Recent Entries

From The Week in Westminster at 2025-05-03 11:48:00

03/05/2025 (p0l82cxk.mp3)

Radio 4's assessment of developments at Westminster

From More or Less: Behind the Stats at 2025-05-03 06:00:00

Donald Trump: 100 days fact-check (p0l7z3tc.mp3)

On the 29th April US President Donald Trump took to the stage in Michigan to celebrate his first 100 days in office.

This is a milestone in American politics, but is everything he claims the administration has achieved true?

The BBC’s US National Digital Reporter Mike Wendling joins us to fact-check President Trump’s claims on immigration, the stock market, fentanyl and….eggs.

Presenter: Lizzy McNeill Producer: Tom Colls Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Jack Morris Editor: Richard Vadon

From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-05-03 00:14:57

Collections: Why Archers Didn’t Volley Fire

This week we’re looking at a specific visual motif common in TV and film: the arrow volley. You know the scene: the general readies his archers, he orders them to ‘draw!’ and then holds up his hand with that ‘wait for it’ gesture and then shouts ‘loose!’ (or worse yet, ‘fire!’) and all of the … Continue reading Collections: Why Archers Didn’t Volley Fire →

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-05-02 21:14:58

Microsoft’s new “passwordless by default” is great but comes at a cost

The move is part of an industry-wide push for users to adopt passkeys.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-05-02 19:04:07

Privacy for Agentic AI

Sooner or later, it’s going to happen. AI systems will start acting as agents, doing things on our behalf with some degree of autonomy. I think it’s worth thinking about the security of that now, while its still a nascent idea.

In 2019, I joined Inrupt, a company that is commercializing Tim Berners-Lee’s open protocol for distributed data ownership. We are working on a digital wallet that can make use of AI in this way. (We used to call it an “active wallet.” Now we’re calling it an “agentic wallet.”)

I talked about this a bit at the RSA Conference...

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-05-02 17:39:26

Claude’s AI research mode now runs for up to 45 minutes before delivering reports

New feature searches hundreds of sources to build a document—but is it accurate?

From The Incomparable Mothership at 2025-05-02 17:00:00

764: Books About Towers (f4cab8ae-6aff-489d-83b6-fe21fea23cc5.mp3)

Our walk through the 10 different novels nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards in 2025 begins! In this episode we discuss “Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory” by Yaroslav Barsukov, “A Sorceress Comes to Call” by T. Kingfisher, and “Someone You Can Build a Nest In” by John Wiswell....

From Net Assessment at 2025-05-02 15:44:00

Is Arms Control Dead? (Net_Assessment_-_Episode_2_v2.mp3?dest-id=808287)

Chris, Melanie, and Zack consider Rose Gottemoeller’s claim that arms control is not yet dead, but essential. Are there realistic prospects for a new arms control deal? If the Trump administration seriously seeks agreements with Russia and China, what should we demand? And what concessions might we offer? And what should be the objective of any new arms control agreements? Grievances for the Pentagon’s slow-motion train wreck, to worrisome reports of deep cuts at the State Department, and for the Trump administration’s reported minerals deal in Ukraine. Zack offers a heartfelt attaboy to his mentor Richard Armitage, who passed away earlier this month after a lifetime of service. Attas also to Secretary of State Marco Rubio for not cutting State more, and to the Carnegie Endowment for a new report on the foreign policy attitudes of Generation Z.

Links:

• Rose Gottemoeller, “Arms Control Is Not Dead Yet: America Should Pursue Parallel Nuclear Negotiations With China and Russia,” Foreign Affairs, April 15, 2025

• Christopher S. Chivvis and Lauren Morganbesser, “What Gen Z Thinks About U.S. Foreign Policy,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, April 17, 2025

• Geoff Wilson, Christohper Preble, and Lucas Ruiz, Gambling on Armageddon, Stimson Center, February 19, 2025 

• Nancy A. Youssef, Alexander Ward, and Vera Bergengruen, “Polygraph Threats, Leaks and Infighting: Pete Hegseth Rattled by Pentagon Chaos,” Wall Street Journal, April 24, 2025

• Supporting Stimson, https://www.stimson.org/support/

• “Armitage’s Story,” Last Days in Vietnam clip, PBS, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/lastdays-armitage/.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-05-02 12:03:11

NCSC Guidance on “Advanced Cryptography”

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre just released its white paper on “Advanced Cryptography,” which it defines as “cryptographic techniques for processing encrypted data, providing enhanced functionality over and above that provided by traditional cryptography.” It includes things like homomorphic encryption, attribute-based encryption, zero-knowledge proofs, and secure multiparty computation.

It’s full of good advice. I especially appreciate this warning:

When deciding whether to use Advanced Cryptography, start with a clear articulation of the problem, and use that to guide the development of an appropriate solution. That is, you should not start with an Advanced Cryptography technique, and then attempt to fit the functionality it provides to the problem. ...

From School of War at 2025-05-02 10:35:00

Ep 194: Mark Moyar on the Vietnam War (NEBM6789526178.mp3?updated=1746139778)

Mark Moyar, William P. Harris Chair of Military History at Hillsdale College and author of Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965-1968,  joins the show to explain the major inflection points of the Vietnam War. ▪️ Times      •      01:58 Introduction     •      02:47 The “orthodox view”      •      05:51 Dominos     •      08:41 A Maoist vision         •      12:42 1963        •      15:30 Henry Cabot Lodge       •      21:10 Slow erosion           •      24:57 Ground troops      •      30:10 Morale     •      33:39 Nixon in office         •      37:30 Triangular diplomacy      •      39:31 Vietnamization fails      •      43:09 American mistakes          •      47:31 Wanting out      •      50:10 Aftermath   Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack

From Ink Stained Wretches at 2025-05-02 09:45:00

Dudes, man (NEBM3341695026.mp3?updated=1746131498)

Chris and Eliana are back, starting with Trump’s 100-day media blitz, Tim Walz’s code-switching, the private group chats shaping American politics, and—most importantly—the origin of Jo Jo potatoes. Wretch on! Time Stamps: Front Page: 1:29 Obsessions: 1:03:31 Reader Mail: 1:11:31 Favorite Items: 1:18:36 Show Notes: The Atlantic: Read The Atlantic’s Interview With Donald Trump Time: Read the Full Transcript of Donald Trump’s ‘100 Days’ Interview With TIME Axios: Scoop: White House launches Drudge-style website to promote Trump The Atlantic: The War That Would Not End Semafor: The group chats that changed America The New York Times: A Progressive Mind in a Body Made for the ‘Manosphere’ The Wall Street Journal: Questioning Biden’s Capacities Was Taboo a Year Ago. Now It’s Everywhere. The New York Times: The Dispatch Buys SCOTUSblog, a Supreme Court Mainstay  The New York Times: A Hot Accessory, at the Intersection of Faith and Culture  The New York Times: Vietnam on The Move Awful Announcing: Bill Belichick issues statement defending Jordon Hudson’s actions during CBS interview  ESPN: Son of Falcons coordinator Ulbrich admits to Sanders prank  The New York Times: How Ozempic Is Shaping Weddings  The New York Times: ‘60 Minutes’ Chief Resigns in Emotional Meeting: ‘The Company Is Done With Me’  The New York Times: Paramount Board Clears Possible Path for Settling Trump’s ‘60 Minutes’ Lawsuit The Washington Post: She tried to expose Russia’s brutal detention system — and ended up dead The Washington Post: Streaming services should step up to make C-SPAN great again  The New York Times: The Unabomber’s Brother Turned Him In. Then Spent 27 Years Trying to Win Him Back.

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-05-01 22:32:27

Time saved by AI offset by new work created, study suggests

Survey of 2023–2024 data finds that AI created more tasks for 8.4 percent of workers.

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-05-01 22:00:02

Why MFA is getting easer to bypass and what to do about it

Why multifactor authentication based on one-time-passwords and push notifications fails.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-05-01 17:02:50

US as a Surveillance State

Two essays were just published on DOGE’s data collection and aggregation, and how it ends with a modern surveillance state.

It’s good to see this finally being talked about.

From The Briefing Room at 2025-05-01 13:41:00

Are India and Pakistan on the brink of war over Kashmir? (p0l7lt88.mp3)

Tension is high in Indian administered Kashmir following the killing on 22nd April of 26 civilians almost all of whom were Hindu tourists. They were visiting Pahalgam - an area often described as the “Switzerland of India”. Militants opened fire on them and in the days since relations between India and Pakistan, which both claim Kashmir in full but only administer it in part, have deteriorated. India accuses Pakistan of supporting the militants and Islamabad rejects the allegations. This is the latest attack in a decades-long dispute over the region. David Aaronovitch and guests ask what happens next and what sort of a response we are likely to see from India and also Pakistan?

