I just don't understand how I, a mere mortal, have better (allegedly) infosec than a MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIOIN, FFS!

(I mean I do try, and keep firewalls and update passwords and upgrade hardware and backup and backup and backup and use adblockers and VPNs and encryption and use different computers for different tasks and and and...)

BTW: This Collage, Chef's Kiss!

https://bsky.app/profile/did:web:pluralistic.net/post/3mxqz5evxs22o

eof/

Here's today's edition: https://pluralistic.net/2026/10/13/petards-r-us/

--

If you prefer a newsletter, subscribe to the plura-list, which is ad-/tracker-free, and is utterly unadorned save a single daily emoji. Today's is "️". Suggestions solicited for future emojis!

--

You can also get a fulltext RSS feed, licensed CC BY 4.0:

https://pluralistic.net/feed/

14/

* Terms of Service with Clare Duffy (CNN)
https://www.cnn.com/audio/podcasts/terms-of-service-with-clare-duffy/episodes/458ce968-af5d-11f0-b539-13ed2afe25f8

* AI, Work, and Power (Software Engineering Daily)
AI, Work, and Power https://softwareengineeringdaily.com/podcasts/cory-doctorow-on-ai-work-and-power/

* AI, Corporate Power, and the Fight for Worker Control (Plutopia)
https://plutopia.io/cory-doctorow-ai-corporate-power-and-the-fight-for-worker-control/

* How to Think About AI—Before It’s Too Late (Daniel Solove)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0xR3uEgGcc

* Could Tech Bosses Destroy Life As We Know It? (Politics JOE)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PL4VktU0SgY

13/

* #Montreal: World Science Fiction Convention, Sep 2-6
https://montreal2027.ca/en

12/

* #Oxford: Ministry of the Future, Nov 23
https://ministryforthefuture.co.uk/events.html

* #Sheffield: Reverse Centaur at Juno Books, Nov 25
https://www.outsavvy.com/event/40274/cory-doctorow-in-conversation

* #Oxford: Bennett Oxford Symposium on Open Code in Science, Dec 9
https://www.bennett.ox.ac.uk/events/2026-bennett-institute-symposium/

11/

* #Ottawa: Life After AI (Ottawa Writers Festival), Oct 24
https://writersfestival.org/event/life-after-ai

* #Vienna: TED AI, Oct 28-30
https://tedai-vienna.ted.com/

* #Kilkenny: Kilkenomics, Nov 6-8
https://kilkenomics.com/

* #Vancouver: Enshittification (Sid Williams Theatre Society), Nov 10
https://www.sidwilliamstheatre.com/events/cory-doctorow-talks-enshittification/

10/

* #Paris: Slow Tech Summit, Oct 15
https://slowtechsummit.com/

* #Vancouver: Read, Resist, Repair, Rejoice (Vancouver Writers Festival), Oct 19
https://writersfest.bc.ca/festival-event-2026/01

* #Victoria: Munro's Books, Oct 20
https://www.munrobooks.com/events/6113620261020

* #Vancouver: Life After AI (Vancouver Writers Festival), Oct 22
https://writersfest.bc.ca/festival-event-2026/46

9/

https://craphound.com/shop/

8/

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/

--

My previous nonfiction book is the internationally bestselling "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It":

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

7/

https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/117427824737355887

6/

#15yrsago Canadian government advice defines abortionists as terrorists https://www.jezebel.com/canadian-government-lists-abortionists-as-terrorists-u-5849963

#10yrsago Ikea Shanghai to elderly, lonely Chinese people: buy something or get out https://qz.com/806990/lonely-shanghai-seniors-now-have-to-buy-something-if-they-want-to-cruise-all-day-in-ikeas-cafeteria

#5yrsago Facebook shows mall ninja gear ads on insurrection articles https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/14/10-point-program/#monetizing

#5yrsago The Black Panther self-care method https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/14/10-point-program/#panthers

5/

#25yrsago Jon Norman not invited to Philcon https://www.locusmag.com/2001/Departments/Letters10Norman.html

#25yrsago Bruce Sterling's post-9/11 geopolitics predictions https://web.archive.org/web/20011102212150/https://www.edge.org/documents/whatnow/whatnow_sterling.html

#25yrsago Polaroid files Chapter 11 https://web.archive.org/web/20011107181428/http://www.polaroid.com/polinfo/press_releases/october01/101201a.html

#25yrsago David Mamet's tribute to Shel Silverstein https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/14/theater/theater-a-beloved-friend-who-lived-life-the-chicago-way.html

4/

* Inside The Failed Fight To Unionize One Of Gaming’s Most Idealized Studios https://kotaku.com/inside-the-failed-fight-to-unionize-one-of-gamings-most-idealized-studios-2000742755

* How Trump Enforcers are Sabotaging Efforts to Bring Down Drug Prices https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/how-pharma-middlemen-turned-the-federal

* How Porter, Newsom, and so many others are wrong about Proposition 40 https://48hills.org/2026/10/who-porter-newsom-and-so-many-others-are-wrong-about-proposition-40/

* Raspberry Pi puts digital handcuffs on RAM upgrades https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/2026-raspberry-pi

* We Infiltrated a Police Union Convention in Las Vegas https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/we-infiltrated-a-police-union-convention

3/

https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/117433462633661418

2/