Image via Atlassian

Written by Jackson Bird

This week we’re talking bias, hypocrisy, and stereotypes––both from humans and from robots.

What we’re checking out…

The public impeachment hearings started this week and they’re a lot so we’re just going to direct you to Dan Sinker’s impeachment.fyi where you can get a daily rundown without getting lost in the unceasing spin.

Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California tragically became the site of the 38th shooting at an elementary or secondary school in the U.S. this year. This year. And what was happening in Congress at the time of the shooting? Republicans, led by Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, were blocking a bill on universal background checks from moving forward.

In election news, Rebecca Traister wrote about how old stereotypes of women in politics are being deployed in new ways against the women candidates––and how the candidates in question are defying assumptions with humor and aggression.

Buzzfeed News Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith wrote about how the endless high-stakes-style of insider political journalism he helped create needs to be laid to rest.

Relatedly, a new analysis from Northeastern University shows how the media is leading the 2020 presidential election conversation, based on controversies and viral hits as opposed to substance.

Speaking of bias, professor Rachel Thomas shared an extensive Twitter thread (and talk) about human bias in algorithms and how we can prevent race and gender-based discrimination in AI.

We’re also grateful to this Forbes piece from Imani Barbarin calling for the need to include disabled people in climate crisis and preservation discussions––as one of the populations most vulnerable to climate change, yet also the most looked over.

Our reFRESHing Talk of the Week is Megan Rapinoe’s Glamour Woman of the Year acceptance speech, in which she powerfully and eloquently thanks the people and movements that got her where she is today while calling for the fight to continue.

The latest from our speakers…

Jess Morales Rocketto was included in the inaugural TIME 100 Next list!

Samhita Mukhopadhyay interviewed Hasan Minhaj in Teen Vogue about mental health and the new season of Patriot Act.

T. Morgan Dixon was profiled in The Riveter, discussing why she co-founded GirlTrek.

Esra’a Al Shafei wrote for Digital Impact about the need for foundations to reconsider the barriers to entry they’ve long operated under.

Thomas Page McBee wrote for Forge about how hypercompetitive masculinity in the workplace is killing innovation.

Tiffany Dufu was featured on the season finale episode of The Pitch, pitching her startup The Cru to a room of investors.

Jamil Smith interviewed Representative Ayanna Pressley in an exclusive for Rolling Stone.

Susan McPherson was interviewed for a Fortune piece about why more and more companies are supporting reproductive health care.

In honor of Trans Awareness Week, Jackson Bird produced a video highlighting five things trans people want cis folks to know.

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