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The Intrepid

Hearing the Signal in the Noise

How AI Abundance is Training Us to Become Better Curators The LinkedIn Scroll Paradox You're scrolling through LinkedIn, and 90% of what passes by is the algorithmic equivalent of road noise—carousel posts about "5 Leadership Lessons from My Toddler," AI-generated motivational quotes overlaid on stock

Chicken Soup and the Hole in the Soul

On the impossibility of ethical living under systems we oppose Gary Larson's genius often lies in his ability to distill complex philosophical problems into simple, devastating images. In one particular cartoon, a sick chicken lies in bed, being nursed back to health with… chicken soup, while being assured

The Kiddie Pool vs. The Shark Tank

How Social Security Politics Reveals the Reality of American Governance What happens when democratic theater meets actuarial reality Welcome to the Kiddie Pool In the shallow end of American democracy, citizens splash around with colorful narratives about Social Security "destruction." Progressive outlets like Common Dreams warn of "

The Child Blade: An RPG Archetype

How a single image became a system-agnostic character template The Hook It started with an image that wouldn't leave me alone. Scrolling through the "Dungeons & AI" Facebook group, I encountered a stark black-and-white ink wash: a small figure with a sword facing down a massive,

Sky Town: Where Dreams Fall to Earth

The Eternal Divide In the fractured territories of what was once a proud and united country, the sky belongs to the reckless and the ground belongs to the wise. Above the clouds, daredevil pilots chase glory and bullet-riddled horizons in patched aircraft held together by prayer and aviation fuel. Below,

The Portland Experiment: How Ranked Choice Voting Accidentally Enabled Socialist Governance

A real-world test of whether electoral innovation leads to policy revolution—or unintended consequences Portland, Oregon has become an unlikely laboratory for one of the most significant experiments in American municipal governance in decades. Through a combination of electoral reform and strategic organizing, the Democratic Socialists of America now wield

WAR/CRAFT

A Micro-RPG of Honor, Magic, and Endless Xpacs Based on Lasers & Feelings, and decades of nerdrage STATS: WAR / CRAFT Pick a number from 2 to 5. * Roll under your number for WAR (combat, tactics, yelling “For the Horde!”) * Roll over for CRAFT (magic, engineering, arguing about Night Elf canon)

The Wall is Working: Why Immigration Dysfunction is By Design

Why a Working Immigration System Is Politically Impossible "The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house." — Audre Lorde The rational design of a functional immigration system isn't a mystery. Align visa caps with labor demand. Create legal infrastructure for cross-border mobility.

The 2:45 Pop Song RPG

How we created a complete roleplaying game in an hour, and what it means for the future of tabletop design The Beatles Knew Something We Forgot In 1963, The Beatles released "Please Please Me" - a perfect two minute pop song that changed everything. No extended guitar solos,

Hanlon's Razor, Inverted

How Strategic Dysfunction Became America's Immigration Policy "Well, sir, I guess there's just a meanness in this world" — Bruce Springsteen Hanlon's Razor teaches us to "never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." But what happens when