From the website:
Areo is an opinion and analysis digital magazine focused on current affairs — in particular: humanism, reason, science, politics, culture and human rights.
Areo, named after Milton’s speech in defence of freedom of speech, Areopagitica, publishes thoughtful essays from a variety of perspectives compatible with broadly liberal and humanist values. It places particular priority on evidence and reason-centered pieces. Our contributors are intellectually, professionally and ideologically diverse and include liberals, conservatives, socialists, libertarians, atheists and religious believers. As much as possible, Areo aims to avoid polarizing tribalistic stances and prioritizes intellectual balance, charity, honesty and rigor.
We believe in the unfettered freedom to explore, think, and challenge ideas and concepts, and we’re intent on taking part in the conversations that will shape our tomorrow.
People
Helen is the editor of the online Areo Magazine
From the Areo website:
Helen Pluckrose is an exile from the humanities with research interests in late medieval/early modern religious writing by and about women. She is editor-in-chief of Areo. Helen took part in the “grievance studies” probe and her book with James Lindsay, Cynical Theories, looks at the evolution of postmodern thought in scholarship and activism.
Write to Helen at: https://letter.wiki/HELENPLUCKROSE/conversations
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Recent Content
Last 50 posts on own channels (YouTube, Podcast, Medium or Website/Blog):
A Deal with the Devil: Why the West Should Have Allied with Lukashenko
Published on: 26 Jan 23 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Tomislav Kardum
Never Kevins and the Assault on Democracy
Published on: 25 Jan 23 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Sukhayl Niyazov
Liberalism and Our Sexual Rights and Freedoms
Published on: 20 Jan 23 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Rio Veradonir
Romanticising Shamima Begum
Published on: 19 Jan 23 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Khadija Khan
The Great Reboot: In Memoriam Mark Fisher
Published on: 18 Jan 23 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Ewan Morrison
The Disappointments of Liberalism: Luke Savage’s “The Dead Center”
Published on: 17 Jan 23 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Matt McManus
Demonising Whitey: Anti-Whiteness on the Left
Published on: 13 Jan 23 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Damian Emba
Dall∙E and the Creation of Art
Published on: 12 Jan 23 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Stewart Slater
Unidentified Fascist Objects: Flying Saucers, Holocaust Deniers and Nazi UFOs
Published on: 11 Jan 23 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Steven Tucker
Antisemitism: A Paranoid Delusion
Published on: 10 Jan 23 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Sonny Loughran
The Angry Activist
Published on: 6 Jan 23 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Damian Emba
Unusual Bodies: A Conversation with Alice Dreger
Published on: 5 Jan 23 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Alice Dreger
Carnivals Come Cheap: Eco-Activists and the Attacks on Art
Published on: 4 Jan 23 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Ewan Morrison
The More the Merrier: A Christmas Tale
Published on: 23 Dec 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Rio Veradonir
Nowt as Queer as Folk: A Conversation with Rio Veradonir
Published on: 22 Dec 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Rio Veradonir
Thank You for Offending Us: In Praise of Satirists
Published on: 21 Dec 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Iona Italia
Labels: The Good, the Bad and the Downright Ugly
Published on: 20 Dec 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Kai Whiting
The Identifier Problem
Published on: 16 Dec 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Rio Veradonir
Diversity Doubletalk
Published on: 15 Dec 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Alex Small
When Fiction Is Truer Than Fact: Hunter S. Thompson’s Gonzo Journalism
Published on: 14 Dec 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by David Wills
The Optimistic Nihilists
Published on: 13 Dec 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Ewan Morrison
Maricón: What’s In a Name?
