iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

@saraemor.bsky.social and I bought a house today with a yard and Google Fiber. I get to garden and do DIY projects again!

Photo of a heterosexual White couple holding a house key

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

@roderickstruth.bsky.social and his book "Starting Somewhere" were my favorite discoveries of 2025. I'm grateful our paths crossed. If you haven't bought "Starting Somewhere" yet, check it out at truthispublishing.com. You'll be glad you did.

White man with glasses holding a copy of the book "Starting Somewhere"

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

According to 2024 GSS data from @norc.org, social trust among Americans has dropped 5-6 percentage points in the 2020s. Only 1 in 4 Americans now say "Most people can be trusted." Race continues to be the most significant factor, with White trust declining and non-White trust even more rare.

Line chart showing 46.2% of Americans who said "Most people can be trusted" in 1972 versus 25.2% in 2024.

Line chart showing a decline of social trust among White Americans from 1972 to 2024. The same chart shows historically low trust among non-White Americans during the same period.

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

We shouldn’t need to supplement our social safety nets with things like Little Free Pantries, but here we are. Alex Forsythe, who stewards these pantries, sees a world where everyone has their needs met. We all rely on people like her to catch us when we fall through society’s cracks.

Quote from Alex Forsythe: "The more we expand the [Little Free Pantries] locally, the stronger the safety net becomes and the more we start thinking about community care as a whole."

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

I've been writing an encyclopedia of American social issues because I haven't seen one written since the 1990s. I'm up to 420 (heh) social issues affecting Americans and have written entries for about a third of them. Below is a preview of my list, broken into 11 categories.

Small screen capture of a spreadsheet with 11 columns and 420 text entries.

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

@roderickstruth.bsky.social isn't just wise. He's also humble, especially when talking about his book. 😅 You can hear the whole conversation this month on The Plural of You.

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

@roderickstruth.bsky.social is a wise person. Being prepared doesn’t mean giving up all of your comforts to be an activist. It means starting with what you have to help the people around you, especially your loved ones and neighbors. Roderick’s book, Starting Somewhere, is full of wisdom like this.

Quote from Roderick Douglass: "This only ends one way: either climate change or revolution. It's probably going to happen in the relatively near future, if not our lifetime then the next generation. This is go-time. We really need to prepare."

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

“We all have privilege,” @melaniehood-wilson.bsky.social told me. She said it is the “height of arrogance” to assume we don’t. Some have labelled privilege a dirty word. For us as empathetic people, it shouldn’t be. Being aware of what advantages you may have can help you help others.

Quote by Melanie Hood-Wilson: "Privilege is one of those things you don't notice until you don't have it."

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

My old USB mic of 10 years died. Time for an upgrade.

Photo of a Rode PodMic, Scarlett Solo audio mixer, and an XLR cable

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

A sacred place in Memphis and my favorite museum. I wish it wasn't necessary, but I hope America will preserve it through these dark times.

The exterior of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, which is the site of the National Civil Rights Museum.

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Checking out ice cream, I mean Memphis.

Middle aged White man with too much ice cream and a spoon in his mouth

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

Humankind: A Hopeful History by @rutgerbregman.com dismantles the conventional wisdom that humans are all selfish first and foremost. It confirms a lot of my values—and my biases—about people with evidence. It's going to be one of my favorite books for years to come.

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

“‘Nice’ doesn’t sell ads,” writes Rutger Bregman, Dutch journalist, author, and historian. Yes, it’s good to be informed, but the news is like sugar: we have to be cautious about over-indulging. This year, I’m going on a news diet. I hope you’ll give it a try with me.

Quote: "News is to the mind what sugar is to the body." By Rolf Dobelli

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Here's my favorite quote from this month's episode of The Plural of You. Thanks to Laura Hale of the ONE Good Deed Fund for coming on again. "[Our lack of care for others] has never been a deficit of information. It's a deficit of empathy."

Quote by Laura Hale: "[Our lack of care for others] has never been a deficit of information. It's a deficit of empathy."

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

My Spotify Wrapped was a little goth clubby this year. Also, my theme for the year was "Tapestry from an Asteroid" by Sun Ra.

Spotify Wrapped graphic listing my top artists and top songs of 2024.

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Moving back to Alabama, the state where I grew up, was one of my biggest fears. I know now that, despite my disagreements with the people here, I was resisting a more loving environment. Being around family again, both mine and my in-laws, has been worth the difficult tradeoffs I made to come back.

Photo of a White family playing Magic: The Gathering around a table.

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

My Pavlovian response is always Unlearn by Psykosonik. It's one of my favorite audio journeys.

Album art for Unlearn by Psykosonik, with a red background and a white P

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

One day I aspire to be as wise a writer as Robin Wall Kimmerer. The Serviceberry defends the natural world and praises gift economies, and it makes me long to be a better person.

Cover of The Serviceberry, a book by Robin Wall Kimmerer, with a cedar waxwing bird eating serviceberries

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

The world sucks right now, but don't give up yet.

Quote: "Don't give up yet. There's something you can do out there. I believe in you and I'm proud of you."

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 15/10/2024

This is one of my favorite quotes from @meganpsyd.bsky.social this month. She's a psychologist and applied game master who runs games like D&D as therapy tools. Fantasy worlds in games have something in common with the real world: we can redesign both to be more considerate and more inclusive.

Quote: "It’s a neat thing to think about a world that thinks about the
consideration of others." By Dr. Megan Connell

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Josh Morgan @monarchjogs.bsky.social · 16/07/2024

Trust among Americans has declined since the late 1960s. Over half of Americans then agreed "most people" can be trusted. It was 1 in 4 in 2022. See my chart below. Some people guess political/religious affiliations are correlated, but they aren't. Education & race are most significant in the US.

Chart showing two maps of the United States: one in overall pale red from 1972, and one in overall deep red from 2022. This indicates a nationwide decline in trust.

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