https://preview.redd.it/fzhycadeokge1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f2e6c15028fcfe60e9aa7d7a5d1e990fecb0a3b

https://blog.codinghorror.com/stay-gold-america/

I co-founded Stack Overflow and Discourse, and made more money than a lot of folks could ever imagine. I’m worried that huge cost increases for healthcare, education, and housing are putting the opportunities I had out of reach.

I'm giving away half my wealth over 5 years - not in my will, not after I die, right now. I’ve already sent $1M to eight organizations working to help Americans. There’s a lot more to come. 

Let's talk about how we can build the American Dream. AMA!

Thank you for reading and all the replies! Be sure to check out the blog post:

Stay Gold, America

My name is Mia Fiona Kut, I’m the owner and founder of Luna Nectar, where we formulate all-natural hair density, haircare, and wellness products. 

I started experimenting with formulas when I was 25 (started off with an eyelash and eyebrow density serum), launched the business when I was 27, and haven’t worked for someone else since. We’re now a small business with a small, tight knit team, completely bootstrapped (started off experimenting in my apartment kitchen, and now we operate out of a warehouse and office space with in-house production), and have grown to 500 stores worldwide at 7 figures annually in sales, and have been featured in Vogue.

Basically we specialize in our peptide hair density serum, and the lash and brow density serum. Also, our topical magnesium spray (not haircare, but people love this as a quick grab-and-go for stress and relaxation). We mainly focus on women’s hair density and helping create a safe space for women to share their hair density journey (we find the topic to be less talked about publicly and hair density solutions for women are lagging behind men’s solutions), but a lot of men use our products as well.

A highlight we recently had was being chosen as 1 of 8 brands as part of Ulta Beauty's Muse Retail Accelerator cohort - it was amazing to be learning from top mentors and names in the beauty space and get real-time feedback on our brands and how to scale to the next level. 

We also opened up our Private Label division last year as well, and have been helping other brands manufacture their own skincare and haircare products.

Hoping to share my journey and insights with you and answer any questions about entrepreneurship, leadership, being a young female business owner, and anything else you would like to know about me and Luna Nectar!

Proof: https://imgur.com/a/jksBmDa

Join us over at r/climatechange to submit your questions.

Hey all, it’s David Wallace-Wells, a science writer at New York Times Opinion and The Times Magazine. I’ve written about the devastating wildfires ravaging Los Angeles, how housing policy contributes to the likelihood of gigafire burns and the palpable turn in the city’s perspective amid the aftermath.

I’ve described the dollars in damage of these fires, the social media blame game, the role of human failure and the ways global warming remodels the risk landscape beyond California. I have also spoken about the scope and tragedy of the L.A. disaster and why more wildfires are coming.

Before The New York Times, I wrote agenda-setting essays on the dangers and complexities of global warming at New York magazine. I am also the author of the 2019 book, “The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming.” 

Ask me anything about climate change, California wildfires and any other related topics. 

I’ll answer your questions from 12:30-1:30 p.m. E.T. on Thursday, Jan. 30.

Proof picture here.

Hi! I’m Trish, community outreach manager for World Central Kitchen’s ongoing response to the LA wildfires. In addition to wildfire response, I’ve played key roles on WCK responses to floods and earthquakes in Brazil, in Poland, and in Turkey. As community outreach manager, I lead many of our efforts to work with partners in Southern California, including restaurant partners and food trucks to bring meals to first responders, evacuating families, and residents in recovery. World Central Kitchen has a unique model of disaster response- we move extremely fast to be able to serve meals to people in need right away, and we integrate closely with communities who ultimately lead the way themselves with local foods, distribution and community support. 