Published on: 9 Dec 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Damian Emba
Spamming Us from Space: SETI, Flying Saucers and the Galactic Internet
Published on: 8 Dec 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Steven Tucker
The Ethics of Espionage
Published on: 7 Dec 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Andy Owen
Iran’s Feminist Revolution
Published on: 6 Dec 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Armin Navabi
Cardi B and our Censorious Culture
Published on: 2 Dec 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Lorien Hunter
The Innovations of Jane Austen: A Conversation with John Mullan
Published on: 1 Dec 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by John Mullan
Whataboutism and Great Power Diplomacy
Published on: 30 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Harry Sargent
Homo Mobilis
Published on: 29 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Stewart Slater
Art and the Search for Immortality
Published on: 28 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Angel Eduardo
Labour Laws, Legal Loopholes and the Exploitation of Strippers
Published on: 25 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Reese Piper
Altered Carbon: An Interview with Author Richard Morgan
Published on: 24 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Richard K. Morgan
The Centre Cannot Hold: The Death Throes of the Russian Federation
Published on: 23 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Victoria Portnaya
Something Worse than Liberal Hegemony
Published on: 22 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Matt Johnson
The New Normal
Published on: 18 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Talia Squires
Against the Sexual Revolution: An Interview with Louise Perry
Published on: 17 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Louise Perry
Why Germany is Bracing for a Cold Winter
Published on: 16 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Leon Holly
From Natural Selection to Machine Selection: Human Evolution in the Age of AI
Published on: 15 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Rob Brooks
Gender Policing on the Left
Published on: 11 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Kaylee Walker
The Curious Leaderlessness of Modern Movements
Published on: 10 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Arunabh Satpathy
In Defence of Internationalism
Published on: 9 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Ralph Leonard
The Pernicious Folly of Pursuing Zero Covid
Published on: 8 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Amesh Adalja
Queer: A New Narrative
Published on: 4 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Rio Veradonir
Infinite Rationality: An Interview with Brett Hall
Published on: 3 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Brett Hall
Funding Pollution: Big Ag and the Dutch Farmers’ Protests
Published on: 2 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Nick Ottens
Criminal Kleptocrats and the Looting of Africa
Published on: 1 Nov 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Gisa Tunbridge
Who’s Black and Why? An Interview with Andrew Curran
Published on: 27 Oct 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Iona Italia
Rainbows and Hypocrisies: LGBT Activism in Football
Published on: 26 Oct 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Khadija Khan
Abortion and the Legitimacy of the US Supreme Court
Published on: 25 Oct 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Ryan C. Mullally
Nathan Robinson’s Response to the Right
Published on: 4 Oct 22 in Areo Magazine – Website
by Matt McManus
In launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s original plan was to seize Kyiv, decapitate the Ukrainian leadership and install a puppet government. That plan would have been impossible without…
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The American political system has recently weathered yet another storm. Since the 2022 midterm elections gave Republicans only a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, infighting within the Grand…
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In an increasingly global knowledge economy, the middle and working classes of developed countries are feeling the pinch. This economic stress has inspired a resurgence of extremist political movements. Once…
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We Brits have entered the New Year faced by a barrage of unsolved problems from the past. Among them is the case of ISIS bride Shamima Begum, who left Britain…
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“We remain trapped in the twentieth century,” claimed theorist Mark Fisher. “The future has disappeared.” It’s hard to believe that it’s been six years since Fisher’s suicide, at the age of…
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A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel.—Robert Frost Liberals have long prided themselves on their pragmatism and moderation. While radical movements on…
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In a recent essay published in this magazine, I wrote about a phenomenon I call “angry activism.” I explained how the desire to be right and “win” against “the other…
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My early years at high school were marked by a protracted disagreement with my art teacher. Given the evidence of several years of atrocious drawings, I had concluded that I…
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The idea that Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party secretly constructed flying saucers during the Second World War, either with extra-terrestrial aid or via their own innate Teutonic technological genius,…
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Kanye West recently declared that he was “going death con 3 on Jewish people” and claimed to love Hitler in a maniacal rant that seemed to take even shock jock…
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I used to be what I now describe as an angry activist. Like many young adults, I was thirsty for social change. I used the rage I felt toward current…
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In this episode of our Two for Tea podcast, editor-in-chief Iona Italia talks to researcher, journalist, historian of science and novelist Alice Dreger—one of the most fascinating polymaths among the current…
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I am deeply concerned about the climate change issue. I come from a family background of protest, but over the decades I’ve learned which forms of protest are effective and…
