surveillance Uganda's unenforceable social media tax is augmented by a biometric requirement for SIM card purchases Cory Doctorow

ebola We've got to stop turning our backs on Ebola Seamus Bellamy

uk The BBC has a pidgin service Cory Doctorow

Space NASA renames DC headquarters after Mary W. Jackson Rob Beschizza

health As Coronavirus infections near 100,000 worldwide, fear of mass deaths for the poor Xeni Jardin

Comic Books Box of Bones — "Tales from the Crypt Meets Black History" Mark Frauenfelder

NASA Katherine Johnson, pioneering NASA mathematician portrayed in "Hidden Figures," RIP David Pescovitz

authoritarianism Cops and spooks all over the world rely on a junk-science "walking polygraph" method to steer their investigation Cory Doctorow

books In an age of disappearing prison libraries, jail profiteers provide "free" crapgadget tablets that charge prisoners by the minute to read Project Gutenberg ebooks Cory Doctorow

gyre Floating garbage patches largely comprised of trash dumped off ships Jason Weisberger

religion Full story of the missionary killed when trying to convert an "uncontacted" tribe David Pescovitz

artificial intelligence Why didn't OpenAI release the "Unicorn" version of its AI storytelling software? Mark Frauenfelder

futility closet Actress Gay Gibson met a mysterious death on an ocean liner in 1947 Futility Closet

racism Catherynne Valente schools her racist neighbors about the asylum seekers in their midst Catherynne Valente

scams Why you should never return a robocall – it could cost you a small fortune Mark Frauenfelder

corruption Chicago's first gay, Black, woman mayor won all 50 wards, defeating the machine candidate with an anti-corruption campaign Cory Doctorow

happy mutants First, Angélique Kidjo paid tribute to Talking Heads; now she's honoring Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa Cory Doctorow

eff The European Copyright Directive: What is it, and why has it drawn more controversy than any other Directive in EU history? Cory Doctorow

Copyfight Netherlands court strikes down Dutch grifter's patent claim over Ethiopia's ancient staple grain teff Cory Doctorow