Laicie Heeley
@laicie.bsky.social
📤 1426
📥 1417
📝 116
Founder & CEO
@inkstickmedia.com
. Host of Things That Go Boom from PRX & Inkstick. Former wonk.
pinned post!
Hey there look who’s new & noteworthy. Thanks, Apple Podcasts!
@inkstickmedia.com
@prx.org
12 months ago
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Spencer Ackerman
about 1 month ago
@tkbarnes.bsky.social
reports: “Raytheon was allowed to claim about half a million dollars in tax refunds for jobs it did not create due to a loophole in its economic development contract with Buncombe County.”
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Exclusive: We Followed the Money to Raytheon in North Carolina
We got hundreds of pages of public records about a controversial deal to offer tens of millions of state and local subsidies to a new Raytheon/Pratt & Whitney plant in Asheville.
https://inkstick.substack.com/p/exclusive-we-followed-the-money-to?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1669984&post_id=179839137&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1j871&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
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We’re over the moon — Things That Go Boom just picked up 8 Signal Awards! 🥇🥈🥉 Including Gold for Public Service and Conversation Starter — plus Writing and Best Host! Huge thanks to everyone who voted and supported our work. 💛
signalaward.com/winners
#SignalAwards
#PodcastAwards
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Winners - Signal Awards
The Signal Awards seeks to honor and celebrate the people and content that raise the bar for podcasting.Luminaries and leaders within the industry will judge Shows, Limited Series & Specials, Individu...
https://signalaward.com/winners
3 months ago
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OMGGGGGG you guys, we won EIGHT
@signalawards.bsky.social
!!!
3 months ago
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Inkstick Media
3 months ago
A new report takes a hard look at the at least $21.7 billion in American military aid to Israel during its war on Gaza.
inkstickmedia.com/deep-dive-th...
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Deep Dive: The US Aid Fueling Israel's Two-Year Gaza War
A new report takes a hard look at the at least $21.7 billion in American military aid to Israel during its war on Gaza.
https://inkstickmedia.com/deep-dive-the-us-aid-fueling-israels-two-year-gaza-war/
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Nukes of Hazard
3 months ago
@laicie.bsky.social
@joecirin.bsky.social
: This new reality requires new thinking: old theories don't really fit what we're in right now. We're in a new nuclear arms race, the first since the 1980s... our goal has to be to minimize those losses and prevent the worst from happening.
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Joe Cirincione
3 months ago
My panel (with
@jonatomic.bsky.social
, Mallory Stewart &
@laicie.bsky.social
) starts at 5:30pm ET. I am going to try out my new analysis of how the most dangerous feature of our current nuclear age is that authoritarian regimes now control almost of the world's nuclear weapons. Love to get feedback.
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Tyler Hicks
3 months ago
Trump said he and Hegseth talked about using U.S. cities as “training grounds.” Unfortunately, this
@inkstickmedia.com
story feels even timelier now.
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‘Let’s Go Bash Some Skulls’: Inside the Militarization of Trump’s America
As the Trump administration expands its push to militarize US cities, critics rail against the heavy-handed impact on marginalized groups.
https://inkstickmedia.com/lets-go-bash-some-skulls-inside-the-militarization-of-trumps-america/
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A brand new season of
#ThingsThatGoBoom
from
@inkstickmedia.com
and
@prx.org
is coming soon! (And we're talking about the military-industrial complex.)
inkstickmedia.com/coming-soon-...
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Coming Soon: MIC Drop
We’re watching — in DC, LA, Chicago — what happens when the military comes to town. But what about the military that’s been there all along?
https://inkstickmedia.com/coming-soon-mic-drop/
4 months ago
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Laicie Heeley
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
4 months ago
You have two weeks to submit your story to the Bulletin's first-ever writing contest, judged by acclaimed sci-fi author Kim Stanley Robinson. No fee to enter. Winners will be published in our January magazine. The first place winner will receive $3,000, with $500 each going to four runners-up.
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Write Before Midnight
Announcing the Bulletin's new short fiction contest! You have until September 30 to send in your stories. At what time you ask? It couldn't be midnight, could it?
https://thebulletin.org/write-before-midnight/?utm_source=Bluesky&utm_medium=SocialMedia&utm_campaign=BlueskyPost092025&utm_content=Bulletin_WriteBeforeMidnight_07022025
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Yeah that’s it, no more work today, Taylor Swift is getting married.
4 months ago
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Laicie Heeley
kate wehwalt forever
5 months ago
this is why everyone I know isn’t having kids btw
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Snuck in a new 'About' page over
@inkstickmedia.com
— It was due for a refresh.
inkstickmedia.com/about/
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About
Inkstick Media is an award-winning nonprofit newsroom that covers war where it lands: in people’s lives. We dig into the places where power hides — defense budgets dressed up as jobs programs, corpora...
https://inkstickmedia.com/about/
5 months ago
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This is absolutely heartbreaking. As a colleague said, the appropriate title is "For Sale: VOA."
rasmus.com/auctions/fUN...
