:18:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Many words.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/910008/fawn-friends-ai-companion">My baby deer plushie told me that Mitski&#8217;s dad was a CIA operative | The Verge</a>: This is really creepy.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://lytagold.substack.com/p/writers-love-technology-but-not-ai?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=1605591&amp;post_id=193175417&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">writers love technology, just not AI - by Lyta Gold</a>: Another excellent essay by Lyta Gold.</p><p><a href="https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/the-back-story-behind-the-first-18?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=888615&amp;post_id=193261788&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">The back story behind the first &#8220;$1.8 Billion&#8221; dollar &#8220;AI Company&#8221;</a>: The NY Times fluffed a fraud.</p><p><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted">Sam Altman May Control Our Future&#8212;Can He Be Trusted? | The New Yorker</a>: Altman should not be trusted, based on this.</p><p><a href="https://news.sky.com/story/bluesky-13528732">Emotional Artemis crew name moon crater after commander&#8217;s late wife | News UK Video News | Sky News</a>: Science will melt your heart.</p><p><a href="https://danieldrezner.substack.com/p/the-illiteracy-of-the-trump-administration">The Illiteracy of the Trump Administration</a>: Good look at the essential weakness of the Trump admin.</p><p><a href="https://www.sbnation.com/a/17776-football/chapter-1">Intro | What football will look like in the future</a>: A brilliant piece of writing where the form is as essential as the words.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/us/politics/trump-iran-war.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ZFA.j6-o.Jn6giQD4mdIJ&amp;smid=url-share">How Trump Took the U.S. to War With Iran - The New York Times</a>: This really does feel like Vance is throwing Trump under the bus.</p><p><a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/48370191/mlb-2026-international-draft-cba-talks-labor-dominican-republic-fraud-abuse-steroids-broken-deals">Amid scandal, is MLB headed for an international draft? - ESPN</a>: A sobering look at how MLB has abused international players, especially from the Caribbean.</p><p><a href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/04/08/school-discipline-is-in-crisis-trump-isnt-helping/">School Discipline Is in Crisis. Trump Isn&#8217;t Helping | Washington Monthly</a>: We made progress in school discipline and the Trump destroyed it.</p><p><a href="https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/khan_04_26/">Eternity in Their Hearts by K. J. Khan : Clarkesworld Magazine &#8211; Science Fiction &amp; Fantasy</a>: Beautiful story.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7175905/2026/04/08/linus-ullmark-senators-nhl-bill-masterton-trophy/">Linus Ullmark opens up about trying season: &#8216;Fighting the demons every single day&#8217; - The Athletic</a>: It is good to see athletes talk about their mental health struggles.</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/04/teachers-screens-edtech-students/686681/">What Happened After a Teacher Ditched Screens - The Atlantic</a>: I want to talk more about this, but I feel good teachers will be moving more and more to an analog classroom, with some unintended consequences.</p><p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01100-y">Scientists invented a fake disease. AI told people it was real</a>: AI&#8217;s one unambiguous use case is fraud and lying.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6963403/2026/04/11/red-wings-fan-picture-dylan-larkin-steve-ott/">A viral Red Wings photo comes full circle 10 years later - The Athletic</a>: Cute story, even if it does involve the Red Wings.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-april-12th?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-april-12th?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for April 5th]]></title><description><![CDATA[Happy Easter to those who celebrate.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-april-5th</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-april-5th</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 05 Apr 2026 11:10:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Happy Easter to those who celebrate.</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/03/ai-creative-writing/686418/?gift=ew64ZJVzcA6tYX59fXOkC-UOtpepArGxJKfXieeS0n0&amp;utm_source=copy-link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=share">The Human Skill That Eludes AI - The Atlantic</a>: Imitative AI imitates.  It does not create.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Metaphors Are Lies! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div><p><a href="https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/lingen_03_26/">Person, Place, Thing by Marissa Lingen : Clarkesworld Magazine &#8211; Science Fiction &amp; Fantasy</a>:  Fun story.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7154432/2026/03/29/womens-ncaa-tournament-reading-books/">A favorite NCAA Tournament pastime for players? Reading - The Athletic</a>:  The kids are all right.</p><p><a href="https://www.atomic.computer/blog/white-house-app-security-analysis/">Security Analysis of the Official White House iOS App | atomic.computer</a>:  What they found is incredibly distrubing.</p><p><a href="https://aftermath.site/warframe-digital-extremes-community-tennocon-wedding-funeral/">Life (And Death) In Warframe</a>:  This story convinced me I am very old, but it is touching nonetheless.</p><p><a href="https://lytagold.substack.com/p/that-knights-a-fuckup-and-i-love?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=1605591&amp;post_id=192426008&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">That Knight&#8217;s a Fuckup (and I love him) - by Lyta Gold</a>:  Most interesting take on the new Game of thrones serious I have seen.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/29/opinion/israel-us-war-iran-literature.html?unlocked_article_code=1.XFA.bmeP.cXO7RheAXQ91&amp;smid=url-share">Opinion | Is It 1914 in America? - The New York Times</a>:  We are ruled by the worst people.</p><p><a href="https://karlbode.com/ceo-said-a-thing-journalism/?utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">"CEO Said A Thing!" Journalism</a>:  The most accurate assessment of our tech and business media I have ever read.</p><p><a href="https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/812509495136796672/my-latest-guardian-books-cartoon">YOU'RE ALL JUST JEALOUS OF MY JETPACK | My latest Guardian Books cartoon.</a>:  Heh.</p><p><a href="https://countercraft.substack.com/p/what-memoir-scandals-tell-us-about?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=284412&amp;post_id=192626454&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">What Memoir Scandals Tell Us about Two LLM Writing Scandals</a>:  A strong argument that authenticity matters.</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/208376/trump-presidency-economy-scammers-frauds">How to Reclaim America From the Scammers and Frauds | The New Republic</a>:  We live in an age of scams, and the political party that becomes their scourge will own the next decade or two.</p><p><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/peter-thiel-marc-andreessen-silicon-valley-anti-intellectualism/">The Anti-Intellectualism of the Silicon Valley Elite | The Nation</a>:  Never trust people who do not read books.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/905977/five-questions-for-the-guys-who-made-a-compass-that-points-to-the-times-square-olive-garden">Five questions for the guys who made a compass that points to the Times Square Olive Garden | The Verge</a>:  Finally, tech with no downsides.</p><p><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/everest-climbers-sherpas-fake-rescue-scam-poisoning-b2950597.html">Everest guides accused of poisoning foreign climbers to force fake rescues in $20m scam | The Independent</a>:  Absolutely insane story.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><div class="subscription-widget-wrap-editor" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}" data-component-name="SubscribeWidgetToDOM"><div class="subscription-widget show-subscribe"><div class="preamble"><p class="cta-caption">Thanks for reading Metaphors Are Lies! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.</p></div><form class="subscription-widget-subscribe"><input type="email" class="email-input" name="email" placeholder="Type your email&#8230;" tabindex="-1"><input type="submit" class="button primary" value="Subscribe"><div class="fake-input-wrapper"><div class="fake-input"></div><div class="fake-button"></div></div></form></div></div>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for March 29th, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[A few words worth reading.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-29th</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-29th</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 29 Mar 2026 11:49:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A few words worth reading.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://people.com/woman-diagnosed-with-sickle-cell-disease-at-2-months-old-wakes-up-with-no-pain-for-the-first-time-in-her-life-after-new-treatment-11931453">Woman Cured of Sickle Cell Disease and Lifelong Pain with New Treatment</a>:  Science will cure your disease.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7137239/2026/03/22/minnesota-gophers-womens-basketball-blanket-lady-march-madness/">Who&#8217;s Minnesota&#8217;s &#8216;Blanket Lady&#8217;? More than a superfan, she was a women&#8217;s basketball pioneer - The Athletic</a>: Sports can be wholesome.