The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is offering between £270,000 to £300,000 for a senior digital leader who will oversee more than £4.6 billion in spending and more than 3,000 specialist staff.…

Huge thanks to my February sponsor, John Rember, author of the three-book series Journal of the Plague Years, a psychic survival guide for humanity's looming date with destiny, shaped by his experiences living through the pandemic in his native Idaho. Thoughtful, wry and humane, Journal 1 is a pleasure.

Thank you, all, for bearing with me in my absence, and to Kali for covering so ably.

"Scientists thought they understood global warming. Then the past three years happened.

"…in the last few years, something changed. 2023, 2024 and 2025 were far warmer than the previous trend… "There is greater acceptance now that there is a detectable acceleration of warming," said Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist…"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2026/climate-change-temperature-rate-accelerating/

"We are changing the climate of our planet faster than in the known history of our world.

"Methane reached a record high of 1946.5 ppb! That's already much higher than the peak of the mid range climate scenario (SSP2-4.5)!"

[Leon Simons]

https://x.com/LeonSimons8/status/2021419093769978119

"Point of no return: a hellish 'hothouse Earth' getting closer, scientists say.

"The world is closer than thought to a "point of no return" after which runaway global heating cannot be stopped, scientists have said. Continued global heating could trigger climate tipping points, leading to a cascade of further tipping points and feedback loops, they said."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/11/point-of-no-return-hothouse-earth-global-heating-climate-tipping-points

"Despite Eastern U.S. cold, January 2026 was one of the world's warmest Januaries on record…

"Africa had its warmest January; Oceana, its third-warmest; North America, its sixth-warmest; and South America, its ninth-warmest. Asia had above-average temperatures, while Europe was near average in temperature."

https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2026/02/despite-eastern-u-s-cold-january-2026-was-one-of-the-warmest-januaries-on-record/

"Greenland ice melt opens sea routes for critical minerals.

"Record sea temperatures and sea ice lows near Greenland in January followed Arctic air temperatures soaring up to 15°C above average in parts of the region, with experts warning of security implications."

https://www.ft.com/content/e3b8c6fd-e55c-49d5-b727-59d7e4104174

"2024 recorded the most negative mass balance at Aldegondabreen (Svalbard) since end of the Little Ice Age!

"As of 2025, the glacier's mean ice thickness has been estimated at 39 m (33 m w.e.). The loss of 10 m w.e. in just the last 5 yrs is a dramatic change!" [Melaine Le Roy]

https://x.com/subfossilguy/status/2021665992322298133

"Misery for many as rain falls for 40 days in some parts of UK…

"People who live in parts of Devon, Cornwall and Worcestershire have been dodging deluges or showers for 40 days - the same number of days that it rained in the Bible's Noah's ark story…"

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/10/misery-for-many-as-rain-falls-for-40-days-in-some-parts-of-uk

"British bread under threat as wheat fields flooded…

"Wheat plants can only withstand being submerged in water for four days before experiencing significant damage but some farms have experienced rain every day of the year so far."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/02/12/british-bread-under-threat-wheat-fields-flooded/

"The 'culture war' on net zero: Why have Brits stopped supporting climate policies?

"…The UK's "sense of urgency" on achieving net zero and supporting climate policies has taken a drastic tumble, according to a new survey. In 2021, surveys found that 54 per cent of the British public believed the UK government should achieve net zero before the 2050 target. Now, this has fallen to just 29 per cent."

https://www.euronews.com/green/2026/02/12/the-culture-war-on-net-zero-why-have-brits-stopped-supporting-climate-policies

"Portugal floods force 3,000 evacuations as motorway collapses and interior minister resigns.

"At least 15 people died in weeks of storms in Portugal, as fresh flooding forced the evacuation of around 3,000 residents, triggered the collapse of a motorway, and led to the resignation of the interior minister."

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/portugal-flooding-weather-evacuation-deaths-damage-b2918805.html

"Coimbra in crisis; "Dam can't take any more water"…

"Authorities in Coimbra have been working to avoid today's crisis for weeks. But suddenly it is looking as if the Aguieira dam can take no more water. With no let up in rainfall expected in the next few hours, the probability is of a rupture: millions of litres of water spilling into parts of the region."

https://www.portugalresident.com/coimbra-in-crisis-dam-cant-take-any-more-water/

"Parts of Spain just saw a year's worth of rain in 20 days…

"In the mountainous southwestern part of the country, Grazalema — in the Andalusia region — has recorded over 90 inches of rain so far this year, including 78 inches in just the last 20 days alone. Meteorologist Nahel Belgherze called it a "hydrologically absurd" amount."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2026/02/10/grazalema-spain-record-rain/

"EXTRAORDINARY EVENT. "EUROPEAN CLIMATIC HISTORY TOTALLY REWRITTEN:

"SUMMER IN SPAIN - TROPICAL NIGHTS: National record of February highest Minimum 20.9 [69.6F] Aguilas. Dozens of records pulverized with insane margins."

https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2021606060239241392

"Tornado frequency in Türkiye increases by approximately 60% due to climate change.

"Professor Murat Turkes says number of tornadoes, affected areas in Türkiye increase with climate change, threatening greenhouse farming. Tornadoes, whose number and intensity increase with climate change, affect agricultural production, especially greenhouse farming."

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/greenline/agriculture/tornado-frequency-in-turkiye-increases-by-approximately-60-due-to-climate-change/1829177

"Morocco struggles to evacuate thousands amid unprecedented floods.

"The Moroccan army has provided helicopters, military trucks, fast boats, drones, bulldozers and other equipment to reach isolated villages in the country's northwest."

https://middle-east-online.com/en/morocco-struggles-evacuate-thousands-amid-unprecedented-floods

"Torrential rain destroys Homes in Asante Jamasi [Ghana]…

"in a related development, a devastating windstorm swept through Nkodum in the Akontombra District of the Western North Region on Monday, February 2, 2026, at about 4:00 p.m., ripping off the roofs of 37 buildings and affecting at least 135 residents."

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Torrential-rain-destroys-Homes-disrupts-school-in-Asante-Jamasi-2021143

"Three Key South African Cities Hit by Water-Supply Shortages…

"Officials said water supply was low in Pretoria because of depleted levels at key reservoirs, which were unable to keep up with consumer demand amid high summer temperatures."

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-10/three-key-south-african-cities-hit-by-water-supply-shortages

"'Monstrous': Cyclone Gezani hits Madagascar, leaving at least 31 dead…

"Authorities issued red alerts for several regions warning of possible floods and landslides as the storm made landfall late Tuesday with wind speeds of more than 195km/h (121 mph). It then roared across the large island of 31 million people…"

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/11/monstrous-cyclone-gezani-hits-madagascar-with-reports-of-severe-damage

"EXTRAORDINARY EVENT:

"Thousands of records are being pulverized with extreme margins all over… North Africa and Middle East. Iraq, Iran and Kuwait are having their hottest February night in history."

https://x.com/extremetemps/status/202142410032201751

"During the Chinese New Year period, a crazy and prolonged super warming will sweep across East Asia.

"Around February 15th & 20th, many parts of China will break the record for the highest temperature in February!"

https://x.com/yangyubin1998/status/2021546851980525786

"Six all-time cold records broken in one day as death toll from record snow climbs to 46, Japan.

"At least six locations in Japan recorded record-breaking cold on the morning of February 9, 2026, as temperatures fell below -3°C (26.6°F) for the first time since 1984. The death toll from the record-breaking snowfall since January 20 has climbed to 46 as of February 10."

https://watchers.news/2026/02/10/six-all-time-cold-records-broken-in-one-day-as-death-toll-from-record-snow-climbs-to-46-japan/

"Indonesia's BNPB warns 108 watersheds in critical condition.

"The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) revealed that 108 river drainage basins (DAS) across Indonesia are in critical condition and may trigger recurring disasters if landscape rehabilitation and ecosystem restoration are not carried out."

https://en.antaranews.com/news/403962/indonesias-bnpb-warns-108-watersheds-in-critical-condition

"Slow-moving landslide damages hundreds of homes in Padasari, Central Java, Indonesia.

