James Austin's Avatar

James Austin

@jamestaustin.com

Staff Writer for Wirecutter, covering hobbies and games. Let's talk about dice and meeples!

380
Followers
817
Following
349
Posts
22.06.2023
Joined
Posts Following

Latest posts by James Austin @jamestaustin.com

just keep in mind we don't know how much trade off there is on one lap vs race pace yet

07.03.2026 05:31 πŸ‘ 28 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 0

Let’s a-go (to court)

06.03.2026 18:42 πŸ‘ 35 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

BTW it is EXTREMELY common for academic papers to declare Lara Croft the first playable female game character (a very easy fact to debunk). As a grad student I wrote a paper that traced every appearance of this "fact" to a single paper, which is why you don't only engage with academic texts!!

04.03.2026 21:21 πŸ‘ 1454 πŸ” 386 πŸ’¬ 34 πŸ“Œ 15
Preview
Start a career powered by passion World’s Largest Fan-Generated Entertainment & Gaming Platform | Fandom Fandom’s brands help fans get more out of the entertainment and games they love,…

Hello, @gamespot.com is hiring a new Associate Commerce Editor. This is a full-time, salaried position. You would be working with me (the Commerce Editor) and primarily be writing/editing/curating buying guides and best-of roundups. Full details in the job listing: about.fandom.com/careers/list...

04.03.2026 17:06 πŸ‘ 36 πŸ” 32 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1

I agree with this. I've seen enough of my coding friends' eyes pop out of their heads when they realize what Claude can do to believe that programmers have an exciting new tool. (con't)

04.03.2026 17:23 πŸ‘ 164 πŸ” 12 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 1

Walking or cycling even occasionally will radicalize you against right turns on red almost immediately. At any intersectionβ€” even and especially the busy onesβ€” you will observe countless drivers who do not completely stop before rolling or speeding through. And they are not looking for pedestrians.

04.03.2026 15:49 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
β€˜You’re killing her!’: Witnesses recount horrific Mission Bay crash where 2-year-old died Bystanders tried to lift an SUV after its driver pinned a mother and child in Mission Bay, say witnesses.

Unpopular opinion but turning right at a red light should not be legal in San Francisco (or anywhere else). Right on red makes horrors like this all too possible. sfstandard.com/2026/03/03/m...

04.03.2026 15:39 πŸ‘ 215 πŸ” 35 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 20

One of the crimes of AI has been the destruction of the beautiful "my nephew made this logo for me on his computer!" energy from all the hyper-local plumbers and taco shops. AI slop on white work vans is a crime against humanity.

03.03.2026 18:02 πŸ‘ 1414 πŸ” 438 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 1

I think about this take more often than I'd like to.

04.03.2026 02:39 πŸ‘ 5160 πŸ” 1177 πŸ’¬ 15 πŸ“Œ 8

That looks like one of the versions that was run off the Stone copper engraving of the original Declaration: www.archives.gov/publications...

If it's an original Stone facsimile (there are only a few dozen left) than the curtain would be useful to prevent fading in the sunny Oval Office.

03.03.2026 23:09 πŸ‘ 23 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

They should do a VEEP style show all about the PR and media teams around F1 teams. So many walk and talks between a driver and media person just being like β€œwell, if you say that you’ll sound like a jerk so…”

<this is a Drive to Survive skeet>

03.03.2026 03:16 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism vs. No It Won’t George W. Bush may think that a war against Iraq is the solution to our problems, but the reality is, it will only serve to create far more.

This War Will Destabilize The Entire Mideast Region And Set Off A Global Shockwave Of Anti-Americanism vs. No It Won’t

28.02.2026 15:54 πŸ‘ 10273 πŸ” 2809 πŸ’¬ 92 πŸ“Œ 136

I can't explain why but it's giving this energy:

27.02.2026 15:11 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

If you read one piece about Snowball-gate make it this piece, because it gets at the heart of what Mayor Mamdani cannot avoid for much longerβ€”a direct confrontation with the NYPD, or admitting that the elected leader of NYC has no power over it.

26.02.2026 17:01 πŸ‘ 314 πŸ” 60 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 3
Preview
Mamdani Is Getting Snowballed by His Own NYPD The situation is absurd. The stakes are real.

Just underneath the absurdity lies one of the most volatile fault lines in city politics: The rift between elected government on the one hand, and the political power of the NYPD and the constellation of interests with which it is aligned on the other.

hellgatenyc.com/mamdani-is-g...

26.02.2026 16:59 πŸ‘ 562 πŸ” 150 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 20

Poem in the Shape of the Poet Beating Henry Kissinger to Death with Their Bare Hands by Felix

25.02.2026 17:47 πŸ‘ 5305 πŸ” 1936 πŸ’¬ 28 πŸ“Œ 69

I continue to maintain that the video game industry and game design in general are fundamental concepts to understanding the entire modern era, from social media to politics, and gambling markets are one crucial example of why

any news outlet neglecting video game coverage is neglecting readers

25.02.2026 21:27 πŸ‘ 105 πŸ” 33 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2

Brief follow up and #GoRoyals: bsky.app/profile/roya...

