Ben Waber

The Social Transformation of American Medicine “A monumental achievement” (New York Times) and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the Bancroft Prize in American History, this is a landmark h...

Last was "The Social Transformation of American Medicine" by @starrprospect.bsky.social. This is a prescient, eye-opening look at how the medical profession developed in the US. Highly recommend

Full review: bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/... (9/9)

YouTube video by Columbia Business School Market Power in Transition Conference: Data Compute and Control

Next was an intriguing panel on AI supply chain power and resurrecting tried-and-true remedies with Ankur Kapoor, Maurice Stucke, Luigi Zingales, and Koren W. Wong-Ervin www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShoI... (8/9)

YouTube video by Columbia Business School Market Power in Transition Conference: Antitrust and Labor

Next was a compelling panel on antitrust and labor with Rosa M. Morales, Suresh Naidu, @imarinescu.bsky.social, @evanpstarr.bsky.social, and Jonathan Guryan www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1V6... (7/9)

YouTube video by Columbia Business School Market Power in Transition Conference: Antitrust Enforcement

Next was an interesting panel on antitrust enforcement across different geographies with Margaret Loudermilk, Elinor Hoffmann, Roger Alford, and Pierantonio D’Elia www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPaC... (6/9)

YouTube video by Columbia Business School Market Power in Transition Conference: Beyond Competition

Next was a great panel on AI, digital platforms, and antitrust with Keler Marku, Alessandro Acquisti, @helenamalikova.bsky.social, and Sheila R. Adams James www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvol... (5/9)

YouTube video by Columbia Business School Market Power in Transition Conference: Lina Khan

Next was an excellent discussion with Lina Khan on antitrust enforcement and Big Tech www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY3R... (4/9)

YouTube video by Peterson Institute for International Economics The state of US-Japan economic relations in a changing global economy

Next was an informative panel on the state of US-Japan economic relations at @piie.com with Marcus Noland, Leila Aridi Afas, Mary E. Lovely, and Shujiro Urata www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjBV... (3/9)

YouTube video by Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard Misperceptions of Gender Norms

First was a thought-provoking talk by David Yanagizawa-Drott on misperception of gender norms across 60 countries at the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp4P... (2/9)

A selfie of me in front of a small pond, with melting patches of snow coating the forest ground surrounding it, on a sunny day. I'm a bald, middle-aged, white man with a red beard flecked with white. I'm wearing black sunglasses and a light blue running hoodie.

It was positively springlike in Boston today, and while basking in a glimpse of warmth I went for a run and listened to talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist! (1/9)

Rules A panoramic history of rules in the Western world

Last was "Rules: A Short History of What We Live By" by Lorraine Daston. The middle third of this book is amazing, focusing on the history of algorithms, calculation, and rules and regulations in the age of urban expansion

Full review: bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/... (6/6)

Next was an interesting talk by Yue Wang on using large models for robotics applications at Stanford www.youtube.com/watch?v=popj... (5/6)

YouTube video by The Burnes Center for Social Change PowerHalfHourUpload 21

Next was an important @poweratwork.bsky.social panel on the latest developments in US labor with friends of the playlist @mrsethharris.bsky.social and @aaronsojourner.org, as well @clauirizarry.bsky.social and Bill Samuel www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzg3... (4/6)

YouTube video by Digital Markets Research Hub Richard Whish: Key Trends and Latest Cases in Competition Law & New Digital Markets Regimes

Next was an engaging discussion with Richard Whish on key trends and cases in competition law at the Digital Markets Research Hub www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOPl... (3/6)

YouTube video by Deep Learning Indaba The Human Cost of AI: Looking Inside Kenya’s Data Labeling Industry with Joan Kinyua

First was a great conversation with @joan1k.bsky.social (👋) on Kenya's data labeling industry at @deeplearningindaba.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXSM... (2/6)

A selfie of me in front of a snow-covered forest on a sunny day. I'm a middle-aged white man with a red beard flecked with white. I'm wearing a black New Balance running jacket with the hood up, a black headband, and black sunglasses.

