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Clive Thompson

@clivethompson.bsky.social

Writer, musician, hobbyist coder. Wired / NYT Magazine / Mother Jones, author of "Coders". Blog at clivethompson.medium.com. Free "Linkfest" newsletter ("the opposite of doomscrolling"): https://shorturl.at/XcutG. Built https://www.weirdoldbookfinder.net/

7,625 Followers  |  1,232 Following  |  1,257 Posts  |  Joined: 21.06.2023
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Posts by Clive Thompson (@clivethompson.bsky.social)

This reminds me of that line I saw someone say once (which rang true) that something that makes Trump uniquely able to connect with low-information voters is that he is a low-information voter.

09.03.2026 02:06 β€” πŸ‘ 1162    πŸ” 217    πŸ’¬ 18    πŸ“Œ 11
Preview
Swatch Internet Time - Wikipedia

I’m down

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatch_...

08.03.2026 21:54 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
The covers of three books. Left to right: Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the life of a legend, about the late Sopranos actor. The cover shows Gandolfini looking shy, peering offscreen with one unobstructed eye and another that peeks out between the fingers of his right hand.
CENTER: The cover of Cinema Her Way, a coffee table book by Marya E. Gates about female directors. On the cover is actress Michelle Rodriguez as the boxer heroine of Karyn Kusama's sports drama Girlfight, about a woman boxer. 
RIGHT David Hockney's painting collection The Arrival of Spring in Normandy, showing a painting of a verdant field. In the background of the field is green grass. in the upper foreground are the branches of a tree sprouting white, cottony buds.

The covers of three books. Left to right: Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the life of a legend, about the late Sopranos actor. The cover shows Gandolfini looking shy, peering offscreen with one unobstructed eye and another that peeks out between the fingers of his right hand. CENTER: The cover of Cinema Her Way, a coffee table book by Marya E. Gates about female directors. On the cover is actress Michelle Rodriguez as the boxer heroine of Karyn Kusama's sports drama Girlfight, about a woman boxer. RIGHT David Hockney's painting collection The Arrival of Spring in Normandy, showing a painting of a verdant field. In the background of the field is green grass. in the upper foreground are the branches of a tree sprouting white, cottony buds.

A screenshot of the pre-orders section at mzs.press. Three screenshots of books that have not yet been released. I Am The Night, Daniel Dockery's book about Batman the Brave and the Bold, has a silhouette of Batman stretching from the top to the bottom of the cover, with the title of the book and a nighttime Gotham skyline circumscribed by the borders of the Batman silhouette.

CENTER The cover of The Ring Cycle, Matt Zoller Seitz and Odie Henderson's book on the Rocky and Creed films. The cover is white except for a pair of black boxing gloves floating there

RIGHT The cover of Documentary Now!, the 600-page, 7-pound coffee table book celebrating the aforementioned IFC Channel series parodying classic documentaries.

A screenshot of the pre-orders section at mzs.press. Three screenshots of books that have not yet been released. I Am The Night, Daniel Dockery's book about Batman the Brave and the Bold, has a silhouette of Batman stretching from the top to the bottom of the cover, with the title of the book and a nighttime Gotham skyline circumscribed by the borders of the Batman silhouette. CENTER The cover of The Ring Cycle, Matt Zoller Seitz and Odie Henderson's book on the Rocky and Creed films. The cover is white except for a pair of black boxing gloves floating there RIGHT The cover of Documentary Now!, the 600-page, 7-pound coffee table book celebrating the aforementioned IFC Channel series parodying classic documentaries.

Screenshot of three books carried at mzs.press arts bookstore: 
LEFT: Cover of Lead Sister, a biography of Karen Carpenter, featuring a closeup of Carpenter playing and singing with The Carpenters.
CENTER: The cover of Anthony Hopkins' We Did OK, Kid, a memoir of his life and career. On the cover is Hopkins in closeup as he looks presently, narrowed blue eyes looking directly at the spectator. 
RIGHT: Cover of Louis Armstrong In His Own Words, a collection of the bandleader's correspondence. The cover image is a photograph of a probably fortysomething Armstrong seated at the wooden desk in his office where he often wrote letters.

Screenshot of three books carried at mzs.press arts bookstore: LEFT: Cover of Lead Sister, a biography of Karen Carpenter, featuring a closeup of Carpenter playing and singing with The Carpenters. CENTER: The cover of Anthony Hopkins' We Did OK, Kid, a memoir of his life and career. On the cover is Hopkins in closeup as he looks presently, narrowed blue eyes looking directly at the spectator. RIGHT: Cover of Louis Armstrong In His Own Words, a collection of the bandleader's correspondence. The cover image is a photograph of a probably fortysomething Armstrong seated at the wooden desk in his office where he often wrote letters.

Screenshot of the covers of 3 books carried at mzs.press Arts Bookstore. 
LEFT: The cover of Gotham City Cocktails, a book of mixed drink recipes inspired by Batman. Art deco-style flowing border lines flow around and around the interior of the dust jacket. At the center are drawings of two tall cocktail glasses and between them, a shot glass and a tumbler with a sword-pierced cherry in it. 
CENTER: The cover of Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea Cookbook. Green cover, white writing and graphics. The central image is a teapot with stem lines coming out of it, and at the pot's base, a teacup and saucer and a separate plate of biscuits.
RIGHT: Bob's Burgers "The Re-Recipe Box," a set of recipe cards inspired by the joke hamburger names featured on the small board at the front of Bob's joint. Red sides with small graphics, cover image of the restaurant.