"A slow-moving landslide has damaged hundreds of homes in Padasari village, Tegal, Central Java, Indonesia, forcing large-scale evacuations since early February 2026. Local reporting indicates that ground deformation remains active, preventing residents from returning to affected areas."

https://watchers.news/2026/02/10/slow-moving-landslide-damages-hundreds-of-homes-in-padasari-central-java-indonesia

"Millions of litres lost: fire and drought leave north-east farmers on the brink [Victoria].

"After more than two years of drought, and a catastrophic bushfire that ravaged more than 140,000 hectares, farmers in north-east Victoria say water is now their biggest concern."

https://www.stockandland.com.au/story/9171640/north-east-victorias-farmers-face-a-severe-water-crisis/

"4 lessons NZ should take from another summer of weather disasters.

"Another summer of extreme weather has destroyed and damaged homes, cut off communities and, in the most tragic cases, left families mourning their loved ones. It reminds us that New Zealand is one of the most natural-hazard-exposed countries on Earth."

https://theconversation.com/4-lessons-nz-should-take-from-another-summer-of-weather-disasters-275437

"Widespread loss of marine sponges possible if heat waves intensify by just 1°C [New Zealand]…

"Marine heat waves are increasing as the climate warms. In 2022, a marine heat wave was linked to the mass bleaching of more than 50 million Cymbastella lamellata sponges in Fiordland and caused almost half to die."

https://phys.org/news/2026-02-widespread-loss-marine-sponges-1c.html

"Climate crisis linked to fall in southern right whale birth rates as researchers raise 'warning signal'.

"After decades of recovery, southern right whales are showing signs of a climate-driven decline in breeding rates, which scientists say is a "warning signal" about changes in the Southern Ocean."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/11/climate-crisis-southern-right-whale-birth-rates

"Some of world's oldest trees hit by climate-fuelled wildfires in Patagonia…

"Dr Juan Antonio Rivera, of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council in Mendoza, Argentina, who is part of the WWA team, said: "Ancient forests were devastated, as was the unique biodiversity in the area."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/11/climate-fuelled-wildfires-patagonia-argentina-chile-oldest-trees

"Record heat again in PARAGUAY:

"40.0C [104F] at Quyquyhó tied again its record of highest temperature ever recorded in February. Over 42C in The Chaco and more heat to come in the next 3 weeks."

https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2021779541170266140

"At least six people have been killed and five others injured in landslides caused by heavy rains in southeastern Brazil, local authorities said Tuesday.

"The tragedies were reported in Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro states. Children were among the victims, according to the authorities."

https://english.news.cn/20260211/8528bc306aa045f5ba00dc201755b385/c.html

"Torrential rain in Colombia kills 22, thousands displaced…

""We've lost everything, all our belongings, all our appliances. And we are very worried because we don't know what will happen," Enid Gomez, who lives in Cordoba's capital Monteria, told AFP."

https://english.alarabiya.net/amp/News/world/2026/02/10/torrential-rain-in-colombia-kills-22-thousands-displaced-

"NEVER ENDING RECORD HEAT IN MEXICO:

"Absolute insane hot nights continue, never happened in winter: Minimum 23.0C [73.4F] at Mazatlan - hottest winter night in history. Sinaloa and Sonora States have broken all warm nights records non-stop every month of 2025 and now 2026 with huge margins."

https://x.com/extremetemps/status/2020879504277983317

"Tampa Bay watering limits tighten as Florida drought deepens.

"A drought has taken hold across Florida, with some areas experiencing extreme conditions… "The driest fall-winter period to date since record keeping in much of the Tampa Bay Area and other parts of Florida as well [Jeff Berardelli]."

https://www.axios.com/local/tampa-bay/2026/02/10/florida-drought-2026-watering-restrictions

"Sixth year of drought in Texas and Oklahoma leaves ranchers bracing for another harsh summer…

"Many cattle producers and rangelands were still recovering from a severe 2010-2015 drought when a flash drought hit western Texas in spring 2020, marking the beginning of the current multibillion-dollar, multiyear and multistate drought."

https://theconversation.com/sixth-year-of-drought-in-texas-and-oklahoma-leaves-ranchers-bracing-for-another-harsh-summer-275219

"Western US gripped by extreme snow drought: 'I've never seen a winter like this'.

"A record snow drought is plaguing the western US, leaving some of the thirstiest states bracing for less water and elevated fire risks through the drier months to come… The dire conditions are fueled by an extremely warm winter, according to federal forecasters…"

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/11/snow-drought-oregon-colorado-utah

"'Unprecedented fires, unprecedented response': Chaffee Fire's wildland division expands to meet community, environmental needs [Colorado]...

""It's becoming the perfect storm," Chaffee County Fire Protection District Wildland Division Captain Ben Brack said. "Whatever the cause, I think we can all agree it's getting warmer and drier…"

https://www.chaffeecountytimes.com/news/chaffee-county-wildland-fire-protection/article_0ca9fd40-d190-49c9-8e45-67b989697b66.html

"Three days left: Arizona faces deeper Colorado River cuts as federal deadline looms.

"Arizona and six other southwestern states have just three days to reach an agreement on sharing Colorado River water before the federal government steps in with its own plan."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/three-days-left-az-faces-015106125.html

"Hurricane Helene did not shift US climate views or votes, study finds…

"This is shown in a new study from the University of Gothenburg. "Attitudes unchanged: no support for increased climate change beliefs, concerns, or voting intentions after Hurricane Helene" is published in Environmental Research Communications."

https://phys.org/news/2026-02-hurricane-helene-shift-climate-views.html

"Trump to undo legal basis for US climate rules.

"President Donald Trump is poised Thursday to revoke a landmark scientific finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health by driving climate change — a determination that underpins US regulations aimed at curbing planet-warming pollution."

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260212-trump-to-undo-legal-basis-for-us-climate-rules

"Wildfires in northern Alaska are the worst they've been in 3,000 years.

"An analysis of peatland soil samples and satellite images has found that wildfires on Alaska's North Slope are more frequent and severe now than they were at any point over the past 3,000 years."

https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/arctic/wildfires-in-northern-alaska-are-the-worst-theyve-been-in-3-000-years

"Over half of world's coral reefs are bleached; 'irreversible' damage warned: study…

""Ocean warming is increasing the frequency, extent, and severity of tropical-coral bleaching and mortality," researchers, including C. Mark Eakin, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, wrote in the new report published Feb. 10."

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2026/02/11/coral-reef-bleaching-study-death/88621624007/

""This engine is grinding to a halt" - Nature slowing down as climate change gains pace.

"The findings suggest that a lack of change in local species composition should not be mistaken for stability or ecosystem health. Instead, the widespread slowdown may indicate that the internal engines of biodiversity are losing momentum due to the depletion of regional life."

https://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/2026/science-and-engineering/se/this-engine-is-grinding-to-a-halt—nature-slowing-down-as-climate-change-gains-pace.htm

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You can read the previous "Climate" thread here. I'll be back tomorrow with an "Economic" thread.

The post 12th February 2026 Today's Round-Up of Climate News appeared first on Climate and Economy.

Marineland Antibes, the French government and animal welfare groups all agree on the need to rehome the listless killer whales but no one can agree where

In a sprawling aquarium complex in south-eastern France that once drew half a million visitors a year, only a few dozen people now move between pools that contain the last remaining marine mammals of Marineland Antibes. Weeds grow on walkways, the stands are empty and algae grows in the pools, giving the water a greenish hue.

It is here that Wikie and Keijo, a mother and son pair of orcas, are floating. They were born in these pools, and for decades they performed in shows for crowds. But since the park's closure in January 2025, they no longer have an audience. When they are alone, they "log", or float at the water's surface, according to a court-ordered report released last April.

Vinyl records are firmly back in rotation, but getting started does not have to mean spending a fortune or building a complicated hi-fi stack from day one. Whether you want a simple, all-in-one setup with built-in speakers or you are piecing together a more traditional system with a separate amplifier, the best record player is the one that fits how you listen at home.

For this guide, we focused on high-quality turntables under $600 that deliver a satisfying listening experience without unnecessary complexity. These picks cover everything from beginner-friendly automatic models to more audiophile-leaning decks that prioritize sound quality and upgrade potential, proving you do not need to jump into the high-end to enjoy vinyl properly.