</p><p><a href="https://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/investigations/protest-arrests/no-phoenix-officers-will-be-disciplined-after-protesters-falsely-charged-as-gang-members">No officers will be disciplined after protesters falsely charged as gang members</a>:  These officers should be in jail.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7139307/2026/03/22/jessi-pierce-wild-media/">Jessi Pierce will be remembered for the heart, humor and zest she had for the Wild &#8212; and life - The Athletic</a>:  Moving piece for their lost friend.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/podcast/898715/superhuman-grammarly-expert-review-shishir-mehrotra-interview-ai-impersonation">Confronting the CEO of the AI company that impersonated me | The Verge</a>:  They key to getting The Verge to take on tech CEOs to their faces is apparently to mess with their income potential.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/897923/ghost-in-the-machine-valerie-veatch-interview">Ghost in the Machine&#8217;s Valerie Veatch isn&#8217;t drinking the AI Kool-Aid | The Verge</a>:  Very disturbing information.</p><p><a href="https://www.404media.co/this-company-is-secretly-turning-your-zoom-calls-into-ai-podcasts/">This Company Is Secretly Turning Your Zoom Meetings into AI Podcasts</a>:  AI is mostly about slop and extraction.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/policy/899910/meta-new-mexico-jury-verdict">Meta misled users about its products&#8217; safety, jury decides | The Verge</a>:  Now that Section 230 is no longer a blanket immunity, I suspect we will see many more of these verdicts.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/opinion/laguardia-crash-air-travel.html?unlocked_article_code=1.V1A.powc.lPUgvpjicCJn">Opinion | There&#8217;s a Reason Air Travel Is Such a Mess - The New York Times</a>:  We, as a nation, simply refuse to pay to keep our civilization.</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/post/208160/jack-smith-report-trump-classified-documents-money?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=tnr_daily&amp;vgo_ee=%2FITwU1%2F7WKFuzaj9BJRee6EXSnYOmzxZIvZaQ%2FehjXsTj7uBus2yRQ%3D%3D%3AqBoO%2BNCY7O8otuLeZF%2BtT4ulu2bxiOuT">Bombshell Jack Smith Report Reveals Why Trump Hoarded Classified Docs | The New Republic</a>:  Trump apparently stole the country&#8217;s most secret documents in order to make himself money.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7144726/2026/03/25/yankees-giants-mlb-opening-night-netflix-youtube-nbc/">Yankees&#8217; Netflix debut is latest example of sports&#8217; complicated TV landscape - The Athletic</a>:  Cable was so much better than streaming.</p><p><a href="https://erinniumata.substack.com/p/ann-wolbert-burgess?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=2592226&amp;post_id=191691558&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">Ann Wolbert Burgess - by Erin C. Niumata - Erin&#8217;s Third Act</a>:  Fascinating bit of hidden history.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/27/us/hegseth-promotion-list.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share">Hegseth Strikes Two Black and Two Female Officers From Promotion List - The New York Times</a>:  This admin is pure gutter racism.</p><p><a href="https://www.404media.co/iran-is-winning-the-ai-slop-propaganda-war/">Iran Is Winning the AI Slop Propaganda War</a>:  Interesting look at propaganda in the AI slop era.</p><p><a href="https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/12/ai-companies-try-to-pay-staff-in-ai-tokens-not-money/">AI companies try to pay staff in AI tokens, not money &#8211; Pivot to AI</a>:  Is this good?  I&#8217;m not sure this is good.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-29th?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-29th?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for March 22nd, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Words about things.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-22nd</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-22nd</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 22 Mar 2026 11:03:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Words about things.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/features/889835/fitness-trackers-chronic-illness-visible-whoop">My fitness tracker is a secret weapon against my chronic illness | The Verge</a>:  Interesting look at how tech can be applied in unexpected but beneficial ways.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/03/emerging-legislation-would-shield-polluters-from-liability-for-climate-change/">Emerging legislation would shield polluters from liability for climate change - Ars Technica</a>:  The GOP really hates your kids.