7. Sadistic Animal Abuse and Human Violence: ‘The Link’. Rethinking long duration grievance.

What we know about the link between sexual sadistic torture of animals and violence toward human victims. Also, new thought on grievance, and how it may appear over time, is worth a look.

6. The paradox of strangulation in IPV homicide prevention. And as expected, the NLRB goes back to a burden shifting framework for dealing with threats.

For a long time it seemed like strangulation was a sort of beacon to flag IPV cases at high risk of homicide. New research tells a different story. Also, new clarity about the way most private sector employers can respond to menacing or threatening behavior by employees.

5. Incels, misogyny, and violence: what we learn from the latest research. Also, how well AI chatbots performed in response to emotional distress + delusion

2026 was a busy year for published research about incels and violence; I parse out the most practical. AI chatbots are all over the map in how well they handle emotional distress framed by delusion, and here are the latest data.

4. The failed prosecution of Dr. Ebony Parker and why we shouldn't read too much into it. Also, a risk assessment tool for elder abuse.

Dissecting the dismissal of charges against school official accused of child neglect in relation to a school shooting. And a look at the HOPE - the Harm to Older Persons Evaluation risk assessment tool.

3. New data on mass killing contagion: Is it a "thing" or not?

A new study tries to reconcile opposing views on contagion. Also, a noteworthy but minor narrowing of a BTAM tool by the US Supreme Court, and a policy move by OpenAI with public safety implications.