We’ve shared a lot from this response in LA, especially from chefs and food trucks like Evan Funke and Tyler Florence. We’ve also recently shared an overall recap of our last year of work which included 100+ million meals served in 20 countries. Throw your questions down below in advance or upvote the ones that you find the most interesting, and I'll answer live on January 29, 2025 at 12:30 p.m. US Eastern time (9:30 a.m. PST).

https://preview.redd.it/umba4sa5trfe1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce72f08546b55f681a64182e31dc772768881c85

EDIT- Thank you all so much for the great questions, encouragement, and support! I'm so excited to share with our team here in LA. Here are Zeppy and Floyd to say thanks too:

https://preview.redd.it/ujb3gx6dazfe1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c288e9808a1f6709236a7294ecf89cef29740f9

https://preview.redd.it/kjfcq37dazfe1.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6eeef69445372213781c1fe8c8283f50e23a4cb6

https://preview.redd.it/f1puwe7dazfe1.jpg?width=1198&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9782968bd18fc594539251daae4858df067f5354

https://preview.redd.it/qf5lvvadazfe1.jpg?width=1001&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d673a706608acdfb71b2ed395783262dd13d1717

EDIT- Thank you all so much for the great questions, encouragement, and support! I'm so excited to share with our team here in LA.

Support LA Wildfire Relief here <3

Hi, I’m Wendy Wood, a behavioral scientist who studies habits and why they are so difficult to change. As Professor Emerita of Psychology and Business at USC, I’ve studied how habits form and why they’re so persistent. I’ve also worked with organizations like the CDC and World Bank to help people build healthier, more productive routines.

Habits often work in the background of our minds, guiding nearly half of what we do every day — without us even realizing it. They’re mental shortcuts that help us act efficiently but can also keep us stuck in patterns we want to break. My 2019 book, “Good Habits, Bad Habits,” explored how our nonconscious minds can help us form better habits.

In this AMA, I’ll share what my research reveals about forming good habits, breaking bad ones, and using habits to reach your goals. Whether you’re curious about how habits work or want practical tips to change your own, I’d love to answer your questions!

Proof: https://imgur.com/a/xaD3GW1

Link to AMA:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DecidingToBeBetter/comments/1ibi72v/im_wendy_wood_a_behavioral_scientist_whose/

Hi, I'm Danny Dwyer and a very talented band of mice made my song go viral. Ask me anything about making viral hit songs, talented mice, Marvin Cheese or making money.

Ig: @_dannydwyer

https://preview.redd.it/gv0m6wzo7lfe1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f27749beeebb0acf245cca12050a6e8cc6adf906

Nick Sefakis is a solo reggae artist and formerly 1/5 of the band Iya Terra. His latest single off his upcoming album "Praises" is available on streaming platforms everywhere. He'll also be performing Feb 15th in Salt Lake City, Utah at the Winter Rock Reggae Fest presented by Reggae Rise Up.

https://www.reddit.com/r/calireggae/s/bPakG4aYmA

https://old.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1i937o2/im_preet_bharara_former_us_attorney_and_host_of/?sort=qa

https://old.reddit.com/r/JewsOfConscience/comments/1i8b8bw/hi_rjewsofconscience_im_lily_greenberg_call_the/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Rag/comments/1i89xu4/were_bryan_chappell_ceo_alex_boquist_cto/

Hey RAG community,

Set a reminder for Friday, January 24 @ noon EST for an AMA with the cofounders (CEO and CTO) at ScoutOS, a platform for building and deploying AI solutions!

If you’re curious about AI workflows, deploying GPT and Large Language Model-based AI systems, or cutting through the complexity of AI orchestration, and productizing your RAG (Retrieval - Augmentation - Generation) AI applications this AMA is for you!

🔥 Why ScoutOS?

* No Complex Setups: Build powerful AI workflows without intricate deployments or headaches.

* All-in-One Platform: Seamlessly integrate website scraping, document processing, semantic search, network requests, and large language model interactions.

* Flexible & Scalable: Design workflows to fit your needs today and grow with you tomorrow.

* Fast & Iterative: ScoutOS evolves quickly with customer feedback to provide maximum value.

## For more context:

* ScoutOS Website

* Understanding Text Chunking in Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

* Quick Start Docs

## Who’s Answering Your Questions?

* Bryan Chappell - CEO & Co-founder at ScoutOS

* u/Historical_Affect285 (on the right of the photo below)

* 15+ years building software

* Alex Boquist - CTO & Co-founder at ScoutOS

* u/notoriousFlash (on the left of the photo below)

* 10+ years building software

## What’s on the Agenda?

* The ins and outs of productizing large language models

* Challenges they’ve faced shaping the future of LLMs

* Opportunities that are emerging in the field

* Why they chose to craft their own solutions over existing frameworks

* along with tackling all your questions!

