Welcome back to Tidings! In case you missed it, today we looked back on the most-shared publications by Seabird users in 2025. We're especially gratified that our community shared links from more than 650 unique sites, casting a wide net to unearth good writing from around the web. Check out our annual roundup here.
One of most-requested features is now live too: Seabird is finally available for web, no app download required. Though still in beta, we invite you to try it here. (No account yet? Use code "WaitIsOver" to create one.)
On to this week's links...
A firsthand account of life in Minneapolis under ICE: "Now that the kids are back in school, neighbors in neon vests dot the neighborhood with pops of color, to the credit of neighborhood civic involvement. Information-sharing networks have been built. Residents have connected with organizations like non-profits and churches to deliver food to people who are locked in their homes out of fear."
Liberal Currents | Taylor Carik
Laws designed to protect coral reefs are facing resistance from an unexpected source: scientists rushing to save the corals, who report tragic delays due to slowly responding bureaucracy.
Aeon | Irus Braverman
And a counterintuitive suggestion for improving bus service while saving money: fewer bus stops spaced further apart.
Works in Progress | Nithin Vejendla
A Finnish company promises new technology to improve on bifocal glasses, with liquid crystal lenses and monitoring of the wearer's eyes enabling instant adjustments to focus.
CNN | Jacopo Prisco
Reporting on Ayandeh Bank, the collapse of which presaged broader financial turmoil in Iran.
The Wall Street Journal | Jared Malsin
And an introduction to The Blind Owl, the banned 1936 novel with outsized influence on Iranian literature.
The Dial | Amir Ahmadi Arian
An investigation of SpaceX Starship test launches finds aerial debris fields that disrupt commercial flights, including an international flight forced to make an emergency landing on low fuel.
ProPublica | Heather Vogell and Agnel Philip
How legitimate voter roll maintenance in Oregon gets distorted on X, leading to claims of fake voters and distrust in elections.
TechDirt | Mike Masnick
A libertarian reflects on the first year of the second Trump administration: "Donald Trump has demonstrated his core authoritarianism so completely and consistently that his personal character and comportment peculiarities lose significance."
Reason | Brian Doherty
"[...] a suicidal maneuver, without modern compare." On the consequences of the USA's potential invasion of Greenland.
Foreign Policy | Casey Michel
A new string theory model comes closer to matching our accelerating universe, albeit with an inconvenient extra dimension.
Quanta | Steve Nadis
On the trail of Bigfoot in the forests of Oregon. But who needs an imaginary cryptid when you have the magic of real bears?
Orion | Jeff Vandermeer
The CBC polls experts to rank the best contributions to film from Canadian directors, from Cameron to Cronenberg.
CBC | Peter Knegt and Eleanor Knowles
An appreciation of Bob Weir, the late, underappreciated guitarist for the Grateful Dead.
The Atlantic | David A. Graham
And in bird content, the story behind the metaphor: how canaries warned miners of dangerous conditions long before the invention of electronic sensors.
Nautilus | Molly Glick
The links in our newsletter were all shared first on Seabird, our minimalist platform simply designed for recommending worthwhile links. Learn more about us here and join to discover and share articles like these every day. Your recommendations may appear in a future edition of Tidings.
