There are approximately 2.8 million trans people in the US. That means FOURTEEN PERCENT of American trans people have moved across state lines in the past 18 months.

Turns out, nobody wants a data center in their backyard

🧵 As PEN America's annual Freedom to Write Index marks its seventh edition, the number of writers jailed reached a new high in a wider range of countries, with at least 401 behind bars in 44 countries during 2025, compared to 375 in 2024.

We desperately need to get away from arguments for the humanities that elevate them because of what they do for technology. The humanities should not be understood as service disciplines. They are an extension of us, and that is enough.

I am very tired of the stupid-savvy 'oh you think politicians were honest before Donald Trump' take, like yes there has in fact been a qualitative change in the way modern american politics have been conducted that is largely attributable to him, and is bad.

A hormonal condition affecting 1 in 8 women around the world just got a new name in hopes of improving care. It Is now called polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome instead of polycystic ovary syndrome.

“Speaker of the TN House Cameron Sexton just removed me and every Democrat — and therefore every Black elected official in the state legislature from any committee we served on," Rep. Pearson said. Fascist reprisals for protesting.

A new CNN poll on Tuesday found that 70 percent of Americans disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling the economy. Notably, Trump never reached a 50 percent disapproval rate over the economy during the entire duration of his first term.

"But in the end, all wars are more or less the same. If you dig down through the layers of caramel corn and peanuts and choking, burning death, you'll find the prize at the bottom and the prize is the question and the question is this: Which of us is people, and which of us is meat?" - Space Opera

Libraries deserve to be places where every reader feels seen, welcomed, and safe. 🌈 This thoughtful article from Book Riot explores how libraries can prepare for Pride Month while supporting LGBTQ+ communities in the face of growing censorship challenges. bookriot.com/how-to-prepa...

some words to remember from Jen Udden & @mauricebroaddus.bsky.social at Mo*Con "This time is going to pass anyway, don't you want to spend it doing something you always wanted to?" —Jen "There is an importance to being seen. You want to surround yourself with people who see you." —Maurice 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

Raise your hand if you’re tired of voicemails offering you a personal loan 3-5 times a day.

"You're the best English teacher I ever had." Aw. #egoboost

Here's what to know about an investigation by The Associated Press, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and FRONTLINE (PBS) showing that Georgia officials knew carpet mills polluted the local water.

Students want to continue their education but being saddled by debt is pushing them to the brink. That’s a flawed system that doesn’t reward hard work or value the opportunity of an education. Education policy is failing our students. www.insidehighered.com/news/student...

ICYMI: We’re teaming up with @transjournalists.org to offer a free, interactive workshop on incorporating science into any beat this Thursday, May 7. Join us there! members.transjournalists.org/event-666210...

and "arts orgs should just live or die by their ticket sales then" would make it cost nine hundred dollars to go to a museum. 80% or more of every arts org's budget is gonna be the physical building and then everybody's jobs, there's not a lot of fat on the bone to trim

False stories of ‘porn in schools’ are decoys for book bans. writes PEN America's Kasey Meehan in @thehill.com. thehill.com/opinion/educ... #bannedbooks #censorship #freedomtoread

I have finally made it to #mocon! It’s only taken eight years, and I understand I missed a hell of a poetry slam last night, but I’m looking forward to today’s talks and have already bumped into several folks I know. :)

Charlottesville used bookstore’s got game

*GROWL*

We are the LARGEST union in trade publishing history, and we want better for our workers in order to make a sea change for creatives everywhere. Let's take a stand together against the existential threats to the arts, whether stagnating wages, the AI slop machine, and destructive layoffs.

Tomorrow in back-to-back classes I will teach @roxanegay.bsky.social and Hemingway. This is a dichotomy that will probably fry my brain for the rest of the day.

The freshmen look different this year.

Don’t you love getting a brilliant idea in the liminal space between awake and asleep, but when you are conscious enough to write it down, all you can remember is a title that makes zero sense? Brains are stupid.