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Christmas is my favorite holiday by far. It’s more than a mere holiday or celebration. It’s about life, love, family, generosity, and—yes (I don’t care if it sounds cheesy) peace…
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In this episode of our Two for Tea podcast, our editor-in-chief Iona Italia talks to Rio Veradonir about the challenges of celebrating sexual diversity and standing up for the rights…
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Yes, I am proud; I must be proud to see Men not afraid of God, afraid of me.—Alexander Pope, 1738 To function in society, we rely on our ability to…
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Few things are as multifaceted or complex as personal identity. Yet, numerous social media posts and newspaper articles seem to suggest that we can somehow capture our unique individuality in…
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When I sat down to write my first piece for Queer Majority, I knew it would be difficult. I wanted to grow the queer movement by making it more welcoming,…
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Almost every academic claims to value racial diversity, but few are willing to openly advocate preferring one colleague or student over another on the basis of race alone. We acknowledge…
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Just over fifty years ago, in 1971, Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was published and instantly became a countercultural classic. However, people have always struggled to…
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Life is utterly meaningless, but this is a great opportunity to have fun creating our own meanings—that’s the latest postmodern self-help mantra. The trend known as optimistic nihilism is a…
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When I moved to the United States as a teenager, I couldn’t speak much English. I struggled to have basic conversations, even though I had studied the language for years…
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In August 2022, astrophysicist Avi Loeb—now more famous as an aspiring alien-hunter than as a highly accomplished space scientist—suggested that an interstellar object that exploded above the Pacific Ocean in…
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As the war in Ukraine continues, the pressure on western, Ukrainian and Russian spies to gain intelligence that will give one side a battlefield advantage is intense. At the same…
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“In condemning Lukashenko, the western nations have achieved nothing: they neither provided the democratic opposition with the material support they would have needed to topple the regime, nor did they endorse Lukashenko’s policy of soft Belarusianisation. As a result, Belarus remains both an autocracy and ‘more state than nation,'” argues Tomislav Kardum for Areo. In launching its full-scale invasion of
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Cardi B used to be my dirty little secret. I first heard about her in graduate school, and she immediately captured my interest. Not only did I feel a connection…View Post
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“In the new digital public square,, determined minorities have disproportionate power over party agendas,” argues Sukhayl Niyazov for Areo. The American political system has recently weathered yet another storm. Since the 2022 midterm elections gave Republicans only a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, infighting within the Grand…View Post
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“Begum’s case should have been treated like those of male ISIS fighters and sympathisers, who have been seen as criminals for committing heinous crimes under the auspices of the Islamic death cult,” writes Khadija Khan. We Brits have entered the New Year faced by a barrage of unsolved problems from the past. Among them is the case of ISIS bride
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When this happens, it’s usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it’s been deleted.
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“Fisher’s great insight was that, in our capitalist societies, as technology advances, our culture deteriorates and we increasingly lose our sense of time and progress, becoming amnesiac consumers stuck in an endlessly recycled and rebooted past,” writes Ewan Morrison. “We remain trapped in the twentieth century,” claimed theorist Mark Fisher. “The future has disappeared.” It’s hard to believe that it’s
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In a recent essay published in this magazine, I wrote about a phenomenon I call “angry activism.” I explained how the desire to be right and “win” against “the other…View Post
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Christmas is my favorite holiday by far. It’s more than a mere holiday or celebration. It’s about life, love, family, generosity, and—yes (I don’t care if it sounds cheesy) peace…View Post
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“Liberalism wasn’t always part of the very air we breathe. It took centuries of efforts by radicals and republicans to bring about the liberal revolutions—and revolutions they were—that entrenched the view that all men are created equal into culture and law,” argues Matt McManus. A liberal is a man too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel.—Robert Frost
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In a recent essay published in this magazine, I wrote about a phenomenon I call “angry activism.” I explained how the desire to be right and “win” against “the other…View Post
…Read more
When I sat down to write my first piece for Queer Majority, I knew it would be difficult. I wanted to grow the queer movement by making it more welcoming,…View Post
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Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.—Ludwig Wittgenstein When early twentieth-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote the above quotation, he was cautioning readers that…View Post
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What makes a man, if not masculinity? What makes a woman, if not femininity? These questions arise out of modern feminist theory, where scholars first drew a distinction between biological…View Post
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Damian Emba writes about the inefficacy of anger as a tool of persuasion in activism.
