Under The Influence
Pick Of The Week — 7th August 2025
This newsletter is a curated cornucopia featuring some of the best of Medium and Substack, and the wider world, rumoured to exist outside of these platforms.
Please note that given the impact of AI on the writing community, Eco has a stringent “No AI-content” policy, and will seek to actively avoid any articles we consider to be partly or fully generated by AI, and not feature authors believed to be using it in this way again. We are fully committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. In support of our aims and objectives, 10% of earnings from this series will be donated to Greenpeace.🌈
This newsletter is currently published free on Substack, but if you would like to support us, please do pay to subscribe.
Sponsors — a link to donors and paying Substack subscribers 🦄 will appear here:
Ecosia; The Environmental Transport Association; Mary Grindeland; Writer Chick With A Ukulele; Adéla Valčíková; Rob Moir
Pick of Medium – (advisory allergy note – may contain poetry)
Gracy Kelly explores the repercussions when we get real and push back against the influencers:
https://medium.com/gracetakesnotes/the-great-influencer-rebellion-d0f8884b1683
Maria Rattray discovers a “Library of Things” and the circular economy:
https://medium.com/the-daily-cuppa-grande/a-brilliant-initiative-1792bd6870bf
Stop whining, recommends Grace Kelly:
https://notesofgrace.medium.com/the-complaint-addiction-stop-whining-and-start-living-4f2629965209
DAIS calls for AI governance:
https://medium.com/@daisglobal/ai-needs-decentralized-governance-359c9834c08b
Neetu S is in hiding:
https://medium.com/quirky-rants/my-garden-is-not-mine-anymore-89ed7852a552
Pallvi is not faking it:
Carlo Zeno explores the night:
https://medium.com/catharsis-chronicles/night-b502cc081205
Adela Valcikova shares her summer playlist:
https://rocknheavy.net/the-july-loop-my-monthly-affair-with-melancholy-0103ce97d334
Marcus Musick pops in to visit an ex:
https://medium.com/never-stop-writing/where-have-i-been-lately-7a7356fd6cde
Attia Parveen explores the world of drop shipping and the different options:
Yoofi Biney shares a bewitching warning:
https://medium.com/the-springboard/please-give-ghanaian-witches-a-break-0b750f15cfa5
Pick of Substack:
Robin Wilding 💎explores the Gen Z stare phenomenon:
https://substack.com/home/post/p-170141991
Carlo Zeno peers through the social media fog:
Clare Stephens experiences the rudeness of strangers:
https://clarestephens1.substack.com/p/a-rude-stranger-a-note-from-a-neighbour/comments
James Lloyd explores the grief of lost love:
https://substack.com/home/post/p-169740166
Chris Patton survived nearly drowning:
Charles Bastille is bleeding hilarious:
Theo Priestley is moving on:
https://substack.com/home/post/p-169980652
Bin Jiang explores the shifting sand of social media:
Bette A Ludwig considers the pros and cons of AI in the education sector and daily life:
https://substack.com/home/post/p-167151079
The wider world:
The world has a worsening plastic crisis:
The most popular baby names for 2024 in the UK have been revealed:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgyznp615zo
A bit bored with Fido or Moggy? A Danish zoo may have the solution:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0r7z2ynd2lo
Otterly amazing:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn92xl9q4rro
Caffeine pouches are causing concern:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy8k8xgry98o
Chemicals are causing as much worry to scientists as climate change:
The row over the tension between free speech and sensible protection is heating up:
Frugal may be better when it comes to tech, suggests this article:
Discover the world of “micro-efficiencies”:
Political News
The Trump bandwagon rumbles on:
AI News
An interview with Demis Hassabis:
Martin Heiland-Sperling considers the issue of the political bias of different AI platforms:
https://medium.com/illumination/the-political-biases-of-artificial-intelligence-dee991463683
Life Hack of the Week –
Murphy’s Law explores the feeling of depression:
https://medium.com/the-memoirist/what-depression-can-feel-like-566b9a6f8e58
Quotes of the Week:
“A wounded deer leaps the highest” — Emily Dickinson
“Yesterday Mr. Hall wrote that the printer’s proofreader was improving my punctuation for me, and I telegraphed orders to have him shot without giving him time to pray.”
— Mark Twain 1889 — with thanks to Maryan Pelland
Joke of the Week:
(Health warning — swallow coffee before reading)
I went to see the acupuncturist this morning. I got home, and my voodoo doll was dead.
Did you know? Spotted dick
Carol Finch avoids all the jokes and exposes the truth:
https://medium.com/@carol.finch1/one-minute-facts-spotted-dick-f5d1a073dac8
Word of the Week: patronymic
patronymic –as a noun, this means a name derived from the name of a father or ancestor, e.g. Johnson, O’Brien, Ivanovich. As an adjective, it means denoting or relating to a name derived from the name of a father or male ancestor. The female equivalent word is matronymic.
Clip of the Week: Dragonflies swarm beachgoers
https://medium.com/eco-news/under-the-influence-0d08c9f1afc5?sk=dec727b3fc5c3f6ab557227d3159471a
As always, thank you for reading, and enjoy your day.
Surely those top names,,especially the baby boys are from English families. Quite alarming than other cultures are taking over.
Thank you for the mention, John!