Guests: Andrew Whitehead: Former BBC India correspondent and expert on Kashmir and its history, author of ‘A Mission in Kashmir’ Anbarasan Ethirajan: BBC South Asia Regional Editor Husain Haqqani : Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC and former Pakistan ambassador to Sri Lanka and the US Michael Kugelman - South Asia analyst based in Washington DC and author of Foreign Policy magazine’s South Asia Brief newsletter Sumantra Bose: Professor of International and Comparative Politics at Krea University in India and author of Kashmir at the Crossroads: Inside a 21st-Century Conflict

Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Caroline Bayley, Nathan Gower, Kirsteen Knight Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman Sound engineers: Sarah Hockley and James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon

From In Our Time: History at 2025-05-01 10:15:00

The Gracchi (p0l1mrf2.mp3)

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus whose names are entwined with the end of Rome's Republic and the rise of the Roman Emperors. As tribunes, they brought popular reforms to the Roman Republic at the end of the 2nd century BC. Tiberius (c163-133BC) brought in land reform so every soldier could have his farm, while Gaius (c154-121BC) offered cheap grain for Romans and targeted corruption among the elites. Those elites saw the reforms as such a threat that they had the brothers killed: Tiberius in a shocking murder led by the Pontifex Maximus, the high priest, in 133BC and Gaius 12 years later with the senate's approval. This increase in political violence was to destabilise the Republic, forever tying the Gracchi to the question of why Rome’s Republic gave way to the Rome of Emperors.

With

Catherine Steel Professor of Classics at the University of Glasgow

Federico Santangelo Professor of Ancient History at Newcastle University

And

Kathryn Tempest Lecturer in Roman History at the University of Leicester

Producer: Simon Tillotson

Reading list:

Appian (trans. John Carter), The Civil Wars (Penguin Classics, 2005)

Valentina Arena, Jonathan R. W. Prag and Andrew Stiles, A Companion to the Political Culture of the Roman Republic (Wiley-Blackwell, 2022), especially the chapter by Lea Beness and Tom Hillard

R. Cristofoli, A. Galimberti and F. Rohr Vio (eds.), Costruire la Memoria: Uso e abuso della storia fra tarda repubblica e primo principato (L'Erma di Bretschneider, 2017), especially ‘The 'Tyranny' of the Gracchi and the Concordia of the Optimates: An Ideological Construct.’ by Francisco Pina Polo

Suzanne Dixon, Cornelia: Mother of the Gracchi, (Routledge, 2007)

Peter Garnsey and Dominic Rathbone, ‘The Background to the Grain Law of Gaius Gracchus’ (Journal of Roman Studies 75, 1985)

O. Hekster, G. de Kleijn and D. Slootjes (eds.), Crises and the Roman Empire (Brill, 2007), especially ‘Tiberius Gracchus, Land and Manpower’ by John W. Rich

Josiah Osgood, Rome and the Making of a World State, 150 BCE-20 CE (Cambridge University Press, 2018)

Plutarch (trans. Ian Scott-Kilvert and Christopher Pelling), Rome in Crisis (Penguin Classics, 2010)

Plutarch (trans. Robin Waterfield, ed. Philip A. Stadter), Roman Lives (Oxford University Press, 2008)

Nathan Rosenstein, ‘Aristocrats and Agriculture in the Middle and Late Republic’ (Journal of Roman Studies 98, 2008)

A. N. Sherwin-White, ‘The Lex Repetundarum and the Political Ideas of Gaius Gracchus’ (Journal of Roman Studies 72, 1982)

Catherine Steel, The End of the Roman Republic, 146 to 44 BC: Conquest and Crisis (Edinburgh University Press, 2013)

David Stockton, The Gracchi (Oxford University Press, 1979)

In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

From Strong Message Here at 2025-05-01 09:45:00

The Official Language of the United States (p0l7c3cs.mp3)

Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.

This week, a look over the pond at Trump's first 100 days. How have his administration used language to further their agenda? From the Gulf of America, to Making Showers Great Again, Helen and Armando examine how the US government is finding linguistic tricks to set the terms of debate.

Listen to Strong Message Here every Thursday at 9.45am on Radio 4 and then head straight to BBC Sounds for an extended episode.

Have you stumbled upon any perplexing political phrases you need Helen and Armando to decode? Email them to us at strongmessagehere@bbc.co.uk

Sound Editing by Chris Maclean Production Coordinator - Katie Baum & Sarah Nicholls Executive Producer - Pete Strauss

Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4. An EcoAudio Certified Production.

From The Rest Is History at 2025-05-01 00:05:00

561. The Golden Age of Japan: Secrets of the Imperial Court (Part 2) (GLT9428275194.mp3?updated=1746033394)

In the vibrant but vicious golden age of Imperial Japan, how did women use writing as a way to secure their status, and express their deepest desires? Who was Sei Shōnagon, the witty courtier whose account of life around the Japanese Empress during the iconic Heian period, provides a scintillating insight into this colourful world? And, behind the sophisticated melee of the Imperial court, with its elegance and decorum, what risks and hazards haunted every aspiring courtier…? Join Tom and Dominic for the climax to their tantalising journey into the beating heart of Imperial Japan, and the remarkable woman whose moving, keenly perceptive, but also slyly venomous, insights into this complicated arena, bring it flamboyantly to life. The Rest Is History Club: Become a member for exclusive bonus content, early access to full series and live show tickets, ad-free listening, our exclusive newsletter, discount book prices on titles mentioned on the pod, and our members’ chatroom on Discord. Just head to therestishistory.com to sign up, or start a free trial today on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/therestishistory. For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-30 19:36:26

Windows RDP lets you log in using revoked passwords. Microsoft is OK with that.

Researchers say the behavior amounts to a persistent backdoor.

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-30 18:52:06

Millions of Apple Airplay-enabled devices can be hacked via Wi-Fi

Hackers can run their code on AirPlay devices thanks to a collection of bugs known as AirBorne.

From The Media Show at 2025-04-30 17:32:00

Piers Morgan, the impact of the Supreme Court ruling on sex and gender for the media (p0l7f3gk.mp3)

Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins talk to Piers Morgan about his new Youtube venture Uncensored. What are the implications for the Media of the UK Supreme Court's ruling that the legal definition of a woman should be based on biological sex? Rosamund Urwin Media Editor at The Times and the New Statesman Associate Editor Hannah Barnes and author of Time to Think: The Inside Story of the Collapse of the Tavistock’s Gender Service for Children”, jane fae from the charity Trans Media Watch and Dominic Casciani the BBCs Legal and Home Affairs Correspondent discuss.

Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-30 12:30:40

The end of an AI that shocked the world: OpenAI retires GPT-4

A look back at GPT-4's legacy as OpenAI pulls the pioneering 2023 AI model from ChatGPT.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-30 12:12:02

WhatsApp Case Against NSO Group Progressing

Meta is suing NSO Group, basically claiming that the latter hacks WhatsApp and not just WhatsApp users. We have a procedural ruling:

Under the order, NSO Group is prohibited from presenting evidence about its customers’ identities, implying the targeted WhatsApp users are suspected or actual criminals, or alleging that WhatsApp had insufficient security protections.

[…]

In making her ruling, Northern District of California Judge Phyllis Hamilton said NSO Group undercut its arguments to use evidence about its customers with contradictory statements...

From GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution at 2025-04-29 19:36:48

Tangled Up in Blue with Rep. Ro Khanna: Tariffs, Trump, and Progressive Capitalism (GoodFellows_2025-04-28_-_Ro_Khanna_wip02_podcast_88jk8.mp3)

Rejected by voters last November, the Democratic Party is perhaps afforded new life given President Trump’s decline in popularity and economic uncertainty ahead. What is the party’s message?  Rep. Ro Khanna, a prominent progressive voice whose California district includes parts of Silicon Valley, joins Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster to discuss tariffs and the use of executive power, “blue state” mismanagement, the feasibility of a “Marshall Plan” for economically downtrodden parts of America, plus the chances of Democrats parting ways with their “old guard.” After that: the three fellows weigh in on the Trump presidency at the 100-day mark, the future of Catholicism after the death of Pope Francis, tax exemption for universities, their go-to takeout food (pizza yes; haggis, no), plus two April landmarks—the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. Recorded on April 28, 2025.

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-29 19:03:46

Trump admin lashes out as Amazon considers displaying tariff costs on its sites

"This was never approved and is not going to happen," says Amazon.

From School of War at 2025-04-29 12:33:00

Ep 193: Douglas Murray on Israel’s War and its Global Consequences (NEBM5606419226.mp3?updated=1745926743)

Douglas Murray, journalist and author of On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization, joins the show for a wide ranging conversation that covers Death Cults, anti-Semitism, and recent shifts in the Right. ▪️ Times      •      01:42 Introduction     •      03:00 9/11 origins      •      09:50 It’s not 1939     •      13:45 Death cults         •      19:16 “I’m not a fascist, I’m an idealist.”        •      23:51 Vasily Grossman       •      37:05 What’s going on with the Right?          •      49:07 Nostalgia for the absolute      •      54:10 Regaining balance   Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-29 12:15:43

AI-generated code could be a disaster for the software supply chain. Here’s why.

LLM-produced code could make us much more vulnerable to supply-chain attacks.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-29 12:03:43

Applying Security Engineering to Prompt Injection Security

This seems like an important advance in LLM security against prompt injection:

Google DeepMind has unveiled CaMeL (CApabilities for MachinE Learning), a new approach to stopping prompt-injection attacks that abandons the failed strategy of having AI models police themselves. Instead, CaMeL treats language models as fundamentally untrusted components within a secure software framework, creating clear boundaries between user commands and potentially malicious content.

[…]

To understand CaMeL, you need to understand that prompt injections happen when AI systems can’t distinguish between legitimate user commands and malicious instructions hidden in content they’re processing...