This is about as basic as it gets, unless you opt for the AT-LP60X which ditches the Bluetooth connectivity. This is a perfectly decent option for someone just getting into vinyl, but if you spend a little more for the AT-LP70X, you won't be in quite as big of a hurry to upgrade once you surrender to the obsession.

The Alva ST has a refined design that made me want to keep it out in my living room longer than many of the models on this list. The controls are limited on the top to power and individual options for 33 and 45 RPM speeds. Everything else is on the back panel, including Bluetooth pairing and preamp buttons. To complete the look, Cambridge Audio opted for a 1mm aluminium top plate, which sits on an MDF plinth with a layer of EVA to absorb vibrations in between.

While the overall audio performance on the Alva ST is warm and inviting, there is a lack of detail across genres. I've noticed albums don't have a particularly wide soundstage, and songs lack their normal punch at times, so some sound compressed compared to when they're played on other turntables. Additionally, the free swinging tone arm needs more resistance so it's not so prone to dropping on a record immediately if it slips out of your fingers when you have the cueing lever down. Since this turntable is fully manual operation, I felt a bit of peril every time I went to lower the needle. (The price increased during testing for this guide.)

Denon's DP-300F is a mixed bag. On one hand, you get the convenience of fully automatic operation, dedicated speed and record size buttons and somewhat refined design. There are also some confounding decisions though, like the permanently affixed cables, the preamp switch being under the platter and the overall midrange build quality for a $500 turntable. The sound from the preamp and Denon's cartridge has a clear lack of depth and detail that almost any model at this price should offer.

The first question you'll need to ask yourself when looking for a turntable is how you plan to use it. Are you into vinyl for the ritual? If you simply like the concept of physical media, having to flip a record to finish it or the need to intentionally swap out an album when it's done, that's just fine. You probably can make do with a more affordable turntable since overall sound quality may not be a main concern. If you crave the warmth of analog sound, and you want the collection you've invested in to sound its best, you'll need to consider something with better specs. 

You'll also need to account for where and how you're going to listen to vinyl. Are you planning to connect this turntable to headphones or Bluetooth speakers? Do you have shelf or tower speakers you're going to use? Are you willing to invest in a dedicated preamp or would you rather a new turntable come with one built in? All of these questions will impact your buying decision — even the Bluetooth codecs, if you're going the wireless route.

If you're just getting into vinyl, an automatic turntable will save you a lot of stress. These are the models that place the stylus for you — all you have to do is push a button. When you get to the end of the record, the turntable will also return the tonearm to its resting spot automatically. Or, if you need to stop your session mid-side, there's a button for that too. 

Some turntables have semi-automatic operation. Maybe they can't place the needle for you, but they do have an automatic stop when a side of a record is complete. This auto stop, which sometimes comes with an on/off switch, can prevent unnecessary wear on your stylus and vinyl. Plus, many turntables with automatic operation allow you to take control if you need to drop the stylus in a certain place (that's not the beginning of the record) or if you have a die-cut vinyl (like the It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown soundtrack). 

Then there's the fully manual option. Here, you're solely responsible for placing the tonearm and taking it off when the music stops. A lot of turntables have a cue lever to assist with the process, and a lot of tonearms have a mechanism that lowers them slowly rather than violently dropping them on a record. This adds one more step to the ritual, and it's one many purists prefer. 

The biggest decision you'll need to make in terms of a preamp is to decide if you want one built into your turntable or if you'd rather use a separate one. It can be very convenient, especially for beginners, to use a built-in component to amplify the signal from the turntable before it hits any speakers or headphones. The downside is that you're left with what the company provides from the factory, so if you're looking to upgrade, you'll have to disable the preamp inside. On most turntables, there's a switch that allows you to do this, so it's no trouble. But, opting to skip the preamp on some models could save you money that could be invested elsewhere. 

A dedicated preamp typically uses higher-quality components and reduces noise by keeping internal parts properly separated. More robust models may even provide controls for things like tone or multiple inputs, while the basic options will simply allow you to plug in, play and forget it. If you're after the best possible clarity and realism from your record collection, we'd recommend a dedicated preamp right from the start. 

The next item you'll want to consider is if the turntable you're eyeing can be upgraded in the future. The best way to do this is by swapping out the cartridge. Most turntables allow you to do this but there are some that don't, so you'll need to pay attention to this detail. Upgrading the cartridge down the road is a great way to improve overall sound quality without having to buy a new turntable, new speakers or a new amp. 

There are two main types of turntables: belt drive and direct drive. All of the models we tested for this guide are belt drive, which means there's a thin belt that connects the platter to the motor to make the thing spin. Direct drive turntables are widely used by DJs and Technics was the first to make them. Here, the motor is directly under the platter and connected to it directly so the setup is less prone to wearing out. This is especially key when you're doing things like scratching. Direct-drive turntables tend to be more expensive than their belt-driven counterparts.

Most turntables will include a counterweight on the tonearm and some form of anti-skate control. Both of these help keep the stylus in place with the correct amount of pressure, all to ensure proper operation with minimal wear on your records. Sometimes the anti-skate elements are built into the tonearm while other models offer a dedicated dial on the surface of the plinth. The ability to adjust both of these can help you fine-tune the performance of your turntable over time, which may be necessary after upgrading the cartridge or other components. 

Some final items you'll want to evaluate on a prospective turntable purchase include the materials used for the base (plinth), platter and even the feet. Cheaper turntables may be mostly plastic affairs while more expensive models can use solid MDF (medium-density fibreboard) for the plinth. A lot of turntables have aluminum platters with a felt pad while others may feature a thick acrylic version. And while entry-level turntables may have small, plastic feet, premium models come with larger, adjustable, rubberized feet for better vibration isolation. While some of these come down to personal preference — a frosted acrylic platter looks really nice — there are some performance boosts to be gained depending on how the company uses the components.

Since most turntables under $600 meet the criteria for entry-level through midrange, we tested every model with a set of Audio-Technica AT-SP3X powered speakers. These offer balanced sound for turntables with a 1.1-inch tweeter and 3-inch woofer in each unit. And at $269, they won't break the bank if you need speakers for your new turntable and they'll provide ample sound performance even if you spend more than our budget on a new deck.

For all of our test units that didn't have a built-in preamp, we used the Fluance PA-10. At $100, it's an affordable upgrade if you're looking to bypass a turntable's included components or if you're looking to go more analog with your turntable purchase. There are no buttons or controls, just connect your turntable, speakers and ground wire (if you're using one) and you're ready to go. It's simple, straightforward and inexpensive, so it's a great option for beginners and more experienced vinyl collectors alike. 

In terms of performance testing, we play a variety of genres on each turntable to evaluate sound quality. We also carefully examine the overall experience of putting a record on, setting the speed, placing the tonearm and more, which allows us to judge how well each turntable will work for users at different experience levels. Lastly, we take notes on design and components, comparing those elements from each turntable with our other test subjects to make our recommendations.

Apple's in-house studio will be producing the future seasons of Severance, according to Deadline. The company has reportedly acquired the show's IP and all rights from its original studio, Fifth Season, back in December in a deal that was worth approximately $70 million. Fifth Season will remain as an executive producer, but Apple Studios will now be in charge of the show. Severance will be one of Apple's marquee titles, alongside other shows like Owen Wilson's Stick and Kristen Wiig's Palm Royale. Apple also previously acquired sci-fi dystopian series Silo after its first season.

Deadline reports that the show's production costs were going beyond what Fifth Season could afford. The studio had already asked Apple for advances in the past and was considering moving the production from New York to Canada for bigger tax rebates. Apple has also apparently been helping Fifth Season not just with its budget, but also with securing advertisers.

Seeing as the second season of Severance became the streamer's most watched series, and Apple definitely has the money to keep the show going, the company decided to take over the series completely. It will allow Severance's production to stay in New York without having to worry about budget constraints. Deadline says the series is expected to have four seasons, with the spinoffs showrunner Dan Erickson and director Ben Stiller are open to now being in the realm of possibility.

