Quillette Podcast, 04/24/26
Source: Quillette
“Girls in an Online World.” (04/24/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/04/24/girls-in-an-online-world-freya-india/
Author: Thomas L. Knapp
He Wrote an Op-Ed. Then Police Tracked Him
Source: The Daily Economy
by Patrick Carroll
“A legal case in Kansas shows how surveillance technology can distort policing priorities. When authorities can monitor anyone cheaply, the temptation to target critics increases.” (04/24/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/he-wrote-an-op-ed-then-police-tracked-him/
China’s DeepSeek releases preview of long-awaited V4 model as AI race intensifies
Source: CNBC
“Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek on Friday released a preview version of its long-awaited V4 large language model, allowing users to test its new capabilities and features. The release comes more than a year after the Hangzhou-based company introduced its R1 reasoning model, which rocked global tech markets due to its surprising performance and cost efficiency. Similar to DeepSeek’s previous model releases, the latest upgrade is open-source, allowing developers to download the code, run it locally and modify it in most cases. … DeepSeek also said that V4 has been optimized for use with popular agent tools such as Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenClaw.” (04/24/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/24/deepseek-v4-llm-preview-open-source-ai-competition-china.html
The Bryan Hyde Show, 04/24/26
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“Our interactions with others are based on one of two things: persuasion or force. If you want to make persuasion your superpower, you need to hear the message of my guest Joshua Bandoch. He’s the author of ‘How To Get What You Want: Mastering the Art and Science of Persuasion.'” (04/24/26)
A Tipping Point At Last?
Source: The Weekly Dish
by Andrew Sullivan
“The case for thinking the Iran War means the implosion of the Trump era.” (04/24/26)
https://andrewsullivan.substack.com/p/a-tipping-point-at-last-874
How the Iran War Makes China Look Good
Source: The American Conservative
by Ted Snider
“The foundation of international trust has cracked, and partnerships have been broken. The world can no longer trust the United States. The bond between Europe and the U.S. has been frayed. And the hard-won emerging trust between Iran and its Gulf neighbors, which had held the hope of a safer region, has been badly wounded. There are only losers in this war: the Gulf states, Ukraine, America, and, of course, the Iranian people. An important long-term geopolitical loss suffered by the U.S. is the accelerated erosion of its hegemony and the continued transfer of trust to China.” (04/24/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/how-the-iran-war-makes-china-look-good/
Standoff intensifies in Strait of Hormuz
Source: WTOP News
“Tensions in the standoff between the U.S. and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz intensified Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said he ordered the U.S. military to ‘shoot and kill’ Iranian small boats in the strait, while Iran pushed back on Trump’s claim there was a leadership rift in the Islamic Republic. … Trump also said Thursday evening that Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House. The standoff between the U.S. and Iran has effectively choked off nearly all exports through the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world’s traded oil passes in peacetime, with no end in sight.” (04/24/26)
There’s a Simple Way to End the Gerrymander Wars
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp
“The absolute BEST way to end the gerrymander wars would be to abolish Congress (and the rest of the US government). I’m all for it, but I sense I’m in the minority on that suggestion. There’s an easier — or at least simpler — way to get it done, while still catering to the fantasy that it’s possible for a politician to ‘represent’ the rights and interests of the diverse populations who elect him or her. It’s a two-step process: First, Congress repeals the Uniform Congressional District Act. Second, each state goes from ‘single-member district’ elections to ‘at-large statewide’ elections with Ranked Choice Voting.” (04/23/26)
So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
“The fight for privacy and free speech in the surveillance age.” (04/23/26)
It pleaseth the US crown to lighten up just a little bit on cannabis
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“The Trump administration has moved to reclassify marijuana, more than four months after Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the attorney general to move it from schedule I to schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. The schedule I classification meant marijuana was alongside heroin, LSD, MDMA and synthetic opioids, whereas a schedule III classification put it in the same category as ketamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone. … rescheduling will not immediately legalize marijuana or affect the sentences of those incarcerated for possession.” (04/23/26)