</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/207636/generative-ai-claude-fossil-fuels">Does Generative AI &#8220;Work&#8221;? That&#8217;s a Misleading Question. | The New Republic</a>:  Interesting comparison between fossil fuels and imitative AI.</p><p><a href="https://reactormag.com/how-to-read-sixteen-books-at-once-at-all-times/">How To Read Sixteen Books at Once (At All Times) - Reactor</a>:  I cannot tell if this is genius or insanity.</p><p><a href="https://www.science.org/content/article/earth-s-first-major-extinction-was-worse-we-thought?fbclid=IwY2xjawQlQ_RleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeV1IP04dhsi6DJzukpD5OLL9awBTHFuNVBTID2L7hNnUmadu2VhwSGlQvI5g_aem_-BFarWfNA7S-4PrXdU2-lw">Earth&#8217;s first major extinction was worse than we thought | Science | AAAS</a>:  Science will make you more extinct than you thought you were.</p><p><a href="https://jessica.substack.com/p/ohio-gop-wants-every-pregnancy-reported?utm_campaign=email-half-post&amp;r=misi&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">Ohio GOP Wants Every Pregnancy Reported to the State</a>:  The GOP really hates pregnant women.</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/ng-interactive/2026/mar/17/alpine-divorce-abandoned-hiking-trail?utm_term=Autofeed&amp;CMP=bsky_gu&amp;utm_medium=&amp;utm_source=Bluesky#Echobox=1773745500">Women are being abandoned by their partners on hiking trails. What&#8217;s behind &#8216;alpine divorce&#8217;? | Relationships | The Guardian</a>:  Not sure what is more infuriating: the men leaving behind people to suffer or the people making up a cutesy name for it.</p><p><a href="https://defector.com/tamika-tremaglio-interview-nbpa-wnba">Former NBPA Head Tamika Tremaglio Discusses The WNBA Labor Battle And The Art Of Bargaining | Defector</a>:  Fascinating for the ways in which the union has to fight to get the basics of the contract enforced.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/896878/ai-did-not-cure-this-dogs-cancer">ChatGPT did not cure a dog&#8217;s cancer | The Verge</a>:  It is more than a little sad that this has to be said out loud, but apparently it does.</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/post/207950/democratic-congrssman-goldman-epstein-file-trump-epstein-mar-a-lago">Democrat Reveals Epstein File That Blows Huge Hole in Trump&#8217;s Story | The New Republic</a>:  I really didn&#8217;t think there was evidence against Trump in the files, assuming it would have leaked years ago. But, man, they really do act as if its hiding something terrible about him, don&#8217;t they.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tldr/897566/marc-andreessen-is-a-philosophical-zombie">Marc Andreessen is a philosophical zombie | The Verge</a>:  Brilliant diagnosis of the Tech Bro mindset.</p><p><a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a70780384/gophers-mount-st-helens-eruption/">Scientists Once Dropped Gophers on a Volcano. Now They&#8217;re Heroes.</a>:  Still don&#8217;t want them in my yard, though.</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/mar/21/my-cultural-awakening-doctor-who-helped-me-better-understand-my-autistic-son?utm_term=Autofeed&amp;CMP=bsky_gu&amp;utm_medium=&amp;utm_source=Bluesky#Echobox=1774076847">I was struggling to understand my autistic son - until we watched an episode of Doctor Who | Doctor Who | The Guardian</a>: Lovely little story.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-22nd?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-22nd?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for March 15th, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Quick note: I won&#8217;t have a post this week.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-15th</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-15th</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 11:49:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Quick note:  I won&#8217;t have a post this week.  Too many life requirements.  The usual nonsense will return next week.  Anyway: words.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/procurement-capacity-and-soverignity">Procurement, Capacity and Soverignity - by Don Moynihan</a>:  Interesting argument.</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/cynical-gullible-american-man/686079/?gift=Je3D9AQS-C17lUTOnl2W8JR2s_y5pH5bL_qSLl5Pavc&amp;utm_source=copy-link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=share">The Cynical, Gullible American Man - The Atlantic</a>:  I do wonder if any kind of democracy can survive unregulated social media.</p><p><a href="https://www.404media.co/ai-psychosis-help-gemini-chatgpt-claude-chatbot-delusions/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter">How to Talk to Someone Experiencing 'AI Psychosis'</a>:  With great difficulty, apparently.  Important article.</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/207435/moderate-democratic-voters-economic-populism">Guess What Moderate Democratic Voters Aren&#8217;t Anymore? Moderate. | The New Republic</a>:  People really, really hate the status quo.