April 2026 Digest

Curated content for fans of science, art, and trans people.

Welcome to the Ghost edition of the newsletter! As a reminder, there are now two membership tiers: Ally ($2/mo or $20/yr) and Accomplice ($5/mo or $50/yr). Hosting ain't cheap, so consider supporting! You can also make a one-time donation.

This is a free post for all subscribers. Don't forget to check out my explainer post on why I switched to Ghost.

Action Items (Massachusetts only)

Baystate Health is trying to remove gender affirming care for minors, which there is no reason for them to do under Massachusetts law. In just a few clicks, you can write a letter urging them to stop. Share widely! https://actionnetwork.org/letters/demand-baystate-health-resume-gender-affirming-care-for-minors-in-accordance-with-massachusetts-law
Tomorrow, for Trans Day of Visibility, I'm hosting a screening of Sam Feder's new documentary at UMass Amherst. Come through!
Consider taking my summer course on plastic pollution, or tell the young people in your life!

Science

A new article about engineering students' ability to make sociotechnical decisions.
A wholesome post about how tea leaves are made into tea.
A new essay series, "Internet Forensics", provides a window into the web of the past.

News

Fascinating work on how Covid disinformation spread back in 2020.
Predictably, the recent AWS outages can be traced back to AI.
They're performing medical experiments on trans people in prisons. Abolish prisons, anyone?

Opinions

Some helpful resources for the parents of trans youth.
A haunting tale of what it's like to be trans in Kansas right now
50 reasons to keep masking
Two essays (Maybe Burke & Kirthan Aujlay) on staying fat in the age of Ozempic
Cathartic read on how high gas prices were finally the thing that made (some) people "turn on Trump"
A quick piece on how Democrats seem to have found a strategy around trans issues: deflect to class issues. Will it work? Hopefully!
Just how bad is online misogyny? Well...
An inspiring look back at how illegal education still took place in occupied Poland. Fun fact: Marie Curie was educated at one such underground school! It gives me hope for the power of education <3

Watch History

An excellent deep dive into how Indonesian culture may be influencing the next Pokémon game.
A helpful, accessible explainer on why LLMs don't seem to be improving, based on a recent MIT paper.
Similarly, a grounded take on why AI may not replace your job. After all, not all tasks are a simple matter of executing instructions, and reliability/consistency are important factors as well.
Coffeezilla reports on AI deepfakes.
A must-see take on the phrase "post-truth society" (spoiler alert: we have never lived in a "truth society").
A grounded take on microplastics in the brain.

Bops, Vibes, & Jams

The new Cannons album has been on repeat for me lately. Fav tracks: "Starlight", "Carousel".
I saw the booyah kids! and Jordana live this past month. Check out their respective new projects.
Femme House Vol. 3 has been giving me life.
Anjimile's You're Free to Go is excellent as well!

Wholesomeposting

Behold, my new office feature: a chalkboard that serves as a Zoom background and easy platform to write on during virtual meetings!

Unfortunately, me. Description: A meme featuring a cat saying "Sorry, I haven't finished a project in months. I've been at war with myself." New essay on what trans people in America can do next coming in April.

Description: A meme satirizing the reliability of oil. "Solar doesn't work when the sun isn't shining & wind turbines don't work when the wind isn't blowing!" "Oil doesn't work when the Strait of Hormuz isn't Hormuz'ing."

Related. Description: Can we get an update on the increased cost for a barrel of wind?? What about solar tankers? Any wars being started to manipulate the price of the sun??

Satirical news article from The Vertlartnic. Why do some people still wear masks in 2026 and on a completely unrelated note why is everyone in the office sick right now apart from the guy in the mask?

A meme showing various internet activities in a wholesome, feminine light.

And now, your monthly Koko.

Koko the cat, sleeping on her handmade bed.

That’s all for now! Expect another Digest at the start of May.

In solidarity,

-Anna