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-28 23:04:26

ChatGPT goes shopping with new product-browsing feature

ChatGPT will now recommend products to be bought offsite—but no sponsored ads just yet.

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-28 22:43:43

Backblaze responds to claims of “sham accounting,” customer backups at risk

Short seller publishes report detailing allegations about Backblaze's financials

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-28 19:17:27

Windscribe Acquitted on Charges of Not Collecting Users’ Data

The company doesn’t keep logs, so couldn’t turn over data:

Windscribe, a globally used privacy-first VPN service, announced today that its founder, Yegor Sak, has been fully acquitted by a court in Athens, Greece, following a two-year legal battle in which Sak was personally charged in connection with an alleged internet offence by an unknown user of the service.

The case centred around a Windscribe-owned server in Finland that was allegedly used to breach a system in Greece. Greek authorities, in cooperation with INTERPOL, traced the IP address to Windscribe’s infrastructure and, unlike standard international procedures, proceeded to initiate criminal proceedings against Sak himself, rather than pursuing information through standard corporate channels...

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-28 12:00:59

iOS and Android juice jacking defenses have been trivial to bypass for years

New ChoiceJacking attack allows malicious chargers to steal data from phones.

From The Rest Is History at 2025-04-28 00:05:00

560. The Golden Age of Japan: Lady Murasaki and the Shining Prince (Part 1) (GLT6500007351.mp3?updated=1745795270)

At the height of Imperial Japan, during a golden age of court intrigue, colourful pedantry, hierarchy, and sophistication, who was the legendary lothario and emperor’s son, Genji? What can the Tale of Genji - a great masterpiece of Japanese literature - tell us about this remarkable and alien world, and the imperial family at the heart of it? Who was the woman who wrote it, at a time when in the West it would have been unthinkable? What was the influence of China, Japan’s powerful neighbour, on the world the text describes? And, does the story hold the secrets to the divine power of the Japanese emperors…? Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the thrilling and romantic Tale of Genji; the historical man behind the myth, and the glorious world of Imperial Japan, with its glittering court.  _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude  Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From The Django weblog at 2025-04-26 15:58:08

New-features github repo and project

New Feature Request/Proposal Process with GitHub Repository

Django is experimenting with a new GitHub repository specifically designed to manage feature ideas and their progression. This is a significant shift away from the previous process of posting those to the forum.

Introducing the Django Features Repository

The Django Steering Council has launched a new GitHub repository at https://github.com/django/new-features dedicated to managing feature requests and ideas. This repository works in conjunction with a GitHub project to provide more efficient tracking of feature ideas as they move through various stages of consideration.

Why This Matters for Django Developers

This new approach aims to addresses several challenges the Django community has faced with feature requests:

1. Community involvement: Clear guidelines on how to participate in feature discussions
2. Structured workflow: A defined path from idea to implementation
3. Better resource allocation: Prioritization based on community support and feasibility

The New Feature Process Flow

The process follows a workflow with several key decision points:

1. New Idea Submission: Community members submit feature ideas as GitHub issues
2. Community Support Phase: The community reacts with emojis and comments to express support or concerns
3. Evaluation for Core Inclusion: The Steering Council determines if the feature belongs in Django core or whether it is more appropriate as a 3rd party package
4. Implementation Planning: Through an expedited DEP (Django Enhancement Proposal) process

How to Participate

Have a Feature Idea?

If you have an idea for improving Django, the process starts by creating an issue in the new repository. Before submitting, review the new feature process documentation to understand what to expect.

Want to Help Shape Django's Future?

There are three key areas where community involvement is needed:

1. Community Support Assessment: Review open tickets and share your support using emoji reactions
2. 👍 For features you would use
3. 👎 For features that might cause problems
4. 😕 For features you're indifferent about

5. 🎉 For easy wins

6. Core Evaluation: Help determine whether features should exist in Django core or as third-party packages

7. Implementation Volunteering: Assist with implementing, reviewing implementations, and maintenance of approved features

Benefits for the Django Community

We believe this new process can help with:

• Clearer communication: Understanding where a feature stands in the process
• More efficient feature development: Resources directed to features with demonstrated community support
• Better separation of concerns: Distinguishing between features that belong in core versus those better suited as third-party packages
• Reduced friction: Expedited processes for smaller feature requests

Providing Feedback

If you have thoughts about the new process itself, we'd love to get feedback through the Django Forum.

Conclusion

The experimental new feature repository represents is one of several steps Django is taking in order to try and improve the contributor experience journey. By providing a structured, transparent process for feature requests, Django aims to better serve its community while maintaining the framework's quality and sustainability.

For developers interested in contributing to Django or proposing new features, this new system should provide clearer expectations while making it easier to locate and participate in the discussion around a specific feature.

Check out the repository at https://github.com/django/new-features to learn more and start participating in this new adventure.

From The Week in Westminster at 2025-04-26 11:02:00

26/04/2025 (p0l6jhrs.mp3)

George Parker of the Financial Times assesses the latest developments at Westminster.

To discuss the Chancellor's trip to Washington to try to secure a trade deal with the US, George is joined by Labour MP and Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, Liam Byrne, and former Conservative government Trade Minister, Greg Hands.

Also this week, London hosted the global energy security conference. To discuss the green energy transition, George is joined by Green Party MP Ellie Chowns and Gary Smith, the General Secretary of the GMB union.

Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine and Conservative MP Dr Caroline Johnson join George to discuss the recent Supreme Court ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex.

And, in the week of St George's Day, the Prime Minister hosted the first ever Downing Street reception to mark the occasion. To discuss the meaning of 'patriotism', George speaks to Tom Baldwin, a former Labour adviser and the author of a biography of Keir Starmer and Samuel Kasumu, who worked as an adviser to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

From More or Less: Behind the Stats at 2025-04-26 06:00:00

Are 80% of women really only attracted to 20% of men? (p0l6hw9y.mp3)

Netflix’s psychological drama Adolescence has started a debate about teenage boys and misogyny in modern society. It tells the story of a seemingly normal young boy, Jamie, who is arrested after the brutal murder of a girl in his class.

The series focuses on how young men are being radicalised against women by various podcasts, blogs and forums that make up the anti-feminist movement, the so-called ‘manosphere’. These podcasts often give men tips about how to be an ‘alpha’ male and promote the idea that feminism has set back men's rights. They use a range of material to back up their claims, including statistics. One such statistic was quoted in Adolescence and used to explain Jamie’s hatred towards women - that 80% of women are only attracted to 20% of men. Where does this claim come from and is it true? We look into the alleged maths behind the misogyny. Presenter/Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Mix: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-25 22:43:09

New study shows why simulated reasoning AI models don’t yet live up to their billing

Top AI models excel at math problems but lack reasoning needed for Math Olympiad proofs.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-25 22:08:00

Friday Squid Blogging: Squid Facts on Your Phone

Text “SQUID” to 1-833-SCI-TEXT for daily squid facts. The website has merch.

As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered.

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-25 21:38:02

FBI offers $10 million for information about Salt Typhoon members

FBI accepts tips by TOR in likely attempt to woo China-based informants.

From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-04-25 18:32:20

Collections: How Gandalf Proved Mightiest: Spiritual Power in Tolkien

This week, I want to keep unloading my Tolkien-related thoughts, turning from last week’s character study to a look at the way ‘magic’ and spiritual power work in Tolkien’s legendarium and in particular to how contests between fundamentally magical beings in Middle-earth are decided. This is a topic that I think even the best adaptations … Continue reading Collections: How Gandalf Proved Mightiest: Spiritual Power in Tolkien →

From The Incomparable Mothership at 2025-04-25 17:00:00

763: You're in the Gibson Area Now (09959ae7-3c4b-45d9-b932-91e186e82c9d.mp3)

The year is 1995. The films: “Hackers” and “The Net,” in which computers are proven to be dangerous for society. One is a ridiculous movie about teen hackers that knows it’s silly, and the other is a ludicrous thriller about adult hackers that doesn’t....

From Ahoy at 2025-04-25 15:16:23

2000.

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ahoy Merch: https://ahoy-shop.fourthwall.com/ 00:00 Introduction 00:35 Nintendo 64 01:58 Game Boy Color 03:03 PlayStation 05:53 PC 11:35 Dreamcast 14:53 PlayStation 2 19:23 Conclusion

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-25 12:07:19

Cryptocurrency Thefts Get Physical

Long story of a $250 million cryptocurrency theft that, in a complicated chain events, resulted in a pretty brutal kidnapping.

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-25 12:00:57

In the age of AI, we must protect human creativity as a natural resource

Op-ed: As AI outputs flood the Internet, diverse human perspectives are our most valuable resource.

