Weather Report #45: Downfall of Oranges and AI Conspiracy Theories

Hello, dear reader! Welcome to your Weather Report, a weekly column where I recommend some articles, a book, a movie, and some music for readers to consume.

Here's what you're getting this week:

1. Watch my mini-documentary on the Chinese community in Puerto Rico
2. Essays, articles, and columns about: the downfall of the orange and time travelling AI
3. A classic sci-fi book about the impossibility of communicating with a truly alien species
4. Three experimental short films
5. Three songs I've been jamming to lately

If you're interested in seeing the recommendations – and supporting Heavy Weather's quest to keep tabs on collapse – you can become a paid subscriber by clicking the button below. Paid subscribers get access to the MEDIA LIST, a comprehensive list of every book, movie, and video game I've ever recommended. If you're already a paid subscriber, thank you very much! This newsletter would literally not be possible without your support.

What I Did This Week:

On Friday, 9 Millones released the second of three mini-documentaries about Puerto Rico's immigrant communities that we've been working on for the past few months. This one is about Puerto Rico's Chinese community and their history on the archipelago. It's a story that's been told before, but we wanted to dive into it and tell it in a way that's accessible and people-first. And I'm really glad to say that we've received really positive feedback from everyone involved, as well as other members of the community. Unlike the Dominican mini-documentary, which talked about how Trump's immigration crackdown has affected a single family, this one focused on the community more broadly, focusing on telling the story of how they came to Puerto Rico, and how they've become part of the Puerto Rican identity.

Watch it below or on Youtube.

Also, I'm suing the Puerto Rico Police for records about Operation Stonegarden, a little-known federal grant program that helps police collaborate with immigration enforcement without signing 287(g) agreements.

Why I’m Suing the Puerto Rico Police

Although the Puerto Rico Police Department received more than a quarter-million dollars between 2022 and 2024 from a little-known border security grant, it failed to respond to a records request for documents related to the grant, prompting me to file a mandamus lawsuit against the department on Monday.

The Latino NewsletterCarlos Berríos Polanco

That's it for this week's free stuff. If you want to see the media recommendations and the link roundup, you can become a paid subscriber today.