## When & How to Participate

The AMA will take place:

* When: Friday, January 24 @ noon EST

* Where: Right here in r/RAG!

Bryan and Alex will answer questions live and check back over the following day for follow-ups.

Looking forward to a great conversation—ask us anything about building AI tools, deploying scalable systems, or the future of AI innovation!

See you there!

https://preview.redd.it/8v4z5nxfamde1.jpg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6af997c6dfbcf10d12c023850497ff017c7152ff

What’s up, Reddit! 

I’m Jared, founder of Dollar For, and I’m stoked to be here for this AMA!

At Dollar For, we help people crush hospital bills by helping them apply for hospital financial assistance programs. The catch? Hospitals don’t always make it easy for qualified patients to get discounts or forgiveness (shocker).

That’s where we come in. Dollar For has helped wipe out over $70 million in medical debt by guiding patients through the process and holding hospitals accountable to their own rules. Oh, and we do it all for free because everyone deserves a break when dealing with medical bills.

Got questions about hospital bills, financial assistance, or how this all works? Hit me—I’m here to help!

Proof

Get help: dollarfor.org/bills

About Us

Press:
https://www.fastcompany.com/90899091/dollar-for-tech-nonprofit-helps-erase-medical-debt

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article294308549.html

https://www.wtkr.com/news/in-the-community/virginia-beach/virginia-beach-man-gets-3-500-worth-of-medical-debt-forgiven

https://preview.redd.it/bqfam8dzakee1.jpg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0a8dcf8bb081821d7becb33e9654a1d1a4a403d7

Update: Thanks Reddit. This has been fun.

Need help with your bills? Have questions?  Hit us up:

• dollarfor.org/bills
• dollarfor.org/contact

UPDATE: THANK YOU ALL for the fascinating questions, and also a big thank you to all my colleagues at The MIT Press for setting this up. What a fun and interesting opportunity to join a community I've never really experienced before, for a couple of hours! If you want to continue the dialogue, please find me on BlueSky and/or LinkedIn @ gregmepstein, or, of course, in the pages of TECH AGNOSTIC. So much more to explore! I truly hope something here/there is useful for you.

***

Hello! My name is Greg Epstein, and for 20 years I have served as a chaplain for humanists, atheists, agnostics, and allies at Harvard and now—since 2018—at MIT. I'm also the author of the New York Times bestseller Good Without God and the newly released Tech Agnostic (MIT Press). 

In Tech Agnostic, I argue that today's technology has overtaken religion as the chief influence on twenty-first century life and community. Who profits from an uncritical faith in technology? How can we remedy technology's problems while retaining its benefits? To become critical thinkers with respect to this new faith, we must interrogate these kinds of questions and evaluate tech's promises. Ask me anything about:

• Humanism and what being a humanist chaplain means.
• Weird AI religions and the broligarchs who love them.
• Why no amount of success, power, or wealth is ever enough for certain tech leaders. 
• If tech is a religion, what does 'the reformation' look like?

Proof!

I’m an Australian Director / Cinematographer / Screenwriter / Producer based in Paris.

 20 years ago I founded the European Independent Film Festival in Paris, which will turn 20 this year, and since 2020 we’ve launched the AAIFF Asia, AAIFF Africa and AAIFF Americas´. Our mission is to discover, project and promote the world’s best independent films.

Since its beginning, ÉCU has been Europe's premier event for independent films.

What questions do you have about running a successful Independent Film Festival?

Ask me anything about the challenges, experiences, and rewards of building and sustaining an independent film festival.

Proof:

Photo: https://imgur.com/a/njVWBmE 

ÉCU film festival website: https://ecufilmfestival.com/

ÉCU podcasts:  https://ecufilmfestival.com/ecu-podcasts/

IMDB of Scott Hillier:  https://www.imdb.com/it/name/nm0994535/

Hi! I’m Carolyn Forte, Executive Director of Good Housekeeping’s Home Care & Cleaning Lab. I spend my days testing and writing about the newest cleaning products and cleaning appliances, like the best dishwashers, washing machines and vacuum cleaners and oversee all the work my team does to keep our readers and followers up-to-date on the newest, most innovative and most effective cleaning products on the market. We take our work very seriously in the GH Cleaning Lab, and we’re here to solve everyday cleaning problems and make caring for your home and clothing less of a chore. 

