Al Shaw

Al Shaw

@shaw.al

developer / reporter / map maker at ProPublica • dm me on signal: ashaw.01 • also at: @a_l@mastodon.social • he/him 🔗 https://shaw.al

16.8K followers725 following320 posts

The mini bullet point · is the emdash of front-end design. For mini bullet point enjoyers who designed websites in the before times, I'm sorry.

Al Shaw reposted

I'll be giving a talk in Bologna in November @visualisingclimate.com about how we visualized the risks of carbon capture @propublica.org! Would love to connect with folks who are also attending. The talk will be focused on this story: projects.propublica.org/why-carbon-c...

projects.propublica.orgFalse Promises: The “Solution” to the Climate Crisis That Won’t WorkAs global leaders look to tech advances to solve climate change, one leading idea involves capturing carbon pollution from the air and burying it underground forever. While carbon capture may sound pr...
Visualising Climate@visualisingclimate.com

The full programme for Visualising Climate 2026 is now live! See 👉 visualisingclimate.com/programme/ 3 days · 3 keynotes · 34 talks · 9 paper presentations · 6 workshops · 1 round table · 2 visits to ECMWF · 1 conference dinner in a memorable Bologna venue · 75+ speakers visualisingclimate.com

What's he building in there? WHAT'S HE BUILDING IN THERE?

open weights model? no I said open Waits model. it just makes vague growling noises and talks a lot about New Orleans.

Al Shaw reposted

Apple should take a page out of the sneaker company handbook. Just like you can get a Gel-Kayano 33 or a Gel-Kayano 14 new in 2026, you should be able to get an iPhone 18 or an iPhone 5 today.

Fun fact, the iMac with the flat screen was made closer in time to the OG Mac than to today

In every AppleTV show, the computers are beige boxes with green text on black screens and permanently live on desks. Really makes u think

AI is less the nuclear bomb of the internet and more the invasive English ivy, black mustard and scotch broom of the internet... endlessly reseeding itself, snuffing out native species and increasing wildfire risk.

Jason Koebler@jasonkoebler.bsky.social

AI doom or not, something has shifted with AI recently. The guardrails that kept AI sitting in a chatbox are gone, the models are better, there's more compute. AI agents are everywhere. They are annoying as hell. IMO the situation is going to get much worse www.404media.co/theres-a-100...

Al Shaw reposted

Al Shaw reposted

Dolly Parton supported so many important causes, among them donating a million dollars to COVID vaccine research early in the pandemic, which saved millions of lives. She will always be remembered as a champion of the people.

Al Shaw reposted

On Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 4 p.m. ET, join ProPublica’s Mark Olalde and environment journalists @scribeguy.bsky.social, Tony Briscoe and @halleparker.bsky.social to discuss the unprecedented rollback of the Clean Air Act and what it means for public health in urban and rural communities nationwide.

events.propublica.orgClean Air Act: Dismantling One of the Country’s Bedrock Environmental LawsJoin us for a discussion about the rollback of the Clean Air Act and what it means for public health in communities across America.

Al Shaw reposted

SCOOP: 404 Media placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it. What did we find? It ended up at an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books. Yes. This is literally the logo outside the Amazon warehouse door. Read now:

404media.coWe Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training FacilityWe placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books.

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org

🚨 WE HAVE A DEAL! After three years, in a major step forward for our members, we have ratified our first contract with @propublica.org’s management. We deeply appreciate everyone who supported us along the way. Here are some of our big wins👇

Al Shaw reposted

This is a fantastic essay. Read it If you have any interest in satellite imagery. “Who to Trust, Google or the Russian MoD? In 2015, that was a rhetorical question. Not anymore.” By @henkvaness.bsky.social

Alison Killing@alisonkilling.bsky.social

This is wildly irresponsible of Google - allowing people to create AI generated satellite images. Satellite imagery has always been such a useful and reliable source because it came from reliable sources, but now Google is messing with it at source. www.digitaldigging.org/p/how-to-pla...