Many questions remain unanswered heading into the 2026 WorldSSP season, after big rider moves and a new manufacturer joining the fray

The Portuguese MotoGP star has a new home in WorldSBK with the German manufacturer and is already being hailed as one of this season's big profiles

Most UK government departments have spent little or nothing with social media platform X since July 2024 following an unpublished 2023 evaluation by the Cabinet Office. But the Department for Education has bucked the trend, spending £27,118.…

Foto: Heritage & Legends 

Doyne Farmer says a super-simulator of the global economy would accelerate the transition to a green, clean world

It's a mind-blowing idea: an economic model of the world in which every company is individually represented, making realistic decisions that change as the economy changes. From this astonishing complexity would emerge forecasts of unprecedented clarity. These would be transformative: no more flying blind into global financial crashes, no more climate policies that fail to shift the dial.

This super simulator could be built for what Prof Doyne Farmer calls the bargain price of $100m, thanks to advances in complexity science and computing power.

Torcross, Devon: 2026 has been defined by storms here. My job of repairing a thatched roof is simple compared with the wider recovery

During the storm, the waves sounded like bombs going off under the house, Bonni Breeze Lincoln tells me. She lives on the seafront of Torcross, a Devon village that is accustomed to weathering storms, but even she is not used to waves shattering her storm shutters, or sending seawater down the chimney.

I've come to Torcross to repair the thatch on Bonni's roof. Up the ladder, I tie bundles of reed, called "wads", to pack them into the holes; the thatch is riddled with shingle, fragments of seaweed and even limpet shells. Looking down the seafront to torn up paving slabs and slate roofs that yawn open to the sky, it's clear that this house - the oldest in the village - has come off comparatively well. The soft, springy nature of thatch allows it to absorb even the impact of breaking waves.

In the second pod of 2026, John and Luke dive into the game changing waters of Missy Elliott's third album

Missy Elliott (along with Timbaland) meets The Quietus' benchmark for genius, not necessarily via the route of producing three all time great albums in a row but as someone who changed popular music decisively, twice. And it is the exemplification of the second of these occasions, the stupendous Miss E... So Addictive album from 2001, which creates the Low Culture conversational glue of this months' podcast. John and Luke consider the scenius of late 80s early 90s Virginia (compared to Oslo in the same period!) and the years of hard graft that eventually made Missy Elliott and Timbaland's talent look so effortlessly achieved....

The post Low Culture Podcast: Missy Elliott's Miss E… So Addictive appeared first on The Quietus.

The debut album from the North Carolina-born singer-songwriter-producer, finds the digital age's only medieval princess bursting with ideas and cartoonish intensity. Truly, Hemlocke Springs contains multitudes

Those among us who harbour a secret fondness for 'Be Prepared' - Jeremy Irons' delicious villain song in The Lion King - may well have pricked their ears last October when Hemlocke Springs released her single 'Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Ankles'. It's a demented tune, opening with a sped-up Nutcracker tinkle that gives way to an infectious romp, stuffed with cartoonish sound effects and ripe, expressive vocals: a song that sounds a bit like Scar on steroids, or Scar if he was releasing pop music from his lion's cave in 2026.

The song's nursery-rhyme-meets-antiquated-fetish title harks...

The post Et In Arcadia Emo: The Apple Tree Under The Sea by Hemlocke Springs appeared first on The Quietus.

Charles Tyler Ensemble

Voyage from Jericho

Former Cecil Taylor side man brings together a band featuring Steve Reid and Earl Cross for a thrilling document of the New York loft jazz scene in the 1970s

Voyage from Jericho by Charles Tyler Ensemble

Released 51 years ago on Charles Tyler's own Ak-Ba records, Voyage From Jericho captures a period when Downtown Manhattan lofts resonated to the sounds of a jazz avant-garde determined to do things on its own terms. Frederiksberg Records' sumptuous reissue, complete with photographs, flyers and deeply researched liner notes by jazz scholar Cisco Bradley, brings this essential part of Tyler's discography back into circulation. A brilliant alto and baritone saxophonist, Tyler is perhaps best known for his contributions to Albert Ayler's transcendent...

The post Charles Tyler Ensemble - Voyage from Jericho appeared first on The Quietus.

A Chinese government hacking group that has been sanctioned for targeting America's critical infrastructure used Google's AI chatbot, Gemini, to auto-analyze vulnerabilities and plan cyberattacks against US organizations, the company says.…

As noted earlier today, Donald Trump is continuously engaging in assaults on US human health due to Trump's incessant push for fossil fuels and against cleantech. The policies go beyond normal subsidies. Trump and his team are basically forcing the use of old coal power plants. And that will come ... [continued]

The post Will Trump's Assault on Human Health Matter in Texas? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

APRICOT 2026 Starlink can sometimes shift data more quickly than is possible on terrestrial networks, and improves connectivity in remote areas. But the space broadband service also presents new technical and regulatory challenges, according to speakers who took to the stage on Tuesday at the Asia Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies (APRICOT) in Jakarta, Indonesia.…

Intricate ice formations can grow on frozen lakes and seas when relatively warm ice is exposed to still air

Intricate fern-like "frost flowers", said to be painted on windows and windscreens by Jack Frost, are a familiar feature of British winter. In Arctic regions there is an even prettier three-dimensional version.

These frost flowers are typically 3-4cm across and whole gardens of them grow on frozen lakes and seas. Like the window version, they are the result of ice crystals growing in a slow, orderly fashion.

The government has not made enough of a dent in emissions, but global trends and a shambolic opposition offer a rare opportunity to act

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There is good news out there, even if it feels like scraps in a world on the brink. Some came last week - with plenty of caveats - when analysts at the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) found coal-fired power generation decreased in both China and India last year.

This is a potentially big shift. Among other things, it exposes the hollowness of arguments in Australia that there is no point doing anything about the climate crisis because the big Asian economies are building endless new coal plants.

I want to say a little something upfront in this post, so that there is no misunderstanding. While I've spent a great deal of time outlining why I think RFK Jr. and his cadre of buffoons at HHS and its child agencies are horrible for America and her people's health, I do understand some of the perspective from people who pushback on vaccinations some of the time. One of those areas are vaccine mandates. Bodily autonomy is and ought to be a very real thing. A government installing mandates for what can and can't be done with one's own body is something that needs to be treated with a ton of sensitivity and I can understand why vaccine mandates in general might run afoul of the autonomy concept. Of course, it's also why the government shouldn't be in the business of telling women what to do with their bodies, or blanket outlawing things like euthanasia, but the point is I get it.

But there are times when we, as a society, do make some legal demands of the citizenry when it comes to their own physical beings for the betterment of the whole. Not all drugs are federally legal because there are some drugs that, if they were to proliferate, would cause enormous harm to the public that surrounds those individuals. The government does regulate to some extent what appears in our food and medicine, never bothering to ask the public their opinion on the matter. And there are some diseases so horrible that we've built some level of a mandate around vaccination, traditionally, especially in exchange for participation in publicly funded schools and the like.

Dr. Oz, television personality turned Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has vocally opposed vaccine mandates in general terms. When Florida dropped the requirement for vaccines for public school children, Oz cheered them on.

In an interview on "The Story with Martha MacCallum," the Fox News host asked Oz whether he agrees with officials who want to make Florida the first state in the nation to end childhood vaccine requirements and whether Oz would "recommend the same thing to your patients."

"I would definitely not have mandates for vaccinations," the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator told MacCallum. "This is a decision that a physician and a patient should be making together," he continued. "The parents love their kids more than anybody else could love that kid, so why not let the parents play an active role in this?"

The MMR vaccine was one of those required for Florida schools. So, Oz is remarkably clear in the quote above. The government should not be mandating vaccines. Further, the government shouldn't really have direct input into whether people are getting vaccines or not. That decision should be made strictly by the patient and the doctor who has that patient directly in front of them, or their parents.

Those comments from Oz were made in September of 2025. Fast forward to the present, with a measles outbreak that is completely off the rails in America, and the good doctor is singing a much different tune.

So, Oz is now reduced to begging people to get vaccinated for something that, for decades, everyone routinely got vaccinated for.

"Take the vaccine, please. We have a solution for our problem," he said. "Not all illnesses are equally dangerous and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses," he hedged. "But measles is one you should get your vaccine."