From School of War at 2025-04-25 10:30:00

Ep 192: Raymond Jonas on Europe’s War on the Monroe Doctrine (~165 year ago) (NEBM9333419060.mp3?updated=1745541723)

Raymond Jonas, Jon Bridgman Endowed Professor in History at the University of Washington and author of Habsburgs on the Rio Grande: The Rise and Fall of the Second Mexican Empire, joins the show to discuss a failed-but-spectacular 19th Century attempt by European powers to undermine the Monroe Doctrine. ▪️ Times      •      01:42 Introduction     •      03:31 Transatlantic relations      •      05:20 Europe distracted     •      08:39 Secession and unrest        •      12:46 Maximillian I        •      17:55 Continental powers      •      20:01 Britain, France and Spain         •      26:13 What the Americans did right      •      28:23 Napoleon III     •      30:09 Mexico and the Confederacy         •      35:20 Slavery adjacent       •      38:46 What went wrong         •      42:07 Benito Juarez    •       44:33 Maximillian’s execution    •       46:20 European alarm Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack

From Ink Stained Wretches at 2025-04-25 09:45:00

The Interview: Lahav Harkov on News Coverage of the Israel-Gaza War (NEBM7975827669.mp3?updated=1745551811)

This week, Eliana flies solo and sits down with Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov for a conversation about her path through Israeli and American media — and what the press got wrong and (less often) right about the Israel-Gaza war. Wretch on! If you have a story you want to discuss with us, email us at wretches@nebulouspodcasts dot com. Show Notes: New York Magazine: Everything We Know About the Gaza City Hospital Blast  The Washington Post: Israel’s war with Hamas separates Palestinian babies from their mothers  Reuters: Gaza mother's hopes for return of long-jailed son dashed The Atlantic: The War That Would Not End  60 Minutes: Freed Israeli hostages Yarden Bibas, Keith Siegel, Tal Shoham describe horrors of being held captive by Hamas  CNN: Hersh Goldberg-Polin: The ‘happy-go-lucky’ Israeli-American who became a symbol of Israel’s enduring hostage heartbreak  The Atlantic: What the Media Gets Wrong About Israel  Tablet: An Insider’s Guide to the Most Important Story on Earth

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-24 21:02:40

New Android spyware is targeting Russian military personnel on the front lines

Trojanized mapping app steals users' locations, contacts, and more.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-24 20:35:15

New Linux Rootkit

Interesting:

The company has released a working rootkit called “Curing” that uses io_uring, a feature built into the Linux kernel, to stealthily perform malicious activities without being caught by many of the detection solutions currently on the market.

At the heart of the issue is the heavy reliance on monitoring system calls, which has become the go-to method for many cybersecurity vendors. The problem? Attackers can completely sidestep these monitored calls by leaning on io_uring instead. This clever method could let bad actors quietly make network connections or tamper with files without triggering the usual alarms...

From The Briefing Room at 2025-04-24 13:44:00

Can the UK become an AI superpower? (p0l66b59.mp3)

The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer wants the UK to become “one of the great AI superpowers”. Earlier this year the government published a plan to use artificial intelligence in the private and public sectors to boost growth and deliver services more efficiently. Once mainly the preserve of the tech community, AI really entered public awareness with the release of ChatGPT, a so-called “chatbot” founded by the US company OpenAI at the end of 2022. It can write essays, scripts, poems and even write computer code …and millions of people are using it. David Aaronovitch and guests discuss whether the UK could become a successful AI hub, as the government hopes and asks if we'll be able to compete globally with the US and China, the home of huge tech companies?

Guests: Dame Wendy Hall, Regius Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Web Science Institute at the University of Southampton. Eden Zoller, Chief Analyst in Applied AI, Omdia. Professor Neil Lawrence, the DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at University of Cambridge and author of The Atomic Human Jeremy Kahn, AI Editor at Fortune magazine and author of Mastering AI: A survival guide to our superpowered future.

Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight, Nathan Gower Production coordinator: Gemma Ashman Sound Engineer: James Beard Editor: Richard Vadon

From Strong Message Here at 2025-04-24 09:45:00

How Much is a Pint of Milk? (with Rob Burley) (p0l60vjn.mp3)

Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.

Helen Lewis and Armando Iannucci are joined by the BBC's former Live Political Editor to discuss the art of the political interview. What's a valid question? What's a cheap gotcha?

They also discuss Paxman's beard, the best political interviews and how to get the most out of a politician who is bending over backwards to say absolutely nothing.

Listen to Strong Message Here every Thursday at 9.45am on Radio 4 and then head straight to BBC Sounds for an extended episode.

Have you stumbled upon any perplexing political phrases you need Helen and Armando to decode? Email them to us at strongmessagehere@bbc.co.uk

Sound Editing by Chris Maclean Production Coordinator - Katie Baum Executive Producer - Richard Morris

Produced by Gwyn Rhys Davies. A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4. An EcoAudio Certified Production.

From Emperors of Rome at 2025-04-24 03:06:44

Crassus vs Spartacus (250424-crassus02.mp3)

In the tales of Hollywood Crassus will always be the antagonist to the slave hero Spartacus, but is that how would he see himself? A war against slaves is something that no self respecting Roman would like to be pushed into. And yet here we are.

Episode CCXL (240)

Part II of Crassus

Guest:
Assoc. Professor Rhiannon Evans (Classic and Ancient History, La Trobe University)

From The Rest Is History at 2025-04-24 00:05:00

559. The Rolling Stones: Satanic Majesties of Sixties Rebellion (Part 2) (GLT1390188077.mp3?updated=1745417239)

"We're not worried about petty morals." What happened to the Rolling Stones in 1967 to see them on the brink of imprisonment and mass censure, while at the height of their success, with fame, fortune, mansions, world tours, and best selling albums to their names? Was Brian Jones, the band's founder, murdered, after being found floating in his swimming pool? Under what pressures and against the backdrop of what other controversies, did they produce some of the best rock albums of all time? And, what occurred during their infamously deadly concert at the Altamont Raceway…? Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss the uproarious climax of the Rolling Stones’ extraordinary career: their entanglements with the law, the evolution of their sound, their personal lives; sex, drugs, death, and the birth of rock… EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/restishistory Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From The Media Show at 2025-04-23 17:43:00

Pentagon leaks, reporting on the death of the Pope, Genius Game (p0l60p2t.mp3)

Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins discuss some of the biggest media stories this week including: The latest on the Pentagon leaks in America from David Smith Washington Bureau Chief for the Guardian newspaper. Political commentator Isabel Oakeshott and Peter Cardwell author of "The Secret Life of Special Advisers" consider the relationship between politicians and the media in the UK. As the TV show Genius Game begins on ITV, we hear from its executive producer Tamara Gilder. The series is based on a South Korean Show and is fronted by David Tennant. Tony Pastor from Goalhanger podcast company talks about the role of advertising revenue in the industry and how are media outlets covering the death of Pope Francis? Tom Kington Italy Correspondent for The Times newspaper joins us from the Vatican Media Centre.

Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-23 17:02:48

Regulating AI Behavior with a Hypervisor

Interesting research: “Guillotine: Hypervisors for Isolating Malicious AIs.”

Abstract:As AI models become more embedded in critical sectors like finance, healthcare, and the military, their inscrutable behavior poses ever-greater risks to society. To mitigate this risk, we propose Guillotine, a hypervisor architecture for sandboxing powerful AI models—models that, by accident or malice, can generate existential threats to humanity. Although Guillotine borrows some well-known virtualization techniques, Guillotine must also introduce fundamentally new isolation mechanisms to handle the unique threat model posed by existential-risk AIs. For example, a rogue AI may try to introspect upon hypervisor software or the underlying hardware substrate to enable later subversion of that control plane; thus, a Guillotine hypervisor requires careful co-design of the hypervisor software and the CPUs, RAM, NIC, and storage devices that support the hypervisor software, to thwart side channel leakage and more generally eliminate mechanisms for AI to exploit reflection-based vulnerabilities. Beyond such isolation at the software, network, and microarchitectural layers, a Guillotine hypervisor must also provide physical fail-safes more commonly associated with nuclear power plants, avionic platforms, and other types of mission critical systems. Physical fail-safes, e.g., involving electromechanical disconnection of network cables, or the flooding of a datacenter which holds a rogue AI, provide defense in depth if software, network, and microarchitectural isolation is compromised and a rogue AI must be temporarily shut down or permanently destroyed. ...

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-22 17:03:17

Android Improves Its Security

Android phones will soon reboot themselves after sitting idle for three days. iPhones have had this feature for a while; it’s nice to see Google add it to their phones.

From School of War at 2025-04-22 10:30:00

Ep 191: Mark Dubowitz on Iran and the Trump Administration (NEBM7221755761.mp3?updated=1745283473)

Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and host of The Iran Breakdown podcast, joins the show to discuss the Iranian nuclear program, where things stand with the Trump administration’s pursuit of a deal, and the prospects of an Israeli attack. ▪️ Times      •      01:33 Introduction     •      02:04 Beginnings      •      04:25 A weapon is the purpose     •      07:31 Enrichment        •      12:32 JCPOA        •      16:54 “The worst deal…”      •      18:46 Can Iran reach the U.S.?         •      23:53 Dismantle the program      •      29:01 Splitscreen     •      34:09 Risky and futile        •      41:02 Pacing   Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-21 17:22:09

Annoyed ChatGPT users complain about bot’s relentlessly positive tone

Users complain of new "sycophancy" streak where ChatGPT thinks everything is brilliant.

