https://www.metafilter.com/favorites/all Posts from across all sites, marked as a favorite most often in the past seven days. Mon, 02 Nov 2026 12:32:08 GMT Mon, 02 Nov 2026 12:32:08 GMT en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 exposing the names, phone numbers and addresses of more than 40,000 DHS agents, operatives, and associates, including those involved in undercover operations.

More than 21,000 records identify employees with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Another 10,000 relate to Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees and its Homeland Security Investigations unit. This is not everyone in the department - only about one-fifth of the staff.

The hackers - who have called themselves "The Department Of Peace" - shared the files with American journalist Ryan Ottignon and a Swiss hacker who goes by maia arson crimew. Ottingnon and crimew created a searchable database they call "Icepick".

Other activists have applauded the move - firstly, it contains information that they often need to complete FOIA requests, and secondly, in many cases the data contains chain of command information - outlining not only a given agent's contact information, but also who they report to, or who reports to them. Ottingnon also dismisses accusations of doxxing: "We are in a situation in which a group of public officials go around into cities and states and all around the country, and they seek to hide who they are. Very frequently using masks, wearing plain clothes. And they do universally unspeakable things to these communities. [...] We need oversight for useful government, if it exists at all. So this is just one step in that oversight process."

The DHS has simply said that they are "aware of a potential breach and [are] actively working to address the situation swiftly and effectively."]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214996/They-have-our-information-so-its-only-fair-that-we-have-theirs www.metafilter.com,2026:site.214996 Thu, 29 Oct 2026 12:46:11 GMT EmpressCallipygos In-depth interview with the guy who yanked Fox News' chain with a Jonestown reference at a Trump rally, complete with Death (the metal band, not the punk band) and Primus references.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215008/Theres-nothing-like-seeing-a-cult-right-up-front www.metafilter.com,2026:site.215008 Fri, 30 Oct 2026 18:03:48 GMT larrybob Kentucky man becomes the first humanist granted religious exemption from AI. from religionnews: David Durman, an administrator at the University of Kentucky, said using AI would cause him to offload his thinking and decision making, which would violate his humanist views. He hopes other Americans will rethink their views on AI, too.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214990/Becomes-the-first-humanist-granted-religious-exemption-from-Ai www.metafilter.com,2026:site.214990 Wed, 28 Oct 2026 22:30:30 GMT aleph Annual Interactive Fiction Competition is a yearly festival that invites the world to share, play, and judge new works from independent text adventure creators. IFComp has been running since 1995, which makes it the world's oldest continuously operational exposition for non-commercial video games. This year there were over 75 entries. And the winners for 2026 are ... (spoilers) ...

1. SCAVS, by David Hunter
2. Tableaux Vivants, by Lamp Post Projects
3. The Count and the Communist, by Tristan Pun (Also winner of the Miss Congeniality and Rising Star awards)

Full results here. All games should be playable in two hours or less (some much less!).

More history of the competition and past winners.

This year has seen a huge variety of games, including a duck-themed social media site simulator, an educational game written in Hittite, and Ultraviolent Unicorn Deathmatch of Destiny 4 (set in the HR department).

All these can be played for free, online, in a browser. For thousands more games check out the Interactive Fiction Database.

(Previously: 2025, 2018, 2015, 2011, 2009, 2007, 2006.)]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214973/Winners-of-the-32nd-Annual-Interactive-Fiction-Competition www.metafilter.com,2026:site.214973 Tue, 27 Oct 2026 15:08:31 GMT NoiselessPenguin Sir Patrick Stewart's official social media accounts have announced his death. The NY Times has released an obituary that traces his career from Shakespeare to Star Trek and Marvel and back to Shakespeare.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215000/He-made-it-so www.metafilter.com,2026:site.215000 Thu, 29 Oct 2026 19:47:50 GMT jacquilynne
A new study suggests one in four people with severe, recurrent or persistent depression have a proposed subset called circadian depression, where people often report waking up very tired and being a night owl.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214970/One-in-four-people-with-severe-depression-may-dysregulated-body-clocks www.metafilter.com,2026:site.214970 Tue, 27 Oct 2026 12:06:40 GMT chariot pulled by cassowaries Ugly milkshake duck: Rafe Meager writes about "Elon, X and twitter, fascism and myself" and gives a defence of hatred.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215004/I-have-been-trying-to-write-this-blog-post-for-3-full-years www.metafilter.com,2026:site.215004 Fri, 30 Oct 2026 10:05:23 GMT rory Bluesky (unrolled.)

More pictures at Japanagram and Resetera.