24.02.2026 21:30 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

So happy baseball is back if for no other reason then my Bluesky timeline is filling up with videos of random dingers.

24.02.2026 21:25 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
It Only Tuesday

It Only Tuesday

It Only Tuesday https://theonion.com/it-only-tuesday-1819569397/

24.02.2026 20:43 πŸ‘ 6842 πŸ” 1822 πŸ’¬ 78 πŸ“Œ 105
Graphic of potential worst case snow fall scenarios: 32" at JFK, 28" at Central Park, 32" on Long Beach, NJ.

Graphic of potential worst case snow fall scenarios: 32" at JFK, 28" at Central Park, 32" on Long Beach, NJ.

Weather Service has put out top-end (a 10% chance of happening) for this blizzard and whew boy. Whew. Boy. www.weather.gov/media/okx/DS...

22.02.2026 03:30 πŸ‘ 53 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 1
Silver car on city street surrounded by low pile of snow.

Silver car on city street surrounded by low pile of snow.

black car on city street surrounded by low pile of snow.

black car on city street surrounded by low pile of snow.

Any car that hasn't moved in the period between the last storm ending and the next storm beginning should immediately be towed, stripped of hazardous materials, and dumped into the Atlantic Ocean to become artificial reefs like they do with old subway cars.

21.02.2026 23:46 πŸ‘ 1285 πŸ” 163 πŸ’¬ 15 πŸ“Œ 20

there's a discworld humble bundle to get 35 of the books with a $16 minimum contribution

21.02.2026 22:00 πŸ‘ 241 πŸ” 90 πŸ’¬ 18 πŸ“Œ 5
Post image

THIS IS NOT A DRILL

YOU CAN GET EVERY DISCWORLD TOME ON EBOOK FOR LESS THAN THE COST OF A SUBWAY FOOTLONG COMBO.

USUALLY GETTING EVERY SINGLE BOOK LEGALLY IS LIKE 400+

NOT.

A.

DRILL.

www.humblebundle.com/books/terry-...

17.02.2026 20:42 πŸ‘ 2918 πŸ” 2155 πŸ’¬ 100 πŸ“Œ 165

Every day I am filled with hate because my heart overflows with my love of the computer. aftermath.site/ram-prices-h...

19.02.2026 19:14 πŸ‘ 4004 πŸ” 1271 πŸ’¬ 36 πŸ“Œ 62

One of the things that personally drives me crazy in the U.S. is how youth sports/athletic activities went from a part of the public good (municipal leagues and fields! rec centers! public parks!) to a privatized, expensive, highly competitive, highly structured pursuit for wealthy kids’ rΓ©sumΓ©s

19.02.2026 17:20 πŸ‘ 9284 πŸ” 2111 πŸ’¬ 219 πŸ“Œ 186
18.02.2026 23:26 πŸ‘ 4647 πŸ” 1254 πŸ’¬ 10 πŸ“Œ 4
The question of our time is how do you artistically rebel β€” and win β€” against a totally flat cultural landscape? And before my readers, who I assume are all approximately 36 years old and very tired, say, β€œso what, who cares?” This does matter. I mean, just look around right now lol. You know things are bad when even OpenAI President Greg Brockman is posting stuff, like β€œTaste is a new core skill.” If people had taste, your company wouldn’t exist, Greg.

But if everything is just attention now, and attention is completely commodified by algorithmic tech platforms, how can you push back against that? Well, I am slowly coming around to a theory on the new cool: You have to essentially pre-deplatform yourself. 

Culture right now is determined not by human teams of editors and producers picking and choosing what youth culture gets the spotlight, but, instead, by the unthinking algorithms that power YouTube and TikTok. Which means the only things that have the level of scarcity and danger required to be seen as cool by young people will, slowly, but surely, be whatever is unacceptable on those platforms.

The question of our time is how do you artistically rebel β€” and win β€” against a totally flat cultural landscape? And before my readers, who I assume are all approximately 36 years old and very tired, say, β€œso what, who cares?” This does matter. I mean, just look around right now lol. You know things are bad when even OpenAI President Greg Brockman is posting stuff, like β€œTaste is a new core skill.” If people had taste, your company wouldn’t exist, Greg. But if everything is just attention now, and attention is completely commodified by algorithmic tech platforms, how can you push back against that? Well, I am slowly coming around to a theory on the new cool: You have to essentially pre-deplatform yourself. Culture right now is determined not by human teams of editors and producers picking and choosing what youth culture gets the spotlight, but, instead, by the unthinking algorithms that power YouTube and TikTok. Which means the only things that have the level of scarcity and danger required to be seen as cool by young people will, slowly, but surely, be whatever is unacceptable on those platforms.

A post so smart I'm almost afraid to share it.

www.garbageday.email/p/the-only-t...

18.02.2026 19:22 πŸ‘ 3869 πŸ” 779 πŸ’¬ 122 πŸ“Œ 86
Preview
Love Can Look Like Anything, Even Marriage Comedian and writer Josh Gondelman on choosing a "structurally vanilla" life.

The nice people at Playboy asked me to write something about the good parts about being married, and I was happy to. :)

16.02.2026 17:33 πŸ‘ 885 πŸ” 76 πŸ’¬ 41 πŸ“Œ 58