This spring I'm working with @offassignment.bsky.social on an online class about writing rage. Dan, Maggie, Ashley, and Carmen are going to help me. Their work has kept me from launching myself into the sun. Come join us.

today, a federal judge ordered the release of 615 people wrongfully abducted by ICE / CBP from june to october (yay!). as if they haven't already been through enough trauma and violence, they each still have to pay a $1500 bond (aka ransom & extortion) (boo!). donate here twd the $900K+ in bond:

i’m ready for something different than whatever the fuck this is

I know quite a few comrades on the ACA exchange. I used to be on the exchange for years. A doubling or tripling of premium costs will be a death sentence for people who NEED HEALTH INSURANCE to survive. PERIOD. We've heard Democrats say as much for WEEKS. So what the hell??????

With appearances by @britticisms.bsky.social, @zoezolbrod.bsky.social, Gina Frangello, @meganstielstra.bsky.social, and the all-star band of @marydeereynolds.bsky.social, Amalea Tshilds, @beanatitagain.bsky.social, Angela James, L. Wyatt, Julie Pomerleau & Jeanine O'Toole.

One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Ellis says she sees a Chicago where neighbors "have shown up for each other .. standing watch to protect the most vulnerable among us."

Ellis starting the day off by reading out Carl Sandburg's poem "Chicago" in its entirety.

When operation midway blitz started, the term “detained” was used to describe federal agents taking ppl. There has been a shift in the language being used among rapid responders and Chicagoans. Abduction/kidnapped feels more accurate bc there are no warrants, no badged agents, no due process.

Another world is possible, if we fight for it

The lesson here is have good principles and stand on them. Stand for something that isn't power!

It's publication day for Read This When Things Fall Apart! So grateful to our contributors and to @akpress.org for making this book a reality. This is a strange time to be promoting a book, but I believe it's a text that has the potential to help us right now. Please get yourself a copy. ❤️

Teen Vogue took young people seriously. It's impossible to overstate how important, how rare, and how profoundly needed that is.

gonna do this

"My Grandma would want me to fight them." I have loved Lynda Barry cartoons for 40 years. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/31/o...

Nearly 2 million people in Illinois could lose SNAP benefits starting Saturday. Here's a list of food pantries in Chicago & the suburbs if you're looking to donate or you need extra food. tinyurl.com/2zxvrxx5

We can write about it.

“Chicago is the future.“ @joseolivarez.bsky.social for @chicagomag.com

Food bank director: “for every meal that a food bank provides, the SNAP program provides nine. There’s no way we can meet that gap.”

Here's for Chicago & Cook County: www.chicagosfoodbank.org/find-food-2/

I’m starting to appreciate the extent to which all of Chicago is a frayed nerve right now

15 US states and territories have formed a new Public Health Alliance, which will counter the absence of federal leadership by tracking outbreaks, issuing guidance, buying vaccines and more. Members of the new alliance include CA, CO, CT, DE, GU, HI, IL, MD, MA, NJ, NY, NC, OR, RI, WA.

Did you know that if you buy my book on Amazon, Jeff Bezos makes 5 times as much as I do on each copy sold? Sharing some behind-the-scenes book math on why buying directly from presses is best for EVERYONE (except Bezos) in my newsletter today! aubreyhirsch.substack.com/p/book-math

If Congress doesn't act, costs will rise on premiums for health care plans on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. Here's what to know about the politics and real-world impact of this issue.

"What holds this city together is not a frigid fear. What holds this city together is a million different kindnesses every day. That’s what makes Chicago.”

I just really fucking love Chicago.

Attention translators and friends and lovers of translators! The 2026 Humanities in Translation (Hit!) Prize Competition is now open. Deadline Jan. 16. nupress.northwestern.edu/humanities-i...

A food aid program that helps more than 6 million low-income mothers and young children will run out of federal money within two weeks unless the government shutdown ends, forcing states to use their own money to keep it afloat or risk it shutting down. https://to.pbs.org/46WeNDp

So yes, keep posting your beautiful food, park, neighborhood, and lakefront pictures. Keep sharing the horrifying news stories. Keep sharing the coexistence of it all.

Some context that I think gets lost by calling people here "protesters." Strictly true that they were protesting. But this was neighborhood. Almost all of it was people who came out of their houses and pleaded to stop using gas because there were kids in houses/yards in the blocks off Kedzie.

My theatre home, my dearest friends and art family, Maggie's beautiful writing and brave heart, and Kerry Reid putting it just right, as usual. So, so much to love. #Gift

I wrote about the dangerous fantasy of the civility framework in political discourse. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/o...

This is such a nuanced and big-hearted piece on the evolution of autism as a diagnosis, by an anthropologist of mental health who is also the dad of a now-grown daughter on the spectrum. Great reading (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/o...

If you haven’t already, now is the perfect time to start building your indie shit

Periplus, a mentorship collective serving US-based early-career writers of color, is now accepting applications for our 2026 class of fellows! Apply by 9/20: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... You can learn more about Periplus (including fellowship eligibility requirements) here: bit.ly/periplusfaq

… pause and check before reposting. Look for local media outlets and independent journalists with a track record of fact-checking info and making corrections if they get stuff wrong.

“We are the words of Sandburg and Algren and Brooks and Wright.”

Chicago mayor says police will not aid federal troops or agents reut.rs/3JFTTjS

NEW — Black organizers and elected leaders gathered today to denounce Trump’s threats to send military forces to Chicago. They are developing a 30-day emergency response plan, which includes establishing mutual aid hubs and Know Your Rights training sessions. thetriibe.com/2025/08/blac...

Let’s make books. ❤️

Gift: www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

The amount of AI slop writers are submitting as prose for editorial consideration is so incredibly dispiriting. It's just... so bad.

say it again: 4 million people work in higher ed, the largest employer in 10 states, second largest employer in 10 more, and in 60 of the 100 biggest cities demolishing higher education is economic sabotage

AAAAAAAAAAHH

i wrote about the amazing new Sinead O'Connor anthology for Salon. it is absolutely a celebration of life, both Sinead's and each of the writers: www.salon.com/2025/08/05/a...

Mr. Rogers successfully defending The Corporation for Public Broadcasting from a threatened $20 million budget cut (67% of their funding) in 1969.

Trump’s funding freeze for Northwestern is already devastating staff and research capabilities. That’s the point. That’s why it’s more important than ever for Democrats to fight for educational institutions, their workers, and their students: www.chicagotribune.com/2025/07/29/n...

More and more this seems like the book of the year both because it's wonderful and because its message is so crystal clear. bookshop.org/p/books/one-...