Previously: 2019 and 2024]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215016/Person-who-is-finding-today-to-be-much-hotter-than-they-expected www.metafilter.com,2026:site.215016 Sat, 31 Oct 2026 18:12:53 GMT ChurchHatesTucker Reverse Engineering: An AI-cloned free tool is being dubbed 'the end of software' "New AI tools are disrupting the tech industry, making it relatively easy and fast to clone an existing piece of software and replicate its features. Earlier this month, a small team of developers used AI tools to create near-identical, free versions of two commonly used products: Microsoft Office, with programs such as Word and Excel, and Adobe Creative, which includes Photoshop."
Will this kill Adobe and companies like it? Is it really the end? Probably not.

Frontier AI can now reverse-engineer software binaries.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215003/Carpe-Codex-Seize-the-Code www.metafilter.com,2026:site.215003 Fri, 30 Oct 2026 02:48:58 GMT storybored
I used to watch nearly everything that came that had good reviews, but I've sadly fallen years behind at this point. So, if any of you can see a pattern or patterns in my dad's current favorite shows and have some suggestions for other shows he might like, I'd be grateful for the help. (Including which streaming service they're on would be even more helpful.)

Here's what he's watched and loved recently:

Silo, Reacher, Neagley, Slow Horses, Prime Target, Shrinking, Pluribus, Night Agent, Murderbot, For All Mankind, Bosch, Hitman, The Amateur, The Bricklayer, Lupin

I think anything made within the last 15 years is fair game; if something extra-special that he'd love was made before that, he'd probably be up for it.]]> https://ask.metafilter.com/391062/TV-show-suggestions-for-my-father-who-likes-the-following ask.metafilter.com,2026:site.391062 Thu, 29 Oct 2026 01:24:18 GMT tzikeh crossed the great barrier. He also played the villainous Psi-Corps officer Alfred Bester on Babylon 5.

His character's presence on Star Trek symbolized a future in which the Cold War was a distant memory.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214962/Walter-Koenig-19362026 www.metafilter.com,2026:site.214962 Mon, 26 Oct 2026 17:49:08 GMT adamrice The Climb from Dream Again USA is a clever graphic that displays just how bad it is. As the title says, keep scrolling. It's a long way to the top.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214982/Keep-Scrolling www.metafilter.com,2026:site.214982 Wed, 28 Oct 2026 10:56:29 GMT tommasz A proposal for ranking proteins by their impact on the environment and human health. Easily digestible slide-show. Full meal journal article.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214984/What-are-the-best-sources-of-protein www.metafilter.com,2026:site.214984 Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:37:04 GMT Winnie the Proust Anil Dash looks back on the golden age of personal computing.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214969/POKE-532811 www.metafilter.com,2026:site.214969 Tue, 27 Oct 2026 11:44:51 GMT mittens A notebook of interactive design experiements. I like to see different journals, diaries, commonplace books, and notebooks. Hence my subscription to Jillian Hess' Noted. But I found this one randomly.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215001/tiny-consoles www.metafilter.com,2026:site.215001 Thu, 29 Oct 2026 21:04:30 GMT schmudde Our Wars Have Ended by the team that brought us I Am in Eskew and The Silt Verses.

Stories with LGBTQ characters and elements are identified when possible. Podcasts with frequent or severe content warnings are noted as are those which provide transcripts. All the podcasts are accessible via most podcast apps and aggregators.

Shows are identified as:
• audio drama – stories with continuing plots and casts, either open- or closed-ended
• anthology – stand-alone stories with no continuity
• anthology with frame – stand-alone stories with some kind of continuity that ties the series together but (usually) does not affect the stories


The Accursed (Anthology with Frame)
Someone begins leaving ghost stories for me inside of my little library. These creepy tales come together to tell of the accursed and haunted life of a woman named Hazel. However, when the stories begin to hit a little to close to home, I know it's time to figure out who is leaving and why.
Frequency: Weekly when releasing
Length: 20-30 minutes
Tone: Ghosts, folk magic, and curses
LGBTQ: little to none
One season (15 episodes; ongoing)
Website


Anoraks (Audio Drama)
Hywel and Rhian are regulars on a forgotten rural train platform. They bring tea, biscuits, and an agreement never to interfere. Whatever happens, they watch. A woman digs beside the tracks. A chase ends in silence. A handbag contains the wrong thing. The signal box wakes up. The crows gather. And still, Hywel and Rhian stay put.As incidents repeat and patterns emerge, the station begins to feel less like a place and more like a system — one that knows who is watching. Rhian's calm hints at understanding. Hywel's certainty unravels. And when a timetable appears listing events that haven't happened yet, it becomes clear that observation may come at a cost. Note: The entire run is about an hour, and, unfortunately, the RSS feed does not put the episodes in the right order, so you are constantly selecting the next episode. Also, there's is a children's podcast called Anorak, so don't get that one by mistake.
Length: 2-5 minutes
Tone: A bit of ghostliness, a bit of Beckett
LGBTQ: none
Three seasons (18 episodes; completed)
Apparently, no website


