Never News: A Vermont Bulletin
Greetings beautiful people! It's me, Producer Georgia. By the time you read this, I will be traversing the autumnal splendor of Vermont, where I have come to witness the beauty of love (I'm at a friend's wedding). But nothing will keep me from delivering you this beloved newsletter!
If you missed it, on Monday this week we did a livestream of our weekly pitch meeting, where we workshopped ideas for the show with YOU, the chat! Several of you sweet angels directly helped us form our segments – segments that you will likely hear on the pod soon!
We will absolutely be doing more of these, so if you want to tune in and help us put the show together, you know where to find us: twitch.tv/theneverpost.
Now, onward...to the news!
THE NEW YORK TIMES: "The Nepalese Parliament Is Now Discord"
Nothing felt like a better fit to summarize this piece than that quote, which came from this article in the Times. If you haven't been following what's going on in Nepal, this is a great breakdown of the events of the last week (along with this piece in Al Jazeera). What started as an attempted social media ban has now turned into basically a full party wipe of the nation's government. The Prime Minister is out, the military is in control, and there's no clear successor in place. So, the Nepalese people have turned to Discord to decide the next PM – literally. This is certainly something new when it comes to politics online, to put it mildly. I think we should all be following this as it unfolds.
SHOW NEWS: Did you watch our livestream editorial meeeting?!
If you did, smooches to you. And if not, never fear! There are machinations in the works to make that a semi-frequent experience, along with other livestream-y events. If you have something that you'd like us to livestream in particular, reach out to us at theneverpost [at] gmail dot com. [cheers of "Georgia! Georgia! Play Tony Hawk Pro Skater for the first time!] Whaaaat?! Who said that?
DAZED: Students reject modernity (laptops), embrace tradition (books)
I've been seeing an interesting uptick in posts about this sort of thing – where young peple are trying to figure out ways to divorce themselves from the omnipresent existence of technology in their lives. Some of these attempts feel more post-y than others (such as a video which I won't link where someone yassifies the idea of a landline by chaining their smart phone to the wall). But here, in this piece, is something much more practical. It might just be the beginning of the school year that has students trying to fling themselves as far away from ChatGPT as they can. But the answer is clear: no more laptops. Well, within reason. For the students in this article, typing out essays is still okay when it comes to computers. But reading, note-taking, and outlining is done ye olden style: with a pen and paper. Calling themselves "modern Luddites" for this is a bit much for me. But as someone who still takes notes by hand (for this very podcast, no less), I say YES! JOIN ME!
THE NEW YORKER: is "ghosting" just a normal thing now?
Friend of the show Kyle Chayka has done it again with this piece on the state of ghosting, and how ever-expanding opportunities for digital communication provide an equally vast list of ways to fail to communicate. I think about ghosting a lot – it's something that virtually everyone in my life has dealt with, either as the one being ghosted or the ghost-er. Virtually any online-first communication platform provides you with a deliciously simple way to just up and leave a conversation and never look back. There's a cruel simplicity there, there's the sentiment that "everyone doesn't owe you an immediate response," there's the misery and confusion of watching a connection vanish in an instant. Ghosting a well-trod topic, to be sure, but I do think that Kyle takes it to new depths here. Because I do agree – I think this isn't just some flash-in-the-pan thing that will eventually change as we move on to new digital spaces. Ghosting is here to stay, at least for now. So...what do we do about it?
Alright weirdos, that's all from me. I have to go wander through the shrouded woods, watching as the reds and oranges of the leaves dance through the trees. It's my favorite time of year, and I will be making it everyone's problem.
Toodaloo!
[Here's another song for you that feels autumnal to me in that early, crisp way]