One of my favorite topics and the one I get asked about most often is dishwashing and everything about the dishwasher. How to load it, the need to pre-rinse and what’s safe to go inside are hotly debated topics in many households, and I’m here to settle those family spats once and for all.

In my over 40 years at Good Housekeeping, I’ve loaded hundreds of dishwashers and examined thousands of spotty glasses and crusty casseroles, all to find which work best and how to get the best from the model you have. Plus, all this first-hand research helps inform our advice on what to look for when shopping for a dishwasher and how to clean and keep it running most efficiently. Your dishwasher is the hardest working appliance in your kitchen. It needs to take dirty loads of dishes, glasses, cookware and more and clean and dry them all without damage or spotting. It’s a tough job and I’m here to help make sure yours is doing the work for you!

Background: I’ve spent virtually all my career — over 40 years — at Good Housekeeping. With a degree in Family & Consumer Science, I started in our Textiles Lab but quickly found my home in the Home Care & Cleaning Lab where I help solve pesky cleaning problems, recommend the best products and help readers make their homes a clean, healthy environment for themselves and their families. I love the mix of science and consumer information that product testing and this role affords me and beyond the magazine and website, I’ve been able to reach our vast audience by authoring our many housekeeping books, sharing my expertise via television and newspaper articles and serving as a consumer products expert to the cleaning industry at large. Cleaning has become ever more important to daily life and with a name like Good Housekeeping, cleaning is front and center in all we do!

Throw your questions down below in advance or upvote the ones that you find the most interesting, and I'll answer live on January 22, 2025 at 2 p.m. US Eastern time (11 a.m. PST, 7 p.m. UK).

https://preview.redd.it/p7mpfi91bfee1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2169b99a90383e7f8cdad959e375ad3f46411b84

Update: This was fun! Thanks everyone for spending the afternoon with me. I’ll check in later today for any last minute questions. But if you want to learn more dishwashing tips (or any cleaning tips!), we've got plenty right here.

Hi Reddit, we’re expert advisors to Healthy Male — an Australian not-for-profit that provides evidence-based, easy-to-understand information on men’s health. We know that accurate and reliable health information can sometimes be hard to find, so we’re here to answer any questions you have on testicular health.

What’s normal, what’s not, common problems and what to do about something more serious.

Please keep in mind all answers are general in nature and are not a substitute for medical advice. 

Read our proof and a bit more about us and our specialties below.

Dr Gideon Blecher is an Australian qualified urologist and andrologist. He has completed several years of overseas fellowship subspeciality training, in both andrology as well as robotic oncology. Dr Blecher specialises in erectile dysfunction, penile prosthetic surgery, Peyronie’s disease, genital reconstruction, male infertility, male incontinence, testicular and penile lesions, as well as sexual dysfunction and general urology.

A/Prof Ben Tran is a Medical Oncologist at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia, where he leads the genito-urinary (GU) medical oncology team. He’s recognised as a global leader in testicular cancer, with research interest in immunotherapy approaches to GU cancers. 

Dr Filip Vukasin is a Melbourne-based doctor specialising in sexual and reproductive health, general practice and cosmetic medicine. He has worked as a medical journalist, writing for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners' website newsGP, and is a published author.

Edit: This AMA is now finished, thank you all for your interest! We've really enjoyed answering your questions and hope to see you all again soon. If there are any men's health topics you'd like to learn more about, head to the Healthy Male website for more information.

