Bob Stepno

Hearing NPR'sFresh Air today rebroadcast Terri Gross interviews from 20 orc30 years ago with Robert Kimball inspired me to track down his Times obit from earlier this month. Amazing bridge to first-half 20th century music history... www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/t...

Someone just reminded me that I didn't share this back in March... did you get to hear it, Donna? @devorahleah.bsky.social

From the Department of Even Worse Than You Thought... www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/o...

Breaking: A federal judge has ruled that a key part of President Trump's executive order targeting NPR and PBS was unconstitutional. The judge has blocked the administration from denying future federal funds based on editorial viewpoint. Key context below >>>

When Donald Trump ran, his two biggest campaign promises were not to start new wars and to bring down prices. So what does he do? He starts a new war that drives up prices. Such breathtaking deceit and incompetence.

No Kings, Blacksburg, VA #NoKings

News news.. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/17/u...

For all of us asking this question, here is more than a one word answer... www.nytimes.com/2026/03/10/b...

New story: ICE's masks, guns and tactical gear are easy to see. But did you know about all the less visible tech they use? We explain it all here -> wapo.st/4bXee03 w Eva Dou and @arturgalocha.bsky.social

Celebrating 30 years of the New York Times on the Web Jan.1, and more years online than that for other pioneering news organizations, including a couple I worked for. stepno.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/h...

“Even I have trepidations about what kind of future my son will grow up in as A.I. progresses. And I am far from alone,” writes Soulaiman Itani.

A data hoarder set up a searchable archive of the Epstein docs released by the House Oversight Committee. Used OCR and a self-hosted AI to analyze and categorize them. Actually useful bc the docs were released as disorganized jpeg files in a giant Google Drive www.404media.co/data-hoarder...

Haven't read this yet, but an oral history approach to this dumping of so many workers & programs sounds valuable, especially if the people on both sides were interviewed for, you know, posterity. Because this is in Wired, I wouldn't even mind tangents about the tools and techniques employed. Book?

Happy 5786, Donna and others wishing and praying for peace, freedom, justice, hope, and kindness!

Back in 1979 I began learning Irish & U.S. fiddle tunes on the mandolin and knew @wesleyanuniversity.bsky.social students pursuing Carnatic singing, drum & flute. But electric Carnatic mandolin wasn't part of the curriculum! Fascinating, but 9/8 slipjigs are still my limit! Thanks, OofD & Bandcamp!

Not like they tried to hide their plans either.

With O'Neill (apparently) taking over CDC (if they ever get around to firing Monarez), I think it's worth looking back to Project 2025 and asking what they actually intend to *do* to CDC. So, I went to remind myself today. Here's what's in store:

20 years after Hurricane Katrina, revisit our Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation about the impossible choices doctors and nurses faced in the aftermath of the disaster. This is "The Deadly Choices at Memorial," co-published 2009 with The New York Times Magazine:

CNN has really improved its chyron game

I loved having my mother or grandmother read me the comics while I looked at the pictures on those big color Sunday comic pages. It's been a while! But this guy (around the same time) was good at it, too. jheroes.com/2025/08/15/n... #oldtimeradio #1950s #comics

Today is Bandcamp Friday! They waive their fees so artists receive a full share of all music and merch sales. This is a great time to support your favorite independent musicians. curtiseller.bandcamp.com

This is precisely correct.

Thanks for the free Atlantic article from someone who knows the military and the law: "Perhaps nothing would please Trump more than to replace weird stories about Elon Musk with video of masked protesters burning cars as lines of helmeted police and soldiers march over them..."

Catching up with last week's reading... www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trum...

Virginia hasn’t let you file taxes on its own site since 2010, when lawmakers killed the free iFile system and handed the task to private companies like TurboTax (which now charges $64). A new bill to bring it back passed — but Youngkin vetoed it. virginiamercury.com/2025/06/09/f...

Deploying the military on U.S. soil as law enforcement against Americans was on page 555 of Project 2025. So don’t say “I didn’t vote for this,” because you did. This isn’t a response. This was always their plan.

Yes! And at some libraries, the handwritten notations on the catalog cards!

WATCH: “That’s what this is all about.” On IG LIVE @aoc.bsky.social just called out @CoreCivic and other private prison companies for profiting off these ICE detentions after donating big bucks to Trump (and other Republicans). An all-too-familiar story for us here in Tennessee.

The effect of ChatGPT on students’ learning performance, learning perception, and higher-order thinking: insights from a meta-analysis www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I know Great Barrington well and it is extremely hard to imagine any scenario on this earth in this small town that would require cops to roll out like they're going to war.

CARTOON OF THE DAY #AmericanPope

Trump administration has suspended an air-quality monitoring program at national parks across the country. The program collects data on levels of harmful air pollutants, including ozone and particulate matter, at the 63 national parks in the USA.

All over the US, as part of this administration's cruelty, libraries are losing funding. That's not good. Libraries preserve local history. They have guest speakers, story-time for kids, computers to use, new books, & skilled librarians. If you can, please donate to your local library. Thanks! 📚

Ed Martin’s targeting of medical journals has raised grave concerns about curbing free speech and government intimidation of scientific publications. Here’s what else you should know about Trump’s pick for D.C. U.S. attorney. By @andykroll.bsky.social & @jeremykohler.bsky.social

So much to read! Thanks, Jenny.