To be clear, he's still not advocating for any sort of mandate. Which is unfortunate, at least when it comes to targeted mandates for public schools and that sort of thing. But in lieu of any actual public policy to combat measles in America, he's reduced to a combination of begging the public to get vaccinated and telling the general public that a measles shot is definitely one they should be getting.

And on that he's right. But he's also talking out of both sides of his mouth. Oz isn't these people's doctor. These school children aren't all sitting directly in front of him. So the same person who advocated for a personalized approach to vaccines is now begging the public to take the measles vaccine from Washington D. C.

That inconsistency is among the many reasons it's difficult to know just how seriously to take Oz. And consistency is pretty damned key when it comes to government messaging on public health policy. That, in addition to trust, is everything here. And when Oz jumps onto a CNN broadcast to claim that this government, including RFK Jr., have been at the forefront of advocating for the measles vaccine, any trust that is there is torpedoed pretty quickly.

CNN anchor Dana Bash was left in disbelief as one of the president's top health goons claimed the MAGA administration was a top advocate for vaccines. Addressing the record outbreak of measles in the U.S., particularly in South Carolina, Bash asked Dr. Mehmet Oz on State of the Union Sunday: "Is this a consequence of the administration undermining support for advocacy for measles and other vaccines?" "I don't believe so," the Trump-appointed Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator responded. He then said, "We've advocated for measles vaccines all along. Secretary Kennedy has been at the very front of this."

Absolute nonsense. Yes, Kennedy has said to get the measles vaccine. He's also said maybe everyone should just get measles instead. One of his deputies has hand-waved the outbreak away as being no big deal. Kennedy has advocated for alternative treatments, rather than vaccination.

The government is all over the place on this, in other words. As is Oz himself, in some respects. To sit here in the midst of the worst measles outbreak in decades, beg people to do the one thing that will make this all go away, and then claim that this government has been on the forefront of vaccine advocacy is simply silly.

Once a year, on an otherwise ordinary morning in November, the nation performs a small but solemn miracle. It falls silent. For two minutes, the usual clatter of British life - kettles boiling, car horns sounding, someone in a queue muttering about the weather - gives way to a hush so complete it feels almost borrowed from another age. Armistice Day arrives, and with it the annual reminder that the present is built upon the forfeited futures of others.

In East Anglia, towns and villages see veterans and civic leaders gather by their war memorials, reading aloud the surnames of men who once lived in the community. People will remember, perhaps those lost in the great conflicts of the 20th century, or perhaps in more recent wars where the dust has yet to settle. The roll call stretches beyond Britain's own borders, encompassing the Commonwealth, European allies, and indelibly, America.

But remembrance, despite its calendrical anchoring, is not a creature that exists in November alone. Scattered across the region are memorials that do not wait for a sanctioned moment of national reflection. They stand in fields, on village greens, beside quiet roads, or in churchyards, marking the places where young men from small towns and villages and faraway US states could not fight anymore. They are not grand, most of them. They do not demand attention. They simply persist, as memory does, even when no one is looking.

East Anglia is dotted with these small monuments to the airmen of the United States Army Air Forces who arrived in their thousands during the Second World War. Some died in combat; others in the sorts of accidents that wartime urgency made tragically commonplace. Their stories rarely appear in history books, overshadowed by the sweep of campaigns and the names of generals. Yet they, too, shaped the outcome of the war. And they, too, deserve to be remembered.

One such story begins on Thursday, 26 April 1945, a date that now reads like the final page of a long and terrible chapter. Victory in Europe Day was less than a fortnight away, though no one could know it. The Russian advance on Berlin was tightening like a fist. Marshal Philippe Pétain, the disgraced figurehead of Vichy France, was being arrested as he attempted to slip into Switzerland. Hitler, in his bunker, was only 4 days away from ending his own life. History was accelerating, but for the crew of one B‑17G Flying Fortress, it was about to stop altogether.

The aircraft in question, B‑17G 44‑8687, had arrived in Britain the previous November. Built by Lockheed in the US, it had passed through Lincolnshire to Manchester before settling at Sudbury in Suffolk. It belonged to the 486th Bomb Group, 834th Bomb Squadron, and had flown multiple missions without yet earning a nickname.

Its pilot was First Lieutenant Clyde E. Simmons, accompanied by co‑pilot, First Lieutenant Donald L. Williamson. The navigator, Second Lieutenant Vincent T. Colletti, and the bombardier, Second Lieutenant Robert F. Bradley, occupied the nose. Engineer Sergeant John J. Hill tended the aircraft's mechanics and manned the top turret. Radio operator Sergeant Robert L. West, waist gunner Sergeant Edward G. Geron, and observer, First Lieutenant James G. Olson, completed the crew.

On that April morning, the Flying Fortress lifted into the air with the deep, confident roar of its four Wright Cyclone engines. The mission was not a bombing run but formation practice - an essential skill for the B-17, whose defensive strength lay, not in its individual firepower, but in the overlapping arcs of machine-gun fire created when dozens of aircraft flew in tight, disciplined patterns. Formation flying was both art and mathematics, requiring precision, trust, and a willingness to place one's life in the hands of pilots in neighbouring aircraft.

It was also perilous. Maintaining altitude and position was difficult enough in straight flight; during a turn, the margin for error narrowed to a sliver. A moment's drift, a fraction of lost height, and disaster could unfold with brutal speed.

At 11,700 feet, over the border between Norfolk and Lincolnshire, disaster did just that. As the formation banked, another B‑17, 43-38859, known as Miss‑B‑Havin, struck 44-8687 from behind, severing its tail. Lieutenant Simmons fought to keep the crippled aircraft steady long enough to sound the bail out bell, but the altitude was low, the damage catastrophic, and time pitilessly short.

Eight men had taken off that morning. Only two, Colletti and Bradley, survived to see the night.

The wreckage fell into farmland, where workers ran towards the smoke, hoping to help but finding little they could do. The following day, what remained of the aircraft was salvaged. Miss‑B‑Havin survived the war, only to be scrapped months later, its own story ending quietly.

Today, in a village so small it eludes most maps, a memorial at a nearby church is the only clue that 44-8687 came down. Each April, the locals gather to remember the crew.

Simmons, Williamson, Hill, West, Geron, and Olson never lived to see the war conclude, but their service helped bring that conclusion about.

If you find yourself travelling through East Anglia, it is worth pausing if you pass one of these modest memorials. They do not clamour for attention. They simply ask for a moment, an acknowledgement, that the freedoms we treat as ordinary were, for many, the last thing they ever fought for.

Remembrance need not be loud, or a display of flags on street furniture, but nor should it be confined to a single day. Sometimes it is enough to stop, to look, and to remember them, properly.

With a thematic issue on a vital topic - the rise child poverty, ending on a hopeful note. You will find sharp analyses on the effect of poverty on children's lives, with a spotlight on the communities that are on the front line of deprivation, with personal stories and shared solutions. Click on the image to gain access to it, or find us on Substack.

Journalism by the people, for the people.

The post Remembrance is not just for November first appeared on East Anglia Bylines.

A dozen red roses may say 'I love you', but many conventional bouquets carry an environmental price, having been imported by air, dipped in chemicals and wrapped in plastic. Guardian Australia's Petra Stock explains how you can choose flowers that show you care for both a valentine and the environment

• Roses are red, violets are blue: why Valentine's Day flowers need a redo

Cisco has increased the prices for its hardware to cover the increased cost of memory and says the resulting bigger bills are not changing customers' buying habits.…

Meanwhile, its sales rose significantly in Spain, Italy, Sweden, and Finland. I hadn't seen anything about Tesla's 2026 sales so far, and US sales are impossible to come by at this stage, so I decided to go have a look at how Tesla is doing in various European markets. Using ... [continued]

The post Tesla Down Dramatically in UK, Norway, Netherlands, Switzerland appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The US startup SOLRITE is opening up a new energy storage opportunity for residential ratepayers to participate in money-saving VPPs, whether or not they have rooftop solar panels.

The post Now Anyone Can Join A VPP, With or Without Rooftop Solar appeared first on CleanTechnica.

SDI RACING ENTERS THE 2026 KING OF THE BAGGERS SEASON WITH TYLER O'HARA

Two-time MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Champion Tyler O'Hara joins SDI Racing for the 2026 championship season.

