@christopherleonard.bsky.social reports on the wave of labor unrest that has swept America’s workers in the weapons industry over the past year, citing our research with @quincyinst.bsky.social on Pentagon spending going to military contractors. www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Tonight's 'We Are Eating the Earth' event with author @mikegrunwald.bsky.social in conversation with investigative journalist @christopherleonard.bsky.social is live on YouTube. The program begins at 6 p.m. Join us! www.youtube.com/live/zZzv-l1...

I really enjoyed this conversation with @NPRinskeep on Morning Edition about our nation's defense industry. These issues are urgently important as we face a new world of power blocs and mobilization. Is our defense industry ready? www.npr.org/2025/06/03/n...

Man, they’re playing Green Day on a “classic rock” station and I feel personally attacked.

Wow. I am not a Revolutionary War guy by any means. But I read the first page of the new Rick Atkinson book and got irreversibly sucked in. I'm 200 pages in now, and it's just stupendous. Narrative historical writing at its finest. www.amazon.com/Fate-Day-Tic...

I just spent a day doing job interviews with young journalism students at MU and let me please tell you, the kids are alright. There's a tremendous well of idealism, passion and talent to support this industry. The business models are a mess now, but the future leaders are strong.

I know, I know, all the cool kids are anti-blurb now, but I have never been cool! What a ridiculous honor to have my book read so thoughtfully and generously by some of my favorite narrative nonfiction writers on the damn planet. (1/2) @christopherleonard.bsky.social

I'm on a major Barbara Tuchman kick. She's easily one of the best nonfiction writers who ever lived. The depth of reporting and research is matched by the beauty and power of the prose. I hope we produce more modern-day Tuchmans! www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stilwell-a...

The L.A. wildfires are yet another story ripped directly from the pages of the prophetic novel "The Deluge" by Stephen Markley. I can't recommend this book highly enough. I think about it all the time. www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-deluge...

I would love to razz Patrick Radden Keefe for taking a modeling gig. But I can't do it because: A) He's one of the most genuinely kind and down-to-earth people in this business and B) I legit want that coat. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/09/s...

SCOOP: Tyson Foods has subpoenaed two news organizations, demanding they turn over notes and contacts with local farmers whom Tyson Foods put out of business. I've never seen such aggressive subpoenas issued by a major corporation to news media. investigatemidwest.org/2024/12/17/t...

Younger reporters—Best question you can ask, about two-thirds of the way through an interview, is: "Is there something I'm missing? Is there something important that I should be asking about that I'm not?" Remember—what we don't know far exceeds what we do know!

I used to talk policy with Lina Khan for hours at a time. And I'd go home from work and tell my wife: "My God, people in D.C. are so smart." After a while I realized, no, it was not DC—it was just Lina who is so smart. There are lots of great people in DC, but Khan is unique.

The funny thing about Bitcoin to me is that most of its success is its rising price. I don’t ever hear any stories about its successful utility, or expanding actual use as a means of transaction.

Tyson Foods just announced another major plant closing, further consolidating the nation’s beef production. Such consolidation was shown to be a major vulnerability during Covid, when plant closures instantly wiped out big chunks of national supply. www.5newsonline.com/article/news...

Hey D.C. folks—if you are in town tomorrow, don't miss this incredible event for @sandeepvaheesan's new book. He is a brilliant analyst and writer. The dynamics of electric power companies cut to the heart of America's political economy. Super-important. www.eventbrite.com/e/democracy-...

Let's go! @jonathanblitzer.bsky.social fantastic book "Everyone Who is Gone is Here," on the immigration crisis, is named Top 10 by the NYT. I strongly recommend it to everyone. It's the best kind of journalism. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/b...

This is just true. All the big-picture stuff aside, Twitter was less and less useful. My timeline was overwhelmed with randos I didn't follow, posting weird spam and videos. Bluesky is a lot more straight forward. More articles, more links, less of an interventionist, borderline insane algorithm.

Gosh—I loved this debate about Ukraine between @aaronjmate and @shustry. Very well-informed on both sides, thought provoking, and civil throughout. More of this, please. www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uTd...

