Five Reads: The Power of the Free Press
The Forrest Four-Cast: August 16, 2018
What follows is our roundup of five of the most compelling stories discovered over the last few days. Look for this column every Thursday in this space.
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About 350 newspapers around the United States printed editorials Thursday, Aug. 16, sharing outrage that President Trump tells his supports that the media is “the enemy of the people.” Rather, the editorials collectively assert, a free press is essential to an open and free democracy. As the Austin-American Statesman editorial board wrote, “We’re not the enemy of the people. We work to hold our leaders accountable, on the people’s behalf.”
Find links to all the editorials here and support your local newspaper.
Can You Hear Everything Now?
In Fast Company, Daniel Burrows writes “The future is ear: Why ‘hearables’ are finally tech’s next big thing.” As some point in the not too distant future, he says, your entire smartphone may be in your earpiece.
Weed for Women!
In Macleans, Carley Fortune reports on her personal journey into the wild new world of weed for women, where cannabis is hailed as a wonder drug that relieves stress and anxiety, improves productivity and promotes better sleep, sex and wellness.
Can Fitbit Fight Crime? Should it?
Taking a sad, but fascinating look at how Fitbit data can aid law enforcement. Carolyn Crist explored in Runner’s World the ways in which fitness trackers could help find 20-year-old Mollie Tibbets, who’s been missing for a month. Crist discusses several cases where this kind of data has been used in criminal cases as well as probes the privacy concerns surrounding these devices.
Very Strange Bedfellows
And if you’re struggling any kind of relationship disagreement, check out Ben Terris’ Washington Post profile of Kellyanne and George Conway, this generation’s Mary Matalin and James Carville. She’s one of Trump’s most devoted sycophants; he’s a Republican who tweets with impunity about his ardent loathing of his wife’s boss. If they can get along, really anyone can.
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