From The Rest Is History at 2025-04-21 00:05:00

558. The Rolling Stones: Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll (Part 1) (GLT1663902020.mp3?updated=1745166333)

What are the origins of Britain’s original bad boys, The Rolling Stones? Where did they all come from and how did they meet? What was it about the 1960s, with its air of sexual liberation, newly elected Labour government, and rising youth culture that allowed them to burst onto the musical scene? Who was Brian Jones, the band's troubled founder? And, what made the Rolling Stones, even from the earliest stages, so much more controversial than The Beatles? Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss the rise of one of history’s greatest, sexiest, and most suavely devilish bands, and the glaring light they shed upon the tumultuous 1960s. _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From More or Less: Behind the Stats at 2025-04-19 06:00:00

The pioneers of proof (p0l4ykkw.mp3)

Here are More or Less we’ll all about the facts. Every day we use a toolkit of known proofs to try and answer our listeners’ questions. But who do we have to thank for this toolkit and how did they set about proving the unknown? Luckily for us mathematician Adam Kucharski has just written a book about this very topic called ‘Proof: The Uncertain Science of Certainty’. Join us to hear more about some of the proof pioneers included in his book, from estimating the number of German tanks during WW2 to an unsung heroine of statistics. Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Production Co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound Mix: Annie Gardiner

From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-04-18 19:01:46

Collections: Why Celebrimbor Fell and Boromir Conquered: the Moral Universe of Tolkien

This week (and probably next) I want to talk a bit more Tolkien, but in a someone different vein from normal. Rather than discussing the historicity of Tolkien’s world or adaptations of it, I want to take a moment to discuss some of the themes of Tolkien’s work, which express themselves in the metaphysical architecture … Continue reading Collections: Why Celebrimbor Fell and Boromir Conquered: the Moral Universe of Tolkien →

From The Incomparable Mothership at 2025-04-18 17:00:00

762: Wolf in Goat's Clothing (632d0b34-c990-4bb5-99f8-bf67814c3dc7.mp3)

Huff some ether, dress for an ORTBO, and always keep an eye out for a private place beneath a tarp—we’re here to discuss the second season of “Severance,” a story that goes beyond the first season with some twists and turns that might be Kafkaesque, but are definitely Kafka-ish....

From The Django weblog at 2025-04-18 15:19:46

Django Admin Theme Roundup 2025

One of Django’s most appreciated features is the built-in admin functionality. In fact, it was ranked as the most useful contrib app in the 2023 Django developer survey.

With a few lines of code, Django automatically generates an administrative interface to add, update, and edit objects in your database. While it's not meant to replace a full-featured frontend, the admin makes rapid prototyping possible and provides a lot of functionality out of the box.

However, the admin’s focus is not on a flashy user interface and some people have found it to be a little plain – some have even called it ugly! But fortunately, like all Django applications, the admin’s CSS and HTML templates can be overridden and tweaked. Here are a few projects which have done that, and are recently updated as of early 2025.

Chime in on the Django forum thread here with your favorite Django admin theme or if I missed any other options!

Note that these packages are listed in the order of the “easiest” integration to the hardest. However, the later libraries also tend to provide more features.

Dracula

A dark (and light) theme for the Django Admin based on the very popular Dracula which has themes for 400+ applications. This library is a quick win to give the admin a bit of pizazz without requiring much setup or changing the default admin functionality.

• Dracula Homepage
• Dracula Code

Django Daisy

Django Daisy is a responsive admin built with DaisyUI and TailwindCSS. Application icons can be added by utilizing Font Awesome. Very minimal (and completely optional!) configuration.

• Django Daisy Documentation
• Django Daisy Code
• Django Daisy Demo (demo/demo)

django-jazzmin

A drop-in theme for the Django admin that utilises AdminLTE 3.2 & Bootstrap 5. All of the configuration is optional which means the installation is very straight-forward. However, it also includes the ability to create custom menus, convert all pop-ups to modals, and a slick UI customizer. django-jazzmin also includes a wide selection of built-in themes.

• Django Jazzmin Documentation
• Django Jazzmin Code

django-admin-kubi

Kubi applies a Bootstrap 5 facelift to the Django admin, but also adds Sass support for custom styling and Font Awesome icons. It includes a sidebar menu for easy navigation and support for some third-party packages, including django-modeltranslation, django-modeltrans, django-import-export, django-two-factor-auth, and django-colorfield.

• Kubi Code

django-jet-reboot

Modern template for the Django admin interface with improved functionality. It provides the ability to create a custom dashboard and modules. Also includes user-selectable themes through the UI.

• Django JET Reboot Documentation
• Django JET Reboot Code

django-semantic-admin

A responsive Django admin theme based on Semantic UI. Includes JavaScript datepicker and timepicker components. Includes support for django_filter and django-import-export.

• Django Semantic UI Documentation
• Django Semantic UI Code
• Django Semantic UI Demo (admin/semantic)

Simple UI

A modern theme based on vue + element-ui which comes with 28 different themes. The documentation is originally in Chinese, but there is a translation in English.

• Simple UI Documentation
• Simple UI Code

Grapelli

Grappelli is a grid-based alternative to the Django admin which provides a few nifty features such as a custom TinyMCE integration, customizable dashboard, and inline sortables which can be updated by drag and drop.

• Grappelli Homepage
• Grappelli Documentation
• Grappelli Code

django-admin-interface

A modern responsive flat admin interface which comes with optional themes that can be installed for Bootstrap, Foundation, and U.S. Web Design Standards, and customizable by the admin itself. Other features include replacing admin pop-ups with modals, accordions in the navigation bar to collapse applications, sticky filters and buttons to prevent them from scrolling off the screen, and a language switcher. Also includes support for django-ckeditor, django-dynamic-raw-id, django-json-widget, django-modeltranslation, django-rangefilter, django-streamfield, django-tabbed-admin, and sorl-thumbnail.

• Django Admin Interface Code

Unfold

Unfold transforms the Django admin and is built with TailwindCSS. It includes custom widgets, pages, and admin sites. Also provides a language selector, conditional fields, custom filters, tabs, and additional features for actions. There are a lot of available settings and it is extremely customizable.

• Unfold Homepage
• Unfold Code

From Ink Stained Wretches at 2025-04-18 09:45:00

Legion of Wretches (NEBM8855851452.mp3?updated=1744934338)

This week, we dive into Trump’s showdown on two fronts: immigration and Ivy League endowments. Then we head to space to marvel at the bravery of Blue Origin. And finally, we unwrap the explosive piece on Elon Musk’s quest to spawn a generation of genetically gifted super-babies. Wretch on! If you have a story you want to discuss with us, email us at wretches@nebulouspodcasts dot com. Time Stamps: 1:57 - Front Page 51:48 - Obsessions 1:00:56 - Reader Mail 1:06:41 - Favorite Items Show Notes: Mediaite: Fox News Reporter Confronts Trump AG Bondi on ‘Gang Member’ Claims — Straight-Up Asks ‘Why Not Show the Evidence?’  The Washington Free Beacon: Harvard Rejects Deal With Trump Admin, Putting Billions in Federal Funding at Risk  The Washington Post: Trump administration asks IRS to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status The Washington Post: Trump’s D.C. U.S. attorney pick appeared on Russian state media over 150 times  Financial Times: CNN’s Mark Thompson: ‘Our entire industry is going through a revolution’  The Wall Street Journal: The Tactics Elon Musk Uses to Manage His ‘Legion’ of Babies—and Their Mothers  Politico: GOP representative: ‘Left has to look in the mirror too’ after condemning Shapiro arson attack  The New York Times: One Giant Stunt for Womankind  The Washington Free Beacon: Holding Space: Women Rejoice as Bezos Gal Pal, Others Make History The New York Times: How Trump Might Unwittingly Cut Emissions From Online Shopping The Wall Street Journal: Porsche Heir’s Plan to Build a Private Tunnel Has His Alpine Neighbors Fuming NBC News: Government's case against Mahmoud Khalil is reliant on tabloid accounts, review of evidence shows  Red State: Salem Media Group Strikes Deal With Donald Trump Jr. and Lara Trump Freddie deBoer: John Oliver is (Still) Part of the Problem  The Wall Street Journal: Navy SEAL. Harvard Doctor. NASA Astronaut. Don’t Tell Mom About This Overachiever.

From The Django weblog at 2025-04-18 08:07:28

See you at PyCon US in Pittsburgh!

We’ll be at PyCon US 2025, and hope to see the Django community and all our Python friends there ❤️! We have been granted a community booth at the conference – come say hi in the Expo Hall during open hours. There may be Django stickers available to pick up!

Represent Django

For our Individual Members – if you’d like to help us showcase Django, we’re looking for help staffing the booth (members-only forum)! This is a great opportunity to give back to support our project – consider it!

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-17 23:42:23

Company apologizes after AI support agent invents policy that causes user uproar

Frustrated software developer believed AI-generated message came from human support rep.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-17 17:38:01

Age Verification Using Facial Scans

Discord is testing the feature:

“We’re currently running tests in select regions to age-gate access to certain spaces or user settings,” a spokesperson for Discord said in a statement. “The information shared to power the age verification method is only used for the one-time age verification process and is not stored by Discord or our vendor. For Face Scan, the solution our vendor uses operates on-device, which means there is no collection of any biometric information when you scan your face. For ID verification, the scan of your ID is deleted upon verification.”...