I have been a primary care optometrist for about 5 years now. I have seen patients ranging from 6 months to 100 years. I currently work in an optometry/ophthalmology clinic and my primary role within the group is management of post-operative patients. I cannot diagnose and treat via Reddit. Check us out @ https://www.YouTube.com/@frasereye

https://preview.redd.it/5v6i5k6g66ee1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf39ed4e56368b4cbf984c7ea94520e133cbc25a

https://preview.redd.it/cja7hohk70ee1.jpg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=84f6be08ca4633abbe84b82c3c9d9c21ba791dd6

I have been taking in customer work for 6 years. I have mounted almost 400 whitetail deer heads, which are the majority of my work, but I have also mounted a variety of critters from bears to squirrels, fish, birds, snakes and even a house cat. I also tan hides , sew rugs, and clean skulls (which isnt taxidermy, but is satisfying and lucrative).

And since I know someone’s going to ask, no Ive never mounted a person, could I? Of course, would I? I’d consider it, but the price would be well into 6 figures.

Ask me Anything!

You can see some pictures of my work on my fb page that is also my Proof www.facebook.com/tomahawktaxidermybyjaycottrell

https://old.reddit.com/r/politics/comments/1i2s9lu/im_richard_hall_a_senior_us_correspondent_for_the/?sort=new

Join my AMA will help you understand the future better, make better decisions and look at things differently, to say the least. As an author, I have had the opportunity to write multiple books, including Metaverse for Dummies, Quick Guide to Prompt Engineering and now Undisrupted. I also started making documentary films many years ago and now have a series on Amazon Prime. I am now an industry commentator on all tech areas and have appeared on CNN, BBC, Fox, Bloomberg and other media worldwide. I comment on news stories, including Elon Musk, Artificial Intelligence, Technologies and Industry futures. This AMA is about entrepreneurship, becoming unstoppable, pushing hard and taking steps to get where you need to be with the future in perspective, of course, with my unique experiences.

https://preview.redd.it/ap0k69b5f7de1.jpg?width=1113&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e0c49d56c95009010e7787b35b6cf0c6e65b74f1

From “enemy of the people” to “fake news,” President-elect Donald Trump has resumed attacking the press on social media using the same phrases and targets from his first term.

Our Trump Anti-Press Social Media Tracker catalogs posts in which he degrades journalists, news outlets or the news media as a whole. The dataset shows, for example, that during his 2015 candidacy and first presidential term, Trump posted more than 2,500 anti-press tweets — averaging more than one a day for 5 ½ years. 

Ahead of his second term, we’re continuing public documentation of his prolific online attacks against the press. Already, since Nov. 5, he’s issued nearly 20 swipes at news media and journalists — that’s about twice a week after winning the national presidential election.

Each post from Trump’s official account is reviewed to determine whether it fits into at least one of five categories: insult of an individual journalist or news outlet; denigration of the media as a whole; call for boycotting, firing or other action against a journalist or outlet; accusation of media bias; or attack of a leaker for sharing information with the press.

Our dataset relies on archives of Trump’s social media posts, using the Trump Twitter Archive for his first term and Trump’s Truth for the second.

Ask me anything about documenting these anti-press posts!

Proof:

https://i.imgur.com/LSv2BBf.jpeg

Hi! My name is Tanya Christian, and I cover all things sleep at Consumer Reports. I’m a senior multimedia content manager and have been an editor in the lifestyle space for over a decade. My deep understanding of the importance of sleep has made me passionate about helping people select the best products to optimize their sleep environment. 

What questions do you have about sleep products?

https://preview.redd.it/zhjwdf9zd6de1.jpg?width=1504&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29a5508a86672f61f79a1e4daa840c7b9bedf507

Thanks for all your questions. Check out our:

Guide to Better Sleep

Hi, I'm Lisa Valente! I have a master's degree in Nutrition Communications and I've been a Registered Dietitian for 15 years. You may recognize me from a previous AMA about meal prepping, and now I'm here to talk about goal setting and New Year's resolutions!

I love the energy people have with New Year's resolutions but so many of them are unrealistic or don't last.

I used to give up my favorite foods or plan to spend hours in the gym, but now I take a more goal-oriented approach and choose habits I know I can keep for longer than two weeks.
As a former heavy-duty resolution setter who wants to help people eat better and feel good ask me anything about healthy eating and hitting your goals! This AMA is for informational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice.

https://preview.redd.it/f8qm2r53yzce1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3c3e2bf2e00b153a75e193a42cce781b1fe3e17d

Proof: https://imgur.com/a/Lu5dTw6

Thank you for joining us today to chat about healthy eating during the new year — and all the time really. I had fun getting to chat with you all and answer questions about your goals.