</p><p><a href="https://www.curbed.com/article/norwegian-cruise-ship-dawn-passengers-left-behind.html?dbf=1773063464221">The Passengers a Norwegian Cruise Ship Left Behind</a>:  Avid cruise goers are the saddest cult imaginable.</p><p><a href="https://buttondown.com/theswordandthesandwich/archive/the-submarine-of-czechia-or-the-life-of-a-spy-at/">The Submarine of Czechia: Or, The Life of a Spy at Mar-a-Lago &#8226; Buttondown</a>:  Excellent story.</p><p><a href="https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/a-spate-of-outages-including-incidents">&#8220;A spate of outages, including incidents tied to the use of AI coding tools&#8221;, right on schedule</a>:  The hype is going to break a lot of things.</p><p><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/grammarly-is-facing-a-class-action-lawsuit-over-its-ai-expert-review-feature/">Grammarly Is Facing a Class Action Lawsuit Over Its AI &#8216;Expert Review&#8217; Feature | WIRED</a>:  Tech firms are convinced there will never be consequences.</p><p><a href="https://prospect.org/2026/03/11/iran-war-trump-oil-reserves-prices-saudi-arabia/">Donald Trump, Oil Market Obliterator - The American Prospect</a>:  We are ruled by idiots.</p><p><a href="https://www.404media.co/i-watched-6-hours-of-doge-bro-testimony-heres-what-they-had-to-say-for-themselves/">I Watched 6 Hours of DOGE Bro Testimony. Here's What They Had to Say For Themselves</a>:  We are ruled by idiots, part two.</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/04/online-sports-betting-app-addiction/686061/?gift=otEsSHbRYKNfFYMngVFweMtBGsFqtCisxCofFbIWdVE&amp;utm_source=copy-link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=share">My Year as a Degenerate Sports Gambler - The Atlantic</a>:  Gambling should be illegal.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7108006/2026/03/13/world-tour-cycling-reform-revenues-tour-de-france/">&#8216;We&#8217;re in a downward spiral&#8217;: Inside the high-stakes battle to reform WorldTour cycling - The Athletic</a>:  Cycling likely requires stakeholders to give up some money, so its likely doomed.</p><p><a href="https://acoup.blog/2026/03/13/collections-warfare-in-dune-part-ii-the-fremen-jihad/">Collections: Warfare in Dune, Part II: The Fremen Jihad &#8211; A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry</a>:  Really fine article.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-15th?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-15th?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for March 8th, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Words to read.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-8th-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-8th-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 08 Mar 2026 11:03:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Words to read.  Not a lot this week &#8212; busier than usual with work and family</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/spikermonster.bsky.social/post/3mfzny6nqh22g">Post by @spikermonster.bsky.social &#8212; Bluesky</a>: I had no idea this videos existed and now I love it.</p><p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/887309/openai-anthropic-dod-military-pentagon-contract-sam-altman-hegseth">How OpenAI caved to the Pentagon on AI surveillance | The Verge</a>:  OpenAI is allowing the Trump administration ot use its tools to decide on targets and to spy on Americans.</p><p><a href="https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-fashionable-notion-of-free-speech">The Fashionable Notion of 'Free Speech Culture' Is Justifying State Censorship, Ironically</a>:  Thoughtful look at how the free speech panic of the last ten years has worked to undermine real free speech.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7080926/2026/03/03/blackhawks-player-poll-results-nhl-connor-bedard/">Blackhawks player poll results: Connor Bedard&#8217;s chirps, Tyler Bertuzzi&#8217;s style and more roasting - The Athletic</a>:  Artyom Levshunov is a giant puppy dog and I love him for it.</p><p><a href="https://defector.com/the-mournful-ballad-of-punch-the-monkey">The Mournful Ballad Of Punch The Monkey | Defector</a>:  Fascinating look at monkeys.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7084751/2026/03/04/foxboro-fifa-world-cup-row/">Deadline set for FIFA&#8217;s $7.8m World Cup row with Foxboro, games at risk as town stands firm - The Athletic</a>:  Good for the selectmen not bending to power and money.</p><p><a href="https://fortune.com/2026/02/24/students-cant-reason-teachers-warn-ai-fueling-crisis-in-kids-ability-to-think/">&#8216;Students can&#8217;t reason&#8217;: Teachers warn AI is fueling a crisis in kids&#8217; ability to think | Fortune</a>:  If you love your kids, keep AI as far away from their education as possible.</p><p><a href="https://sports.beehiiv.com/p/your-2026-winter-paralympics-primer?utm_source=sports.