Two Ruru

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The Bad Newsletter

The Bad Newsletter is currently on hiatus, for child-having reasons. I’m maintaining the archive of posts here while I decide what to do with it. I’m sure some of the posts I put together in the future will be Bad Newsletter-worthy.

  • Say the quiet part loud, for once

    Say the quiet part loud, for once

    tworuru

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    This one is for the journalists who subscribe to The Bad Newsletter. There are quite a few of you, which is gratifying! I think it speaks well of the profession – or what’s left of it – that a publication that frequently criticises both media institutions and specific journalists is still subscribed to by those […]

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  • What happens when an economist tries to do real science?

    tworuru

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    This is outside the Bad Newsletter’s normal purview but I’m running with it because it’s one of the most darkly hilarious things I’ve seen in a long time. It’s becoming clearer all the time that the discipline…

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  • Our decades of climate change denial

    tworuru

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    I have no words for just how terrible the effects of this climate-change-exacerbated cyclone have been. As I write this, 11 people are confirmed dead, including a two-year-old child, who was swept away as her parents tried…

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  • And now, a word from the future’s sponsors

    tworuru

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    In the aftermath of the Auckland floods and the still-unfolding catastrophe of Cyclone Gabrielle, the media are asking whether New Zealanders (correctly) see these events as linked to climate change. “Does Cyclone Gabrielle have you thinking about…

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  • On a personal note

    tworuru

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    Gidday. So this is more of a personal note than anything, and those that read David Farrier’s Webworm (which is probably a lot of you, and if you don’t, start! It’s great!) are probably already aware of…

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  • Among Us: the too-close-to home terror of Mister Organ

    Among Us: the too-close-to home terror of Mister Organ

    tworuru

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    The reviews all seem to agree: Mister Organ, the newest film from journalist David Farrier, is disturbing. It’s strange. It’s unsettling. It’s funny. It’s very, very good. Having seen it myself at a Q&A screening last night,…

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  • The Problem(s) With Twitter

    The Problem(s) With Twitter

    tworuru

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    I’ve been on Mastodon for about five minutes now and it’s safe to say I like what I’ve seen. Of course, because it’s Mastodon, I’m not on “Mastodon.” That’s like saying “I’m on email.” As far as…

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  • Needless F****** Things

    tworuru

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    I’ve always wanted to make a living as an artist, but so far, life hasn’t found a way. What’s frustrating is not that I’ve had no success; it’s that I’ve had some. Just enough for a taste.…

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  • This bad Covid column is everything wrong with opinion journalism

    tworuru

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    What valuable insights does a sports writer have into pandemic management? According to Stuff, the answer is “enough to publish an entire column about it.” So here’s a bit of a blow-by-blow of said column, authored by…

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  • The Fifth Columnists

    tworuru

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    This is a long one, so… Let’s begin with a series of interesting facts. Some extracts from the first-ever editorial of the New Zealand Herald, November 13, 1863, which is very concerned with the health of the…

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  • Shit Speech, 2021 Edition

    tworuru

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    A while back – two years, in fact – I wrote an essay about a problem that had been bothering me for a long time. The news media, and the commentary served up alongside it, seemed saturated…

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