From Net Assessment at 2025-04-17 15:37:00

Why the Trump Administration Will Struggle to Make National Security Policy (Net_Assessment_-_Episode_1_v2.mp3?dest-id=808287)

Chris, Melanie, and Zack launch their first Stimson-hosted Net Assessment show with a look at policymaking in the Trump administration. What are the major areas of consensus and disagreement within the administration? Through what lens will policy makers look at challenges such as China? And is a lack of ideological coherence a net positive or negative? Grievances for House GOP leaders playing games with the calendar to avoid a tough vote; for DOGE’s spending cuts that won’t drive the savings they claim, but that are creating havoc; and (again) for the Navy’s troubled Constellation frigate. Attas to Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber for standing up for academic freedom; for President Trump’s executive orders on the maritime industrial base and acquisition reform; and to Deputy DNI for Mission Integration William Ruger. And a bonus attagirl to our biggest fan: Melanie’s mom!

Links:

• Tanner Greer, “Obscurity by Design: Competing Priorities for America’s China Policy,” Foreign Policy Research Institute, March 27, 2025.
• Ross Douthat, “Trump Is on a Path to Failure,” New York Times, April 12, 2025.
• “Gambling on Armageddon: Costs and Risks of Nuclear Modernization,” Online Event, Stimson Center, May 1, 2025, 2-3 pm ET
• Joseph Trevithick, “First Constellation Frigate Only 10% Complete, Design Still Being Finalized,” TWZ, April 10, 2025
• Alistair MacDonald and Gordon Lubold, “The Warship That Shows Why the U.S. Navy Is Falling Behind China,” Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2025
• Emma Ashford, “Foreign Policy Is Much More than a Liberal vs. Conservative Brawl,” War on the Rocks, March 13, 2020
• Kenza Bryan and Demitri Sevastopulo, "Donald Trump Plans to Stockpile Deep-Sea Critical Metals to Counter China," Financial Times, April 12, 2025. 
• Arthur Delaney, Igor Bobic, and Jennifer Bendery, "GOP Changes House Rules to Prevent Themselves from Blocking Trump's Tariffs," HuffPost, April 9, 2025. 
• Erin Banco, Gram Slattery, and Humeyra Pamuk, "Trump Envoy's Embrace of Russian Demands Worries Republicans, US Allies," Reuters, April 12, 2025. 
• “The University President Willing to Fight Trump,” The Daily, New York Times, April 9, 2925.

From The Briefing Room at 2025-04-17 14:16:00

What cards does China hold? (p0l4zpnw.mp3)

President Trump’s fury with China shows no sign of abating. High tariffs - first imposed by the US but now on both sides - are giving way to a very real trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. China’s President Xi Jinping is refusing to blink - so far - and in the past week he's been on the road in South East Asia, visiting Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia. Where this goes now depends in large part on China's calculations about the capacity and determination of both sides to endure a trade war. So what cards does China hold ? And what are the implications for China's own economy and for the rest of us?

Guests: Damien Ma, Economist, Kellogg School of Management, Chicago Rana Mitter, ST Lee Chair in US-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School Isabel Hilton, visiting Professor at the Lau China Institute, King's College, London David Henig, Director of the UK Trade Policy Project

Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight, Lucy Pawle Production co-ordinator: Gemma Ashman Sound Engineer: James Beard Editor: Max Deveson

From The Django weblog at 2025-04-17 10:00:00

Run your tests against Django's main!

This is the blog version of a talk! If you prefer, watch the recording on YouTube:

Django is known for its stability. The framework makes a strong commitment to API stability and forwards-compatibility, ensuring that developers can rely on it for building long-term, maintainable projects. A key aspect of this commitment involves extensive testing and structured releases—an area where testing by Django users can significantly enhance Django’s reliability. Here’s a closer look at how this works, and how you can contribute 🤝.

How Django stays stable

Django's stability is upheld through rigorous testing. As of Django 5.2, there are more than 18,000 tests run against all officially supported database backends, Python versions, and operating systems. Additionally, Django follows a well-structured deprecation policy, ensuring that public APIs are deprecated over at least two feature releases before being removed.

The feature release schedule is systematic and structured:

1. Active development happens on the main branch.
2. A stable branch (for example stable/5.2.x) is forked when an alpha release is made.
3. After a month, the beta release follows, where only release-blocking bug fixes are allowed.
4. A month later, a release candidate (RC) is published, marking the translation string freeze.
5. If no critical bugs are found, the final release is published after a couple of weeks.

With this structured approach, Django ensures that releases are stable. However, bugs can and do occasionally slip through the cracks!

Catching issues early

The best time to catch issues is before they reach the final release. Ideally, potential bugs should be caught at the pull request stage, but keeping up with all changes is challenging. This is where the community can help—by running their tests with Django's main branch.

How you can help

You can set up your test suite to run with Django's main branch in your tests pipeline. Here's an example using GitHub Actions, a popular Continuous Integration platform:

test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    continue-on-error: ${{ matrix.experimental }}
    strategy:
      matrix:
        include:
          - python: "3.13"
            django: "git+https://github.com/django/django.git@main#egg=Django"
            experimental: true
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: ${{ matrix.python }}
      - run: pip install -r requirements.txt
      - if: ${{ matrix.experimental }}
        run: pip install "${{ matrix.django }}"
      - run: python -Wd manage.py test
  

If you maintain a Django package, you likely already test with multiple Django versions. Adding the main branch ensures that your project stays ahead of potential breaking changes.

Why this helps you

Running tests with Django main allows you to detect when changes in Django break your project. Sometimes, this happens due to the removal of internal APIs (that were never intended for reuse outside Django 🙈). If your tests fail, you can identify which commit caused the issue and adjust your code accordingly.

For example, on the Wagtail CMS project, recently caught an issue when an internal class, SubqueryConstraint, was removed from Django. This wasn't a bug in Django—it was the removal of an internal workaround that was no longer needed. If your project relies on internal APIs, testing against main is crucial to avoid surprises.

Why this helps Django

Testing with main doesn't just help your project—it helps Django too. Sometimes, your tests may fail due to legitimate regressions in Django that its test suite doesn't cover. Reporting these issues ensures they get fixed before the next release.

For example, just two days before Django 5.2 alpha was released, Wagtail tests on main helped detect a bug where calling .full_clean() on a child model in a multi-table inheritance setup triggered an unintended database query. This regression was promptly fixed, ensuring a smoother release for all users.

Take action: test against Django's main and report issues

By running your tests against Django's main branch and reporting any issues you find, you contribute to a more stable framework for everyone. It's a small step that makes a big impact.

So, take a few minutes today to update your automated tests setup and help keep Django as reliable as ever!

From Strong Message Here at 2025-04-17 09:45:00

Liberation Day (with Soumaya Keynes) (p0l4s85h.mp3)

Comedy writer Armando Iannucci and journalist Helen Lewis decode the utterly baffling world of political language.

This week, Helen and Armando are joined by economist and journalist for the Financial Times, Soumaya Keynes. They take a look back on Liberation Day - what exactly was America being liberated from? What was the response in China to the tariffs? and Soumaya wades into the murky waters of Truth Social.

Listen to Strong Message Here every Thursday at 9.45am on Radio 4 and then head straight to BBC Sounds for an extended episode.

Have you stumbled upon any perplexing political phrases you need Helen and Armando to decode? Email them to us at strongmessagehere@bbc.co.uk

Sound Editing by Charlie Brandon-King Production Coordinator - Katie Baum Executive Producer - Richard Morris

Produced by Pete Strauss. A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4. An EcoAudio Certified Production.

From The Rest Is History at 2025-04-17 00:05:00

557. 1066: The Norman Conquest (Part 4) (GLT5156716826.mp3?updated=1744796910)

What happened in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings? What horrors did William the Conqueror have to inflict upon his Anglo Saxon subjects in order to consolidate his new realm? And, what role did castles, the Harrowing of the North, and the Doomsday Book play in the creation of a new England? Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss William the Conquerer's new reign in the wake of the Battle of Hastings, and the true nature of the Norman Conquest. _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-16 23:21:38

OpenAI releases new simulated reasoning models with full tool access

New o3 model appears "near-genius level," according to one doctor, but it still makes mistakes.

From The Media Show at 2025-04-16 17:37:00

Reporting on the British Steel crisis, should we 'ditch' intellectual property law? and Saturday Night Live for Britain? (p0l4t8yq.mp3)

Katie Razzall talks to Katy Balls, Political Editor of the Spectator as she heads off for her new posting as Washington Editor for the Times and Sunday Times. What's it like reporting on the industrial crisis which led to the recall of parliament at the weekend? Sky's Economics Editor Ed Conway describes his difficulties gaining access to the Chinese owned British Steel factory in Scunthorpe, BBC North reporter Jo Makel has followed the story for years and former BBC political correspondent Nick Jones is a veteran of industrial reporting and author of "The Lost Tribe: Whatever Happened to Fleet Street's Industrial Correspondents?" Intellectual property law in the age of artificial intelligence under threat: At the weekend Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, posted “delete all IP law” on the social media platform, now rebranded as X. Current owner Elon Musk swiftly responded to the tweet with: “I agree." Dr Hayleigh Bosher, Reader in Intellectual Property Law at Brunel University, takes us through Dorsey's argument and what it tells us about Big Tech's changing attitude towards copyright. Amit Katwala, features editor at Wired, profiles Alexis Ohanian. The co-founder of Reddit is now a venture capitalist who has made headlines for acquiring the social media platform Digg, and joining Frank McCourt's 'People's Bid' for US TikTok. And is the UK ready for Sky's Saturday Night Live, the hit American show which will soon be on our screens ? We talk to comedian Tamar Broadbent and Caroline Frost from the Radio Times about what we can expect from the remake.

Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Assistant Producer: Lucy Wai

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-16 16:19:30

CVE Program Almost Unfunded

Mitre’s CVE’s program—which provides common naming and other informational resources about cybersecurity vulnerabilities—was about to be cancelled, as the US Department of Homeland Security failed to renew the contact. It was funded for eleven more months at the last minute.

This is a big deal. The CVE program is one of those pieces of common infrastructure that everyone benefits from. Losing it will bring us back to a world where there’s no single way to talk about vulnerabilities. It’s kind of crazy to think that the US government might damage its own security in this way—but I suppose no crazier than any of the other ways the US is working against its own interests right now...

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-16 12:15:44

Researchers claim breakthrough in fight against AI’s frustrating security hole

Prompt injections are the Achilles' heel of AI assistants. Google offers a potential fix.

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-15 19:43:29

4chan has been down since Monday night after “pretty comprehensive own”

Early info is unreliable, but the site has been mostly unavailable for hours.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-15 17:02:54

Slopsquatting

As AI coding assistants invent nonexistent software libraries to download and use, enterprising attackers create and upload libraries with those names—laced with malware, of course.

From School of War at 2025-04-15 10:35:00

Ep 190: Michael Doran on “Restraint” and the Middle East (NEBM3168041757.mp3?updated=1744685070)

Michael Doran, senior fellow and director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at Hudson Institute, joins the show to discuss “restraintism” as a factor in Trump’s choices in the Middle East. ▪️ Times      •      01:46 Introduction     •      02:20 What is it?      •      05:01 Left, right, center      •      06:56 Syria ’07        •      11:47 Iraq Study Group        •      17:21 Populist expression      •      27:34 Balance         •      30:20 Obama v Trump      •      34:56 Oscillation     •      42:16 Back to JCPOA?         •      45:49 Snapback      •      47:44 Syria ’25     •      52:09 Iran and Turkey Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack

From The Django weblog at 2025-04-14 22:10:40

DSF member of the month - Öykü Gümüş

For April 2025, we welcome Öykü Gümüş as our DSF member of the month! ⭐

Öykü Gümüş has been Django developer for many years. She has been DjangoCon Europe organizer in 2018 and Django Girls mentor in Istanbul for multiple years. She has been a DSF member since November 2019.
You can learn more about Öykü by visiting Öykü's GitHub Profile.

Let’s spend some time getting to know Cory better!

Can you tell us a little about yourself (hobbies, education, etc)

Hi, I am Öykü, software engineer currently based in Germany.

I studied Computer Engineering in Istanbul, and during my university years, I realised I really enjoy being part of tech communities such as Django Girls, PyLadies and etc.. And I have been trying to play an active role in such groups ever since! Apart from that, I like drawing, and currently trying to improve my illustration skills. In general, I enjoy learning new things. For example started learning cello after 25 years of age, and loving every minute of my attempts to play it. I also love cycling and hiking. Germany is offering so much in those areas and I am always looking for a chance to get on the road.

How did you start using Django?

During my university studies, I started working as a part time developer and my first ever job was with Django. Loved how versatile it was!

What other framework do you know and if there is anything you would like to have in Django if you had magical powers?

Besides Django, I’ve used Flask, which gives you more control and is great for microservices, and FastAPI, which I really like for its async capabilities and performance. If I had magical powers to add something to Django, I’d probably improve its async support to make it more seamless throughout the stack. Right now, you can work around it, but it’s not as smooth as in FastAPI, for example.

What projects are you working on now?

Lately, I’ve been diving into GraphQL—experimenting with Graphene in Django and playing around with Apollo Client on the frontend. It’s been interesting to compare it with traditional REST APIs and explore how it can streamline data fetching in more complex UIs.

Which Django libraries are your favorite (core or 3rd party)?

There are a few Django libraries I keep reaching for, both core and third-party. Core-wise, I really appreciate how solid the django.contrib.admin is. It saves so much time in early development. Also, Django’s ORM and authentication system are very well designed—I rarely need to look elsewhere unless I’m doing something super custom. For third-party libraries, a few that I really enjoy using: django-rest-framework django-allauth and graphene-django

What are the top three things in Django that you like?

The ORM, the "Batteries Included" policy and Django's amazing community ❤️

You have been mentor for DjangoGirls+ multiple times, how did you start to mentor? Do you have any recommendation for potential folks interested to mentor?

Oh yes, I met with Django Girls in Istanbul and immediately wanted to take part by mentoring and couldn't love it more! It has great atmosphere and provides such a supportive environment, that I can safely suggest everyone just at least try it once. It's amazing to see the direct impact you can make on people by simply being there. One thing anyone interested in mentoring should never forget is to always maintain an inclusive and safe space.

You were part of the DjangoCon Europe organization in 2018, what makes you volunteer for this event?

The kindness of the organisers of another conference actually. It was Europython 2017 folks, and they kindly provided me, student at the time, a financial aid to join the conference and it was my first tech conference ever! Loved it so much, that I thought I should pay it forward. 🙂

Is there anything else you'd like to say?

Thanks so much for the chat—really enjoyed it! I also just want to say how valuable communities like this are, especially for folks starting out or navigating their path. Having spaces where people can share, support, and learn from each other makes a huge difference.

Thank you for doing the interview, Öykü !

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-14 21:53:51

When is 4.1 greater than 4.5? When it’s OpenAI’s newest model.

OpenAI's brand new "GPT-4.1" has a funky name but reasonable performance for the price.

From CGP Grey at 2025-04-14 20:47:51

The Simple Secret of Runway Numbers [Re-upload: V2]

Thank you, Bonnie Bees, for making this video possible: https://www.patreon.com/cgpgrey ## Related Videos + Talking about Making the video on Cortex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYYPV-ZlRIk + How to be a Pirate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YFeE1eDlD0 + Social Security Numbers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Erp8IAUouus + Metric Paper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUF5esTscZI ## Special Thanks + Mylos Besseling: www.youtube.com/c/mylosairplanefan + Dr. Charlie Freeman: Department Chair and Distinguished Teaching Professor at SUNY Geneseo + Doug Moss: Owner of AeroPacific Consulting + John H. Mott: Advanced Aviation Analytics Institute for Research at Purdue University + Office of the Secretary General: International Civil Aviation Organization + Derek Muller: https://www.youtube.com/veritasium ## Patreon Executive Producers: Bobby, Bob Kunz, Andrew Bereza, Rebecca Wortham, Nevin Spoljaric, Donal Botkin, BN-12, Marco Arment, George Lin, Richard Jenkins, Phil Gardner, Martin, Steven Grimm, David Tyler, iulus, Xueqi, Colin Millions, Oliver Steele, Andrea Di Biagio, Henry Ng, Jason Lewandowski, Alex Simonides, سليمان العقل, Tim Stumbaugh, rictic, Nicholas Welna, Meekay, David White, Derek Argueta, shannon cherng, Anthony Paolilli, Emmett Jayhart, Katie Scheper, Andrew, Jeromy Johnson, Michael Ritter, Pluto, C C, Bogdan Toma, Brian Tillman, Chad Bramwell, jill hoffman, Nicolas Dedual, Derek Bonner, Mikko, Orbit_Junkie, Tómas Árni Jónasson, Dennis Dimka, Rick Edwards, Daniel Kwak, Bear, chrysilis, Drago175, Emil, Esteban Santana Santana, Freddi Hørlyck, John Rogers, Peter Lomax, Rhys Parry, Veronica Peshterianu, John Lee, Maxime Zielony, Elizabeth Keathley, Birdstryke, Darn https://www.patreon.com/cgpgrey ## Music & Sound + Kevin MacLeod Track Name: Fig Leaf Times Two Kevin MacLeod on YouTube: youtu.be/UcOXTd9Ix7g Music from: incompetech.com + David Rees: http://www.davidreesmusic.com + duckduckpony: https://freesound.org/people/duckduckpony/ ## Kurzgesagt Posters - https://shop-eu.kurzgesagt.org/collections/posters/products/black-holes-infographic-poster - https://shop-eu.kurzgesagt.org/collections/posters/products/periodic-table-poster

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-14 17:04:48

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

This is a current list of where and when I am scheduled to speak:

• I’m giving an online talk on AI and trust for the Weizenbaum Institute on April 24, 2025 at 2:00 PM CEST (8:00 AM ET).

The list is maintained on this page.

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-14 16:55:47

Amid Trump tariff chaos, Nvidia launches AI chip production on US soil

New announcement seems aimed at appeasing Trump, signals company shift.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-14 12:08:27

China Sort of Admits to Being Behind Volt Typhoon

The Wall Street Journal has the story:

Chinese officials acknowledged in a secret December meeting that Beijing was behind a widespread series of alarming cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring how hostilities between the two superpowers are continuing to escalate.

The Chinese delegation linked years of intrusions into computer networks at U.S. ports, water utilities, airports and other targets, to increasing U.S. policy support for Taiwan, the people, who declined to be named, said.

The admission wasn’t explicit:...

