Field Notes: July 3
A win against lawfare—plus July 4, AI satire, spotted lantern flies, SPF, and my favorite new TV show
Happy July! I just finished a huge project (on which more soon) and suddenly have much more time for this newsletter. Back in April, I brought you the first edition of Field Notes, inspired by Emma Gannon’s Slow Sunday Scroll. In that weekly ritual, Emma deposits in your inbox a deliciously long list of links on a wide variety of subjects.
I was surprised to find that my April “Field Notes” post was among the most popular in the six months since I relaunched this newsletter. I’m happy to keep scratching that itch for you!
Every Friday, I’ll send a short roundup of readings to help you find your way through our polluted information environment, along with some “offline” commentary—what’s going on in my garden, my kitchen, my life off screen. I hope you enjoy it...but first, some business!
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Online Notes
A few of my favorite pieces of news and analysis from the past week.
A victory against the “censorship” liars.
My colleagues in the disinformation research space, including Renee DiResta and Kate Starbird, were granted a dismissal in a case against them filed by a bunch of mendacious jerks and tinfoil cranks (funded by Stephen Miller’s lawfare factory) who alleged they had “censored” them. They had not. The liars found the researchers’ speech inconvenient, and they sued them to try to shut them up. One of the lessons here—which I mentioned in my speech to fact-checkers from around the world last month—is to always challenge the premise of BS suits and investigations, to never roll over and accept failure. The defense team and the folks they represented did just that. They still sustained damage to their reputations and lost funding and in some cases, work. But in the end, the very judge who amplified a lot of the conspiracies about them was forced to eat crow after the Supreme Court rebuked his nonsense, and that feels gooooood.
Celebrating July 4 like I celebrate the Superbowl.
I am feeling a bit melancholy about our nation’s 250th, as I’m sure many Americans are. We’re getting together with some neighbors and their kids and making some food. That will be the extent of our celebrations this year. When did I start celebrating July 4 like I celebrate the Superbowl? That is, when did I start using it as an excuse to gather and eat while ignoring the convening premise? I remember July 4, 2020 being totally surreal; Trump had organized flyovers from a bunch of military aircraft, I suppose meant to distract us from the ongoing pandemic and the ongoing clashes between law enforcement and Black Lives Matter protestors. Maybe that was the turning point?
Anne Applebaum argues that July 4 feels hollow this year because our leaders don’t respect the virtues, symbols, and values of America’s founding: “They believe that only their clan represents America, that only people like them deserve to be considered “real” Americans, and that the American government exists to serve them alone, they need to undermine anything that tells a more unifying story.”
I hope you enjoy your hot dogs; I’ll be inside and not going anywhere near the travesty on the National Mall.
“I can prompt with the best of them.”
I am teaching my annual summer course on disinformation and influence in the political age. My students are at the Master’s level, and like many other educators, I’m worried about what AI is doing to our collective ability to write, read, analyze, and reason. Rather than wax poetic about that—I’m still planning a longer guide on AI— enjoy this piece of satire on LLMs and the rapid atrophying of our brains.
Offline Notes
The real-life pastimes, products, and programs getting me through the infopocalypse.
It’s Spotted Lantern Fly Squishing Season
While the ideal yard for some Americans is a carpet of green grass, I’ve always wanted something a bit more wild. Growing up, my childhood backyard abutted a few wooded areas where I made forts, and where my dog, Max, would chase deer. (Once, he pulled away from my mom on a walk to chase a herd, only to return hours later dragging a log, which his leash had wrapped around.) We moved in 2025 and have been delighted by all the wildlife in our new area: foxes, skunks, deer, and many birds (our cat, Baxter, is especially grateful for them). We decided to put in some native plants (on which more in a future issue).
After the gardens were planted in May, our big household project has been their care and maintenance. Watering—especially in this heat—is essential, as is weeding and pest control. Spotted lantern flies—an invasive species with no dedicated natural predators in North America—have been feasting on my Sweet Bay Magnolias, so they’ve been the primary pest receiving our redirected rage. The whole family has been enlisted in our assault on them. Every time our four-year-old sees one of the black or red and white nymphs, he shouts, “Mommy! Daddy! A spotted wantern fwy!” We either whack them with a shoe or sandal or flick them into a bucket of soapy water. These scenes of suburban carnage give us great satisfaction—as does the fact that we have seemingly made an impact on the population; where we would once pull a few dozen during each session, those numbers are dwindling.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for sunscreen
Gen Z and Gen Alpha are the subject of a lot of derision for their premature obsession with skincare, but I’m proud of them for doing what millennials and older generations did not: using sunscreen every day. After I gave birth, whatever whackadoodle bullshit happened to my hormones drove some heat-and-sun-induced melasma (freckles on steroids) on my pale-to-translucent skin, and since then I have been pretty obsessive about not leaving the house without a mineral sunscreen on my face and a big, dumb, hat on my head. When I went to Australia, I was impressed with how seriously everyone there takes the sun; young Aussies are required by law to wear hats (they’re part of their school uniforms too, so cute!) and adults will always have one—and some sunscreen—in their bag.
Given that we all now live in the fifth circle of hell, here are my favorite sun protection products that may you protect your skin. (These are all Amazon affiliate links; I’ll earn a small commission if you purchase anything.)
For gardening, hiking, and time at the pool with my son, I love this extremely dorky wide-brimmed hat with a ponytail hole. Here’s the men’s version. Both are really UPF 80+, lightweight, and dry fast when wet.
I wear this tinted mineral sunscreen every day; it does double duty as sunscreen, skincare, and very basic makeup. ILIA will match your shade for free on their website. If you don’t like the “dewy” look, this may not be for you.
If you don’t want a tinted product, I like this face sunscreen mist from Sun Bum.
I carry this matte, brush-on mineral sunscreen in my purse for touch ups and the rare instances that I’m out without sunscreen on. Pricey, but worth it; I think I’ve had the bottle I’m using now for three or four years.
Similarly, if you have a kiddo who hates getting sunscreen on, I like this kid’s powdered sunscreen, especially for my son’s face, ears, and the top of his head. It’s also great for babies who can’t use chemical sunscreen yet! One tube of this has lasted us years.
For the pool and other manmade environments, this is my favorite everyday body sunscreen. It’s not greasy at all. You’ll need a reef-safe sunscreen if you’re snorkeling near any reefs, though.
Widow’s Bay
It takes a lot to make me stay up late these days, but bingeing Widow’s Bay, the comedy-horror show starring Matthew Rhys on AppleTV+ had me doing just that a few weeks ago. There are plenty of gifted TV critics who have written about what makes this show so special, and I’m not them, so suffice it to say it’s been one of the best things I’ve watched in years. It is laugh out loud hilarious while also managing to be legitimately creepy at parts, with excellent writing, evocative set dressing, and physical comedy that is rare in the two-screen era of TV. If you haven’t watched it yet, make time this weekend—you won’t regret it.