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Vic Brand

@recordedvoice.bsky.social
805 followers 614 following 590 posts

Editor, MS NOW Digital

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Reposted by Vic Brand
Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 22h
There is a moment at the very very end of Abdul El-Sayed's podcast with Ezra Klein (book recommendation section) where he talks about the idea of "speaking truth to pain" and this will be staying with me for an extremely long time. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/o...
But there’s also something about truth to pain. We talk a lot about truth to power, but I think it’s actually a lot harder to speak truth to pain. I say that as someone who went to medical school, realizing that in a lot of our politics right now, we’ve got to get a lot better at speaking truth to pain if we’re going to get through some of these challenges that we have.

What does “truth to pain” mean?

It’s one thing to look power in the eye and say: You’re wrong about this. But there’s a way in which pain is very difficult to reason with. Because when somebody is in their pain, they’re in their trauma. They see that pain, and they may not see what’s causing it.

I remember just very explicitly being in a trauma ward with a gunshot wound patient and watching this big guy with his hand on his gunshot wound. All the folks are trying to pull his hand off his pain, that point of his gunshot wound, this clear vulnerability.

And this emergency room doctor had the presence of mind to be like: Everyone, stop. And she looks him in the eyes, and she’s like: I get that really hurts, and I’m so sorry that you’re here. You don’t want to be here. We don’t want you to be here. But if you don’t let us fix this, you could die. So I’m going to take your hand, and I’m going to move it off, OK? Because I need to get there so that you can live.

She was speaking truth to pain. He understands he’s at the hospital, he needs care, but he also doesn’t want anybody to touch the wound. Which is a natural thing. And I think it is a really great metaphor for how we think about a lot of these challenges we talked about today.
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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
They quoted me in this New Yorker piece about AI today. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
“Let’s say there’s a world or time line I exist in where A.I. has been subject to regulation. It is ethical. It has no footprint environmentally,” the novelist Jeff VanderMeer, a prominent critic of A.I., told me over the phone. “With those guardrails in place, would I read an A.I. book? All I can say is no. And the reason is, in part, because I want to read something coming from a particular mind.” Using A.I., he said, “feels like a betrayal of the whole point of why you’re a writer.”
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John Holbo @jholbo.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
‘The Gulf of Intelligence’ was right there. I give up.
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
One thing that’s interesting about this is that it shows that despite insisting the wokes overinterpet everything, conservatives are actually aware of and agree with their critics about how coded racist appeals work, they just like them bsky.app/profile/newr...
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Paul Fairie @paulisci.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
1959
SCIENTIST FEARS