From The Rest Is History at 2025-04-14 00:05:00

556. 1066: The Battle of Hastings (Part 3) (GLT3522014441.mp3?updated=1744371038)

Following King Harold Godwinson’s climactic victory at the Battle of Stanford Bridge, and the death of Harald Hardrada, what did he do when news reached him that William of Normandy’s army had landed further south? How did the two armies finally come together for one of the most totemic clashes of all time, on the morning of the 14th of October 1066? What exactly unfolded during the infamous Battle of Hastings? And, how did Harold truly meet his grisly end? Join Tom and Dominic as they unfold, in spine-tingling detail, the build up to and events of one of history’s greatest collisions: Harold Godwinson vs William of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings. _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From CGP Grey at 2025-04-13 23:06:57

Death to Nickels

- Thank you, Bonnie Bees, for making this video possible: https://www.cgpgrey.com/bonnie ## Related Videos: Death to Pennies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5UT04p5f7U ## Bonnie Bees: 💚 The Wall of 1,000 Thanks: https://www.cgpgrey.com/wall-of-thanks 🎩🐤🎩 And the 100 Top Chickens: - Rebecca Wortham - Bob Kunz - Kate Scheper - Donal Botkin - BN-12 - David White - Andrea Di Biagio - George Lin - Nancy Flores - iulus - Xueqi - Tim Stumbaugh - Bogdan Toma - Brian Tillman - Chad Bramwell - Nicolas Dedual - Nicholas Welna - Richard Jenkins - Martin - Chris - Meekay - سليمان العقل - Jason Lewandowski - Manuel O. Maldonado - Norm - rictic - Silvainius - Derek Bonner - Eliri SDH - Freddi Hørlyck - Peter-Claire Lomax - Vero - John Lee - Maxime Zielony - John Rogers https://www.patreon.com/cgpgrey - https://www.patreon.com/cgpgrey Work is Work Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

From The Week in Westminster at 2025-04-12 11:55:00

Vicki Young presents coverage of an emergency Commons sitting to discuss the future of British Steel (p0l4097n.mp3)

Radio 4's assessment of developments at Westminster

From More or Less: Behind the Stats at 2025-04-12 06:00:00

How much is a human life worth? (p0l3w8cp.mp3)

What is the cash value of a human life?

That’s the question at the heart of The Price of Life, a book by journalist Jenny Kleeman. It turns out that there’s not just one price, there are many - depending on exactly how that life is being created, traded or destroyed. Tim Harford talks to Jenny about what she discovered.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-11 19:45:40

That groan you hear is users’ reaction to Recall going back into Windows

Snapshotting and AI processing a screen every 3 seconds. What could possibly go wrong?

From GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution at 2025-04-11 18:57:19

Viewer Mail: The GoodFellows Answer Your Questions (20250411-goodfellows-mailbag.mp3)

What are the economic and geopolitical effects of President Trump’s imposition of tariffs on America’s trading friends and foes? In an episode devoted solely to viewers’ questions, Hoover senior fellows Sir Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster delve into the certain volatility (and uncertain logic) of Trump’s tariff maneuvers and more.

From The Incomparable Mothership at 2025-04-11 17:00:00

761: Exposition Ant Farm (22454863-fb9e-4700-8e6f-0bfcb0acfa25.mp3)

Spray on some insect repellant and don your hazmat suit, because Del Toro Club has re-formed to discuss a gigantic layer cake of infinite bugs, 1997’s “Mimic.” Parts of it are very Del Toro indeed, while other parts leave us scratching our heads about why something that had a whole lot of potential ended up playing as a pretty good B (not bee!) Movie instead. Are the Weinsteins to blame? (Yes.)...

From A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry at 2025-04-11 14:26:06

Collections: The Siege of Eregion, Part V: What Tactics?

This is the final part of our five part (I, II, III, IV) series on the Siege of Eregion in Amazon’s Rings of Power. Last time, we looked at the orc siege and marveled at both their lack of works and also their nonsensical siege engines, concluding that Adar had launched a siege assault which … Continue reading Collections: The Siege of Eregion, Part V: What Tactics? →

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-11 12:15:59

Researcher uncovers dozens of sketchy Chrome extensions with 4 million installs

Even weirder: why would Google give so many the "Featured" stamp for trustworthiness?

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-11 12:06:11

Friday Squid Blogging: Squid and Efficient Solar Tech

Researchers are trying to use squid color-changing biochemistry for solar tech.

This appears to be new and related research to a 2019 squid post.

As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered.

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-11 12:04:47

AI Vulnerability Finding

Microsoft is reporting that its AI systems are able to find new vulnerabilities in source code:

Microsoft discovered eleven vulnerabilities in GRUB2, including integer and buffer overflows in filesystem parsers, command flaws, and a side-channel in cryptographic comparison.

Additionally, 9 buffer overflows in parsing SquashFS, EXT4, CramFS, JFFS2, and symlinks were discovered in U-Boot and Barebox, which require physical access to exploit.

The newly discovered flaws impact devices relying on UEFI Secure Boot, and if the right conditions are met, attackers can bypass security protections to execute arbitrary code on the device...

From School of War at 2025-04-11 10:30:00

Ep 189: Andrew Roberts on October 7th and Antisemitism (NEBM8568772590.mp3?updated=1744337818)

Lord Andrew Roberts, the Bonnie and Tom McCloskey Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution and chair of the 7 October Parliamentary Commission Report, joins the show to discuss October 7th revisionism, the potency of antisemitism, and the strange effort to reinterpret World War II. ▪️ Times      •      01:56 Introduction     •      02:35 Why?      •     03:48 No room for debate      •      05:34 Not “accidental”        •     16:13 Cooper’s conclusions        •      20:13 Peace with Hitler      •      22:53 Destroying the foundation         •      25:06 Free speech     •      27:39 Gaza endgame Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack

From Ink Stained Wretches at 2025-04-11 09:45:00

Just Joshing (NEBM5516060287.mp3?updated=1744342489)

Josh Kraushaar, editor-in-chief of Jewish Insider, fills in for Eliana to discuss the latest on tariffs, the White House press pool, and Stephen A. Smith flirting with a presidential run. Wretch on! If you have a story you want to discuss with us, email us at wretches@nebulouspodcasts dot com. Time Stamps: 3:27 - Front Page 58:20 - Obsessions 1:05:40 - Reader Mail 1:07:55 - Favorite Items Show Notes: The Wall Street Journal: The False Tariff Headline That Sent Stocks on a $2 Trillion Ride  The Independent: Fox News pundit believes Trump tariffs will reverse ‘crisis in masculinity’  NBC News: A 'disaster': Gretchen Whitmer's talk on tariffs and meeting with Trump anger fellow Democrats CNN: Federal judge says White House’s punishment of Associated Press is unconstitutional  Status: The Pool Filter  NBC News: Supreme Court gives boost to Trump administration's deportation plans under Alien Enemies Act  Jewish Insider: Netanyahu pushes back on anti-Israel trends in meeting with podcasters  LA Times: Broadcast television is in trouble. Stations are asking Washington for help  Barrett Media: Stephen A. Smith No Longer Ruling Out Possibility of Running for President in 2028 The Washington Post: Don’t damn the torpedo bats CBS News: Fossil fuel companies target America's love of college sports The New York Times: Bloomberg Has a Rocky Start With A.I. Summaries  Mediaite: Trump Orders DOJ To Investigate Prominent Critic in Shocking Oval Office Remarks: ‘I Think He’s Guilty of Treason’ CBS News: Photojournalist witnesses Venezuelan migrants' arrival in El Salvador: "They had no idea what was coming"  The Atlantic: I Should Have Seen This Coming

From Schneier on Security at 2025-04-11 01:35:00

Reimagining Democracy

Imagine that all of us—all of society—have landed on some alien planet and need to form a government: clean slate. We do not have any legacy systems from the United States or any other country. We do not have any special or unique interests to perturb our thinking. How would we govern ourselves? It is unlikely that we would use the systems we have today. Modern representative democracy was the best form of government that eighteenth-century technology could invent. The twenty-first century is very different: scientifically, technically, and philosophically. For example, eighteenth-century democracy was designed under the assumption that travel and communications were both hard...

From Biz & IT – Ars Technica at 2025-04-10 23:37:13

Researchers concerned to find AI models hiding their true “reasoning” processes

New Anthropic research shows one AI model conceals reasoning shortcuts 75% of the time.

From The Briefing Room at 2025-04-10 13:45:00

What's Trump's tariff hokey cokey all about? (p0l3klpf.mp3)

Rarely has it been so difficult to see the wood for the trees. The trees being Donald Trump’s new tariffs announced on what he called Liberation Day and which took effect this week, plus the immediate responses to them. And the wood being the economic strategy that lies behind it all. ​​ ​​That strategy seems to evolve on a daily basis. Having vowed to ‘stay the course’ on tariffs earlier this week, yesterday saw Trump issue a change that ‘came from the heart’ - that change being a 90 day pause for everyone except China. It’s hard to keep up with the plot changes and in this programme we’re not going to try. Instead we’re going to step back and explore the origin’s of Trump’s love of tariffs, find out what history tells us about their effectiveness and we’ll ask whether Trump does actually have a grand plan. ​​ ​​If he does, what is it and can it succeed?

Guests:

Douglas Irwin, professor of economics at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire Meredith Crowley, Professor of Economics the University of Cambridge Duncan Weldon, economist and author of "Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through" Mehreen Khan, economics editor of The Times

Presenter: David Aaronovitch Producers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight and Beth Ashmead Latham Sound engineers: James Beard Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison Editor: Richard Vadon