Screenshot of the covers of 3 books carried at mzs.press Arts Bookstore. LEFT: The cover of Gotham City Cocktails, a book of mixed drink recipes inspired by Batman. Art deco-style flowing border lines flow around and around the interior of the dust jacket. At the center are drawings of two tall cocktail glasses and between them, a shot glass and a tumbler with a sword-pierced cherry in it. CENTER: The cover of Downton Abbey Afternoon Tea Cookbook. Green cover, white writing and graphics. The central image is a teapot with stem lines coming out of it, and at the pot's base, a teacup and saucer and a separate plate of biscuits. RIGHT: Bob's Burgers "The Re-Recipe Box," a set of recipe cards inspired by the joke hamburger names featured on the small board at the front of Bob's joint. Red sides with small graphics, cover image of the restaurant.

Greetings, new friends! You may know me as an author, a prolific Bluesky poster and 4th place finisher on So You Call That Dancing? But you might not know that my partner Judith (@mzpress) and I have an online arts bookstore that's growing every day. Full inventory here: mzs.press/EVERYTHING-W...

07.03.2026 04:16 β€” πŸ‘ 937    πŸ” 565    πŸ’¬ 21    πŸ“Œ 43

As far as I’m concerned, the most important part of this piece is the celebration of the wonderful Selina Alko’s picture book about Judy Blume! Go Selina!

08.03.2026 14:59 β€” πŸ‘ 40    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

yikes!

07.03.2026 18:35 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

your work here is done

07.03.2026 18:23 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

β€œlet’s do it and be legends”

07.03.2026 16:39 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It is difficult
to get the news from poems
yet men die miserably every day
for lack
of what is found there

β€” William Carlos Williams, "Asphodel That Greeny Flower"

07.03.2026 16:08 β€” πŸ‘ 32    πŸ” 12    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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How Elon Musk’s Sci-Fi Hyperloop Failed Before his misadventures in government efficiency, Musk promised to revolutionize commuting with a subway that would speed passengers between DC and Baltimore in a matter of minutes. The project was a...

A year long investigation into the Hyperloop found …

β€œThe truth was far simpler, far dumber, and far more prescient: Musk and his lieutenants truly had no idea what they were doing.”

washingtonian.com/2026/02/12/h...

07.03.2026 16:24 β€” πŸ‘ 1468    πŸ” 550    πŸ’¬ 73    πŸ“Œ 122
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Human brain cells on a chip learned to play Doom in a week Neuron-powered computer chips can now be easily programmed to play a first-person shooter game, bringing biological computers a step closer to useful applications

2026, man

www.newscientist.com/article/2517...

06.03.2026 19:19 β€” πŸ‘ 1423    πŸ” 272    πŸ’¬ 151    πŸ“Œ 110
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Tired of dystopian sci-fi? You might like Solarpunk. A recent literary genre imagines what happens when our climate changesβ€”and so do we.

" #Solarpunk poses a fascinating question: What would a world that had seriously tackled climate change look like?" @clivethompson.bsky.social in @motherjones.com www.motherjones.com/environment/...

05.03.2026 04:36 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The secret to a better city is a two-wheeler E-bikes get cars off the road and reduce pollutionβ€”and that's only part of why places like Denver are giving them away.

"Parking is hassle-free. And she can carry groceries in a crate strapped to the rear rack. She’d just ridden 4 miles to a doctor’s appointment for a checkup on a recent hip replacement." @clivethompson.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/politics/202... #ebikes #EVs #climatesky

05.03.2026 04:48 β€” πŸ‘ 36    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

agreed

or the reincarnated spirits of some dead 60s french situationists

06.03.2026 15:18 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Yeah, some other folks had the same thought -- it makes sense!

06.03.2026 15:17 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Very close!

06.03.2026 15:17 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

i also agree with this confusion

06.03.2026 15:17 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

wooooooo

06.03.2026 15:16 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

It was *wildly* overengineered -- that's what fascinated me so much when I read the teardowns

they were custom-milling parts to aerospace specs

totally unglued

i kind of love it

06.03.2026 15:16 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, that's adjacent!

06.03.2026 15:15 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

yes!

06.03.2026 15:15 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

100%

06.03.2026 15:15 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

One of my favorite failed ideas

06.03.2026 15:15 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

A good guess! But no

06.03.2026 15:14 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

correct!!

06.03.2026 15:14 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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ICE detains reporter Estefany RodrΓ­guez in Nashville - Nashville Banner Reporter Estefany RodrΓ­guez, detained by ICE with no arrest warrant, may face deportation. Her attorneys seek immediate review of the legality of her case.

ICE has arrested and detained a Nashville journalist who reported stories critical of ICE. She’s married to a U.S. citizen and has been seeking asylum here after fleeing death threats in Colombia because of her journalism there.

They’ve already sent her to Louisiana.

05.03.2026 23:41 β€” πŸ‘ 12284    πŸ” 7423    πŸ’¬ 293    πŸ“Œ 336
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β€œI feel like I’m grieving my mother” Damaris Bello’s mother attended a green card interviewβ€”and was deported less than 24 hours later.

Last month, 22-year-old Damaris Bello’s mother attended a green card interviewβ€”and was deported less than 24 hours later.

Before the officers could handcuff her, Maria Estrada Juarez asked if she could hug her daughter one last time.

06.03.2026 03:00 β€” πŸ‘ 206    πŸ” 86    πŸ’¬ 7    πŸ“Œ 5

It does have extremely retro vibes!

05.03.2026 04:14 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Yeah those gears make that seem likely!

05.03.2026 04:13 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I was on IRC before I was on the web. Bringing ATproto to IRC is amazing.

05.03.2026 02:58 β€” πŸ‘ 149    πŸ” 22    πŸ’¬ 7    πŸ“Œ 1

A grammatically and syntactically correct appraisal

05.03.2026 02:25 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0