While I focus on Technology, Innovation, and Publishing, because I have a platform, I also flag items that I think are important. I also try to include some resources & opportunities. Please let me know what you think.

Important Items

(There’s so much crazy stuff going on. Here’s some you may have missed.)

Trump asks Supreme Court to let him curtail mail voting

President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to allow the administration to move forward with implementing a sweeping executive order aimed at mail voting that lower courts blocked in nearly two dozen states – setting up a major elections dispute at the high court months before the midterms.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/27/politics/trump-supreme-court-mail-voting-executive-order

Your Social Security benefits could be cut by a quarter in 2032. Here’s what to know

Americans’ Social Security benefits will have to be cut by roughly a quarter in six years due to depleted funds, according to a June report from the Social Security Board of Trustees. That’s months sooner than the group had estimated in 2025.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/your-social-security-benefits-could-be-cut-by-a-quarter-in-2032-heres-what-to-know

How state abortion bans are affecting women who aren’t seeking abortions

Four years have passed since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision opened the door to state abortion bans. A study from Oregon Health and Science University finds those bans are hurting women who aren’t seeking abortions at all. Researchers found delays in miscarriage treatment increase the risk to a woman’s health and fertility and prolong the grief of a lost pregnancy.

https://x.com/NewsHour/status/2083904802501611897

Trump Administration Plans to Upend Head Start by Deregulating It

The White House tried but failed to block funding for preschool for poor children. Instead, it will seek to strip away standards on health, literacy — and brushing teeth

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/us/politics/head-start-deregulation.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2FA.fEPO.FrXnVl5laMq3&smid=nytcore-ios-share

What to know about TSA Gold+, the Trump administration’s new push to privatize airport security

This does not sound safe! Tampa, Charleston and Des Moines’ international airports were the first to opt in to the Transportation Security Administration’s Gold+ program, which lets airports contract private companies to run security screenings rather than federal TSA workers.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/what-to-know-about-tsa-gold-the-trump-administrations-new-push-to-privatize-airport-security

UK journalists ‘self-censoring stories about Trump and the right over safety fears’

UK Government-backed investigation finds‘a narrowing of the public conversation’: Journalists are self-censoring their reporting on rightwing protests, Donald Trump’s administration and trans issues because of growing concerns about their personal safety, with newsrooms accused of “normalizing” the risks they face.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jul/26/uk-journalists-changed-how-what-report-fears-safety

Innovation

China Just Performed the World’s First Implant of a Commercial Brain-Computer Interface

The device, called NEO, records neuronal activity and translates it to movements made by a metal glove worn by a patient who’d lost mobility in his hand following a spinal cord injury a decade ago.

https://gizmodo.com/china-just-performed-the-worlds-first-implant-of-a-commercial-brain-computer-interface-2000785981

Cortisol Could Be the Next Frontier for Wearables

A DNA-sensor patch reads the stress hormone minute by minute

https://spectrum.ieee.org/cortisol-continuous-monitor-wearable

Technology

Is This What Comes After AI Slop?

HT George Walkley A bestselling self-published book by H.M. Wolfe taken on by Simon & Schuster in a 7-figure deal was classified by AI detection company Pangram as containing 60% AI-generated text.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2026/07/daggermouth-novel-bestseller-ai/688067/

How AI books sneak their way into stores

Some AI novels for sale on B&N’s website include ‘Fighting Love’s Flame,’ a steamy romance novel written by AI featuring a romance between an Alaskan smokejumper and a documentary filmmaker, & ‘Tumbleweeds & Tequila,’ another AI-generated novel centered on a woman stranded in the desert who is rescued by a hot ex-Navy SEAL.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/books/ai-bookselling-amazon.html

The Red-Hot Book at the Center of an AI Mystery

Jerry Falade, a Black debut author, got a $2.5M 2-book deal that was acquired by Minotaur (part of Macmillan) in a 14-way auction. His agent pulled the deal due to concerns that he wrote “Call Me, I’ll Hide the Body” using AI.

https://www.wsj.com/business/media/the-red-hot-book-at-the-center-of-an-ai-mystery-201c4665

The new premium product: books written by people

https://www.ft.com/content/6b52ecb8-f7dd-45f0-8beb-d60c15bc5ebf?syn-25a6b1a6=1

The End Of An Era

Per Hugh Howey “I now feel awful for anyone who wants to tell a story post-2026. You will forever be doubted. If you love an em dash the way I do, or you like flowy run-on sentences like I do, if you grew up reading Proust to let the words flow over you in all their glory, if you memorized sonnets so the iambic pentameter would soak into your bones, you’re gonna sound like a fucking bot.”