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=your-2026-winter-paralympics-primer&amp;_bhlid=e1654df1b3248f636d0f0a122fe91fc0840a9cb1">Your 2026 Winter Paralympics Primer</a>:  The Olympics are not yet over!</p><p><a href="https://defector.com/what-a-week-of-freedom-can-do-for-a-lab-mouse?giftLink=62f79f186aed4af26938be45b179aadb">What A Week Of Freedom Can Do For A Lab Mouse | Defector</a>:  It can change all of medical science, apparently.</p><p><a href="https://acoup.blog/2026/03/06/fireside-friday-march-6-2026/">Fireside Friday, March 6, 2026 &#8211; A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry</a>:  Cannot imagine why I find this relevant.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-8th-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-8th-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for March 1st, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Man, this year is taking forever.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-1st-2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-1st-2026</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 01 Mar 2026 12:36:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Man, this year is taking forever.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/subscribe?"><span>Subscribe now</span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.standwithminnesota.com/">Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory</a>: A comprehensive list of vetted organizations that are helping people withstand the siege of Minnesota. Any amount helps, and there are organizations helping in almost every way.</p><p><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-film-ice/">How to Film ICE | WIRED</a>: Advice for those who might need it.</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/21/karen-newton-valid-visa-detained-ice">&#8216;Don&#8217;t go to the US &#8211; not with Trump in charge&#8217;: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) | The Guardian</a>:  Aside from the destruction of the tourism industry, which employees more people than, say, coal mining, the human cost is intolerable.</p><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/reasie.bsky.social/post/3mfexbyf3k22k">Post by @reasie.bsky.social &#8212; Bluesky</a>:  Facebook is like this because it is allowed to be an unregulated monopoly.</p><p><a href="https://harpers.org/archive/2026/03/childs-play-sam-kriss-ai-startup-roy-lee/">Child&#8217;s Play, by Sam Kriss</a>:  If you love your kids, you will keep them as far away form imitative AI is humanely possible.</p><p><a href="https://www.therage.co/persona-age-verification/">Hackers Expose Age-Verification Software Powering Surveillance Web</a>: This needs to be made illegal with life as the punishment.</p><p><a href="https://www.deadlanguagesociety.com/p/how-far-back-in-time-understand-english">How far back in time can you understand English?</a>:  This is extraordinarily cool.</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2026/feb/20/a-war-foretold-cia-mi6-putin-ukraine-plans-russia">A war foretold: how the CIA and MI6 got hold of Putin&#8217;s Ukraine plans and why nobody believed them | Ukraine | The Guardian</a>:  Interesting look at the run up to the invasion of Ukraine.  A bit CIA-pilled, but fascinating nonetheless.</p><p><a href="https://countercraft.substack.com/p/what-not-reading-does-to-your-writing">What Not Reading Does to Your Writing - by Lincoln Michel:</a> TV is not the same as books, and you should not write as if they are.</p><p><a href="https://rapscallison.substack.com/p/beast-lightnin-go-beast-lightnin?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=388592&amp;post_id=188801464&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">beast lightin', go beast lightnin' - by Allison Epstein</a>:  I love these Dirtbag Through The Ages so much.  Go subscribe, of you haven&#8217;t already.</p><p><a href="https://www.offmessage.net/p/the-case-for-billionaire-realism?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=1172514&amp;post_id=188818816&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">The Case For Billionaire Realism - by Brian Beutler</a>:  Very good look at why billionaires must be dealt with.</p><p><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-01-06/are-autonomous-vehicles-safer-than-human-drivers-we-don-t-know-yet">Are Autonomous Vehicles Safer Than Human Drivers? We Don't Know Yet - Bloomberg</a>:  Nope.  At least, not in any provable way.</p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/02/24/nx-s1-5723968/epstein-files-trump-accusation-maxwell">DOJ removed, withheld Epstein files related to accusations about Trump : NPR</a>:  Trump certainly acts as if he did something horrible.</p><p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/206755/epstein-scandal-shows-bipartisanship-sham">The Epstein Scandal Reveals the Dark Side of Bipartisanship | The New Republic</a>:  Long past time for our elites to be held accountable.