The last time Trump won the presidency, we, at Freedom of the Press Foundation, were alarmed by the prospect that he’d file frivolous defamation suits and insult journalists from the bully pulpit. Those fears almost seem quaint now, but there is so much more at stake this time around.

Since his first term ended, Trump has called for journalists to be imprisoned and raped for not revealing their sources. He publicly fantasized about a mass shooting of journalists at one of his rallies. He wants to sic federal agencies on his perceived enemies, including reporters he doesn’t like.

Ask me anything about the road ahead for the fourth estate, freedom of the press, the First Amendment, and whistleblowing under Trump.

Proof:

https://i.imgur.com/XqnTeb2.jpeg

Picture Proof: https://imgur.com/a/FZ5Als8

Links of interest:

Dreams on a Pillow Crowdfunding page: https://www.launchgood.com/1948

PC Gamer on Dreams on a Pillow: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/palestinian-developer-raises-more-than-usd200-000-to-make-dreams-on-a-pillow-a-game-about-the-horrors-of-the-1948-nakba/

The Guardian on Dreams on a Pillow: https://www.theguardian.com/games/2025/jan/09/talking-about-the-palestinian-story-was-forbidden-a-developers-struggle-to-make-a-game-about-the-1948-nakba

Liyla and the Shadows of War on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/liyla-and-the-shadows-of-war/id1100839270

Liyla and the Shadows of War on itch.io: https://rasheedabueideh.itch.io/liyla-and-the-shadows-of-war

Edit: Thank you for all your questions. Time for me to sign-off!

Hi everyone,
I’m Lucid, and I’ve just released my debut novel Glances of Love. It’s a gripping psychological thriller meets dark romance, exploring the boundaries of love, obsession, and the human psyche.

The story follows Mareek Masood, a talented yet deeply flawed musician caught in a web of lies, murder, and his own haunting past. With mysterious characters like Max—an enigmatic figure only Mareek seems to know—and Sufiya, whose tragic love for Mareek drives the story, it’s a tale that tests the limits of morality and questions the cost of love.

Here’s a taste of what Glances of Love is about:

• Obsession and Betrayal: When does love turn into possession?
• Identity and Illusion: Can you trust your own mind?
• The Darkness Within: What secrets would you kill to protect?

This book is for anyone who loves stories that dig into the psychological, the mysterious, and the emotional.

I’d love to answer your questions about:

• The inspiration behind Glances of Love.
• Developing complex characters like Mareek and Max.
• How I wove themes of obsession, love, and morality into the narrative.
• What it takes to create a haunting story that lingers in readers’ minds.

You can check out Glances of Love here, but this AMA is all about connecting, so fire away your questions about the book, my process, or storytelling in general!

Looking forward to hearing from you all!

Over the past year, we published a series investigating the world of child Instagram influencers, almost all girls, who are managed by their parents. We found their accounts drew an audience of men, including pedophiles, and that Meta’s algorithms even steered children’s photos to convicted sex offenders. For us, the series revealed how social media and influencer culture were affecting parents’ decisions about their children, as well as girls’ thoughts about their bodies and their place in the world.

We cataloged 5,000 “mom-run” accounts, analyzed 2.1 million Instagram posts and interviewed nearly 200 people to investigate this growing and unregulated ecosystem. Many parents saw influencing as a résumé booster, but it often led to a dark underworld dominated by adult men who used flattering, bullying and blackmail to get racier or explicit images.

We later profiled a young woman who experienced these dangers first-hand but tried to turn them to her advantage. Jacky Dejo, a snowboarding prodigy and child-influencer, had her private nude images leaked online as a young teenager but later made over $800,000 selling sexualized photos of herself. 

Last month, we examined the men who groom these girls and parents on social media. In some cases, men and mothers have been arrested. But in others, allegations of sexual misconduct circulated widely or had been reported to law enforcement with no known consequences.