https://hughhowey.com/the-end-of-an-era/

AI May Be Making Publishing Easier, But It’s Still Not Easy

Coverage of the recent virtual Media Transformation Summit on AI in publishing.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/international-book-news/article/100926-ai-may-be-making-publishing-easier-but-it-s-still-not-easy.html

Substackers Say New AI Detection Tool Is a ‘Witch Hunt’

Some Substack users who use AI to help them write or edit articles say the new policy unfairly discriminates against them, while other users who don’t use AI in their writing at all are worried that Substack will mistakenly flag their writing as being AI generated and tarnish their reputation.

https://www.404media.co/substackers-say-new-ai-detection-tool-is-a-witch-hunt/

Librarians are hosting viral ‘Avoiding AI’ workshops for people who are fed up with Big Tech

https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/25/librarians-are-hosting-viral-avoiding-ai-workshops-for-people-who-are-fed-up-with-big-tech/

Time has started serving ads to AI agents

Last month, Time began converting all its webpages from HTML into markdown versions — stripped-down, text-only copies of each page that drop design and images, making them easier for AI systems and agents to read.

https://digiday.com/media/time-has-started-serving-ads-to-ai-agents/

OpenAI’s ChatGPT reaches the coupon stage of building an ad biz

It’s the stage every platform before it has run thru-they hand advertisers credits to get them spend more, test budgets, & build habits on the platform

https://digiday.com/marketing/openais-chatgpt-reaches-the-coupon-stage-of-building-an-ad-business/

Can Publishers Create a ‘Major Line of Business’ Licensing Content to Risk-Averse Industries?

Collective licensing of content for AI applications is already generating millions of pounds for publishers in the UK—and the country’s leading copyright licensing body believes it could become a major new revenue stream.

https://www.amediaoperator.com/news/can-publishers-create-a-major-line-of-business-licensing-content-to-risk-averse-industries/

Nearly 1,300 AI Workers Urge US to Prepare Tools to Slow Frontier AI

Many researchers consider recursive self-improvement plausible within next few years, accelerating progress in a way that could outpace our ability to understand and govern these systems.

https://www.eweek.com/news/ai-workers-us-frontier-ai-slowdown-tools/

Study: AI models that consider users’ feelings are more likely to make errors

Overtuning can cause models to “prioritize user satisfaction over truthfulness.”

https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/05/study-ai-models-that-consider-users-feeling-are-more-likely-to-make-errors/

What just happened to TheNumbers should worry us all

HT @benedictevans TheNumbers, a 30-year-old database of box-office data, went down because someone hacked it. They think that the motivation was someone trying to win a bet on box office numbers on a prediction market. AI has massively expanded the range of people who can hack, making far more sites potential targets

https://stephenfollows.com/p/what-just-happened-to-thenumberscom-should-worry-us-all

Chasing new skills, going back to basics and pushing for collective action: how software engineers are adapting to AI

Software engineering was one of the best-paying professions in the US in 2022, but AI has disrupted it, leading to layoffs & underemployment.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ng-interactive/2026/jul/12/software-developers-engineers-ai

Western NY School District Shelves Plan to Spend $58K on Robot Teaching Assistant

‘Sally’ from Realbotix was supposed to give students personalized learning support based on data it stores about them, but plan on hold as the district works thru privacy concerns.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/ny-school-district-shelves-plan-to-spend-58k-on-robot-teaching-assistant

Publishing & Media

Podium to Publish Fiction Podcasts as Audiobooks

Podium Entertainment, the Los Angeles–based audio publisher, is partnering with podcast network Realm to adapt 35 previously serialized fiction podcasts into audiobooks.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/100953-podium-to-publish-35-serialized-realm-podcasts-as-audiobooks.html

Agent Business Models May Be Shifting: What I Fear Will Happen

Per @janefriedman While agents need to earn a living, AALA is revising their canon of ethics so they can make money from 3rd parties, publish and provide other services, and authors need to be careful.

https://janefriedman.com/agent-business-models-may-be-shifting-what-i-fear-will-happen/

Our long-awaited bullying survey should be taken seriously

ICYMI A 247-person survey reported in The Bookseller reveals a systemic culture of bullying within the UK publishing industry, with 69% of respondents experiencing it personally. The investigation calls on management to address endemic staff welfare issues and power imbalances, highlighting specific complaints against firms such as Hachette and Sweet Cherry.

https://www.thebookseller.com/editors-letter/our-long-awaited-bullying-survey-should-be-taken-seriously

Simon & Schuster UK and International launches digital-focused imprint

Simon Stream is a new digitally-focused imprint with an open submissions portal for aspiring authors.

