Right? I found the first example really off putting. The author gives credit to AlphaFold for doing the hard work of winning a Nobel. Yes, it's important tech, but to then down play the work of the people that developed and continue to run, check, and interpret the work is messed up.

Yeah, it's a long production process and most years it'll cost you more to overwinter. The extra feed alone to make winter gains doesn't make it worth it. And you can't just keep a herd that is at weight and expect that they are still marketable for the best prices come spring.

Almost all sheep is sold as "lamb" here. Mutton is an almost impossible sell for most. It takes a lot of relationship building and education about preparation.
There are folks doing it, it just tends to be at a much smaller scale.

Seems like this should also be part of PE/Health curriculum. It's good to be physically active but learning to calm yourself down, do breathing exercises, etc would be more helpful to long term health/fitness than walking around a track for an hour or learning fun facts about drugs.

The ability to use high throughput sequencing had radically changed our understanding of gut functioning (and soil diversity). But it means people who were told one thing 15 years ago are now told something different. That alone can erode trust. And it's happening in multiple fields all at once.

There are people who will take advantage of that fear/confusion in the change in consensus. But scientists could also communicate in ways that take that into account.
I think about the way advancements in genetics in the last 30 years have radically changed understandings in agriculture and health.

I agree this is part of it, but we are also in a period with extraordinary change within science tech. We've had multiple advancements in a relatively short period that allow us to see the world in ways we never could before. That means change in understanding, and that is scary/confusing.

It was also within the USDA. Dr. Lundgren was a whistleblower. They tried to stifle research on unintended harm of neonics and he was suspended after publishing and trying to present at a conference. He was right. His independent lab, Ecdysis Foundation, does cool work now.

Recruiters at every high school job fair. Seemingly good incentives. Community prestige.
It can be hard for some vets to get jobs afterwards, so I get why you'd stay in/try contracting.
Other disqualifying stuff in Planter's case, but military service starting in 2003 is understandable.

I wonder if there is a generational thing too. People too young to remember the culture after 9/11 and Bush years. It was a weird time. Yellow ribbons & POW/MIS magnets on every other car. People against the war would say "thanks for your service" to soldiers.

Yep - they're heavily invested in the stock market. It's higher than ever and they don't have to pay as much in taxes. So their economy is great, at least until the AI bubble bursts.

Monopolization sucks.

It was really interesting to hear about the parallels to 2008. I keep hearing how it's like the dotcom bubble, but this feels bigger and riskier than that.
Also some good points at the end about strategically deflating bubbles. The neo liberal consensus can't even conceive of the idea.

This video is on point. We're deporting people so they can be brought into the more easily exploitable H2A system. We already did this with the Bracero Program in the 50s. We don't need to do it again, we need something new.

This admin is taking that playbook and greatly expanding it. They aren't just lowering wages, they're also going to let farmers take rents out of workers paychecks for their housing. We all know the dangers of company towns, this is the same thing.

We did the same thing during "Operation Wetback"/Bracero program. Deport immigrant farm workers (and some brown citizens) and bring them back under Bracero. It's exactly what you described - farmers don't like that labor can leave if conditions are bad, so they lock them in with these programs.

Thank you! I can't stand the "voting against their interests" line. It presumes that others are too stupid to make good decisions, but really shows one's own ignorance. It's really condescending and you can't make change without clearly understanding the problem.

Yeah, they are in a cult and they have so much money and power. It's bad.

The Very Weird Farmer Revolt Against Trump…Over a Bailout of Argentina Welcome to the podcast Organized Money.

They also did this deal just before the Argentine elections to help Milei - a guy who takes political advice from his dead dog.

Matias Vernengo explains Venezuela's situation pretty well on the Organized Money podcast and the article you linked fills in more pieces. Thanks for sharing.

Deport and Replace. Again and again. Surprised it took this long to do it. Even worse conditions for H2A workers and lower wages for citizen workers.

We're supposed to raise kids in groups. I get why parents try tech since it's hard to fill kids' entire play/creativity need with 1-2 adults. Instead of investing in spaces and economic systems that support families, we've got 1/3 of our economy in a tool that makes isolation worse. Good times.

US farmers are saying they "just need temporary help, until things get better."

Here's the thing. US farm exports- which are mostly soy- CANNOT get better.

Other countries expanded their soy industries to fill China's demand.

We've walled ourselves out of the global market, folks. This is it.

Yes. Saying everyone has value doesn't mean we can't have standards. We all have the potential to be of service to each other, even if we've hurt others in the past. BUT that change takes effort and it's our job to say you don't get to hold power in our society if you won't change hurtful behavior.

I was thinking the same, particularly after watching the ad. It's a legit criticism that has nothing to do with gender, race or political violence. Playing the victim hits an especially sour note right now, since it's a major strategy of Trump and his ilk and we're all so tired of it.

Good episode!
I appreciated the part about human cognition. It isn't just our brains, it's our bodies and environment too. People are messy but human cognition is amazing. These guys need to spend more time in awe of little kids and less time worshipping their fake ai god.

The Federal Farm Policy Trap: Why Some Farmers Are Stuck Raising Crops That No Longer Thrive Some farmers keep growing in flood- and drought-prone fields because subsidies soften the losses, while federal programs meant to help them change course have been underfunded and mired in bureaucracy...

As Steve Williams waited for federal funds to take his flooded farmland out of use, his bills didn’t stop.

His family could do nothing and watch their farm operation fail, or keep trying to grow crops on land they knew would yield little.

With @capitolnewsil.bsky.social

‘The whole thing is screwed up’: Farmers in deep-red Pennsylvania struggle to find workers They’re pushing lawmakers to move faster on a farm labor solution, even as the president cracks down on immigration.

I'm so tired of hearing farmers say Americans don't want to work. I know plenty of people who want to farm, but want health insurance and a stable paycheck more. Consolidated corporations exploit farmers who then exploit workers. Changing H2A won't fix an exploitative system. We need bigger changes.

Employers Have Exploited and Abused H-2A Farmworkers for Years. It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way. The seasonal visa program has failed to protect migrant farmworkers from wage theft, forced labor, violence and death. Experts, lawyers and advocates say there are ways to reduce and even stop the har...

NEW: The H-2A visa program has failed to protect migrant farmworkers from wage theft, forced labor, violence and death.

Here’s what experts, lawyers and advocates think would make the program safer.

By @maxblau.bsky.social

Yes. Commodity crops have always been produced by exploited labor - slavery, sharecropping, haciendas, Braceros, etc. It sits alongside the mythologized yeoman/family farmer, which sanitizes ever present labor exploitation. The current system doesn't function without it.

She is also young and thrust into a spotlight she didn't ask for and doesn't owe anyone an interview. I think she has the ability to be really powerful, but in this interview I mostly saw signs of someone heading for self destruction. I really hope she has time/support to get past it.