Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Carney isn't a hero (and that's OK); and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/27/i-want-to-do-it/

#Pluralistic

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Perfect Books on Instagram: "EDIT: SOLD OUT ❗BIG ANNOUNCEMENT TIME❗ We are SO excited to present author and activist Cory Doctorow as part of what we are now calling The Perfect Books Lecture Series. This event is presented in partnership with The Other Hill. We hope you'll us on January 28th 2026 at allsaints as Toronto-born Cory Doctorow gives one of his truly iconic lectures on his most recent book, Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It, followed by an audience Q&A session and book signing. Until midnight on December 31st, you can get early bird ticket prices, only $10 — the link is on our bio and on our website 👀 🕝 January 28, 2026. Doors 7:00pm, Event 7:30-8:30pm 📍allsaints event space, 317 Chapel St, Ottawa 🎫 EARLY BIRD TICKETS: $10 — Available until midnight on December 31st! 🎫 General Tickets: $15 Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of dozens of books, most recently ENSHITTIFICATION: WHY EVERYTHING SUDDENLY GOT WORSE AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT (nonfiction); and the novels PICKS AND SHOVELS and THE BEZZLE (followups to RED TEAM BLUES). Other notable books include the solarpunk novels WALKAWAY and THE LOST CAUSE; the tech policy books THE INTERNET CON and CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM; and the internationally bestselling YA LITTLE BROTHER series; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame."

84 likes, 3 comments - perfectbooksottawa on December 29, 2025: "EDIT: SOLD OUT ❗BIG ANNOUNCEMENT TIME❗ We are SO excited to present author and activist Cory Doctorow as part of what we are now calling The Perfect Books Lecture Series. This event is presented in partnership with The Other Hill. We hope you'll us on January 28th 2026 at allsaints as Toronto-born Cory Doctorow gives one of his truly iconic lectures on his most recent book, Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It, followed by an audience Q&A session and book signing. Until midnight on December 31st, you can get early bird ticket prices, only $10 — the link is on our bio and on our website 👀 🕝 January 28, 2026. Doors 7:00pm, Event 7:30-8:30pm 📍allsaints event space, 317 Chapel St, Ottawa 🎫 EARLY BIRD TICKETS: $10 — Available until midnight on December 31st! 🎫 General Tickets: $15 Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of dozens of books, most recently ENSHITTIFICATION: WHY EVERYTHING SUDDENLY GOT WORSE AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT (nonfiction); and the novels PICKS AND SHOVELS and THE BEZZLE (followups to RED TEAM BLUES). Other notable books include the solarpunk novels WALKAWAY and THE LOST CAUSE; the tech policy books THE INTERNET CON and CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM; and the internationally bestselling YA LITTLE BROTHER series; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.".

Instagram

Carney isn't a hero (and that's OK): There is nothing harder to stop than an idea whose time has come to pass.

https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/115968303633853196

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Hey look at this

* Deaths, detentions and deportations of American citizens in the second Trump administration (h/t Molly White) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths,_detentions_and_deportations_of_American_citizens_in_the_second_Trump_administration

* Hate Has to Scatter When Minneapolis Arises https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/hate-has-to-scatter-when-minneapolis

* Trump Is Proving Democratic Presidents Weren’t Powerless https://jacobin.com/2026/01/trump-obama-biden-executive-power

* Charter accused of backdoor attack against fixed wireless (h/t Mitch Wagner) https://www.fierce-network.com/broadband/cables-future-dims-charter-plotting-backdoor-attack-against-fixed-wireless

* The New Satanic Panic Is Here https://www.usermag.co/p/the-new-satanic-panic-is-here

4/

Yesterday's threads: Trump and the unmighty dollar; and more!

https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/115962141689927895

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My latest novel is "Picks and Shovels," a historical technothriller set in the Weird Era of the PC, about Ponzi schemes, techbros, and the dawn of enshittification:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels

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My latest nonfiction book is the internationally bestselling "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," from MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/

8/

Picks and Shovels

New York Times bestselling author Cory Doctorow returns to the world of Red Team Blues to bring us the origin story of Martin Hench and the most powerful new...

Macmillan Publishers

My ebooks and audiobooks (from FSGxMCD, Tor Books, Head of Zeus, McSweeneys, Beacon, Verso and others) are for sale all over the net, but I sell 'em too, and when you buy 'em from me, I earn twice as much and you get books with no DRM and no license "agreements."

https://craphound.com/shop/

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Upcoming appearances:

* #Ottawa: Enshittification at Perfect Books, Jan 28
https://www.instagram.com/p/DS2nGiHiNUh/

* #Toronto: Enshittification and the Age of Extraction with Tim Wu, Jan 30
https://nowtoronto.com/event/cory-doctorow-and-tim-wu-enshittification-and-extraction/

* #SaltLakeCity: Enshittification at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (Tanner Humanities Center), Feb 18
https://tanner.utah.edu/center-events/cory-doctorow/