I've had a hectic couple of days, but I managed to fit in a run and listen to some talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist! (1/6)

SCOOP: Anthropic was among the AI companies that submitted a proposal earlier this year to compete in a $100 million Pentagon prize challenge to produce technology for voice-controlled, autonomous drone swarming, acc to people familiar w/ matter.

And everyone is running around praising them for being "ethical"

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

two nuns are smiling and standing next to each other in a room . Alt: A gif of a scene from the Spanish Inquisition portion of the History of the world part 1 movie where two columns of nuns bow off one row at a time to eventually reveal Mel Brooks clad in a red robe, smiling.

Hopefully their answer included something about Mel Brooks, at least

Muggsy Bogues isn't obscure, but I want to use this opportunity to plug him as the most skilled player of all time. Dude is 5'3" and played in the NBA for *14 YEARS* - he started 556 games too, and for his career clocked in at 7.7 ppg, 7.6 apg, and 1.5 steals per game 🐐

Representation in Compensation Cases Are you making or considering making a PO Compensation claim?

Not sure if there are any PO scandal victims on here, who are unrepresented, but if there are or you know any please take a quick look at this... richardmoorhead.substack.com/p/representa...

The Story of Human Language Discover the fascinating history of human language-from its beginning as a single tongue spoken some 150,000 years ago to the estimated 6,000 languages spoken today.

Last was "The Story of Human Language" by John McWhorter. This is an essential introductory series of lectures to the nature of human language - its development, evolutionary processes, and forms. Highly recommend

Full review: bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/... (5/5)

Language Families of the World Using the tools of linguistics, undertake a voyage of discovery to uncover the origins of language families around the world and the ways languages have developed and changed over time.

Next was "Language Families of the World" by John McWhorter, who provides his characteristic wit and deep linguistic expertise to this compelling tour through the language groups of the world. Highly recommend

Full review: bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/... (4/5)

Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet Examine the alphabet from A to Z with linguist John McWhorter and discover what the development of writing can teach us about language, culture, and human connection.

Next was "Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet" by John McWhorter, who cracks jokes throughout this methodical examination of the history of the modern English alphabet. Highly recommend

Full review: bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/... (3/5)

Tacit Racism We need to talk about racism before it destroys our democracy. And that conversation needs to start with an acknowledgement that racism is coded into even the most ordinary interactions. Every time we...

First was "Tacit Racism" by Anne Warfield Rawls and Waverly Duck. This book focuses on how social expectations and conversational dynamics build on top of institutional racism to lead to even greater anti-Black bias. Highly recommend

Full review: bookwyrm.social/user/bwaber/... (2/5)

A selfie of me in front of a snow-covered forest on a sunny day. I'm a bald, middle-aged, white man with a red beard flecked with white. I'm wearing glasses with a metal top rim, a black partially unzipped hoodie with the hood over my head, a blue t-shirt, and a dark blue winter coat with a check pattern.

It was a gorgeous weekend in Boston, and while getting what will probably be one of my last glimpses of the snow this winter I listened to books for my #AcademicRunPlaylist! (1/5)

My medium sized, short haired, black dog with a bit of grey at the end of his muzzle, resting his head on the arm of a white upholstered chair.

For a change of pace, here's my dog. He has decided he's not going to move from this chair for the rest of the evening.

Plymouth Rock: The official sponsor of storrowing Ron Newman spotted this ad from Boston's own Plymouth Rock Assurance, expanding its coverage to include illiterate drivers who storrow their trucks, atop an entrance to the Kendall Square Red Line sto...

Plymouth Rock: The official sponsor of storrowing
www.universalhub.com/2026/plymout...

#Boston #storrowing

This week is particularly packed with extremely intriguing books

Gladly:

"You used ChatGPT enough to export data? How many dirty Christmas themed limericks can you possibly need?"

"Ah, taking the moral stance and moving to the company that eschews military uses in favor of eugenics, I see."

"It's great that you won't have to make up data a second time."

A highly complex website showing two betting accounts earning nearly $500,000 and $120,000 on a minimal number of positions.

In case you were wondering, Polymarket had yet another spate of likely inside traders betting that the US would strike Iran by February 28.

Per the due diligence investigation service Bubblemaps, the wallets used were created 24 hours earlier.

The Pentagon Pizza Index has been replaced.