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Techmeme Ride Home
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm. From Techmeme.com, Silicon Valley's most-read news…
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Kottke Ride Home
The official podcast of Kottke.org. In just 15 minutes, the coolest stuff that happened i…
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SpaceCasts
A live-audio creator collective. All the best Clubhouse Rooms and Twitter Spaces from the…
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December 03, 2021
Fri. 12/04 - Krampus, the Unabomber, & Tickle Me Elmo
Why the FBI thought the inventor of Tickle Me Elmo might have been the Unabomber. A new potential method for freeze-drying vaccines. And it’s Krampusnacht this weekend. Here’s everything you need to know about the sinister anti-Santa.
December 03, 2021
Fri. 12/03 – Acquisition Deathwatch: Nvidia/Arm
Another tech deal goes on a deathwatch, but this time it’s Nvidia and Arm, and this time I think it’s for real. Google is probably working on its own smartwatch. Didi is the first Chinese stock to delist in the west. Instagram is ENCOURAGING you to create a Finsta. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.
December 02, 2021
Thu. 12/02 - How a College Student Invented Oregon Trail 50 Years Ago
How a twenty-one-year-old student-teacher and his roommates created Oregon Trail fifty years ago, and never made a cent from their creation. Plus, a letter Catherine the Great wrote in favor of vaccinations just sold for $1.3 million. And, for one night only, you can stay in the original Home Alone house.
December 02, 2021
Thu. 12/02 – Square Changes Its Name To Block
Square changes its name to Block. Apple is hinting at unexpectedly weak iPhone demand. TikTok adds monetization tools. How many people have never used the Internet? And the story behind that whole Spotify Unwrapped thing.
December 01, 2021
Wed. 12/01 - Duolingo's Bizarre Sentences
Why does Duolingo use such weird and sometimes deeply relatable phrases to teach its users new languages? Plus, the real science behind the much-hyped “first living robots that can now reproduce.” And the origins of the twelve days of Christmas. Like, the actual days. Not the song about turtle doves.
December 01, 2021
Wed. 12/01 – Twitter Bans “Private” Sharing
Twitter bans “private” sharing, but there’s some confusion about what that actually means. A big executive departure throws more doubt on Meta’s crypto ambitions. There’s a new Snapdragon flagship chip and I’ve got the specs. And we get some raw data to answer the question: are foldable phones actually a thing or not?
November 30, 2021
Tue. 11/30 - How Mark Twain Invented the Bra Clasp
How Mark Twain invented the bra clasp. Kinda. Plus, beavers doing the work of million dollar machines to restore land and prevent wildfires––in a fraction of the time and for a fraction of the cost. And a new twist has emerged in the McDonald’s milkshake machine lawsuit saga.
November 30, 2021
Tue. 11/30 – Meta Might Do The Giphy Deal Anyway
The UK quashes the Giphy acquisition, but is it actually dead? Maybe not. Was Cyber Monday a bit of a disappointment this year? Why your Pixel phone might reject your cheep charging cable. AWS’s new tools to help you build robots. And a profile of Twitter’s new CEO.
November 29, 2021
Mon. 11/29 - Canada's Emergency Maple Syrup Reserves
Are influencers’ aesthetic choices for their kids threatening their brain development? Probably not, but the science behind it is kind of interesting. Plus, pub-goers in England got stranded for three days with an Oasis tribute band. And there’s a maple syrup shortage, but don’t worry, Canada was ready for it with their emergency maple syrup reserves.
November 29, 2021
Mon. 11/29 – Jack Dorsey To Leave Twitter?
Jack Dorsey is reportedly about to be a one company CEO if he steps down from Twitter. The acquisition of Giphy is on life support. Folks remember Microsoft could be an antitrust target too. Will Apple’s AR headset not need to be tethered to an iPhone? And a look at just how much Amazon has increased its delivery capacity.
November 24, 2021
(TWTR SPC) That Feeling When You Almost Buy The Constitution
The legendary analyst Benedict Evans @benedictevans comes on to discuss this essay about the state of the Metaverse right now. Then, several members of the ConstitutionDAO team come on to tell us the behind the scenes of all that historic event at Sotheby's all went down last week. Featuring: @sadlyoddisfying, @youfoundanisha, @julianweisser, @RobbieHeeger, @ciaomack, @kyle_billings
November 24, 2021
Wed. 11/24 - Made-Up Words For Very Real Feelings
How does the CIA go about recruiting young people who are increasingly skeptical of government institutions and also not exactly covert about their lives on social media? Plus, a dictionary of fake words for very real feelings. And are we cautiously eyeing an end in sight for the supply chain issues? Kind of.
November 23, 2021
Tue. 11/23 – How To Automate Your(self out of a?) Job
Italy has fined Amazon and Apple for alleged collusion. Tile taps out by getting acquired. Niantic is an interesting metaverse raise. Walmart is testing Twitter live shopping. And the story of the guy who automated his job so completely, he didn’t work for five years, but still got paid.
November 23, 2021
Tue. 11/23 - Why Do We Say "Sh*t Hit the Fan"?
Why we rely on idioms for communication and how some of the more nonsensical ones entered our lexicon. Plus, a company working on a sort of 10,000 g slingshot to launch satellites into space with zero emissions just pulled off their first successful test launch. And some reflections on reconnecting with the Earth in this era of the climate emergency, without appropriating indigenous cultures.