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The Bad Newsletter

The Bad Newsletter has moved to Emily Writes Weekly!

  • Is this the standard of political journalism we deserve?

    Is this the standard of political journalism we deserve?

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    I am tired, and very cranky. Audrey Young from the Herald has put out a “Cabinet Report Card” and it’s hard to scrape together adjectives for just how catastrophically useless it is. Unfortunately, the following passage doesn’t appear until part-way through the article, which might have saved readers from being exposed to several paragraphs of

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  • Ecomedy of Economicerrors

    Ecomedy of Economicerrors

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    The below image of a harried-looking nerd popped up on my LinkedIn feed today, and of course, you’re right. It’s my fault for using LinkedIn. But it did prompt me to whip this article together, which turned…

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  • An extended conversation about AI with an actual brain scientist

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    Gidday. Some of you have probably seen the article I wrote for Webworm about AI. In it, I interviewed my mate Lee Reid who’s a neuroscientist and extremely talented programmer (he’s the creator of some excellent music…

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  • What happens when an economist tries to do real science?

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    This is outside the Bad Newsletter’s normal purview but I’m running with it because it’s one of the most darkly hilarious things I’ve seen in a long time. It’s becoming clearer all the time that the discipline…

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  • Our decades of climate change denial

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    I have no words for just how terrible the effects of this climate-change-exacerbated cyclone have been. As I write this, 11 people are confirmed dead, including a two-year-old child, who was swept away as her parents tried…

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  • And now, a word from the future’s sponsors

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    In the aftermath of the Auckland floods and the still-unfolding catastrophe of Cyclone Gabrielle, the media are asking whether New Zealanders (correctly) see these events as linked to climate change. “Does Cyclone Gabrielle have you thinking about…

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  • On a personal note

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    Gidday. So this is more of a personal note than anything, and those that read David Farrier’s Webworm (which is probably a lot of you, and if you don’t, start! It’s great!) are probably already aware of…

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  • Among Us: the too-close-to home terror of Mister Organ

    Among Us: the too-close-to home terror of Mister Organ

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    The reviews all seem to agree: Mister Organ, the newest film from journalist David Farrier, is disturbing. It’s strange. It’s unsettling. It’s funny. It’s very, very good. Having seen it myself at a Q&A screening last night,…

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  • The Problem(s) With Twitter

    The Problem(s) With Twitter

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    I’ve been on Mastodon for about five minutes now and it’s safe to say I like what I’ve seen. Of course, because it’s Mastodon, I’m not on “Mastodon.” That’s like saying “I’m on email.” As far as…

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  • Needless F****** Things

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    I’ve always wanted to make a living as an artist, but so far, life hasn’t found a way. What’s frustrating is not that I’ve had no success; it’s that I’ve had some. Just enough for a taste.…

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  • This bad Covid column is everything wrong with opinion journalism

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    What valuable insights does a sports writer have into pandemic management? According to Stuff, the answer is “enough to publish an entire column about it.” So here’s a bit of a blow-by-blow of said column, authored by…

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