Today’s headlines

Quote of the day

“Tech companies used to be very focused on supporting women, but now they’ve gone completely in the opposite direction. Supporting women in tech is controversial. It’s becoming political. It’s becoming more risky.”

Startup founder Sarah Mauskopt explains why the cancellation of the Grace Hopper Celebration, one of the largest gatherings of women in tech, was such a big blow. Read more at Bloomberg. I will report it.

One more thing

Inside the experimental world of animal infrastructure

In the mid-2000s, a toad met a tragic end near Ede, a leafy old town in the Netherlands. Residents responded by building wildlife tunnels beneath roads so animals could safely reach breeding ponds.

Wildlife crossings became popular. But a few years later, researchers discovered that the local toad population had plummeted from more than 10,000 to fewer than 1,000.

The case reflects a broader global movement to build wildlife crossings and other forms of “animal infrastructure.” But do these projects actually help animal populations recover? Read the full article to find out more.

—Matthew Ponsford

We still have good things

A place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten your day. Have an idea? Please contact me.

• Check out this podcast about the incredible and mysterious powers of fungi.
• A simple habit for a four-year-old boy—waving to his neighbors—is transforming his community.
• From treehouses to geodesic domes, these homes show what happens when people live in them. Build outside the rules.
• Remember when the internet was created by humans? Explore the Human Web Museum, a playful archive of those days.