SDI Racing, LLC proudly announces the signing of two-time MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Champion Tyler O'Hara, who will race the Indian Motorcycle factory-supported SDI Racing Indian Challenger in the 2026 MotoAmerica King of the Baggers season.

Former factory Indian Motorcycle team rider, MotoAmerica champion and one of the most respected competitors in American road racing, O'Hara's return to full-time competition with SDI Racing marks an exciting new chapter for the team. He brings a championship-winning background that includes multiple MotoAmerica titles and a Bonneville Land Speed record. Known for his technical feedback, consistency, and ability to perform under pressure, O'Hara is a natural fit for SDI Racing's performance-driven program.

Tyler O'Hara, No. 29:

"I'm excited to join the SDI Racing Team for the 2026 MotoAmerica King of the Baggers season. SDI has proven they can win races, and the work the team has put in gives me full confidence that we have the tools to be competitive. I trained hard all winter and am ready to go racing. The goal is clear: podiums, wins and a shot at the National Championship. Big thanks to SDI Racing and to all our partners and sponsors for their trust and support."

For the 2026 season, SDI Racing returns with a refined and unified program, bringing back the same core crew now operating with greater cohesion and momentum. Finishing the 2025 season on the top step of the podium, the team is energized to build on its foundation with O'Hara as it sets its sights on strong results throughout the championship series.

Joe Tardiff, Chief Operating Officer, SDI Racing:

"Tyler brings an incredible amount of experience and professionalism to the team. His understanding of the motorcycle, his craft and his approach to development align perfectly with what we're building at SDI Racing. We're excited to get to work, continue strengthening our program and compete at the level we know this team is capable of."

SDI Racing continues its strong partnership with support from Cameron Ashley, Law Tigers, Drag Specialties and SDI Insulation, with additional support from S&S, Dunlop, K-Tech Suspension, Indian Motorcycle, FreedomRoad Financial, Motion Pro, RMR Construction and LWG Construction for the 2026 race season. More exciting partnerships will be announced soon.

The 2026 MotoAmerica King of the Baggers season kicks off March 5 on the high banks of the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. For more information regarding the King of the Baggers series, visit MotoAmerica.com.

The post SDI Signs 2X MotoAmerica Bagger Champion Tyler O'Hara appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.

This started as a response to Zach's recent article asking "Why Have Automakers Written Off $55 Billion In EV Investments?" Zach encouraged me to flesh it out a little and post it as a followup article. Here are a few reasons why Detroit automakers were able to rack up such ... [continued]

The post Reasons For The Legacy EV Retreat appeared first on CleanTechnica.

There's a feeling of powerlessness we all feel while staring into the climate/war/violence abyss of our smartphone screens. We tend to ask "What can I do?" before succumbing again to despair and distraction. This is becoming more and more fraught as civil liberties are being taken away and surveillance reaches new technological highs.

I wrote the following arguments as one answer to the question "What can I do?" I would love to hear others' thoughts.

Please note: I know that individual needs vary tremendously. The scale of this strategy is obviously different for everyone (e.g. those with dependents, those with disabilities, etc).

Voluntary participation in capitalism

1. The powerful perpetuate systemic misery through the voluntary engagement of people in Western markets.
2. Voluntary engagement continues because we all tend to desire what capitalism provides - comfort, convenience, entertainment, numbing. Capitalism has also walled off or monetised many previously free activities, thus fostering dependence.
3. Obviously, some participation in the system is needed to 'get by' - to support ourselves with food, shelter and medicine, particularly because these are only available through the system. But we participate far beyond this - we partake in luxury, comfort, entertainments.
4. This voluntary engagement is a massive contributor to the global crises we see. An obvious example is social media - the common people build the wealth of the owners of these platforms through their voluntary engagement. Less obvious is fossil fuels - much of fossil fuel use is for necessities such as food production or medicine, but we also make these businesses even more powerful through unnecessary consumption.

Necessities and strategies for change

1. The current state of the world demands some sort of behavioural change from the average person. Either this occurs voluntarily, or change will be involuntary and far worse, 10, 20, 30 years hence.
2. Challenging state and corporate power directly has become ineffective, if not suicidal, due their fusion with eachother (centralisation) and with technological advances. Protests and even democratic processes are largely akin to therapy to assuage the feelings of powerlessness and guilt of the participants. They do little to cause real-world change at the scale needed.
3. Non-violence must be essential in any opposition, from both an ethical and tactical standpoint. The violent will be killed and their violence will be used in state propaganda to destroy any movement.
4. The only leverage that remains, therefore, is a mass of people removing themselves as much as is feasible from that system. This is the only way to undermine globalized capital, slow the economy and ease environmental destruction.

Non-participation as a strategy

1. Non-participation is a strong, ethical, and necessary use of one's agency for collective purposes. At scale, it is also effective for changing the future in a positive direction.
2. It is similar to a strike. However, unlike a strike, there are no demands as there is no belief that the current system in place can provide what people really need. We are not looking for higher wages to buy things we don't need. We are looking for freedom from exploitation, and to have agency over our lives. Additionally, unlike a strike, it can be done individually. One does not need to wait for others to get on board to start living in a better way.
3. An underlying principle is the recognition that the system largely does not provide what we need, after basics are met. It fills our time with work or vapid entertainments and isolates us from those around us. Once one lets go of capitalistic dreams of 'success' or 'fame' or 'wealth' or even Hollywoodized 'love', one is free to change one's lifestyle to something more aligned with reality. Much of this is simply ending behaviours that we already know are destructive.
4. Self-removal from the system can include:
   • Reduced work hours as much as possible
   • Reducing most luxury consumption
   • Reducing debt (e.g. refusal to enter the housing market)
   • Ceasing most or all social media use
   • Engaging in lower-stimulation leisure activities (e.g. art or reading or socialising instead of gaming, social media and Netflix)
   • Refusing to work for national or multinationals corps
   • Living in sharehouses instead of alone
5. Self removal at a collective scale opens up more options such as rental strikes, boycotts, community planning and mutual aid.
6. Such behaviour change would require or lead to the dismantling of remaining habits, belief systems and dreams that keep one tied to the system. Such beliefs include:
   • My safety can be guaranteed by wealth (e.g. in retirement)
   • Money/success/fame will lead to my satisfaction or happiness or wellbeing
   • My prime value in life is how much I earn or own
   • I need [insert addiction here] to function (e.g. alcohol, social media, online gaming)
   • I need to be working to be useful or worthy or 'deserving'.

Benefits

1. Mass non-participation, paired with thoughtful use of one's individual time, would have unbelievable benefits on the mental, physical and cultural health of individuals and communities. Given the unpredictability of future society, the strength of one's circle and wider community may be the biggest factor in determining one's outcomes in the decades ahead.
2. Mass non-participation would wreak havoc on the economy and productivity, forcing a response. One option that the powerful could take would be to force people to consume and work. While this is not out of the question, it is anathema to the principles of capitalism's mythical "free market", and could destroy any remaining credibility in the past system.
3. Mass non-participation would lower energy use and climate destruction.
4. Even solo non-participation is a far healthier and happier lifestyle than the alternative (speaking from experience!)

Artificial intelligence promises to change not just how Americans work, but how societies decide which kinds of work are worthwhile in the first place. When technological change outpaces social judgment, a major capacity of a sophisticated society comes under pressure: the ability to sustain forms of work whose value is not obvious in advance and cannot be justified by necessity alone.

As AI systems diffuse rapidly across the economy, questions about how societies legitimate such work, and how these activities can serve as a supplement to market-based job creation, have taken on a policy relevance that deserves serious attention.

From Prayer to Platforms

That capacity for legitimating work has historically depended in part on how societies deploy economic surplus: the share of resources that can be devoted to activities not strictly required for material survival. In late medieval England, for example, many in the orbit of the church made at least part of their living performing spiritual labor such as saying prayers for the dead and requesting intercessions for patrons. In a society where salvation was a widely shared concern, such activities were broadly accepted as legitimate ways to make a living.