Al Shaw reposted

Please see my latest: Brendan Carr and his wife sat in CEO David Ellison's private skybox at the Kennedy Center months after voting for Paramount's merger. Such seats sold for $125,000 a seat. Carr has accepted $63,000 in tickets from CBS or its parent since 2017 www.propublica.org/article/para...

propublica.orgFCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar DealsAccepting tickets to the Kennedy Center honors gala compromised the commissioners’ impartiality, ethics experts told ProPublica. FCC Chair Brendan Carr has been gifted at least $63,000 worth of ticket...

Al Shaw reposted

Reporter Lisa Song says that it “just doesn’t make sense” for ProPublica management to require a rigid RTO policy. Our members work long hours and need a flexible RTO policy to do their best work.

Putting this up against the live tracker of where the Tour de France is right now and hoo boy

Ben Welsh@palewi.re

🌡️ A twist on our Reuters Climate Monitor: This new homepage embed and standalone page tracking Western Europe's heatwave. It debuts real-time country rankings, which I suspect is a worldwide first. https://reuters.com/graphics/CLIMATE-AUTOMATED/MONITOR/akpeykqqapr/western-europe/

Al Shaw reposted

Replying to @rachelholliday.bsky.social

if you want to fight back against these forces in your personal media diet, try as much as you can to visit, share and support your favorite and beloved publishers DIRECTLY (sign up for a newsletter, visit their homepage, etc.) and financially support them if you can

Al Shaw reposted

Al Shaw reposted

Replying to @micarosenberg.bsky.social

In a first-of-its-kind analysis, my colleague @jeffernsthausen.bsky.social and I found that young people living in the U.S. who entered as unaccompanied minors, like Elder, are being detained and deported at about 3x the rate as during the final years of the first Trump presidency 2/

Al Shaw reposted

Ruth Talbot works on the news apps team at ProPublica: “I work with absolutely incredible, driven, dedicated, talented people here, who I trust to get their work done wherever works best for them.” Support our fight for an RTO policy that preserves flexibility: www.propublicaguild.org

Al Shaw reposted

🚨 We analyzed the Supreme Court’s decisions over the past 20 years and found that for the first time, the court issued more consequential rulings on its “shadow docket” (unsigned orders often decided without arguments) than the traditional merits docket. www.propublica.org/article/supr...

A seniority-based layoff system is the cornerstone of most union contracts and it ensures the company can't use layoffs as a shortcut around Just Cause, but @propublica.org management still isn't agreeing to this basic protection. Support us 👇

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org

Logan Jaffe edits and writes our newsletters and has been at ProPublica for almost 9 years: “This is a good job. Still, one of the things that concerns me is layoffs.” Support our fight for a strong contract with seniority-based layoff protections: www.propublicaguild.org

Al Shaw reposted

Donald Trump came one vote away from getting the Supreme Court to say that the 14th Amendment does not guarantee birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented and temporary immigrants, a view held only by fringe far-right nativists until VERY recently. This is shocking. I am stunned.

Even though injection wells are banned within a half-mile of public water wells in Oklahoma, we found 114 of them across the state, within public water districts more than 300k people rely on.

ProPublica@propublica.org

NEW: Oil companies are blasting millions of gallons of toxic waste underground each year — less than a half-mile from Enid, Oklahoma’s water wells. But to protect their city, officials must appeal to the state agency that created the problem. With @readfrontier.bsky.social

Al Shaw reposted

The last run for the Queens roses is today at 5:44pm post. THE BIG A IS DEAD LONG LIVE THE BIG A enjoy my last ride below if you please…

Al Shaw reposted

ProPublica events manager Rocio Ortega has taken on Uber Eats and DoorDash deliveries to make ends meet. This shouldn’t be any of our workers’ financial reality. We need a contract that guarantees all our members fair pay: www.propublicaguild.org

ProPublica Guild@propublicaguild.org

“We have disparities across teams, across regions. No one who works at ProPublica — where we say we hire the best — should be living paycheck to paycheck.” This is why we’re fighting for fair wages: www.propublicaguild.org

Al Shaw reposted

Solid support for Rep. Espaillat in NY13 in upper Manhattan and the Bronx portion of the district, but not strong enough. We'll have to do a separate turnout map for this district (number of votes per ED).