@carolinebicks.bsky.social unearths the word “clitter” and other wild discoveries while reading the first draft of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary.

As my obsession this week is with Terry Tempest Williams, I recommend this article in The American Scholar about her latest book, "The Glorians."

Another day, another rejection. Pout.

Apparently this took a minute to get up on ALA Joblist, but it should be there now! #lisjobs #libraryjob #libraryjobs #dhjobs #stemjobs

New: We found out how much money Nick Fuentes makes from "superchats": $900,000 since the start of Trump's second term. Here's the story of Kristine in Ohio, a food-truck operator who became his most frequent donor, despite not making much money herself: wapo.st/4mERkhv

Indeed, it feels like we’ve been writing stories for at least 4000 years without ChatGPT.

Reductions in NPS funding have regrettably capped out the maximum transmission power level on the Arch. We are trying to deflect this one and 'skip' it off the weather control field to the northwest. Sorry O'Fallon :(

This is a thing of beauty.

Vid shows astronaut demonstrating how water surface tension creates spheres in zero gravity. Rando in the comments declares it's stupid to spend billions on space when that vid "could have been done better by AI." Inner voice: Our anti-intellectual, incurious, thought-bereft society is doomed.

A reminder that my Patreon runs a Poem of the Day on the free level, so you don't have to have a paid subscription to see it. I don't mind at all if you subscribe, though! It's a dollar a month - such a deal.

I realize I’m several years late to the party, but the Spawn and I just started watching the Jordan Peele reboot of the Twilight Zone and so far I’m hooked.

New anthology out today from the St. Louis Writers Guild, containing one of my more Twilight-Zone-esque short stories. (Is that an adjective? It is now.) Blog has the linkydinks for to purchase. Many thanks to the good folks at SLWG on their hard work! www.elizabethdonald.com/2026/04/11/i...

I admit, it was the title that caught me, but the whole thing is a good read.

It’s almost been one year since the launch of @transjournalists.org and MuckRock’s partnership to document the impact of anti-trans federal activities across the nation. See what we've accomplished this past year:

Impersonation scam alert.

📣 #CalhounCounty, #Alabama, students and families: Know your rights — especially when it matters most! RSVP and join us THIS WEEK on April 16 📲: https://bit.ly/4saKFNf Led by the #SPLCAlabama office, we'll go over your rights and how to advocate for yourself or the student in your life.

#FundraiserPerk Receive a signed and personalized copy of #MauriceBroaddus' space opera SWEEP OF STARS as a thank you gift for your donation, + the April Locus E-Issue and digital art by Francesca Myman. Donate at https://twp.ai/9PcjkZ or through our bio! @mauricebroaddus

This bundle of anthologies edited by @datlow.bsky.social is an absolute treasure trove. Includes many volumes co-edited with @terriwindling.bsky.social. Grabbing this just to fill in some gaps in my own collection! www.humblebundle.com/books/best-e...

Join us May 16 for a screening of #BadFaith, a powerful, timely documentary exploring the rise of Christian Nationalism and its impact on public life. Presented with @americansunited.bsky.social, this is a chance to reflect, learn, and be in conversation together. Come curious. Leave informed.

Yup, this was me. Threw up everything but my socks for weeks and didn’t lose a pound. My husband has had solid success with them, though.

BREAKING: The White House today proposed eliminating the Title X family planning program. A few hours later, the health dept quietly released guidance that would shift the focus of the program millions of low-income people rely on away from contraception and toward "family formation."

"AI is garbage, bro, it gives you wrong answers like half the time and the other half the time makes you stupid." Overheard a middle schooler chastising a fellow student for suggesting they use AI. Whole middle school herd started mocking the AI kid. ...We need to let these kids at the tech bros.

Scam alert: if you get the invite below to the Bournemouth Writing Festival, it's a scam (confirmed for me by the festival director). See the highlighed phrase. I've gotten similar reports of fake invites to the Edinburgh Book Festival, and I'm sure there are others.

Woo hoo! Congratulations Jonathan!