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All the options that I can think of off of the top of my head are more essay/article/research/commentary focused than just your plain 'ol traditional news, but I feel its better to get an in depth analysis of certain subjects, that comes from a honed point of view (as long as you are aware of what that point of view is), rather than just some superficial big corporate vanilla ass propaganda faux both-sidesism status quo approach, but I digress...
- Jacobin - Current Affairs mag - New Left Review - The Intercept - Lever News - Defector
Those are all great for learning about, but also analyzing, what is happening. If you want to just know what's happening, the BBC is at least well funded and diversely focused enough to cover the world, you just have to deal with constantly being pissed/annoyed/exasperated with the implicit biases of how they cover it. The economist and the financial times are also ironically quite good, because they assume that its just a bunch of rich freaks that read them, so they have no problem saying the quiet part out loud, so you get a great glimpse into the cold, calculated, cruel, and depraved machinations of the owning class.
Oh, and the podcast "citations needed" does a lot of news briefs that are short yet incisive and informative.
- Jacobin - Current Affairs mag - New Left Review - The Intercept - Lever News - Defector
Those are all great for learning about, but also analyzing, what is happening. If you want to just know what's happening, the BBC is at least well funded and diversely focused enough to cover the world, you just have to deal with constantly being pissed/annoyed/exasperated with the implicit biases of how they cover it. The economist and the financial times are also ironically quite good, because they assume that its just a bunch of rich freaks that read them, so they have no problem saying the quiet part out loud, so you get a great glimpse into the cold, calculated, cruel, and depraved machinations of the owning class.
Oh, and the podcast "citations needed" does a lot of news briefs that are short yet incisive and informative.
Jul 9, 2025
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Very expensive to subscribe to, but if you google any FT article headline in an incognito browser you can almost always read it for free. They can't really lie about the material world too intensely because a subset of their readership wants to (amorally) trade on factual reality, and the politics skew more left than you'd think (especially by US standards) because they don't suffer from any libertarian illusions regarding the necessary duality of capitalism and regulation
Sep 3, 2024
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⭐I feel like such an old ass man when I read it but also genuinely informed. The reporting is very good and helps you get a real grasp of world political economy, unlike the usual clickbait garbage you see elsewhere. Shoutout to Alexandra Scaggs and Rana Foroohar
Jan 24, 2024
May 11, 2024
Top Recs from @ruffianbandwidth
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🔎I don't know how well this actually answers your initial question, I think it's more of a counterpoint to some of the stuff people have already said, but here it goes.
In the past (prior to social media or search engines) specific styles, specialized knowledge, and niche awareness actually took effort. You had to go out into the world and find a scene, be accepted, participate in it, contribute to it, and learn from others with specific knowledge within the specific sub- or counter-cultural scene. It took time, effort, and experience to craft an identity. Nowadays people cycle through various identities and trends like commodities because it takes no effort (they're sold to them by social media algorithms, influencers, brand accounts, etc.). It comes to you in your phone without you ever even having to leave the house or put in the time to discover it or participate in it (you just follow specific people or subscribe). You can be a passive observer or consumer, not an active contributor. As a result, you're not invested or tied down and committed to that core identity. You can cosplay depending on your mood or who you want to momentarily convey yourself as, because it's easy. Essentially, being a poser has become normalized. An identity is now something to be momentarily consumed and affected, rather than grown, built, and developed over time.
Granted, it's always been different in regards to "mass" culture and popular trends (both in the past and now). Those are impossible to miss and were always monopolized by specific trend setting institutions, but always by the time it gets to that point, the actual initial counter- or sub-culture that inspired it has already been coopted and has started to disintegrate under the weight and attention of mass consumption.
In the past (prior to social media or search engines) specific styles, specialized knowledge, and niche awareness actually took effort. You had to go out into the world and find a scene, be accepted, participate in it, contribute to it, and learn from others with specific knowledge within the specific sub- or counter-cultural scene. It took time, effort, and experience to craft an identity. Nowadays people cycle through various identities and trends like commodities because it takes no effort (they're sold to them by social media algorithms, influencers, brand accounts, etc.). It comes to you in your phone without you ever even having to leave the house or put in the time to discover it or participate in it (you just follow specific people or subscribe). You can be a passive observer or consumer, not an active contributor. As a result, you're not invested or tied down and committed to that core identity. You can cosplay depending on your mood or who you want to momentarily convey yourself as, because it's easy. Essentially, being a poser has become normalized. An identity is now something to be momentarily consumed and affected, rather than grown, built, and developed over time.
Granted, it's always been different in regards to "mass" culture and popular trends (both in the past and now). Those are impossible to miss and were always monopolized by specific trend setting institutions, but always by the time it gets to that point, the actual initial counter- or sub-culture that inspired it has already been coopted and has started to disintegrate under the weight and attention of mass consumption.
Feb 18, 2024
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Please enjoy my attempt(s) to fill the void.
title: "pet; owner" medium: hair
title: "pet; owner" medium: hair
Jan 30, 2024
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It's an action deserving of its own nickname. My cat's name is Gomez, but when he crosses his paws like this, he turns into Hodgkins Plumpersocks.
Feb 2, 2024