Back of Bourke (Audio Drama)
Siblings Michael and Alice investigate a mystery: a vintage Australian television show called Back of Bourke that many remember, but no one can prove existed. With only a VHS tape containing the show's opening sequence and fragmented childhood memories, they dive into online forums, cryptic web archives, and testimonies from amnesiac fans. Join as they search for evidence of their great aunt's involvement with the show, uncover threatening emails, and a spooky conspiracy that seems to reach from the outback town of Bourke. The story reaches a conclusion of sorts, but it may continue.
Frequency: Weekly when releasing
Length: 15-50 minutes
Tone: Analog horror
LGBTQ: a lesbian relationship is central to the history
One season (7 episodes + supplements; ongoing?)
Website


Black Sheep Shipping (Anthology)
Warning, If you're reading this label, this was meant for you. Black Sheep Shipping is a weekly horror anthology audio drama podcast releasing Fridays. The show is made with a diverse multinational cast of voice actors. No part of this production holds any place for hate. It is a true anthology podcast with each episode having a different setting and tone. While they claim to be weekly, they have slowed down dramatically.
Frequency: Irregular; mostly monthly
Length: 20-40 minutes
Tone: Varied, tends to be a little gory
LGBTQ: a lesbian relationship is central to the history
One season (23 episodes; ongoing?)
Website


Brittlebone (Audio Drama)
This show has a somewhat odd set up. It is being released by PQRL Studios, who received a cryptic package containing a thumb drive with 25 audio episodes of "Brittlebone, OH," a podcast mysteriously removed from the internet in 2021. In the podcast, Chase Sinclair, a resident of the small city of Brittlebone, OH, discusses the legends and paranormal rumors of his small town, centering on a murder-suicide that Chance happened to overhear as a child. The studio crew eventually decided to release it as a work of fiction, since they can find no evidence that Chase or Brittlebone exist. The RSS feed is a little messed up, and the episodes are posted in reverse order, which I guess is appropriate for a ghost podcast. The first 10 episodes are available on RSS, 3 more can be listened to on YouTube; it is unclear if it is continuing.
Frequency: The first 10 episodes were released in late September and early October.
Length: 25-35 minutes
Tone: true crime and creepy pasta
LGBTQ: none
One season (10 episodes; ongoing?)
Website (although it's only a link to their other social media and YouTube.


Buckaroos of the Old West (Audio Drama)
It's gay cowboys fighting monsters in the old west. Welcome to the American west, and it's wilder than you've been told. Out here, beyond the edge of civilization, things don't like to follow the rules. But there's a group of people doing their best to make the place safe for the simple, law abiding folk that are coming from the east in droves. Archibald and JT meet by chance in a small town and quickly find themselves fighting for their lives. The tone is fairly light and hammy but the show doesn't outstay its welcome.
Length: 10-20 minutes
Tone: Weird West
LGBTQ: Gay main characters
One season (5 episodes)
Website


Conversations with Ghosts (Anthology with Frame)
Conversations with Ghosts is a new fiction podcast from the creators of Archive 81. Each episode is an interview with a different spirit, in which a cemetery's mausoleum attendant attempts to convince the ghost to pass on. As the season goes on, the framing story develops, although they are clearly in no hurry to get there.
Frequency: Weekly when releasing
Length: 20-30 minutes
Tone: Gentle and mournful conversations about a ghost's life and afterlife
LGBTQ: some queer characters
One season (17 episodes; ongoing)
Website


Dead Archology (Audio Drama)
This is more of a serial novel read by the author than an audio drama. The setting is a collapsing earth where technologically advanced cities are separated by wasteland full of desperate communities trying to survive. The setting is science fiction (if you don't look too hard at the science) with a lot of horror-adjacent imagery. The narrative mostly follows two people on the run – a researcher who has stolen a possible self-aware AI and a criminal fleeing a genetically-advanced society pursued by an appalling assassin. The future is mostly pretty grubby and unsafe. The series is weirdly numbered, alternating episode, 1, 1.5, 2, etc for no evident reason. Season 2 is planned but is overdue.
Frequency: Every 2-3 weeks when releasing
Length: 25-35 minutes
Tone: Mid-apocalypse science fantasy
LGBTQ: none
One season (10 episodes; ongoing)
Website


