Today is turning out to be very exciting (in a very good way).
Ben Werdmuller
benwerd@nos.social
npub183ng...4n09
I lead technology at ProPublica and write speculative fiction. This is a personal account.
Every day, I write about tech, democracy, and society at https://werd.io.
More about me: https://about.werd.io
Labor movements have made the world markedly better, more equitable, and more democratic. We should all celebrate May Day. https://sharemylesson.com/todays-news-tomorrows-lesson/international-workers-day
In a conversation with my therapist, she asked what I'd been reading lately.
I have two books on the go: an apocalyptic horror novel and one about the Gwangju Uprising in South Korea.
She quietly suggested that maybe I find some joy from time to time.
Heard.
I've signed up to host the #indieweb fiction carnival for May 2026.
Write a story during the month of May, publish it on your own site, and we'll create a mini-anthology roundup post at the end of the month. All good fun.
Here's this month's prompt and instructions: 
Ben Werdmuller
IndieWeb Fiction Carnival: May 2026
This month's prompt is "sticks and stones will break my bones".
Here's the sketch of a short story I wrote for this month's #IndieWeb Fiction Carnival. The theme was "soulmates". 
The Outmap
Sharing is caring
Bree woke up covered in blood again.
The motel room was nicer than the last one. Two weeks ago, she had been a persistent drip from the ceiling on...
"The Office for Civil Rights is keeping the public in the dark on which schools it’s investigating and why." So we're suing them. Proud, as always, to work here: 
ProPublica
Why We Are Suing the Department of Education
The Office for Civil Rights is keeping the public in the dark on which schools it’s investigating and why.
Nobody cares about decentralization. Nobody cares about the journalistic process. They care about making their world better. 
Ben Werdmuller
Product-shaped or movement-shaped?
People love your work because of its impact, not how it works.
I keep catching glimpses of SNL UK. It seems really good - the kind of thing that will be formative for a generation in the same way that stuff like The Day Today was for me. It's not a competition, but the clips I've seen seem funnier for my taste than the original; a little less sanitized.
The Zurich protocol 
Ben Werdmuller
The Zurich protocol
They came for the newsroom. It was ready.
47 lessons 
Ben Werdmuller
47 lessons
Things I've learned.
Notable links: January 2, 2026 
Ben Werdmuller
Notable links: January 2, 2026
Looking ahead: humans are cool again.
What is Instagram’s Adam Mosseri really saying in his year-end memo? 
Ben Werdmuller
What is Instagram’s Adam Mosseri really saying in his year-end memo?
"Instagram no longer believes it can beat AI by making more or better content. It wants to be the referee, to decide what is real and what is not, ...
The next big thing in 2026 will be
Ben Werdmuller
The next big thing in 2026 will be...
This year's predictions from tech experts and decision-makers are notably pro-human.
Watching Bari Weiss Murder Investigative Journalism at CBS
Ben Werdmuller
Watching Bari Weiss Murder Investigative Journalism at CBS
"Notes from someone who's withstood White House demands to stop an explosive story—and who once even had a 60 Minutes piece spiked."
2025: a personal year in review 
Ben Werdmuller
2025: a personal year in review
Highlights and hopes for the new year.
Friday links: December 26, 2025 
Ben Werdmuller
Friday links: December 26, 2025
An alternative Christmas; lies we tell ourselves.