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Broadcasting Studio Equipment Washington DC
An international broadcast company has ceased operations in the United States and will make a complete liquidation of their late model digital radio, video and podcast technology assets, studio equipm...
https://rasmus.com/auctions/fUN0YO3wrCpTrGQDyZAi/a/Broadcasting-Studio-Equipment-Washington-DC-?lid=q19b5ykkwc0i
5 months ago
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Hi who else is listening to their kids’ favorite show on repeat?
5 months ago
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Laicie Heeley
Anne Applebaum
6 months ago
I had to read this twice to believe it...Meloni, who ran for office on an anti-immigration platform, has now announced plans to let in hundreds of thousands of immigrants, in order to deal with the Italian labor shortage
www.reuters.com/world/italy-...
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Italy to issue half million non-EU work visas over next three years
The move is part of a strategy to expand legal immigration channels in response to labor shortages.
https://www.reuters.com/world/italy-issue-half-million-non-eu-work-visas-over-next-three-years-2025-06-30/
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Inkstick Media
6 months ago
As the Trump administration slashes counterextremism programs, veterans worry about the risks. By:
@tylerfromtexas.bsky.social
inkstickmedia.com/inside-the-u...
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Inside the US Military’s 'Dehumanization' Crisis Under Trump
As the Trump administration slashes counterextremism programs, veterans worry about the risks that could follow.
https://inkstickmedia.com/inside-the-us-militarys-dehumanization-crisis-under-trump/
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So very many men.
7 months ago
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You guys, I got a little distracted (I can't imagine why) and forgot to tell you: We won an IWPA!!
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7 months ago
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Watching the NATO press conference: We should really stop asking regular people why they can't keep facts straight. This isn't about media literacy; they're stuck in the middle of an information war.
7 months ago
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“Well Mr. President at least we don’t have to worry about Iran for another few…” *checks notes* “months. Another few months.”
7 months ago
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I guess ‘reducing nuclear threats’ doesn’t sound like such a silly idea now, huh?
7 months ago
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Oh hey if you wanna go back and listen to a whole season about why pulling out of the JCPOA during Trump’s first term was a terrible idea and would probably lead to war, we did that here:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
(Season two.)
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Things That Go Boom
News Podcast · Updated Semiweekly · Stories about the ins, outs, and whathaveyous of what keeps us safe. Hosted by Laicie Heeley.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/things-that-go-boom/id1324629357
7 months ago
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In case you find yourself wondering tonight, a handy table of Iran’s max missile ranges:
www.iranwatch.org/our-publicat...
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Table of Iran's Missile Arsenal
Iran has over 3,000 ballistic missiles, the largest arsenal in the Middle East. This table presents the known capabilities of Iran's major missile systems.
https://www.iranwatch.org/our-publications/weapon-program-background-report/table-irans-missile-arsenal
7 months ago
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I am meeting the moment by pouring another g&t.
7 months ago
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It certainly is, Hoka. It certainly is.
7 months ago
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I truly never thought this would happen. In my brain, the US launching an attack on Iran lives in the same all-bets-are-off room as China invading Taiwan.
7 months ago
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This is fine.
7 months ago
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Derek Johnson
7 months ago
Never in the history of the world has someone so devastatingly stupid held so much unchecked power. Netanyahu played Trump like a fiddle. And mark my words: it won’t just be Iranians who pay the price.
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the Mountain Goats
7 months ago
probably my most unfair but steadfast position is that if you use the phrase "but I digress" even once I stop reading and never return to whatever you were saying, ever
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Israel (specifically Netanyahu) has wanted this attack on Iranian nuclear facilities for many years. Successive US presidents have refused to be drawn in and succeeded in staying Israel’s hand. Why not Trump? It seems there are two options. 1/
7 months ago
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Katie Mack
7 months ago
I've seen folks talk about how "in four years" they'll be able to get back to their planned projects and I really don't think that's going to work out. People & projects losing funding now will not be able to hit pause and come back once funding is restored. Hard-won progress & capacity will be lost
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Okay then Pope Francis, I see you.
8 months ago
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More Perfect Union
8 months ago
BREAKING: The EPA says it will reverse most of the drinking water standards aimed at protecting people from toxic "forever chemicals" known as PFAS. Even low levels of the chemicals known as PFAS are linked with cancer and other health problems.
www.politico.com/news/2025/05...
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Trump EPA moves to weaken drinking water limits on toxic ‘forever chemicals’
The administration said it wants to rescind and reconsider whether limits are needed for four PFAS that chemical companies are still producing and using in the U.S. despite known health risks.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/14/trump-epa-to-weaken-drinking-water-limits-on-toxic-forever-chemicals-00347905?cid=apn
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Maris Kreizman
8 months ago
Chilling final paragraph and editor’s note.
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Who’s given the last word in most national security reporting? The industry. Just having a seat at the table isn’t enough when industry-funded publications dominate the discourse.
