Please forgive the late arrival of this issue of the recap. I probably don’t need to tell you there’s a lot going on right now. I put together some of my thoughts on it all over the weekend, and what the latest US act of aggression means for how we think about dependence on US tech companies going into 2026 (in addition to many other things). It’s hard not to feel the illegal invasion of a country in the opening days of the new year doesn’t set a great tone for what’s to come over the next few hundred days. Here’s hoping I’m wrong!

In the dying days of 2025, I wrote a piece that I hoped would set the tone for some of the issues I’ll be focusing on this year. Obviously, digital sovereignty and the geopolitics of technology is going to remain a focus — but I also want to look more into whether it makes sense to pull back a bit on the extent of digitization we’ve accepted over the past decade or so and think a bit more intentionally about the technologies we’re surrounding ourselves with.

While it’s not the only part of that agenda, I think the case to get off US tech as much as possible only got stronger seeing the actions of the Trump administration in Venezuela and the way it’s now talking about how it intends to use its power. It’s probably no coincidence that my guide to getting off US tech has been received a lot of attention in recent days, such that I put in some effort to update and expand it. Take a look at it yourself, and feel free to share it around to encourage people in your life to start make some changes too.

With all that said, some great stories in this recap, including fantastic pieces on libraries as video rental stores, the scourge of betting platforms, and why we need to think more about maintenance than building. Plus, plenty of other important stories, labor updates, and news you might have missed.

One of my favorites that I look forward to every year: how much crypto North Korean hackers have been able to make off with. In 2025, it was $2 billion — a new record. I salute them!

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Hopefully you had a good break, and 2026 turns out better than it’s looking from this vantage point!

— Paris

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