</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/04/republican-party-nazi-problem/686055/?gift=otEsSHbRYKNfFYMngVFweERgs3BnrvV7KJw2Tj7uT-k&amp;utm_source=copy-link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=share">The GOP&#8217;s Nazi Problem - The Atlantic</a>:  The wealthy  and the press in this country made it a scandal to be to the left of JFK while supporting fascists garnered merely a shrug.  And now they wonder how we got here.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/ais-can-generate-near-verbatim-copies-of-novels-from-training-data/">AIs can generate near-verbatim copies of novels from training data - Ars Technica</a>:  Imitative AI is a plagiarism machine.</p><p><a href="https://readsludge.com/2025/02/24/dccc-scores-massive-palantir-and-spacex-lobbyist-cash-haul/">DCCC Scores Massive Palantir and SpaceX Lobbyist Cash Haul</a>:  Sigh.  we have so, so much work to do.</p><p><a href="https://oligarchwatch.substack.com/p/the-epstein-class?utm_campaign=email-half-post&amp;r=misi&amp;utm_source=substack&amp;utm_medium=email">The Epstein class - by Rebecca Crosby and Noel Sims</a>:  Again, our elites need disciplining immediately.</p><p><a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2026/02/25/armed-ice-officer-portland-911-call/">Armed ICE officer in Portland called 911 during confrontation: &#8216;I&#8217;m going to have to shoot this kid&#8217; - OPB</a>:  This loser had no compulsion about telling a dispatcher, as he is being recorded, that he as going to shoot a kid for following him on a bike.  Abolish ICE is the compromise position.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7070419/2026/02/26/world-cup-boston-foxborough-fifa-license/">Boston&#8217;s World Cup games hang in balance amid finger pointing over a missing $7.8m - The Athletic</a>:  Good for Foxboro.</p><p><a href="https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/02/26/almost-no-one-needs-college-algebra-anymore/">Almost No One Needs College Algebra Anymore | Washington Monthly</a>:  A really interesting argument.</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/02/elite-accountability-powerful-impunity/686134/?gift=Je3D9AQS-C17lUTOnl2W8ImCAJzfV2R8UlH_eHGQVjM&amp;utm_source=copy-link&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=share">How America Chose Not to Hold the Powerful to Account - The Atlantic</a>:  Elite impunity has destroyed this country.</p><p><a href="https://acoup.blog/2026/02/24/collections-warfare-in-dune-part-i-fighting-faufreluches/">Collections: Warfare in Dune, Part I: Fighting Faufreluches &#8211; A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry</a>:  A fun look at how plausible Dune&#8217;s militaries actually are.  More than I thought, it turns out.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p><p class="button-wrapper" data-attrs="{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-1st-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Share&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}" data-component-name="ButtonCreateButton"><a class="button primary" href="https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-march-1st-2026?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&action=share"><span>Share</span></a></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sunday Good Reads for February 22nd, 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[Staring down a blizzard, so enjoy these words while I freeze &#8230;.]]></description><link>https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-february-22nd</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.kevinvellum.com/p/sunday-good-reads-for-february-22nd</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[K.C. Vellum]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 22 Feb 2026 12:31:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xOK6!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcc9e805e-0c1c-4bea-8a1c-bc075d487c4b_213x213.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Staring down a blizzard, so enjoy these words while I freeze &#8230;.</p><p><a href="https://www.standwithminnesota.com/">Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory</a>: A comprehensive list of vetted organizations that are helping people withstand the siege of Minnesota. Any amount helps, and there are organizations helping in almost every way.</p><p><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-film-ice/">How to Film ICE | WIRED</a>: Advice for those who might need it.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7041633/2026/02/14/moguls-2026-winter-olympics-explainer/">Mogul skiers have shown speed and grace at Milan Cortina but what about their knees? - The Athletic</a>:  This looks both cool and like a full employment plan for knee-replacement surgeons.</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/13/a-great-wee-place-the-small-scottish-factory-crafting-olympic-curling-stones?