We also dug into how Meta’s algorithms contribute to these problems and how parents in foreign countries use iPhone and Android apps to livestream abuse of their daughters for men in the U.S. 

Ask us anything about this investigation and what we have learned.

Jen:
u/jenvalentino_nyt/
https://imgur.com/k3EuDgN

Michael:
u/mhkeller/
https://imgur.com/ORIl3fM

Hi everybody! Thank you so much for your questions, we're closing up shop now! Please feel free to DM Jen (u/jenvalentino_nyt/) and Michael (u/mhkeller/) with tips.

Edit at 12:26 p.m. ET: Thank you everyone for your questions! I need to step away.

I am going to take a wild guess and say it’s likely you receive a newsletter or two in your inbox every day. My job is to put together one for The Marshall Project — after reading through hundreds of online articles each day from various news publications that report on U.S. criminal justice, immigration, elections and democracy. From there, I pick out a few dozen of the smartest stories to highlight each day. We just passed the 2,500th edition of Opening Statement so, yeah, I’ve done an awful lot of curation (and shared tens of thousands of links).

I think of Opening Statement as a newspaper and myself as its editor. What a dream job! I get to read some of the best journalism in the world and then pick the best of it to pass along to readers, from top national news to regional reporting and commentary to more esoteric work. Sometimes, people even reach out to me with links.

I’ve always been interested in the news and how it is covered. I have old clippings from The Montreal Star and the Sunday Express. Framed front pages of historic newspapers hang on my walls. And I know that my happy career as a legal analyst was aided from beginning to end by my devotion to reading coverage of legal issues and topics. To be a good journalist is to be a curious reader of news, and books about news, and news about books that shed light on how the major topics of the day are covered.

The worlds of politics and law and media have changed dramatically since November 2014, when I curated my first Opening Statement edition. It’s been fascinating to watch it all change from my perch. (It’s like using a Dixie Cup to get water from a hydrant.) There has never been more smart coverage of criminal justice and immigration. But alarm bells should be sounding over the dearth of local news coverage in countless places across the U.S. Fewer local reporters means fewer stories about local police, or prosecutors, or prison officials. That’s bad news for everyone.

So ask me anything about Opening Statement, newsletter writing in general, or news coverage of criminal justice.

My proof

I’m Spencer Reynolds, senior counsel in the Liberty and National Security program at the Brennan Center for Justice. I push for strong protections of constitutional rights and for constraints on sweeping domestic programs. The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service, or FPS, is tasked with safeguarding federal property and the people on it, yet the little-known police agency is ripe for abuse and politicized targeting. President-elect Trump has made it clear that he will meet dissent with force, and the proposals in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 call on FPS to be a key player in this response. The incoming administration could exploit FPS’s legal authorities to deploy up to 90,000 specialized police, including Border Patrol special forces, onto U.S. streets.  

FPS suppressed racial justice demonstrators in Portland, Oregon, in 2020, and its sweeping intelligence operations have surveilled Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter activists, antivaccine trucker convoys, and people speaking out about abortion rights. Ask me anything about what we can expect from FPS during the second Trump administration and how we can preserve the right to protest. 

Learn more:

Inside the Federal Protective Service, Homeland Security’s Domestic Police Force 

The Little-Known Federal Agency That’s Primed to Crack Down on Dissent 

Proof

https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1hwm1qs/were_a_team_of_science_tech_journalists_covering/

for the past 10 years now (!) it's been an annual tradition to take your cheap flight questions.

background: in 2013 I got a flight from NYC to Milan on United for $130 nonstop roundtrip and posted about it on reddit. I kept getting requests from friends to let them know when I found another deal, so I started a simple email list first called Scott’s Cheap Flights, now called Going. today we've grown to millions of members and dozens of teammates, but even after a decade, helping people with cheap flights is still the best part of my job.

(it’s free to signup for cheap flights from your home airport, but honestly zero pressure—I’m here to answer questions from everyone, doesn’t matter if you’re a Going member.)

What’s new in cheap flights

here’s some stuff on my mind recently, but ask me anything about airfare/travel/hotels/car rentals—or whatever else.