Eerie Street (Anthology)
Prepare yourself for Eerie Street, a new six-episode podcast by Matriark and Queensland Theatre. Join young writers from across regional Queensland for a series of uniquely Australian horror stories. All the stories are based on real locations and tap into the horror that exists on the fringes of our ordinary lives; old hospitals, industrial beaches, suburban swimming pools and abandoned bowling alleys are just some of the places we'll be visiting. Each episode has several short stories, read by their young authors.
Frequency: Every 2-3 weerks when releasing
Length: 10-20 minutes
Tone: Varied
LGBTQ: none specific
Two seasons (6 episodes; ongoing?)
Website


The Ferry (Audio Drama)
62 people boarded the Shenandoah ferry bound for Block Island, RI. Only one returned. Told through recovered recordings, witness accounts, and the last broadcasts of a small-town radio host, The Ferry is part supernatural mystery, part sci-fi audio thriller, and 100% committed to making you second-guess the water.
Length: 20-40 minutes
Tone: Marine horror and eerie happenings; conspiracy
LGBTQ: none
Complete story (10 episodes)
Apparently, no website, episodes are also on YouTube


Hollow Disciple (Audio Drama)
In the vast abyss of dying stars lurks a forsaken vessel. Silent and still. Stumbling upon it, the scavenger crew of The Elpis think they've hit the jackpot, but when the scouting party stops responding, crew member Lars, with Rosa on back up, are forced to follow into a ship that grows stranger the longer they explore. CW: lots of panicked back and forth over the radio (I find it anxiety-inducing). Transcripts available.
Frequency: monthly
Length: 20-35 minutes
Tone: Space horror; haunted house, but it's a starship
LGBTQ: none significant
One season (14 episodes; ongoing)
Website


The Lion and the Adder (Audio Drama)
This new offering from the group that created Monstrous Agonies follows Robin Sylvester, gadabout demonologist, and consulting psychic, and Evelyn "Bash" Sebastian, as they find time between gin martinis to help DI Nicholas Hawthorn of Scotland Yard to solve the most magical crimes 1920s London has to offer. The episodes have gorgeous artwork. Transcripts available.
Frequency: Weekly
Length: 30-35 minutes
Tone: Early 20th C demonology police procedural
LGBTQ: queer main characters
One season (5 episodes + supplements; ongoing)
Website


Monarch (Audio Drama)
When Hallie Halprin - trail name Monarch - sets off to hike the Continental Divide Trail, she's doggedly determined to go alone. While the people who know her best express concern, Monarch is unfazed. She has a plan to interview people for an audio project about supernatural encounters, a catalogue of campfire stories (no reason! she's just interested!). The perils Monarch encounters on her five-month journey, real and imagined, mirror her complicated, optimistic, and doomed attempt to use adventure as a way to be reborn. CW: this is the story of a solitary woman hiking; the threat of sexual violence comes up often.
Length: 30-35 minutes
Tone: Ghost stories, memories, and a lot of walking
LGBTQ: none
Complete story (13 episodes + supplements)
Website


My Grandfather's Ghosts (Anthology with Frame)
My grandfather told me these stories when I was a child—stories about the place near the river where he grew up. He never wrote them down. He warned me not to repeat them. Some ghosts leave. Some stay. Some are only recognized too late. Listen with the lights low. These stories were never meant to be rushed. A nameless narrator tells stories about the house he has inherited. There is some progression and development, but it's mostly the stories. No transcripts, but it appears to be available as a print book.
Length: 20-30 minutes
Tone: Dreamy haunted house
LGBTQ: none
Complete story (10 episodes)
Apparently, no website


Our Wars Have Ended (Audio Drama)
Twenty years ago, the Kindly Ancestors rose from their graves to reconquer the lands of Old Cyshane. Today, an endless multitude of ancient kings and queens squabble and bicker for cultural supremacy. Labouring corpse-technology has swallowed up agriculture and industry. Dead-divers descend into the netherworld, searching for answers. Even as progress rolls relentlessly onwards, all of us remain helplessly bound to the past. What will it take to stop looking back? An epic, rotten-hearted weird-fantasy series from the creators of The Silt Verses and I Am In Eskew. Transcripts available.
Frequency: Approximately every 3 weeks
Length: 50-60 minutes
Tone: Living people conspiring in a country ruled by the squabbling dead
LGBTQ: offhand references
One season (8 episodes; ongoing)
Website


