The Weekly Wrap: September 14, 2025

On Friday, my library hosted a webinar on digital privacy. My colleague provided all the information for the event and I ended up adding a few items to my own to-do list. Protecting your digital privacy is an on-going thing and I have let some tasks slip through the cracks. It's scary just how much our devices and various companies know about us.

Here are some quick tips to give yourself a digital privacy check-up:

• Turn off location tracking for apps that don't need it
• Enable two-factor authentication for EVERYTHING
• Change your passwords regularly (and set a reminder to do it)
• Set up and use a password manager
• Consider making your social media accounts private (or at least limiting who sees what)
• Google yourself to see what comes up when people look for your name
• Review app permissions and limit which apps can have access to which information
• Turn on spam call/text blocking
• Update your device software and apps regularly
• Clear browser cookies and history regularly
• Avoid using public Wi-Fi without a VPN
• Delete old accounts you no longer use

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​Most importantly, be careful about which personal information you share online. You'd be surprised how much information people can get from a single photo posted on Instagram.

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• A look at Trump's hyperbole. [AP]
• I could go for a secondhand only mall. [Next City]
• Job searching and AI is dispiriting for everyone involved. [The Atlantic - gift link]
• I immediately followed this photographer after this roundup. [PetaPixel]
• Cosign these suggestions for what to do with the photos you took this summer. [AP]

• Teamwork matters. [The Indicator]
• What it takes to convince ourselves. [Hidden Brain]
• Tacos all the way down. [Gastropod]
• Will AI replace or augment your work? [Planet Money]
• Strength training - it's good. And not as hard to do as you think. [Try This]

• Making papyrus. [Business Insider]
• After watching the documentary Apollo 13: Survival, I'm surprised the astronauts made it home at all. It took a remarkable amount of teamwork, expertise, and pure luck to bring Apollo 13 home. I enjoyed how much they also looked at the families on the ground. This is a great documentary that feels like a movie. Speaking of the movie, I can now say it was pretty historically accurate. [Netflix]
• We finished watching the three-part documentary series The Chernobyl Disaster. I wouldn't say it contained revelatory information, but the scale and detail was interesting. It put the disaster in far richer context - which made it all the more scary. Also, the final episode discusses how the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict is endangering the plant. [Amazon Prime]

• We had a loaf of garlic bread in the freezer I wanted to use, so I made oven baked fish with tomatoes. I remembered to fully defrost the fish this time so it did not take forever to cook in the oven. I like this recipe because it's simple and the tomato topping gives a nice oomph to an otherwise light meal. [Budget Bytes]
• At the end of the week, I tossed together a surprisingly quick ground pork stir-fry. I love dishes that have minimal chopping. In this recipe, it was just the green onions - and I probably could have skipped that if I was feeling exceptionally lazy. I did add sriracha on top because the Thai chili sauce wasn't quite spicy enough. [The Kitchn]
• For my lunch meal prep, I cooked skillet orzo with corn, tomatoes, and feta. It was fine. Didn't travel as well as I thought it would. I ate it cold and, by the time it was lunch the pasta was a bit dry. I think it needed a sauce or dressing of some sort. [WaPo]