Thinking Machines Will Dominate Man

--Sarasota Journal, 28 Dec 1959
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Brandy Zadrozny @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Joke about non-consensual contact right out of the gate at the MAHA Summit's "Reform in CMS" panel from moderator Russell Brand, the comedian who has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of rape and sexual assault for which he will stand trial in London next month. Dr. Oz slaps his knee. MAHA!
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grovehaunter @grovewalker.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
photo of werner herzog with a speech bubble added so that it looks like he is saying the quoted post
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Dennis Duncan @djbduncan.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A century ago today "Irene Iddesleigh" – first novel by Amanda McKittrick Ros, the worst novelist in the world – was reprinted by Nonesuch. “I am pleased to say this work now rests upon the shelf of ‘Classic’,” she wrote. “I am very proud of [Irene] sistering Shakespeare, Milton, Blake &c &c”
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David Nir @davidnir.com · 28/09/2026
This move will only draw more attention to the story. Takedown notice sometimes succeed in removing third-party ads b/c stations may conclude the risks of a defamation suit are too high. But they're immune from liability for defamation for *candidate* ads, which this one is. #StreisandEffect
kansasreflector.com
Roger Marshall alleges defamation in new ad about former Kansas patient arrested while in debt • Kansas Reflector
Lawyers for U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican running for reelection, sent his opponent a cease-and-desist letter demanding the Democrat stop airing an ad featuring one of the senator’s former pa...
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Ruairi Dubh @ruairidubh.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
✨Bullet Shattered Cafe windows in Paris 1944 by Photographer Lee Miller✨🇨🇵💥
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erin mccann @mccanner.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I will die on the hill that if I’m CLICKING INTO A MOVIE REVIEW, I do not need an italicized sentence at the top telling me it contains “spoilers.” Like yes that’s why I clicked in. Let’s be adults here.
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VoteHub @votehub.com · 28/09/2026
NEWS — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear criticizes fellow Democrats who say transgender athletes should be barred from women’s sports. “That is not the party that we are. We start as a party of compassion and empathy.”
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James Downie @jamescdownie.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
"We estimate that since 2024, just six firms (Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, and SpaceX)...have spent about $1.2 trillion on AI investments while only making $277 billion in revenues—a gap, so far, of about a trillion dollars." "Simply put, AI firms are losing a race against time."
econjared.substack.com
AI Companies Are In a Race Against Time
They may disemploy us; they may wipe us out. But right now, their lack of profitability underscores our bubble case.
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Live Science @livescience.com · 27/09/2026
A giant cosmic 'fart' is making a wobbling zombie star repeatedly flash us, 'groundbreaking' observations reveal www.livescience.com/space/astron...
livescience.com
A giant cosmic 'fart' is making a wobbling zombie star repeatedly flash us, 'groundbreaking' observations reveal
A very strange binary star system keeps flashing Earth with X-ray flares. Scientists now understand why.
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Molly White @molly.wiki · 27/09/2026
new biggest crypto hack of the year just dropped
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Comics Outta Context 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @comiccontext.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Head and shoulder close up of a pained, sweating Abigail Holland. Through clenched teeth she says, "What kind of a world, Chester? What kind of future? It's going to be like it's ALWAYS been. A life spent fighting monsters and depravity."
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conputer dipshit @davidcrespo.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I’m sorry, but if you bring gypsum - or any damn mineral below 3 on the Mohs scale at all - to a job interview, you’re disqualified. It’s not hard, people.
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New York Focus @nysfocus.com · 26/09/2026
More than a third of school districts reviewed used medically inaccurate and misleading sex education curricula.
nysfocus.com
From Hitler to Lady Gaga: Inside New York’s Sex Ed Classes
A NYCLU review of 50 New York school districts found inaccurate sex ed lessons, along with gaps on consent, contraception, and LGBTQ issues.
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Brian Lyman @brianlyman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
A 48% drop in employees at National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Yikes.
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Drives Like a Dream @urban-achiever.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
i wonder if the people at flock see the irony in this.
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Carolyn Kellogg @paperhaus.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Huge props to the headline writers at The Guardian www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Alberta’s self-image as world’s only rat-free region shattered by discovery of rat
Province’s rat patrol called in to investigate as town of Bowden announces discovery of dead vermin
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Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I’ve given this a great deal of thought and I think the funniest option would be to simply pretend I have never heard of the New York Times
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Jaya Saxena @jayasaxena.com · 25/09/2026
Wait you guys are getting job interviews?
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Vic Brand @recordedvoice.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
And if you needed another reason to dislike Luigi Pirandello, he wrote a whole satirical novel about Deladda's marriage because LP couldn't believe her husband would be happy working as her manager/secretary. And he was bitter that she won the Nobel before he did.
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Kieran Healy @kjhealy.co · 25/09/2026
Sophisticated internet users of many years of extreme onlineosity still reliably getting trolled by Top 100 listicles
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Brad Racino @bradracino.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Last month, we flew our thermal drone over NJ's largest data center and found it operating a fleet of unpermitted generators. Now, on the heels of that investigation, state regulators have issued that facility their largest-ever fine against a data center. floodlightnews.org/new-jersey-d...
floodlightnews.org
New Jersey says DataOne’s 62 generators are illegal. It’s letting them run for 45 more days.
The state's $1 million fine comes less than a month after Floodlight’s visual investigation publicly exposed the Vineland site’s generator fleet for the first time
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Josh Spiegel @mousterpiece.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
“He needs to be eating worms” is maybe the funniest quote the Times has ever published.
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Jesse Locker @jessemlocker.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Cornelis Norbertus Gijsbrechts, Reverse side of a painting, 1670, Oil on canvas, 67 x 87 cm (Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen)
A trompe l'oeil painting of the back of a canvas, and a little (illusionistic) tag attached with a wax seal that says "56)
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Suzan the chalant goth @sillysyntax.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Good for her!
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Maggie McNeill @maggiemcneill.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
