The 99th Block: Makers, creators, and influencers
A most present-day job title
This week…
Stop ‘creating’ unethically.
Here’s a selection of top stories as case studies, a few personal recommendations, and the chart of the week.
As creator of ‘CRISPR babies’ nears release from prison, where does embryo editing stand?
Jon Cohen for Science:
Biophysicist He Jiankui, having served a 3-year sentence for creating the world’s first genetically engineered babies, may be released from a Chinese prison this week, Science has learned. He’s largely secret use of the genome editor CRISPR to alter the DNA of human embryos and implant them into two women led to three births, sparking ethical outrage and fears for the babies’ health (about which little is known). It did not, however, bring an end to basic research on human embryo editing.
Please Stop "Making Fun" of Young Makers. Netflix’s Making Fun needs a time out.
Natasha Dzurny for Technochic:
There has been a lot of backlash in the maker community about Making Fun for several reasons, but my biggest gripe with the show isn’t the fact that they cast five stereotypically bearded white men to play the “makers”—I’ll refer to them as the drab five—or that they replicated the same premise as an already established YouTube channel. The biggest reason for writing this review is to express my sheer disappointment in the missed opportunities that could have uplifted, inspired, educated, and exemplified the positive qualities of the maker community.
The show’s premise is strikingly similar to Kids Invent Stuff, except the latter does not make fun of kids and belittle their pitches.
“They are not ‘fixers’. They are journalists”: In the light of the war in Ukraine, three field producers discuss the challenges of their job
Laura Oliver for Reuters Institute:
“I’ve only met a few war correspondents whose lives were saved by a bulletproof vest. But all of us have been saved at least once by our own fixer,” tweeted Óscar Mijallo, who’s covered the war for Spanish public broadcaster RTVE.
A catch-all term for people who provide language skills, cultural and regional understanding and a strong network of contacts on the ground, “fixers” are a crucial part of foreign correspondence. When a conflict or a news story hits international headlines, journalists working locally and regionally will frequently fill this vital role.
Not quite as dramatic as being a fixer in a war zone, but as a fixer for Ireland’s public service broadcaster, I once had to be the getaway driver as my colleagues were chased by gangsters hired by the illegal plastic recycling factories we were investigating. The work that goes into mapping an escape route, shaking them off our trail, and still getting the story…
What I read, watch, and listen to…
I’m reading A to-do list for Web 3 visionaries by Arik Ben-Zvi and Steven Weber on Noema Magazine.
I’m watching Broey Deschanel’s video essay on Sam Levinson’s Euphoria.
I’m also watching the 2022 IPL season.
I’m listening to why the N-word is so toxic on NPR’s Code Switch.
More stray links:
Biolabs, QAnon, and Putin: visualizing digital authoritarianism’s next move by Isobel Cockerell for Coda Story.
Why Arnold Schwarzenegger’s video to Russians is a master class in how to get people to reconsider their views by Angie Drobnic Holan for Poynter.
Technology is not neutral: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made that clear by Courtney Radsch for CIGI.
Chart of the week
From Reuters Institute’s factsheet on race and leadership in the news media:
Who tf is Making Fun made for?? Kids shouldn't be watching it ffs.