Melt

2026 hasn’t wasted any time in breaking our hearts daily, again, always, so I hope you’ll forgive this issue for being both late and short.

I saw a post this weekend that is too long to replicate here, but contained some important reminders about self- and community care that I want to pass along:

• When your radius of awareness is wider than your sphere of influence, you will feel powerless.

• Information is only as useful as your implementation of it.

• You must go find hope in the world and bring it to others.

Here’s to all of you staying warm, staying safe, staying ready, staying strong.

Technology

• Accessibility for Everyone, the go-to, tried-and-true, best-ever resource on web accessibility, is free to read [Laura Kalbag]

• “How the hell are you supposed to have a career in tech in 2026?” [Anil Dash]

• Can’t believe I’ve missed this in prior Decembers, but here’s a month’s worth (several years running) of invaluable daily exercises for learning systems thinking [Ruth Malan]

• “Wrapped: How to ditch Spotify & switch to something slightly less evil” [tumblr]

• “Video can challenge power. It can also attract it.” [The Conversation]

• Signal for Beginners [Freedom of the Press Foundation]

Reading and writing

• A dark but oddly comforting meditation on death, relationships, and fascism [Mike Monteiro]

• A short, fascinating riff on Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” [AO3]

• “[Empire] is a kind of poison that gets into the groundwater, and it can be very, very pretty while it strangles a culture”—a good conversation with authors Ann Leckie and Arkady Martine [Speculative Insight]

• If you’re looking for your next read, here’s a truly in-depth list of queer science fiction recommendations [tumblr]

• Another beautifully savage entry in the category of celebrity restaurant reviews [Defector]

January’s cause

All eyes on Minnesota, and strength and support to the organizations coordinating care for immigrants, protestors, observers, and everyone targeted by ICE.

Love and solidarity to you and your neighbors.