An economic historian writes essays on South Africa's economic past, present and future, drawing on his own archival research on the Cape Colony. Recent issues examine the role of academic conferences, AI in research and universities, and a language model's critique of one of his own published tables.

Critical, research-informed commentary on AI's impact on work, institutions and open source, including close readings of industry reports from Deloitte and the WEF. Readers get an expert's analysis of methodology, framing and structural implications rather than headline summaries.

Jesse Stommel writes about ungrading, critical digital pedagogy and the harms of conventional assessment, drawing on his teaching experience and on his book Undoing the Grade. Readers get reflective, research-informed essays on rethinking grades, equity and care in education.

Benjamin Ryan's investigative newsletter reports on text recycling and academic misconduct, focusing on Philip Vickerman's thesis and book overlaps tied to the Jason Arday scandal. Readers get documented, detailed reporting with appendices of evidence and follow-up on university accountability.