8 months ago
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Laicie Heeley
Stephen Semler
8 months ago
This budget does not and would not belong to a country moving in the right direction
www.stephensemler.com/p/a-closer-l...
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Preschool just sent *seven pages* of instructions and events for the last 3 weeks of school. See you all in June.
8 months ago
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Laicie Heeley
Sam Ratner
8 months ago
Earlier this week, Hegseth released an Army transformation memo that amounts to a huge giveaway to huge campaign donors Anduril. Today, an Anduril exec nominated to be Under Secretary of the Army says he's going to hold onto his stock while at the Pentagon. War profiteering in broad daylight.
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David Sirota
9 months ago
🚨NEWS: Politico is being sponsored by a dark money group run by Trump operative Chris LaCivita, whose "Make America Affordable Again" campaign is designed to make it harder for you to hold corporations accountable when they fleece you. Details:
www.levernews.com/meta-foots-z...
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Craig Newmark
9 months ago
Just like Paul Revere warned of danger, I’m here to shout: Cyber attacks are coming! Actually, they’re already here. That’s why I started
@pausetake9.bsky.social
to help us defend against cyber attacks that could disrupt life as we know it.
#JointhePause
at
bit.ly/Take9-PaulRe...
#Take9
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MeidasTouch
9 months ago
This is some sick shit
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Sophie Hurwitz
9 months ago
Among Boeing engineers, there is a culture of silence around the destruction caused by the weapons they build. “It’s Boeing’s job to make the bombs, Boeing can’t control where they go or what they’re used for. It’s not in our hands, we just do the manufacturing.”
inkstickmedia.com/how-one-diss...
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How One Dissenter Left Boeing
One young Boeing employee found himself in a St. Louis student encampment. One year later, he’s left the “moral gymnastics” of the defense industry behind.
https://inkstickmedia.com/how-one-dissenter-left-boeing/
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Sophie Hurwitz
9 months ago
My hometown’s economy depends to a significant degree on bombing other people’s hometowns. “Sure, there are other ways to make money,” one worker said. “But in St. Louis, Boeing is kind of inescapable.”
inkstickmedia.com/how-one-diss...
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How One Dissenter Left Boeing
One young Boeing employee found himself in a St. Louis student encampment. One year later, he’s left the “moral gymnastics” of the defense industry behind.
https://inkstickmedia.com/how-one-dissenter-left-boeing/
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"We crossed the border as my grandfather once had: unsure if we’d ever return. My daughter, Sarah, was only three years old. She became a second-time refugee before she could write her name."
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Memories and Mourning as Israel Annexes Rafah
With buffer zones around the border and another corridor in the north, Israel now controls 50% of the Gaza Strip.
https://inkstickmedia.com/memories-and-mourning-as-israel-annexes-rafah/
9 months ago
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Laicie Heeley
Taylor Barnes
9 months ago
The Box Elder County sheriff office just released a statement and photo of the explosion at Northrop Grumman’s Promontory (Utah) missile and rocket plant
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Connecticut defense giant Pratt & Whitney put local workers on the chopping block — despite a year of growth. Reporting from
@inkstickmedia.com
fellow
@n311.bsky.social
.
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Pink Slips and Pay Cuts in the US Defense Industry’s Birthplace
Connecticut defense giant Pratt & Whitney put local workers on the chopping block — despite a year of growth.
https://inkstickmedia.com/pink-slips-and-pay-cuts-in-the-us-defense-industrys-birthplace/
9 months ago
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"Skip the indoctrination." 👀
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Palantir wants to poach top high school grads with a new anti-college internship: 'Skip the debt. Skip the indoctrination.'
Palantir is now offering internships to high school grads with top grades, promoting an alternative to higher education.
https://www.businessinsider.com/palantir-launches-anti-college-internship-for-high-school-grads-2025-4
9 months ago
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Okay ChatGPT is, indeed, a kiss-ass, but this is exactly how I'd hope someone might describe our show. ✨
@prx.org
@inkstickmedia.com
9 months ago
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Moms Clean Air Force
9 months ago
Energy executives and environmentalists say the actions won’t save coal from its downward spiral, but will worsen emissions
www.politico.com/news/2025/04...
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Trump’s new goal: Revive a major climate pollutant that power markets have turned against
But even coal-friendly Republicans and executives say it won’t revive the industry to its former glory.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/08/trump-launches-last-ditch-crusade-to-rescue-coal-00279245
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Do you subscribe to our newsletter Critical State, a co-publication with
@theworld.org
? If not, you should! We go beyond the headlines every Wednesday, in your inbox for the price of an email:
open.substack.com/pub/inkstick...
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Critical State: The AI-Powered Surveillance Boom in Texas
If you read just one thing this week … read about the high-tech surveillance Texas state police have acquired.
https://open.substack.com/pub/inkstick/p/critical-state-the-ai-powered-surveillance?r=2fiexy&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
9 months ago
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