When I moved to the United States as a teenager, I couldn’t speak much English. I struggled to have basic conversations, even though I had studied the language for years…View Post
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“Discrimination cannot be ended with more discrimination. Creating an environment in which some people are allowed to express their opinions while others are not, based solely on skin colour (or any other such attribute) is not “social justice.” As long as the practice of applying race-based judgments to justify preferential treatment is allowed to continue, the outcome will result in
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“Like the replicators in Star Trek—machines that can convert energy into any food the user desires—Dall∙E can create a painting to suit your exact tastes,” writes Stewart Slater. My early years at high school were marked by a protracted disagreement with my art teacher. Given the evidence of several years of atrocious drawings, I had concluded that I…View Post
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“Zündel said he would charter an aircraft from South America in which he and ‘a very limited number of people’ could soar southwards over Antarctica, keeping a close look-out for the almost 100-year-old Führer below. The expedition’s total cost would be around $2,000,000 and a $500,000 deposit was needed to make ‘modifications on the special aircraft required.’ This was admittedly
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“Antisemitism differs from more straightforward forms of prejudice because it is obsessed not with the external other, but with the enemy within. Hannah Arendt saw antisemitism as central to the rise of totalitarianism for precisely this reason. It is the creation of a hidden, internal enemy, who is to be held responsible for one’s own suffering, and for the suffering
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“When the focus is on winning, there is no space left for compromise,” writes Damian Emba for Areo in association with Queer Majority. Damian Emba writes about the inefficacy of anger as a tool of persuasion in activism.
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In the latest episode of our Two for Tea podcast, editor-in-chief Iona Italia talks to Alice Dreger about the study of people with abnormal anatomies both in the past and present day and about the writing of her novel, The Index Case, which draws heavily on her experiences as a student of medical history. In this episode of our Two
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“if you act like a brand, you will meet the same fate as other brands do—your issue will go out of fashion. You will have simply become part of the system of the spectacle, which reduces every event to a mere appearance in a fleeting procession of screen images. And it is the multinational corporate society of the spectacle that
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“I fear our polarised political environment is tearing too many families apart who could otherwise reconcile. If Christmas did nothing other than provide that chance, that alone would grant it a special status that goes far beyond a mere holiday or celebration,” writes Rio Veradonir for Areo in collaboration with Queer Majority. Christmas is my favorite holiday by far. It’s
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In 2022, we reached over three quarters of a million readers and have been praised for the quality of content by luminaries like Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker and Jonathan Haidt. We do all this without major funding of any kind: we are funded by YOU, our readers. To help us continue to flourish in this coming year, please consider setting
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RT @QueerMajority: Without liberalism, LGBT rights would not exist. And without liberalism, they have no future. | @RVeradonir, @AreoMagazine https://areomagazine.com/2023/01/20/liberalism-and-our-sexual-rights-and-freedoms/
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RT @StrangelEdweird: For those interested, I discuss this idea of immortality and why I’d absolutely take it, and why art is the closest thing to it, for @AreoMagazine: https://areomagazine.com/2022/11/28/art-and-the-search-for-immortality/
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RT @martinmcbennnet: The Great Reboot: In Memoriam Mark Fisher https://areomagazine.com/2023/01/18/the-great-reboot-in-memoriam-mark-fisher/ via @areomagazine
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RT @martinmcbennnet: “Nostalgic repetition of the familiar forms of the last century is inevitable, Fisher warned, when we can no longer picture a different future.” https://areomagazine.com/2023/01/18/the-great-reboot-in-memoriam-mark-fisher/ via @areomagazine
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RT @martinmcbennnet: “The pandemic of mental anguish that afflicts our time cannot be properly understood or healed,” he writes, “if viewed as a private problem suffered by damaged individuals.” Cc @DrGaborMate https://areomagazine.com/2023/01/18/the-great-reboot-in-memoriam-mark-fisher/ via @areomagazine
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RT @IonaItalia: I am happy to report that @AreoMagazine does not follow AP style. https://twitter.com/APStylebook/status/1618658301750689792