William Langland was one such prayer-sayer. He is known to history only because, unlike nearly all others who did similar work, he left behind a long allegorical religious poem, Piers Plowman, which he composed and repeatedly revised alongside the devotional labor that sustained him. It emerged from the same moral and institutional world in which paid prayer could legitimately absorb time, effort, and resources.

In 21st-century America, Jenny Nicholson earns a sizeable income sitting alone in front of a camera, producing long-form video essays on theme parks, films, and internet subcultures. Yet her audience supports it willingly and few doubt that it creates value of a kind. Where Langland's livelihood depended on shared theological and moral authority emanating from a Church that was the dominant institution of its day, Nicholson's depends on a different but equally real form of judgment expressed by individual market participants. And she is just one example of a broader class of creators—streamers, influencers, and professional gamers—whose work would have been unintelligible as a profession until recently.

What links Langland and Nicholson is not the substance of their work or any claim of moral equivalence, but the shared social judgment that certain activities are legitimate uses of economic surplus. Such judgments do more than reflect cultural taste. Historically, they have also shaped how societies adjust to technological change, by determining which forms of work can plausibly claim support when productivity rises faster than what is considered a "necessity" by society.

How Change Gets Absorbed

Technological change has long been understood to generate economic adjustment through familiar mechanisms: by creating new tasks within firms, expanding demand for improved goods and services, and recombining labor in complementary ways. Often, these mechanisms alone can explain how economies create new jobs when technology renders others obsolete. Their operation is well documented, and policies that reduce frictions in these processes—encouraging retraining or easing the entry of innovative firms—remain important in any period of change.

That said, there is no general law guaranteeing that new technologies will create more jobs than they destroy through these mechanisms alone. Alongside labor-market adjustment, societies have also adapted by legitimating new forms of value—activities like those undertaken by Langland and Nicholson—that came to be supported as worthwhile uses of the surplus generated by rising productivity.

This process has typically been examined not as a mechanism of economic adjustment, but through a critical or moralizing lens. From Thorstein Veblen's account of conspicuous consumption, which treats surplus-supported activity primarily as a vehicle for status competition, to Max Weber's analysis of how moral and religious worldviews legitimate economic behavior, scholars have often emphasized the symbolic and ideological dimensions of non-essential work. Herbert Marcuse pushed this line of thinking further, arguing that capitalist societies manufacture "false needs" to absorb surplus and assure the continuation of power imbalances. These perspectives offer real insight: uses of surplus are not morally neutral, and new forms of value can be entangled with power, hierarchy, and exclusion.

What they often exclude, however, is the way legitimation of new forms of value can also function to allow societies to absorb technological change without requiring increases in productivity to be translated immediately into conventional employment or consumption. New and expanded ways of using surplus are, in this sense, a critical economic safety valve during periods of rapid change.

Skilled Labor Has Been Here Before

Fears that artificial intelligence is uniquely threatening simply because it reaches into professional or cognitive domains rest on a mistaken historical premise. Episodes of large-scale technological displacement have rarely spared skilled or high-paid forms of labor; often, such work has been among the first affected. The mechanization of craft production in the nineteenth century displaced skilled cobblers, coopers, and blacksmiths, replacing independent artisans with factory systems that required fewer skills, paid lower wages, and offered less autonomy even as new skilled jobs arose elsewhere. These changes were disruptive but they were absorbed largely through falling prices, rising consumption, and new patterns of employment. They did not require societies to reconsider what kinds of activity were worthy uses of surplus: the same things were still produced, just at scale.

Other episodes are more revealing for present purposes. Sometimes, social change has unsettled not just particular occupations but entire regimes through which uses of surplus become legitimate. In medieval Europe, the Church was the one of the largest economic institutions just about everywhere, clerical and quasi-clerical roles like Langland's offered recognized paths to education, security, status, and even wealth. When those shared beliefs fractured, the Church's economic role contracted sharply—not because productivity gains ceased but because its claim on so large a share of surplus lost legitimacy.

To date, artificial intelligence has not produced large-scale job displacement, and the limited disruptions that have occurred have largely been absorbed through familiar adjustment mechanisms. But if AI systems begin to substitute for work whose value is justified less by necessity than by judgment or cultural recognition, the more relevant historical analogue may be less the mechanization of craft than the narrowing or collapse of earlier surplus regimes. The central question such technologies raise is not whether skilled labor can be displaced or whether large-scale displacement is possible—both have occurred repeatedly in the historical record—but how quickly societies can renegotiate which activities they are prepared to treat as legitimate uses of surplus when change arrives at unusual speed.

Time Compression and its Stakes

In this respect, artificial intelligence does appear unusual. Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT have diffused through society at a pace far faster than most earlier general-purpose technologies. ChatGPT was widely reported to have reached roughly 100 million users within two months of its public release and similar tools have shown comparably rapid uptake.

That compression matters. Much surplus has historically flowed through familiar institutions—universities, churches, museums, and other cultural bodies—that legitimate activities whose value lies in learning, spiritual rewards or meaning rather than immediate output. Yet such institutions are not fixed. Periods of rapid technological change often place them under strain-something evident today for many-exposing disagreements about purpose and authority. Under these conditions, experimentation with new forms of surplus becomes more important, not less. Most proposed new forms of value fail, and attempts to predict which will succeed have a poor historical record—from the South Sea Bubble to more recent efforts to anoint digital assets like NFTs as durable sources of wealth. Experimentation is not a guarantee of success; it is a hedge. Not all claims on surplus are benign, and waste is not harmless. But when technological change moves faster than institutional consensus, the greater danger often lies not in tolerating too many experiments, but in foreclosing them too quickly.

Artificial intelligence does not require discarding all existing theories of change. What sets modern times apart is the speed with which new capabilities become widespread, shortening the interval in which those judgments are formed. In this context, surplus that once supported meaningful, if unconventional, work may instead be captured by grifters, legally barred from legitimacy (by say, outlawing a new art form) or funneled into bubbles. The risk is not waste alone, but the erosion of the cultural and institutional buffers that make adaptation possible.

The challenge for policymakers is not to pre-ordain which new forms of value deserve support but to protect the space in which judgment can evolve. They need to realize that they simply cannot make the world entirely safe, legible and predictable: whether they fear technology overall or simply seek to shape it in the "right" way, they will not be able to predict the future. That means tolerating ambiguity and accepting that many experiments will fail with negative consequences. In this context, broader social barriers that prevent innovation in any field-professional licensing, limits on free expression, overly zealous IP laws, regulatory bars on the entry to small firms-deserve a great deal of scrutiny. Even if the particular barriers in question have nothing to do with AI itself, they may retard the development of surplus sinks necessary to economic adjustment. In a period of compressed adjustment, the capacity to let surplus breathe and value be contested may well determine whether economies bend or break.

Eli Lehrer is the President of the R Street Institute.

Sky News has run a frankly deranged — and antisemitic — article that attempts to demonise Brighton's anti-genocide activists. To the educated eye, it reads like an extract from an Israel lobby playbook. This should perhaps not surprise. Antisemitism is rife in the British media — just not in the way audiences are routinely told to expect.

The article features a seven-minute video that Sky also shared on its social media. The video barely bothers even to 'both-sides' the issue. It gives no more than a cursory nod to the idea that activists asking Brighton households to boycott Israeli products might not be antisemitic. Then it goes on to showcase, at length, the 'fears' — its interviewees seem anything but afraid, of course — of 'the Jewish community' at these supposedly terrifying young people and their clipboards:

Sky's @LisaAtSky reports from Brighton, where volunteers are going door-to-door asking people to boycott Israeli products.

Brighton's Jewish community fear the actions of these volunteers could encourage antisemitism.

We should ask the same question about Morgan McSweeney.

Those rich donors colonising our public services will see him right.  His media mates are trying to rehabilitate him already - Guardian articles saying he was the genius who "masterminded landslide 2024 election win".  What rubbish.  Johnson created chaos without any help from McSweeney.  A lettuce beat Liz Truss.  The Tories handed Labour their loveless landslide.  McSweeney's efforts lowered the Labour vote.

The whole Starmer project, engineered by the likes of Mandelson and McSweeney, is a big gravy train of corruption.  Starmer is right in the middle of it.  They were aided and abetted by client journalists.