Intellectual humility is one of a reporter's greatest assets. The world is always more complicated than we know, and its rate of change outpaces our operating assumptions.

Triangulation

AI Writing tools will have the same deskilling effect on our minds that McDonald's automated kitchens had on the culinary skills of kitchen workers. This will be something.

It's going to be amazing to watch the fallout as AI writing tools infantilize our thinking and make us dependent upon opaque LLMS to communicate.

I was excited for Apple Intelligence proofreading, but I'm afraid it's not at all impressive. About 4 out of 5 suggestions are unnecessary or flat out wrong. In apps like Word or Pages, you just get text in a bubble, with the option to accept it all, without seeing changes. Bummer Apple!

Hardest part of Thanksgiving is all the anti-uncle discourse! Annual reminder: We are not all crazy.

imagine your name is Simon Shuster and you’re published by Harper Collins

I'm working on the third version of a narrative scene that probably won't even make it into the book and I'm having a blast.

Hello @hunterw.bsky.social! I would love to get verified if you could let me know how to get the wheels rolling. Thanks so much.

It’s 4am in Beirut. Multiple huge Israeli airstrikes on something #lebanon

Always read @raniaab.bsky.social.

I'm just sittin' around reading State Department cables.

Today's bug of the day is this walking parade float, the gorgeous-beyond-all-reason Saturniidae caterpillar (pic from the Sugi project www.sugiproject.com/blog/caterpi...)

If you missed this 🧵 on the "Koch & Climate Obstruction" report I wrote with Robert Brulle @climatessn.bsky.social, please read and share! It unpacks what what Koch knew, and what Koch said. Now, here's are new 🧵 on what Koch DID, starting with historic material from the 1990's.

After the election, as @christopherleonard.bsky.social's Kochland detailed, Charles Koch gave this "urgent" speech to an “elite group of [about 200] Koch Industries employees who donated the maximum legal amount of money to Koch Industries’ political action committee.” (Obama = Climate Law = FUBAR)

Breaking news from my latest reporting trip, as I crouch on the gritty floor of my standing-room-only gate at the airport, after choking down an overpriced (but borderline inedible) lunch, while hoping I’m not seated next to a very phlegmy throat clearer: flying is hell.

I can attest that this is a wonderful book. It really captures the insane information landscape in which we live. It's an urgent book, but also just a super-fun read.

This is some fantastic journalism.

happy new murakami day to all who celebrate

The United States now has: • 45,020 reporters • 275,550 public relations specialists For every reporter, there are now six PR people. (data via U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

An unsolicited thread on that time Joan Didion eviscerated Bob Woodward in the pages of the NY Review of Books. Both writers are heroes of mine, so this essay is kind of like hearing your parents fight through a cracked door.

Um yes please to this starter pack go.bsky.app/2JYffeG

Amazing! Can’t wait to read the next book from @jeisinger.bsky.social. This will be amazing, and so urgent.

This is shocking. Microsoft Word scans everything you write and uses it to train AI bots!! Directions on how to turn it off in thread below. I have resisted Scrivener but this might push me over.

Hadas Gold at CNN just reported that The Onion has purchased Infowars, with backing from Sandy Hook Families and Everytown for Gun Safety. Amazing.

Here are some nice mushrooms

Fantastic starter pack. Full follow.

Hello new followers! Thanks for following. I write about the criminal justice system, esp. the ways in which it falls short of delivering justice. I'm also a narrative nonfiction junkie, so I post about the best storytelling I see out there. Here's a starter pack I recommend: go.bsky.app/5LkaeFe

Fantastic starter pack. Full follow.

In these times, good writing and thinking about the world, and engaging with it, is as important as ever. Whatever I may be feeling, personally, working with writers who challenge how we think, and make me think, is a small victory, and I don’t take it for granted.

Echoing this. The past week has clarified the role that Capital B — the Black press — plays in centering communities that may be at an elevated risk of harm under the forthcoming administration. Hope you'll support us: capitalbnews.fundjournalism.org/donate/?camp...