* #Victoria: 28th Annual Victoria International Privacy & Security Summit, Mar 3-5
https://www.rebootcommunications.com/event/vipss2026/

10/

Upcoming appearances (cont'd):

* #Berkeley: Bioneers keynote, Mar 27
https://conference.bioneers.org/

* #Berlin: Re:publica, May 18-20
https://re-publica.com/de/news/rp26-sprecher-cory-doctorow

* #Berlin: Enshittification at Otherland Books, May 19
https://www.otherland-berlin.de/de/event-details/cory-doctorow.html

* #HayOnWye: HowTheLightGetsIn, May 22-25
https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/hay/big-ideas-2

11/

Recent appearances:

* How the Internet Got Worse (Masters in Business)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auXlkuVhxMo

* Enshittification (Jon Favreau/Offline):
https://crooked.com/podcast/the-enshittification-of-the-internet-with-cory-doctorow/

* Why Big Tech is a Trap for Independent Creators (Stripper News)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmYDyz8AMZ0

* Enshittification (Creative Nonfiction podcast)
https://brendanomeara.com/episode-507-enshittification-author-cory-doctorow-believes-in-a-new-good-internet/

* Enshittification with Plutopia
https://plutopia.io/cory-doctorow-enshittification/

12/

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13/

Pluralistic: Carney isn’t a hero (and that’s OK) (27 Jan 2026) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

Perfect Books on Instagram: "EDIT: SOLD OUT ❗BIG ANNOUNCEMENT TIME❗ We are SO excited to present author and activist Cory Doctorow as part of what we are now calling The Perfect Books Lecture Series. This event is presented in partnership with The Other Hill. We hope you'll us on January 28th 2026 at allsaints as Toronto-born Cory Doctorow gives one of his truly iconic lectures on his most recent book, Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It, followed by an audience Q&A session and book signing. Until midnight on December 31st, you can get early bird ticket prices, only $10 — the link is on our bio and on our website 👀 🕝 January 28, 2026. Doors 7:00pm, Event 7:30-8:30pm 📍allsaints event space, 317 Chapel St, Ottawa 🎫 EARLY BIRD TICKETS: $10 — Available until midnight on December 31st! 🎫 General Tickets: $15 Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of dozens of books, most recently ENSHITTIFICATION: WHY EVERYTHING SUDDENLY GOT WORSE AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT (nonfiction); and the novels PICKS AND SHOVELS and THE BEZZLE (followups to RED TEAM BLUES). Other notable books include the solarpunk novels WALKAWAY and THE LOST CAUSE; the tech policy books THE INTERNET CON and CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM; and the internationally bestselling YA LITTLE BROTHER series; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame."

84 likes, 3 comments - perfectbooksottawa on December 29, 2025: "EDIT: SOLD OUT ❗BIG ANNOUNCEMENT TIME❗ We are SO excited to present author and activist Cory Doctorow as part of what we are now calling The Perfect Books Lecture Series. This event is presented in partnership with The Other Hill. We hope you'll us on January 28th 2026 at allsaints as Toronto-born Cory Doctorow gives one of his truly iconic lectures on his most recent book, Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It, followed by an audience Q&A session and book signing. Until midnight on December 31st, you can get early bird ticket prices, only $10 — the link is on our bio and on our website 👀 🕝 January 28, 2026. Doors 7:00pm, Event 7:30-8:30pm 📍allsaints event space, 317 Chapel St, Ottawa 🎫 EARLY BIRD TICKETS: $10 — Available until midnight on December 31st! 🎫 General Tickets: $15 Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of dozens of books, most recently ENSHITTIFICATION: WHY EVERYTHING SUDDENLY GOT WORSE AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT (nonfiction); and the novels PICKS AND SHOVELS and THE BEZZLE (followups to RED TEAM BLUES). Other notable books include the solarpunk novels WALKAWAY and THE LOST CAUSE; the tech policy books THE INTERNET CON and CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM; and the internationally bestselling YA LITTLE BROTHER series; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.".

Instagram

@pluralistic Hey, I'm halfway between the two! Feel to drop in for a coffee/beer (alcohol free) on your way past.

A parachute might be required. ;)

@alan Alas, I think it would be.
@pluralistic Much as I expected. Ah well, the invitation stands.
@pluralistic Welcome! That's the local bookstore where I picked up my copy last month!
@pluralistic While I appreciate Carney's assessment of the current situation and addressing the elephant in the room, I am very troubled by his vision for the future to address it. His advice was basically more neo-conservative economics reducing bothersome regulations that get in the way of progress. To harm indigenous people, workers and the environment. My take - he is jealous of trump. Not the leader we need
@pluralistic Well-written and well argued. 👌🏻
@pluralistic Iy would be nice to see the search for ‘when does Senator x’s term end’ start to trend.