I also want to reiterate how grateful I am for the support from @columbiajournalism.bsky.social for the Lukas Prize. It really helped me make my book the best it could be. And the Lukas Prizes are open for submissions again! journalism.columbia.edu/lukas

I'm not sure I've come to fully coherent thoughts on cuts to the NEA, NEH, and CPB. But I'm seeing the effects within my communities, and they're scary. Art matters. Journalism matters. History matters. We need to find ways to sustain it. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Here's my weekly must-reads list and some thoughts about Trump's AI slop post declaring war against Chicago. Trump is attempting to blur the line between reality and his fascist, annihilatory fantasies of control and domination. That means we, and the truth, must break free.

I am not at the beach and I am probably not going to the beach this weekend, but that doesn't mean I can't read things that count as "beach reads!" My list of some favorites from this summer, and a little on the strange history of beach books. open.substack.com/pub/loboisso...

There's been a lot of wildfire smoke in Chicago this year, coming down from Canada (worse, ofc, for the folks who live nearby in Canada). I'm always puzzled/annoyed by the phrasing "unhealthy for sensitive groups" so I decided to write about it. open.substack.com/pub/loboisso...

Calling all Illinois #Covid-cautious people! Organizers are trying to get a bill into the state legislature that would protect the right to wear medical masks (and prevent future attempts at banning them). I interviewed one of those organizers here: open.substack.com/pub/loboisso...

Was this an excuse to write about my cat? Yes. But do I also think of him as a disability teacher? Yes. And I love his scruffy little face. open.substack.com/pub/loboisso...

Oh hey look, cute braces for exactly the joints I have that most need support!

This week’s newsletter is about ASL, deaf schools, and Alexander Graham Bell. All inspired by things I’ve learned from my Queer ASL class, one of my favorite weekly activities! open.substack.com/pub/loboisso...

Loved this book and it offered a lot of inspiration while writing my own book on weather and chronic illness!

By the numbers, this Senate bill: ➡️adds $3.3 trillion to the national debt, according to estimates. ➡️could cut up to 12 million people off of their health care coverage. ➡️provides $114 billion in tax cuts to the top one percent. @garrisonhayes.bsky.social breaks it down.

So far everything about this administration seems aimed at killing and immiserating the largest number of people possible.

Alright, I finally did it. I have a newsletter, where I'm writing about chronic illness, disability, the environment, and writing. First post was an introduction, this one is all about going to physical therapy again and again and again ad nauseam. Give it a read? open.substack.com/pub/loboisso...

A unique features of the late Iron Age Lattara site in southern France : the presence of shell decorations on the dirt floors. The best-preserved example depicts a galloping equine (donkey or horse), made from tellins (a small marine shell common along the Languedoc coast). #MolluscMonday

If you are arrested today protesting the Trump administration in Illinois, I can represent you pro bono. Email me at [email protected].

You've been kidnapped. The characters from the last TV show you watched are trying to rescue you. Who is coming to save you? (Is the ransom in dollar-bucks?)

This is such a cool project/bit of history. Anyone want to learn Esperanto with me and open an anti-fascist gluten-free bakery? I already did a little Esperanto on Duolingo (not that it got me very far).

Saw the new Mission Impossible movie over the weekend. (Small spoiler incoming) Partner joked that in this franchise, resuscitating Ethan Hunt from near death is basically the equivalent of having sex, since it's always the ladies who do it. 😅

I need you to make calls to Congress because on Tuesday, the House Committee responsible for Medicaid is meeting to slash funding for Medicaid—the health program 80 million Americans rely on, the health program that has kept me alive. This piece is not paywalled, it is not locked—please share it.

Combination of daily news and watching “Andor” really has my nervous system ratcheted up to the highest level. More politicians speaking out like this please!

Didn't realize I needed trolls in my day, but I really did.

Such a pleasure to meet one of the jurors for the award!! It’s so lovely to hear from the people who champion your work

What a cool story! Nice work @mayaweihaas.bsky.social

Love to see ancient plants!!

This this this.

Everyone should read this, especially for the bits in the article that give us some insight into what these detention prisons used by ICE are like. And no one, no one, should be traveling to the US if they can avoid it. No one. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

It’s a very huge protest, traffic blocked all over the place

Because sometimes you need weird history to help you deal with the horrible present.

When I was telling my therapist that so much of my writing feels pointless right now, she had me read this Diane di Prima poem that gets at the same thing. home.insightbb.com/~gardner.j/r...

If it updates and you see a new app named “Image Playground” delete that shit. It’s their version of an AI image generator. Throttle this in the crib.

If you need to escape the apocalyptic political news, and you're a science/environment journalist, definitely consider applying for the National Tropical Botanical Garden's enviro journalism program. I did it several years ago and learned so much. ntbg.org/news/ntbg-en...

This is helpful in answering some questions, but what I'd really like is to see it all laid out. It definitely fits with the whole "confuse everyone, mire them in chaos" plan the administration seems to be going with.

This might be a silly question, but it's something I really don't understand. All of these executive orders upending funding for various science agencies are essentially unconstitutional, because Congress approved that funding, right? So who is complying with them? And why?

This piece is so smart and articulates so much of what I’ve felt about social media and the Internet lately. www.wrecka.ge/against-the-...

Shared this with a friend text group because I liked it so much. Making art is powerful!

Just making sure that everyone is aware of this crab that NOAA scientists found

Really appreciated this article about the differences between HIV/AIDS and Covid. thesicktimes.org/2025/01/14/i...

Haven’t been feeling good because of my chronic illnesses so I’m reading fun books and just picked up Robin Sloan’s “Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore.” And let me tell you, the contrast between how Google is portrayed in it vs our current techno dystopia is WILD.

Excellent new review from @weatherwest.bsky.social @climate-guy.bsky.social @manuelaibrunner.bsky.social @climatechirper.bsky.social on one of the most useful organizing concepts I've run across for understanding climate impacts on extreme events - the "expanding atmospheric sponge" 1/🧵

Yes please I want pretty fruit paintings in a book!!!!

This thread on POTS and vascular compression syndromes is fascinating. I know about both but never considered they might overlap! Would be curious to know if VCS are vastly underdiagnosed

Well this essay just made me cry. Beautiful writing by Siham Inshassi on the way that insurance denial directly led to her sister's death. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

I've embarked on my first big crochet project of the winter, "big" being the operative word. The pattern is for a 5-foot-goose. So far I've finished both legs, the beak, and the tail feathers. What should I name her? Top contenders: The Empress, Tundra Bean, Madame Bernache.

I know so many people with this kind of story, myself included

I just can’t handle these. Animals are so WEIRD

Today's doctor office reviews: First up, a swanky hospital facility. Big front windows, a carved list of donors. Nice staff, friendly radiologist. But if they have so much *money* why can't they spend a little more on heat?! I have to be half-naked for this ultrasound, I don't need to freeze.

Everybody check out this fabulous story by Rachel Gross. Women often don't realize which organs are being removed when they get a hysterectomy!! It's a huge problem, especially when we also haven't studied the impact of these organs on our overall health! www.nytimes.com/2024/12/02/h...

To nonfiction writers with books in progress (that are under contract)—consider applying for the Lukas Prize. I applied thinking I had no chance and ended up winning. It’s a great opportunity to get funds for your writing and research. Deadline Dec 5! columbiajournalismawards.submittable.com/submit

This is a great idea. I’m sort of perpetually disappointed by my home state, but this really takes it to another level

This whole thread is worth a read. Really fascinating example of uncovering biases in medicine and using that knowledge to explore new avenues.