• Japan deals
  • right now is the cheapest it's ever been to travel to Japan.
  • that's thanks to a big rebound in flight capacity between the US and Japan
  • and a historically strong dollar/weak yen (used to be ~100 yen/$; right now it's 158 yen/$)
  • new free connecting flights on Japan Airlines
• the best deals of 2024 (all roundtrip, not Spirit)
  • #1 Minneapolis to Dublin for $114 (mistake fare)
  • #2 LA to Finland for 19k points (lie-flat seats business class mistake fare)
  • #3 NYC to Rome for $195
  • #4 LA to Tokyo for $436
• my 2024 travel predictions (went 10/12)
• my 2025 travel predictions
  • between 3 and 7 mistake fares this year
  • flights will be less crowded as capacity outpaces demand
  • fewer cancellations but more delays (long-term average rates: 2% canceled, 20% delayed)
  • average airfare will increase modestly
• Going’s app
  • it’s free! And 10x better than email
  • thanks again to the thousands of redditors who helped us beta test the shit out of this
• when to book your flights
  • this is the most common question I get. when you don’t have flexibility on your travel plans, the best way to get a cheap flight is to book during a Goldilocks Window—not too early, not too late, right in the middle. not every flight is cheap then, but it’s when your odds of a cheap flight are highest.
  • Goldilocks Windows:
    • domestic (off-peak): 1-3 months in advance
    • domestic (peak): 3-6 months
    • international (off-peak): 2-8 months
    • international (peak): 4-10 months
• airfare myths
  • myth: clearing your cookies gets cheaper flights
    • false!! people are confusing airfare’s volatility with a sort-of Truman Show-style belief. (I’ve accepted I will be arguing this one til the day I die)
  • myth: flights are more expensive than they used to be
    • airfare today is 1% cheaper than it was on February 2020
    • adjusting for inflation, airfare is 19% cheaper than 5 years ago and 35% cheaper than 10 years ago

proof I’m Scott: imgur

proof I’m a professional cheap flight expert: Appearances last year on/in Good Morning America, Live with Kelly & Mark, NPR’s All Things Considered (a lifelong dream), New York Times, Washington Post. plus my 2021 book Take More Vacations.

love,
Scott

P.S. millions of subscribers know us as an email list, but the Going mobile app (iOS & Android) is honestly better. my favorite feature: being able to notify members immediately the next time a deal pops up from their home airport so they don't miss it before it disappears.

UPDATE (9:49am ET): RIP inbox. so many great questions! diligently working my way through them in chronological order. keep leaving questions/comments—you won't be ignored! just slightly delayed :) oh and Going members be sure to check your app/inboxes for that Spain deal—68 US airports with flights to Spain <$500 roundtrip, mostly on Delta.

UPDATE #2 (11:19am ET): sorry if I'm taking forever to get to your question—still going through them one by one and will be all day. big patience <3 since a number of you asked about 2025 plans at Going, one thing i can say is that we're working hard to improve the new Price Alerts feature so people with specific flights can make sure they're not overpaying. give it a spin if you haven't already and keep sending feedback so we can make it better! https://www.going.com/guides/how-to-set-airfare-price-alerts

UPDATE #3 (1:11pm ET): the cheap flight gods are smiling on us today! after the Spain $296+ RT deal, we just found/sent out a mistake fare for Elite members—$603 roundtrip to Europe in Premium Economy (usually $1500+). oh and still chugging through questions all day—thank you for your patience!

UPDATE #4 (4:33pm ET): still answering and will be all day!! there's a backlog queue of a few hours but keep leaving your questions and i'll get to them, promise

UPDATE #5 (7:54pm ET): gonna break for an hour or two to eat dinner and like, be a good dad. back to answer more questions after that though! keep em coming :)

UPDATE #6 (10:44PM ET): taking a little sleep. promise i'll be back in the morning answering any leftover questions from tonight. thanks so much for the amazing AMA day as usual y'all. here's to 10 amazing years together <3

UPDATE #7 (9:35am ET day 2): back at it. will answer your questions the rest of the day today too. thanks for being such awesome folks

UPDATE #8 (5:18pm ET day 2): alright that's a wrap. love you all, thanks for a fun 36 hours yall!!