From “The Simpsons” house genius John Swartzwelder, interviewed in The New Yorker by Mike Sacks

Why Yale’s term paper on what’s wrong with college gets a ‘D-’ | Will Bunch An Ivy League university's report on the loss of faith in higher ed ignores what really killed the American Dream of college.

That Yale report on what's wrong with U.S. college saw some trees (high cost, unfair admission, etc.) but missed the forest: the 60-year right-wing crusade to undermine higher ed, from slashing budgets to stifling speech

How to really fix college. My new column www.inquirer.com/opinion/yale...

Thank you! I am shocked about how many people don't understand this

The closing of a college is deeply sad in the moment, but is a long-term rolling catastrophe. What happens to the buildings, grounds, and extended footprint of the campus? How does it gut the local economies that routed through its stability? What happens to the validity of its past diplomas?

Union leader: “We demand AI to be a subject of collective bargaining.”

Viral photo from some years back of a man nonchalantly mowing his yard with a tornado on the horizon .

How it feels doing literally any task right now.

Oh my gd, the Artemis II crew doing a parody of a bad 1980s sitcom intro from in space.

Source: www.instagram.com/p/DWwuHPfCZ8Z/

There's a nice #Artemis II mission tracker here: artemis.cdnspace.ca

LOTS of data about its current position, crew activities, and whether or not the toilet is currently "Go"

Isn’t it weird how “AI literacy” being pushed on students isn’t about learning how it works, the cost of how it works, learning to spot disinformation, media and tech literacy. But instead is just “employers will like it if you get it to write your emails :)”

Should Rich New Yorkers Get Free Stuff, Too? Mamdani Says Yes.

Boy, what a terrible headline.

We *need* the wealthy to participate in public services. If only poor people ride the bus, then rich people won't wield their power in support of public transit or, worse, will wield their power *against* it.

From link, plot of 2010 to 2021 actual and 2021 to 2031 projected undergraduate enrollments in the US. Small decrease in the early 2020s followed by a return to early 2010s or higher numbers. Not so much an enrollment cliff as an enrollment small dip.

"But universities are desperate and hungry for a dwindling student base right now."

Bull. Shit.

"total undergraduate enrollment is projected to increase by 9 percent (from 15.4 million to 16.8 million students) between 2021 and 2031"

nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/di...

An older van painted in the classic Charlie Brown yellow with jagged black stripe pattern, and a message on a window that reads "psychiatric help 5 cents"

my troubles are over

Google Has a Secret Reference Desk. Here's How to Use It. 40 Google features to find exactly what you need, the alternative search engines that do things Google won't, and the reference desk framework underneath all of it.

I know this has circulated with alacrity recently, so you may have already seen it, but if you haven't... WOW BOY HOWDY it's the most useful thing.

Thank you cardcatalogforlife.substack.com -- this is a very very very helpful public service:

cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/google-has...

Sadly Middle Eastern Studies is no longer relevant

One thing that AI evangelists seem to assume, particularly legal AI evangelists assume, is that the thinking and analysis is quick, and the writing is just tedious busywork that slows us down.

But the writing IS the thinking and analysis. You work out the thinking and analysis by writing it down.

Screenshot of a YouTube video posted by NBC Sports titled, "Alysa Liu's FABULOUS gold medal-winning free skate, Winter Olympics 2026."

This is the Alysa Liu performance everyone is talking about, and yes, you should watch it! www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCrF...

No struggling newspaper ever saved itself by becoming a worse and less essential product. But what's happening today at the @washingtonpost.com is not just the latest devastating contraction of the news industry; it's the gutting of an American institution vital for a healthy society

42% of women are leaving the workforce over lack of caregiver support In a tight employment market, employers that offer less flexibility risk losing working caregivers, according to a Catalyst report.

Roughly half a million women in the US exited the workforce in 2025, and 42% of those who voluntarily left cited their caregiving responsibilities as the main reason, according to a recent survey from Catalyst.

www.hr-brew.com/stories/2026...

We’re launching an Informational Interview Directory to help AEFP members connect, explore career paths, and share research insights! Interested in being listed? Complete the form by February 9, 2026 aefpweb.org/mentoring

I regret to inform you that “1979” by Smashing Pumpkins was released in 1996, which is now 30 years ago. Meaning a similar song released in 2026 would be called “2009”

To keep AI out of her classroom, this high school English teacher went analog Forth Worth teacher Chanea Bond says sticking with pen and paper keeps generative artificial intelligence out of her American literature classes.

Forth Worth teacher Chanea Bond says sticking with pen and paper keeps generative artificial intelligence out of her American literature classes. n.pr/4c3cdzs

Rams and Niners fans are rooting for the division rival that beat us both in the playoffs if you wanna know how bad the Pats vibes are

38 years ago today, January 24, 1988, #TheSimpsons short “Gone Fishin'” first aired on The Tracey Ullman Show on Fox.

Wr: Matt Groening. Animation: David Silverman, Wes Archer and Bill Kopp.

Writing is thinking

Outsourcing the entire task of writing to LLMs will deprive us of the essential creative task of interpreting our findings and generating a deeper theoretical understanding of the world.

Silent generation to Gen X kids: “yeah, yeah, just get out of the house. Dinner is at 6.”

“Gen X moms way more” Fact check: true

When effort, judgment, and cognition are consistently outsourced, they atrophy. Schools should be far more concerned about that than about any specific technology. Making things easier isn't always the answer.

Real learning is hard.

MTV REWIND - I Want My MTV Celebrating 44 years of continuous music videos. Stream classic music videos 24/7.

a friend recently shared this with me and i'm obsessed — it's an MTV/VH1 simulator with almost 30,000 videos (organized by decade) along with special sections for things like 120 Minutes, Unplugged, Yo! MTV Raps, and Pop-Up Video (!!!) wantmymtv.vercel.app

Yeah we’ve already ruined 6-7. In 2026 we’re gonna ruin 41

Year 1 data on congestion pricing in Manhattan…

* Vehicle traffic: -11%
* Foot traffic: +3.4%
* Storefront vacancy: -0.9%
* Pollution: -22%
* Revenue for mass transit: $548M

So YES this has been a huge success.