The chillest dude on the internet speaks out
Weekend Reads for January 31, 2026: Getting you up to speed on the week that was
Happy Saturday, Ink readers! After a week of general strikes and pushback against ICE, you may have missed a few things — but no worries, we’ve been doing some research. In today’s edition of Weekend Reads:
How consulting firms and credit agencies steal healthcare dollars
How did a DJ end up providing scams as a service?
Want something done? Put a veteran punk on the case
How a glassblower fires up science
What taking care of immigrant neighbors really looks like
Can a rescue dog save your life?
Meeting the man who sets the Doomsday Clock
How the feds broke the law to arrest Don Lemon
Life under drone warfare
A full review of Melania
Words for Minneapolis from poet Carolyn Forché
And music from the late guitar innovator Kazuhito Yamashita
We hope you’ll put some time aside today to read along with us.
We can’t do what we do without the support of our subscribers. If you haven’t yet joined The Ink, sign up today — when you do, you help us keep the lights on, and you build the independent media you want to read.
Scamming as a service
When asked, Holman told his family the money came from “consultancy work for a computer company”. Given his technical background, they mostly believed him. But when he began paying for his own flat while still a student, doubts crept in. “How is he affording that?” one family member wondered.
By then, the answer was already travelling across Europe. [Dispatch]