Do you remember when Keir Starmer was "forensic"?  That didn't last long.  Then they were the "grown ups".  Making "tough decisions".  Like accepting £100,000 of freebies.  They're trying to rehabilitate him how.  He is a "decent" man who was "lied to" by that nasty Peter Mandelson.  How could they have known that a man who resigned twice for corruption was corrupt?

After Mandelson's second ministerial resignation, Tony Blair appointed him as Britain's EU Commissioner.  In 2008 the story broke about Mandelson meeting billionaires Oleg Deripaska and Natheniel Rothschild on an £80 million yacht.  Along with George Osborne. Deripaska owned the world's largest aluminium business.  Mandelson had lowered EU tariffs on aluminium from 6% to 3%, worth tens of millions of pounds to Deripaska.  I found that in a Google search.

In 2023 the McSweeney faction manoeuvred to stop Labour members from being allowed to select me to continue as Mayor.  Starmer said "we want the highest quality of candidates."  A lobby journalist told me, "It's amazing - they're blocking you who's actually done some good and Peter Mandelson, who's best mates with Jeffrey Epstein, still has influence."  That was 18 months before Starmer appointed Mandelson as ambassador to the US.  If journalists knew, the Cabinet Office Security Vetting service knew.  Which meant Starmer knew.

So what they will try next is to say it's just one rotten apple.  Mandelson was dodgy.  And while McSweeney was ambitious, he was just serving his party.  And Starmer, when he resigns, will be rehabilitated as a decent chap, just too honest and straight laced.  Which is total hogwash.  They are all up to their elbows in it.  And have normalised it.  These are not merely three weak individuals, unable to control their greed.  The system attracts and rewards and promotes these characters.  The Labour right is a machine that transfers our money to very rich people.

The Tony Blair Foundation took £257 million from Larry Ellison, whose Oracle firm is hawking AI to governments.  Shortly afterwards, Starmer announced 18,000 NHS England redundancies, which would be filled by AI.  There are legions of other examples.

I was on BBC Politics North this weekend.  I was asked about why left behind towns in the North East were struggling.

Low wages, poor transport and a shortage of good jobs persist year after year.  The underlying cause, I said, it the money being taken out of these places.  In the North East alone, Northumbria Water made £291 million profit last year.  All disappears off to a Hong Kong billionaire.  Northern PowerGrid North East, £333 million profit last year, all disappears off to a North American billionaire.  That money reinvested here would create more work, more jobs, more money circulating in our local economy.  That's just two privatised utilities.  Add in banks, finance, land ownership, care homes, big tech - and we're a debt farm built to enrich billionaires.  Our money is going to people on big yachts, not small boats.

No government will be popular until this is fixed.  They only reason Starmer is still in post is Labour MPs are waiting until after May's local election wipe out to jettison him like an ablative heat shield.  No new leader wants a catastrophic defeat in their inbox.

Public ownership is immensely popular.  It would be simple to do.  It costs effectively nothing - just enforce the regulations, and the share price will plummet to zero.  So the real question is why won't a struggling Labour government do it?

I joined the Green Party because they will.  Over 130,000 people have made the same decision.  In Newcastle we'll take swathes of seats from Labour.  It's shaping up to be a straight fight between the Greens and Reform, just like the Gorton and Denton by-election.  The Greens will reverse wealth extraction.  Reform will turbocharge it, like a vacuum hose sucking money from your bank account.

The cracks in the neo-Labour edifice are growing.  So one cheer for the demise of Mandelson and McSweeney.  But I'll keep the other two back for when we get a government that serves the people.

Featured image via the Canary

By Jamie Driscoll

Sophie Luskin is an Emerging Scholar at the Princeton Center for Information Technology (CITP) conducting research on regulation, issues, and impacts around generative AI for companionship, social and peer media platforms, age assurance, and consumer privacy to protect users and promote responsible deployment. Her research has been conducted across policy, legal, journalistic, and communications spaces. Luskin's writing on these topics has appeared in a variety of outlets, including Corporate Compliance Insights, National Law Review, Lexology, Whistleblower Network News, Tech Policy Press, and the CITP Blog. Recently, Luskin sat down with Princeton undergrad Jason Persaud to discuss her research interests.

Jason Persaud: Could you begin by telling us a little bit about yourself and some of the work that you do here at the CITP?

Sophie Luskin: I am a researcher in the Emerging Scholars Program here at CITP. I mostly work with Mihir Kshirsagar through the center's Tech Policy Clinic but have ongoing projects with various people connected to the Center. This is my second year at CITP, and I was working at a whistleblower law firm prior to starting here. I was doing work initially as a communications fellow, which then became explicit tech policy work. So I feel like that really informs my research interests. 

I see my interests as a mixture of public interest and consumer protection. It's exciting to work on that, specifically around tech policy, because that has been my area of interest for a while, so it was less explicit before coming here.

Jason: Nice. Could you talk a little bit more about how your background has informed your current research?

Sophie: I got into tech policy because I had an interesting path through history. At University of California, Davis [UC Davis], I had a professor named Omnia El Shakry, and a lot of her classes' themes discussing colonialism and global interconnectivity centered around technologies of control like surveillance, etc. Those were major themes brought up through history, and were ones that I could connect to social media and the internet. Then UC Davis had a science and technology studies program, which I discovered my junior year of undergrad. And so I minored in science technology studies from there. 

And then I ended up at the law firm because when I was interviewing I saw that it was the broadest opportunity I had to explore different areas of interests, and they were excited that I was interested in tech policy.

Jason: Okay, so, you mentioned right before [the interview] that you just came from a meeting about an AI project. Could you talk more about that?

Sophie: Yeah, so this project is a survey of products that are AI mental health chatbots. And it's specifically looking at the language they use to market themselves; so it's looking at claims like '24/7 availability', 'non-judgmentality', 'personalization' (gets to know you), etc. What's interesting there is that this is a widely discussed topic now in the news because there have been cases of how sycophancy has impacted people's mental health, livelihoods, etc.

These are all general-purpose products. These stories are coming out of interactions with OpenAI's ChatGPT. But when people talk about why people are turning to that, they say, '24/7 availability,' 'non-judgmental,' and things like that. And that's not necessarily the language coming from the companies and products themselves. So it's just trying to analyze and kind of pick up themes of the major mental health products -  products designed to be tools for that, and analyzing what language they are using and how that may still be harmful.

Jason: Could you tell us a little bit more about another project you're working on?

Sophie: Aside from the therapy chatbot project, I am working on a survey with Madelyne Xiao and Mihir, inspired by New York's SAFE for Kids Act.

It's about what people's preferences are around age assurance methodology. The act is designed to prevent kids from being fed algorithmic personalized feeds without parental consent. And so, for that to happen, one would have to prove they are over 18 if they didn't receive parental consent to be shown that kind of feed.

If they're under 18, they'll still have access, but it would be a chronological feed. So, it's not like they'd be cut off from the product entirely - it's just steering them away from features that are deemed harmful or addictive.

Our angle is: this is going to happen, the act passed, and now they're looking into implementation. What are the ways people are most comfortable with age assurance being conducted, and why? What demographic features relate to that?

Specifically, we're trying to get at whether people are most comfortable with biometric methods - like face scanning or voice analysis to estimate age - or with a more "hard verification", like uploading a photo of a driver's license. And beyond those methods, where do they want that verification to occur? On each platform? Within a device's operating system? At the app store level? In the browser?

We want to know: when people are fully informed of their options, what do they choose? That way implementation can be as smooth as possible, because there's going to be a lot of tension around this. So that project is currently in the design stage. It complements a year-long course from last year where three SPIA juniors (now seniors) did a report on age assurance methods and where they can be performed within the tech stack, to submit as a comment to the New York Attorney General's office. We just submitted that recently, actually.

Jason: Great, thank you for giving us an opportunity to discuss your work with you.

Jason Persaud is a Princeton University junior majoring in Operations Research & Financial Engineering (ORFE), pursuing minors in Finance and Machine Learning & Statistics. He works at the Center for Information Technology Policy as a Student Associate. Jason helped launch the Meet the Researcher series at CITP in the spring of 2025.

The post Meet the Researcher: Sophie Luskin appeared first on CITP Blog.