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/simon-schuster-uk-and-international-launches-digital-focused-imprint

Hearst starts with ‘why’ as journalists asked to produce fewer articles

HT @BoSacks Hearst UK journalists must fill out a spreadsheet explaining why they are producing every piece. The Times went from publishing >200 stories/day to 150 – a 25% cut.

https://pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/hearst-starts-with-why-as-journalists-asked-to-produce-fewer-articles/

Prediction markets get their own media company

New media company called Eventual launching in partnership w Polymarket to give the world’s top prediction market traders a platform for news and analysis.

https://www.axios.com/2026/07/28/prediction-markets-media-startup-eventual

2026 Barack Obama’s Summer Reading List

https://x.com/BarackObama/status/2082572074208395552/photo/1

Libraries Expand Multilingual Offerings

HT @VocesBlog Public libraries are augmenting their world language collections and bringing patrons to the international stacks

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/100908-reading-globally.html

Appeals Court Reverses Key Book Banning Decision in Arkansas

This lets Act 372 take force, exposing librarians & booksellers in the state to criminal liability for making allegedly inappropriate or “harmful” books accessible to anyone under 18.

https://www.wordsandmoney.com/appeals-court-reverses-key-book-banning-decision-in-arkansas/

State Property Tax Cuts Will Decimate Libraries

Local governments are not only going to see their budgets squeezed–they rely on property taxes and state income taxes to meet the needs of their residents–they’re going to see services wither and ultimately shutter altogether. Public libraries and public schools in these states will not weather the storm. And that is, of course, by design.

https://bookriot.com/state-property-tax-cuts-and-libraries/?ref=wordsandmoney.com

Resources & Opportunities

WMG Small Group Socials

Last chance to participate in this season’s exciting mix of in-person and virtual WMG members-only small group socials! New: A visit to the Studio Museum in Harlem & Tour of the NY Society Library!

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/events

WMG Job Seekers Weekly Meetup

Are you unemployed, under-employed, or just thinking about a career change? WMG members join our free virtual weekly support group and come when you can to help each other rise.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/events

WMG Monday Happy Hour Meetup

8/10 or 9/14 5:30-7:30 Monthly Members Only. NYC.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/events

LinkedIn Strategies for Career Growth

8/5 12:30-1:30pm via Zoom. FREE for WMG members, $15 for non-members.

Join this event to learn how to improve your LinkedIn profile and position yourself for new career opportunities. Lynne Williams, Executive Director of the Great Careers Network, will share practical tips for strengthening your personal brand and optimizing your profile. Lynne will cover:

How to clearly define and communicate your personal brand
How to effectively incorporate keywords throughout your profile
How to strengthen your headline with a unique selling proposition
Where to find free tools and resources to enhance your LinkedIn presence

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6715943

Switching the Shelf: How Rethinking Your Genre Can Land You That Book Deal

9/16 5:30-7:30pm at Penguin Random House, NYC. $20 for WMG members; $25 for non-members

Some books don’t need a rewrite. They need a different shelf.

Many successful literary projects began as something else entirely: a memoir became narrative nonfiction, a magazine article turned into a biography, or an adult novel found its audience as young adult fiction. Sometimes the fastest path to publication is rethinking where your story belongs.

In this conversation, editors Lee Oglesby and Kristine Puopolo, agent Kiele Raymond, and authors Katie Gee Salisbury, Stacy Kim, and Amy Klein will discuss how their own genre shifts happened, what prompted agents and editors to suggest them, and how writers can recognize when a different category may unlock their manuscript’s potential. It’s moderated by Susan Shapiro, the bestselling author of 18 books in eight different genres, several that started out something else.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6763324

The Responsible Journalist: Practical AI, Ethical Boundaries, and Newsroom Reality

10/7 12-1pm ET via Zoom. Free for WMG members; $15 for non-members

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how journalists report, write, investigate, and engage with audiences, but questions remain about accuracy, transparency, and ethics. This interactive seminar w Yelena Dzhanova explores how journalists and media creators can incorporate AI into their work while maintaining the core values of the profession. Participants will learn practical ways AI can support reporting, discuss the ethical challenges surrounding its use, and examine where human judgment remains indispensable. Through demonstrations, case studies, and group discussion, attendees will leave with practical strategies for using AI responsibly in their own journalistic work.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6778338

Target Acquired: Creating Custom AI Personas That React Like Your Audience

10/14, 12-1 pm ET via Zoom. Free for WMG members; $15 for non-members

What if you could ask your readers what they think before you publish? In this session w Erin Servais, you’ll learn how to build an “ideal reader assistant,” a custom AI tool trained to respond as your target audience. This allows you to pressure-test story ideas, headlines, and copy while you’re still creating instead of waiting for feedback after launch. Using a simple, repeatable framework, you’ll watch a reader bot come to life from scratch and leave with the tools to build your own, turning audience feedback from slow and reactive into fast, targeted, and available on demand.

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-6782788

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