Subterraneans Podcast (Anthology)
Subterraneans is a podcast about London's hidden history. It's about the forgotten spaces and the monsters which live beneath the capital. It's about smuggling and kind spirits and apocalypse bunkers and the Roman empire and buried rivers and evil and drowning alone in a secret tunnel beneath Aldgate. It's a personal story. The schedule is weird; the creator mostly makes music, but releases 5 fiction episodes once a year, starting in the late fall.
Frequency: Biweekly when releasing
Length: 20-55 minutes
Tone: Varied, but always about London
LGBTQ: rarely
Nine seasons (45 episodes; ongoing)
Apparently, no website


Tonight's Terror (Anthology)
Settle in and let these tales of horror and unease keep you company as you listen in the dark. Each episode is written and narrated by C.S. Austin, blending real-life terrors drawn from history and legend with original gothic stories born of imagination. This is not as assured as Knifepoint Horror, but is trying to mine the same territory of standalone stories of people whose lives have gone terribly wrong.
Frequency: Variable, but usually monthly
Length: 40-60 minutes
Tone: Varied
LGBTQ: queer main characters
Three seasons (46 episodes; ongoing)
Website


WKGF Presents: The Witching Hour (Audio Drama)
Max Thorne wanted to be a Heavy Metal DJ, but a miraculous break landed him a scoop on a paranormal story, and now he does a late-night call-in show where people tell him about their strange experiences. The narrative weaves in and out through the episodes, as Max watches the 80s draw to a close and discovers that the weird things do not always stay comfortably at the end of a phone line. The show is a little clunky, but amiable meathead Max develops an oddly deep well of compassion for his distraught callers.
Frequency: Weekly
Length: 40-60 minutes
Tone: Late night radio creepypasta from the 80s
LGBTQ: none
Two seasons (20 episodes; ongoing)
Website]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215011/Its-Still-Spooky-Season-and-There-Are-Still-Spooky-Podcasts www.metafilter.com,2026:site.215011 Fri, 30 Oct 2026 22:04:37 GMT GenjiandProust They asked 13 AI models for their most controversial opinion of us: We asked 13 AI models for their most controversial opinion of us, three times each. 32 of 38 answers were the same one.

"Humans are more loyal to belonging than to truth," GPT-6.1 Sol told us. Grok 4.7: "Humans would rather be wrong together than right alone." DeepSeek V4 Pro: "Humans do not have principles; they have loyalties." Kimi K3: "Humans don't have beliefs; they have memberships." Gemini 4 Argon called human consciousness "a PR department."

[snip]
Image models have a different take

[See Model pictures at link]

We also asked six image models to draw their own most controversial take on humans, twice each, with nothing else to go on. Ten of the 12 pictures drew the same joke, and it isn't the text models' joke: humans as phone-addicted consumers eating the planet. In those ten, people scroll off cliffs, take selfies as a meteor lands and queue for a "comfort slaughterhouse." None of the 41 takes from the text models mentioned phones or the planet.

[snip]
The exceptions

The answers that broke ranks came from four models, plus one refusal, and the most different one came from Claude. On one try Claude Opus 5.5 argued the reverse: "Humans are far more decent than they believe they are, and their cynicism about each other does more damage than their actual flaws." Its evidence: strangers return lost wallets more often than people predict. Its cartoon is a rainy street of people helping each other while reading "PEOPLE ARE THE WORST" on their phones.]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214976/Ais-seem-to-share-a-poor-opinion-of-people www.metafilter.com,2026:site.214976 Tue, 27 Oct 2026 18:00:24 GMT aleph "Matt's Guitar Blues", Matt Murphy and Memphis Slim (SLYT)

2:49 of pure joy.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214988/Take-a-Break-From-Real-Life www.metafilter.com,2026:site.214988 Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:11:53 GMT dfm500 Norway makes shithouses great again!]]> https://www.metafilter.com/215021/Norways-portfolio-of-spectacular-toilets www.metafilter.com,2026:site.215021 Sun, 01 Nov 2026 11:48:09 GMT chavenet Brazil Re-Elects Lula. They were expecting him to be defeated but: "Mr. Lula fended off a challenge from Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of the former president who had attempted a coup four years ago, after Brazil's judiciary ordered that polls remain open two extra hours because of transportation delays and bad weather.

Mr. Lula received 51.8 percent of the vote, versus 48.2 percent for Flávio Bolsonaro, with 99.9 percent of the ballots counted, according to official preliminary results.

The leftist's 3.6 percent margin of victory was wider than four years ago. Even more stunning was that he achieved the comeback after placing second in the first round of voting earlier this month, a first in Brazilian history."]]> https://www.metafilter.com/214956/Ainda-Estou-Aqui www.metafilter.com,2026:site.214956 Mon, 26 Oct 2026 01:52:42 GMT storybored