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RT @IonaItalia: “In an era of increasing illiberalism, it isn’t enough for us to just appeal to reason and fundamental rights. We must show that a victory of the LGBT community is also a victory for love and freedom,” writes @MattPolProf for @QueerMajority. https://www.queermajority.com/essays-all/hearts-minds-and-the-power-of-emotion
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“it is so vital for everyone — LGBT or not — to celebrate both our individuality and common humanity; to understand that we all thrive when people are free to express their true selves,” writes @MattPolProf for @QueerMajority. https://www.queermajority.com/essays-all/hearts-minds-and-the-power-of-emotion
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RT @AreoMagazine: “In condemning Lukashenko, the western nations have achieved nothing,” argues @KardumTomislav for Areo. https://areomagazine.com/2023/01/26/a-deal-with-the-devil-why-the-west-should-have-allied-with-lukashenko/
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RT @patty_clouds: “We need people like Fisher who have the courage to face the worst and to search for a path out of the labyrinth” Thank you for this lucid analysis!👏☀️ https://twitter.com/mrewanmorrison/status/1615766135210901504
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RT @lightchronicler: To AI or not to AI? “in our capitalist societies, as technology advances, our culture deteriorates and we increasingly lose our sense of time and progress, becoming amnesiac consumers stuck in an endlessly recycled and rebooted past.” https://areomagazine.com/2023/01/18/the-great-reboot-in-memoriam-mark-fisher/ via @areomagazine
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RT @verdur_in: Fisher aside, this is interesting for the nauseating list of forthcoming films which are all hi-def remakes or sequels to 20th century titles. If AI starts making remediation easier at large scale, we will never see a new idea again. https://areomagazine.com/2023/01/18/the-great-reboot-in-memoriam-mark-fisher/
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RT @pataphysician: A thoughtful piece about cultural atrophy and life in “frenzied stasis.” https://areomagazine.com/2023/01/18/the-great-reboot-in-memoriam-mark-fisher/
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RT @leamingtonbooks: Nice wee Saturday reading on the dearly missed & ever-fascinating, Mark Fisher, his work and life, by our friend @MrEwanMorrison https://areomagazine.com/2023/01/18/the-great-reboot-in-memoriam-mark-fisher/
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RT @MrEwanMorrison: Hey folks if you enjoy my articles on #AreoMagazine – then why not subscribe to receive advance notices & updates? There are a hosts of thought provoking articles every week by big thinkers & writers. Click here & subscribe on the side of the page: https://areomagazine.com/about/
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RT @overlandertheb1: This chimed with a few recent thoughts. It certainly does feel like all the artists I know are essentially working in caves on remote islands, never to be seen outside their tribe. Also some grisly thoughts on UBI for @jonburkeUK…. https://areomagazine.com/2023/01/18/the-great-reboot-in-memoriam-mark-fisher/
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RT @GallopingSkirt: PLEASE read this great piece. There is SO MUCH to ponder. “The trend of rebooting began a decade ago, but has been gathering momentum since monopolistic corporate mergers reduced the media landscape to six media conglomerates, which own 90% of all content.” https://twitter.com/mrewanmorrison/status/1615776490058125314
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RT @FisterRoboto_: https://twitter.com/mrewanmorrison/status/1615776490058125314
RT @hinshelwood: “The twenty-first century is twentieth-century culture on high-definition screens.” https://twitter.com/MrEwanMorrison/status/1615776490058125314
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RT @LucySussex: “All we can be is custodians of a lost future.” Similar sentiment, by someone I will have to look up https://twitter.com/MrEwanMorrison/status/1615776490058125314
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“A minority faction is now poised to wield disproportionate influence over the country’s legislative affairs,” reports @Sukhayl_Niyazov for Areo. https://areomagazine.com/2023/01/25/never-kevins-and-the-assault-on-democracy/
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RT @IonaItalia: “Americans are becoming increasingly dependent on the arbitrary decisions of fallible individuals, unconstrained by institutional checks and balances,” argues @Sukhayl_Niyazov for @AreoMagazine. https://areomagazine.com/2023/01/25/never-kevins-and-the-assault-on-democracy/
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RT @Sukhayl_Niyazov: Following an unjustifiably long break, I wrote a new article for @AreoMagazine on what McCarthy’s arduous path to speakership tells us about US institutions, and why classical republican virtue is so important for America’s “liberal republic.” https://areomagazine.com/2023/01/25/never-kevins-and-the-assault-on-democracy/
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RT @AVarignana: The Great Reboot: In Memoriam #MarkFisher https://areomagazine.com/2023/01/18/the-great-reboot-in-memoriam-mark-fisher/ via @areomagazine
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