On January 6, 2021 I was an anchor for NBC News. I watched helplessly as my colleagues were in mortal danger at the United States Capitol. How do we prevent that from happening again?

*sigh* Damn it.

Serious question: I keep hearing from folks who are mad at what they consider softball news coverage. What would you prefer, truly? Anyone can express outrage. A handful of people have carefully cultivated enough access to reveal what’s going on behind closed doors. How do we balance those things?

Sen. Cory Booker posted video of the 60 Minutes segment Bari Weiss pulled, detailing cruel conditions that migrants were subjected to in the Salvadoran prison CECOT. The piece was pulled in the US but aired on Global, a network in Canada. youtu.be/jiehEMlNiCI?...

Making progress. Little by little. 2026 is gonna be a VERY interesting year.

Read now, and last chance to vote for my project’s new logo:

My debate project is coming together. Help me pick a logo! Vote for your favorite design here: ⬇️ forms.gle/jugjYCGqj2xm...

Cyber Monday plan: invest in books to be more insightful, impactful, persuasive and wise. MY CURRENT FAVES: amzn.to/3UI0MTU

Cyber Monday plan: invest in books to be more insightful, impactful, persuasive and wise. MY CURRENT FAVES: amzn.to/3UI0MTU

My father just died. We were never close. He never really understood or accepted me, though he was very proud of my accomplishments. I’m not sure how to feel right now… I hope his eloquence, diligence & studiousness will live on in me. Good bye, Dad. I know you did the best you could. Be at peace.

Just in case!

Hey there! I’m using this profile to: 🎁 share my new work, 📺 critique the media & demand better, 🇺🇸 envision a nation free of political violence and cronyism, ❤️ give encouraging insights, and 😆 share fun things that light me up. Hang in there. We’ll make it! TIP JAR ➡️ tr.ee/YErUTD

PUB DAY for DICTIONARY

This is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. And yes, I would absolutely do this in a heartbeat. (If I knew how!) Funny: I find myself getting more adventurous as I get older. Not reckless, just intrepid. Is that weird? 😄

I’m a former MSNBC anchor. Now that it’s changed to @ms.now I have a suggestion to overcome its past failures: stop being so grim. Try this instead.

News Editor’s Note: please don’t refer to July 4, 2026 as “America’s 250th Birthday”. The Declaration of Independence was signed six years after the Boston Massacre (March 5, 1770), so hostilities were well underway. Our Constitution wasn’t signed until 1787. America didn’t originate in 1776.

Kyle is a very dear friend of mine. Please read this true and loving account of how demonic these secret police are who conduct “immigration enforcement” in Chicago nowadays.

WATCH (5 mins.)

LOVING the new ad from The Onion lampooning the pseudo-debate stylings of the YouTube channel @jubileemedia.bsky.social. I shared my critique of their style in this week’s livestream (next in this thread)

Join me at the top of the hour!

NEW PROJECT LIVESTREAM (Mon., Nov. 3, 8p ET)! Here are 4 slides from my presentation. Can you guess what it is? Join me and find out! youtube.com/live/6HMVsET...

LIVE STREAM, MONDAY NOV 3, 8P ET Political violence has gone too far. Little is being done to prevent it nationwide... so let's do it ourselves. Join me as I lay out my new project: a game to encourage smart, honest debate in America. Let’s all help protect democracy, one argument at a time.

It’s time to stop political violence before it starts: by helping Americans talk it out, not shoot it out. I’d love your help.

Seen in Chicago tonight.

The slow, steady erosion of journalism and press freedom hurts more than just our liberty. It hurts our sense of community. I’d miss this kind of connection if it all went away. Wouldn’t you?

I’m really proud of the diverse stories we told at NBC News. I’ve linked two of my bigger projects below. When the political tide turns back toward inclusion - and it will - Comcast will regret this move.

Madagascar and Nepal just ousted their heads of state after weeks of Gen Z protests. Morocco has also been rocked by protests. I firmly believe in dialogue and debate, but direct action has power too. America taught the world to do it, and the world has learned well. www.reuters.com/world/africa...

Thoughts on today’s Chicago Marathon, about the power of being on the sidelines: open.substack.com/pub/nightlig...

Oliver Darcy is a reputable journalist covering the media industry. His reporting is disheartening, but not surprising. We’re gonna have to build some new news organizations to replace these, sooner or later. …Anyone wanna help me do it?😎

If you love screwball, absurd comedy, treat yourself to this 20-minute mockumentary from @theonion.com. This is the funniest thing they’ve ever made, and we could use a good laugh right now. Don’t skip the credits. youtu.be/XjhSoGcQhWU?...

This is what it’s come to.

RIP @cbsnews.com: 1927-2025

Very pleased with how TEDxChicago went! Events like this remind us the world is still full of good people doing kind and brilliant things: many of them are brilliant because they’re kind. I’m drained, but I did well, so I’m having a treat. 😊

Friday is almost here! In rehearsals today… it’s going well. Looking forward to sharing my “big idea” at TEDxChicago! www.tedxchicago.com/joshuajohnso...

Do you want to screen Jeffrey Epstein: Bad Pedophile in your town or city, unlike a cowardly major movie chain? Email us at [email protected]. We'll allow you to screen it for free. Yes, again, this is real.

Join me for this cinematic experience October 2nd!

How should you deal with people whose views you despise? I did it by sticking to all my professional principles… except one. I’ll tell you in my TEDxChicago talk on Friday, Sept. 26th! www.tedxchicago.com/joshuajohnso...

I’ll address Charlie Kirk’s death at TEDx Chicago this month and share how I deal with people of every ideology. Enough with all this political violence. ENOUGH.

If my news editor fell for this morning's "Andy 100" prank on SiriusXM - who assumed that Howard Stern had left his show before, oh, I don't know, LISTENING TO THE FIRST 20 MINUTES - I'd suspend them for a week. I would be furious if we were this gullible. Aim... THEN fire. Idjits. 🤦🏾‍♂️

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down. I am furious, and heartbroken… and I feel deeply betrayed. cpb.org/pressroom/Co...

The lack of a fighting spirit in public media - this suffocating civility, this unwillingness to scream when stabbed in the back - breaks my heart. It feels bloodless and humanoid: like what’s been taken from us is okay to take. When will we finally, at long last, FIGHT for what’s ours?

TFW the state of the world makes you feel so powerless that Kermit the Frog makes you cry:

You never know when something will touch your soul and heal your heart. It happened to me this weekend at, of all places, an electronic music festival. Here’s my reflection on EDC 2025, and what I think could get us through these scary times.

What’s with all these scam apps in Apple’s App Store? Saw this one today: a panicky video ad leads to this app, supposedly for cleaning your phone’s hard drive. Note the company behind it: I think WIPING your drive is a better term. The company’s site was just raw code. Insane.

Adventures in Everyday Homophobia, Episode 397: Blood Donation 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

Take that, Steve Kornacki!😎 Seriously, I’m thrilled that @theonion.com is being honored for its brilliant revival of ONN. Thank you for letting me bring my news chops to this farcical yet painfully honest satire. (BTW, Steve’s lovely. Nothing personal!)

Today is the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution. Even now, misconceptions persist: including the assumption that all the revolutionaries wanted independence.

What’re you gonna do about it? www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/b...

WATCH NOW: House GOP hearing on defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the federal agency that supports PBS & NPR. www.youtube.com/live/De5tLFY...