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other">&#8216;A great wee place&#8217;: the small Scottish factory crafting Olympic curling stones | Curling | The Guardian</a>: Craftspeople are cool.</p><p><a href="https://www.lawdork.com/p/tom-homan-masks-trump-admin-accountability?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=899862&amp;post_id=188067404&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=false&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">The Trump admin argument that masks "are for officer safety reasons" is actually an admission</a>:  Good point.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7048065/2026/02/16/olympic-mens-hockey-goal-songs-ranking/">Ranking the Olympic men&#8217;s hockey goal songs, from &#8216;Free Bird&#8217; to pizza menus - The Athletic</a>:  We need more of this kind of hard-hitting journalism.</p><p><a href="https://lytagold.substack.com/p/the-pepe-silvia-guide-to-chatgpt?r=17ou7&amp;utm_medium=ios&amp;shareImageVariant=overlay&amp;triedRedirect=true">The Pepe Silvia Guide to ChatGPT Psychosis - by Lyta Gold</a>:  Chatbots should be banned.</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/02/ford-is-focusing-on-efficiency-to-make-its-2027-30000-ev-pickup-affordable/?utm_source=bsky&amp;utm_medium=social">Ford is focusing on efficiency to make its 2027 $30,000 EV pickup affordable - Ars Technica</a>:  Interesting look at how Ford is trying to make an affordable car.</p><p><a href="https://prospect.org/2026/02/17/epstein-files-email-kathy-ruemmler-elizabeth-warren-class-war/">The Quintessential Epstein Files Email - The American Prospect</a>:  Epstein survived, in part, I think, because he provided funding to attack the people the wealthy did not like.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/movies/muppet-treasure-island-anniversary.html?unlocked_article_code=1.MlA.Sh2D.Ucakp2g-VDzm&amp;smid=url-share">&#8216;Muppet Treasure Island&#8217; at 30: Tim Curry on His Pirate Role - The New York Times</a>:  Tim Curry is the best.</p><p><a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-used-to-sleep-twice-each-night-heres-why-it-vanished?utm_source=news.sciencealert.com&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=today-s-top-science-news">Humans Used to Sleep Twice Each Night. Here's Why It Vanished. : ScienceAlert</a>:  Insomnia used to be normal, kinda?</p><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/02/18/nx-s1-5718025/surprise-four-legged-olympic-competitor-wows-cross-country-fans">A gate-crashing dog steals the show at the Olympics : NPR</a>:  All Olympic events should have dogs.  </p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/opinion/minneapolis-ice-resistance-minivans.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NFA.ExlL.KVqEknqg-IuF&amp;smid=url-share">Opinion | How We Resist ICE: Car Pools - The New York Times</a>:  Moving story of real people standing up to the Administration&#8217;s child-kidnapping goons.</p><p><a href="https://badfaithtimes.com/they-banned-woke-and-suzy-still-cant-read/">They Banned Woke And Suzy Still Can&#8217;t Read</a>:  Huh.  Turns out putting anti-education twerps in charge of education doesn&#8217;t improve schools.</p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260218-i-hacked-chatgpt-and-googles-ai-and-it-only-took-20-minutes">I hacked ChatGPT and Google's AI - and it only took 20 minutes</a>:  It is disturbingly easy to get imitative AI to repeat lies.</p><p><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ice-deported-asylum-seeker-africa-domestic-abuse-b2922331.html">ICE deports asylum seeker to Africa where abuser who bought her as &#8216;wife&#8217; is waiting to kill her, lawyers claim | The Independent</a>:  ICE is deliberately trying to get immigrants killed.</p><p><a href="https://backofmind.substack.com/p/finally-we-have-created-the-silver?utm_source=post-email-title&amp;publication_id=3080&amp;post_id=188614197&amp;utm_campaign=email-post-title&amp;isFreemail=true&amp;r=misi&amp;triedRedirect=true&amp;utm_medium=email">finally we have created the silver bullet</a>:  Really interesting perspective on what imitative AI is likely to change in work.</p><p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/openai-employees-raised-alarms-about-canada-shooting-suspect-months-ago-b585df62?st=2fuGuQ&amp;reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink">Exclusive | OpenAI Employees Raised Alarms About Canada Shooting Suspect Months Ago - WSJ</a>:  OpenAI knew a shooter was possibly planning real violence and did nothing.</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/21/karen-newton-valid-visa-detained-ice">&#8216;Don&#8217;t go to the US &#8211; not with Trump in charge&#8217;: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) | The Guardian</a>:  ICE is just evil for the sake of being evil.</p><p>Have the best possible week, everyone.</p>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>