As a librarian who used to do acquisitions, I can assure you that NO library buys obscure books in bulk; it would be a complete waste of precious funds. Any bulk buyer which tells you it is buying for libraries is lying to you.
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JM Rieger @riegerreport.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"A television ad promoting President Donald Trump began airing on cable Wednesday saying it was paid for by the U.S. government, despite a federal prohibition on using taxpayer dollars for 'publicity or propaganda.'" www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
washingtonpost.com
Trump ad airing with government funding despite law against ‘propaganda’
A TV ad boosting President Trump and saying that it was paid for by the U.S. government is airing in two major markets despite a federal law against using tax funds for "propaganda."
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Looks like US-made textiles and clothing have gotten more expensive since Trump imposed tariffs in April 2025.
A graph from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the price of US-made textile products and apparel since July of 2022. The prices held mostly steady until May of 2025, at which point they've gone up about 7%.
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Martin Doudoroff @doudoroff.com · 24/09/2026
Last night, at a NYC restaurant, we were charged a $5 service fee… for paying our bill. Details: spiritsandcocktails.community/t/hospitalit... The short of it: if you are presented with a QR code to settle your tab, proceed with meticulous caution. #anithospitality #parasites
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Adam Rogers @jetjocko.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
A lot of things make me feel kind of dumb, including how to take at face value the logic of “we are a multibillion dollar transnational industry building a vengeful elder god, and we definitely won’t stop unless you regulate us the way we want, which is a secret.”
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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app · 23/09/2026
who once what
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Mississippi Free Press @mississippifreepress.org · 23/09/2026
“I don’t understand. It should work. We need the secretary of state’s office to have a robust system that works no matter what," Scott Crawford said. "Otherwise, you’re going to have a whole bunch of people like me spending time and effort over nothing.” buff.ly/iVdbFvc
buff.ly
Mississippi Voter Website May Not Display Correct Registration Information
Some voters’ registration won’t appear on the secretary of state website. The office is telling voters to verify it with their county circuit clerk.
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Jerry Chen @jcsalterego.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
me: no worries (galadriel voice) but they were all of them deceived, for another worry was made
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
v random but do any of you do oil painting commissions/know someone who does
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NANCY COMICS BY ERNIE BUSHMILLER @nancycomics.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Nancy By Ernie Bushmiller September 23,1949
P1 - NANCY SEES SLUGGO DOWNTOWN AND NOTICES THAT HE LOOKS DIFFERENT FOR SOME REASON 
INSTEAD OF THE USUAL WELL DRAWN IMAGES, NANCY AND SLUGGO APPEAR TO BE ONLY SKETCHED OUT
NANCY: YOU LOOK VERY FUNNY TODAY 
SLUGGO:SO DO YOU 
P2-
NANCY: I WONDER WHAT'S WRONG
P3- NANCY AND SLUGGO ARE STANDING OUTSIDE OF ERNIE BUSHMILLER’S OFFICE 
SLUGGO: HE BUSTED HIS EYEGLASSES TODAY
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blink-sun8tzu @suntzufuntzu.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
rowed nineteen hours through fog and stormy seas to reach Monster Island, only to discover it's just a rock someone glued googly eyes to
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Vic Brand @recordedvoice.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
National safety but not public safety
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LRB Bookshop @londonreviewbookshop.co.uk · 23/09/2026
this is daft. driving passengers away is the whole point of a bus
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Journalists at CNN, MS NOW and Politico failed to maintain “standards of professionalism,” according to lawyers working for President Trump, who recently told a female reporter, “Quiet, piggy.”
The Trump administration accused media outlets CNN, MS NOW and Politico of publishing sensitive or classified information and failing to maintain "standards of professionalism" in a court filing Tuesday, days after President Donald Trump said the news organizations would be banned from White House grounds.
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Laura Barrón-López @lbarronlopez.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
EXCLUSIVE @ms.now: Trump administration officials have discussed attaching the president’s name to Ford’s Theatre, the playhouse where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 Officials are circulating a list of government sites that could carry the president’s name www.ms.now/news/trump-f...
ms.now
Trump aides explore attaching president’s name to Ford’s Theatre
The playhouse where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated has been mentioned among federal properties that could carry the president’s name, people familiar with the effort told MS NOW.
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Raffi Melkonian @rmfifthcircuit.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
What a brutal fact-finding - Texas prisons have tried harder to get decent conditions for hens than for inmates.
The lack of temperature controls in the majority of TDCJ’s inmate housing stands in 
contrast to the agency’s approach to other areas of its operations—including in parts of its 
agricultural program. For example, TDCJ has spent millions of dollars to ensure that poultry are 
housed in safe temperatures. 174 TDCJ’s documentation specifies that “[t]he regulation of air-flow 
within a poultry house is of great importance because excessive moisture and heat buildup can 
adversely affect the overall productivity of a laying flock” and that “great care must be taken to 
maintain a comfortable environment for the flock,” with the optimal temperature range for laying 
hens being 45 degrees to 75 degrees.175 These protections do not exist in inmate housing facilities.
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Sarah E. Bond @sarahebond.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
There is a Reddit user who made went 🏺 to the Met and polycam 3D scanned various Greek amphorae. Now they are making one to scale completely out of gingerbread. This is truly delectable reconstructive archaeology. www.reddit.com/r/blender/s/... Greeks did love imported ζιγγίβερις from India!
reddit.com
From the blender community on Reddit: we used blender to make a greek vase out of gingerbread
Explore this post and more from the blender community
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Steve Benen @stevebenen.com · 22/09/2026
Trump’s press ban? “National security.” His arch? “National security.” Why gut wind energy? “National security.” Justify tariffs? “National security.” Wants Greenland? “National security.” Ignore Endangered Species Act? “National security.” The pattern is not subtle. www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
ms.now
For Trump, ‘national security’ remains the answer to every question
“When you look under the hood, they’re fake national security emergencies,” one scholar explained. “This is a power grab.”
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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 21/09/2026
This will make it nearly impossible to file habeas petitions, because attorneys won’t even know what federal district their client has been moved to to stage for their removal. Something like a third of all people in ICE custody. apnews.com/article/ice-...
apnews.com
AP Exclusive: ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stopped publicly revealing where it is holding most detainees who are subject to final deportation orders, in a move that has made it harder for lawyers an...
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