Plagiarism And Whirlwind

31 Jul 2026 • 1 min read

Since Sunday, the Substack blogging platform has been breaking all incoming links with a ?ref parameter, a standard part of how publications see who shared links to their sites. The issue has been reported to Substack through multiple channels, but so far they have been either unwilling or unable to fix it. This has caused incoming links to Substack publications from around the web to break, unfortunately including several links from this week's Browser newsletters. Please report all broken links to Substack; we are hoping Substack will resolve this issue so as not to further harm the independent publishers using their platform. In the meantime, you may be able to fix individual links on Substack by following the process here.

On Plagiarism

Terry Eagleton | UnHerd | 30th July 2026

All language is second-hand; that's why we know what it means. Today, we set great store on utter originality, but it was not always so. In neo-classical times, "an imitation of Homer or Horace might be deemed far more precious than an artistic creation of one’s own. Originality was the preserve of the Almighty, who could conjure his handiwork out of nothing as no mere mortal could" (1,800 words)

Puzzle: Play Nomido, the Browser’s daily word game.

Reaping The Whirlwind

Admiral Cloudberg | Medium | 30th July 2026

Book-length analysis of the January 2025 collision above the Potomac River between an airliner and a helicopter. The level of detail is astonishing, as is the emerging argument that the disaster was entirely foreseeable. "The dangers created by the interlocking web of commercial, military, and political interests surrounding National Airport were evident to those who had to work there every day" (51,000 words)

Want more? The full Browser recommends five outstanding articles, a video and a podcast daily, for less than $1 a week.

Get The Full Browser Experience

On Plagiarism

Reaping The Whirlwind

Get the free daily newsletter