Mid-June pile of links

farpotshket (yi: פאַרפּאָשקע), adj.: completely ruined as a result of attempts to fix a minor imperfection. (Jewish English Lexicon) This word doesn't just describe something that is broken, but something that is broken specifically because someone else tried to fix it, making it worse. It is used most commonly today to describe software engineering projects. (Yiddish Slang Dictionary)

A society with one trillionaire and millions of people in poverty is something to be deeply ashamed of, actually

— Sheryl Weikal, Esq.

John Danek at McSweeney’s asks: “Would You Like to Set Google Chrome as Your Default Browser, or Would You Prefer Centuries of Untold Pain and Torment?” (via Ethan Marcotte)

The Field Guide to Grid Lanes. See also Introducing the Field Guide to Grid Lanes, by Jen Simmons.

A tale of two browsers, by Jeremy.

The Web Is Being Made Accessible for AI, Not People, by Jonathan Zong PhD and Frank Elavsky PhD.

The AI job apocalypse isn’t an economic forecast — it’s a marketing strategy. We’re not witnessing the end of work. We’re watching the monetization of fear.

— Scott Galloway

Design is the work, by Jake Albaugh, via David Larlet.

Also via David: The 2–7 problem, by Anton Sten.

A statue of a man riding a horse stands in front of a regal-looking building in the middle of a modern city. A red, double-decker bus is passing by the building on the right. — The Royal Exchange, London, February 2026.

Multiple parties in government: A statement of the problem, by Steve Randy Waldman.

[That] the ugliest Americans tried to hijack a commemoration of D-Day and turn it into some fucked-up infomercial for xenophobia staggers the mind.

— Jeff Tiedrich

SF school chief survives congressional grilling designed to embarrass her, by Ezra Wallach.

i hope media executives are taking note of the tens of thousands of people who for several hours on a friday night have stayed glued to livestreams of scaffolding being built just so they could witness his name getting knocked off a building

think of the ratings for fascist tribunals!!!

— Marisa Kabas

Trump admin eliminates health care programs for LGBTQ+ veterans, by Christopher Wiggins.

Federal judge blocks Trump admin’s effort to move 14 trans women to men’s prisons, by Chris Geidner.

“Fascism”—New Federal Rule Would Require Federal Funding Recipients To Deny Trans People Exist, by Erin Reed.

Also by Erin: Mamdani’s New Trans Direct Clinic Will Deny Care To Those Under 19. When Zohran Mamdani ran for mayor, [… he vowed] to use every lever of city power to protect trans New Yorkers from federal intimidation. Since taking office, those promises have largely gone unfulfilled[.] See also The List of Trans Allies Grows Thin, by Katelyn Burns.

Metzger, Daniel L. MD, Mokashi, Arati MD, Pacaud, Danièle MD, Thompson, Nicole MD FRCSC, Belaghi, Reza MD, Tsampalieros, Anne MD, Lawson, Margaret L. MD. Stability of Transgender Identity in Adolescents Seen in Multidisciplinary Specialized Gender Centers: A Multicenter Study in Canada. Journal of Adolescent Health. (2026.) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2026.03.016