A mom and widow who had benefits cut because of a mistake on a form. A home health aid making $13/hour who said food pantries are so overwhelmed, they couldn't help. A student who said SNAP access supported eating disorder recovery.

My reporting for @slate.com & @economichardship.bsky.social:

Hyperfixed | Hyperfixed

Hey everybody, @hyperfixed is trying to cap off a very strong April by hitting a big milestone for us - 3500 premium members. Right now, we are at about 3437, so we have like 60 and some change to go! Premium members get access to bonus episodes and merch discounts and a truly fantastic community.

i always forget how bad people are at following instructions

hell yeah!

Virginia governor, advocates remember Dr. Cerina Fairfax Dr. Cerina Fairfax is remembered as a mentor and community leader as officials call attention to the broader impact of domestic gun violence toward Black women.

It has been really disturbing to see some people pay tribute to Dr. Cerina Fairfax’s killer without even mentioning her. The victims of domestic violence matter more than their husband’s political careers.
www.13newsnow.com/article/news...

amy poehler's podcast continues to be so so good

I bring a sort of Forbidden Vibe to InternalServerError that Rate Limit Exceeded don't really like

trying to post through it rn

Just found out one of the members of an up and coming band is also a dog acupuncturist

Right now, a landlord can raise the rent by 100%, even more, and force a small business out overnight.

It’s time to pass the Small Business Rent Stabilization Act to stop pillars of our communities from getting priced out.

It’s infuriating when a woman comes forward about a man raping her in his hotel room after drinking and the response is “Why would she go to his room?” “Why would she drink with him?” This is Mike Pence logic. Women should be allowed to hang out with men without expecting they will be raped.

to me, it feels like a lot of the anger about nepo babies and "industry plants" is resentment towards general unfairness and inequality of systems but it's easier to be mean and angry at a specific person (3/3)

it's definitely unsettling to think about how many accounts we might see online that are fake (which also has scary implications in politics) but marketing strategy is not inherently sinister adn it's not like a really bad, untalented band would rise meteorically with this same marketing (2/3)

i think people want to believe there's such thing as uninfluenced taste or objectively good music that will always rise to the top and be rewarded but we just don't live in that world! (1/3)

The lonely work of being the only person who is Normal about Geese

Convincing women to go on the record by name when they’ve seen that it results in no change — and a lot of people won’t believe them — can take years. One of the named sources in a 2024 story of mine declined to participate in 2017. Eventually, her life and job enabled it. And he’s still in office.

“Why aren’t college students protesting” stories are almost always wrong (they are protesting), omit crucial context (they were brutally punished for protesting before), and somehow suggest that 19 yr olds have more moral responsibility than elected officials three times their age

tubthumping in the boys

roasting some carrots

source call out for a Guardian story: I am pretty sure a lot of progressive/leftist Christians follow me... if that's you and you're involved in faith-based organizing and mutual aid right now, please get in touch over Signal @ lex_mcmenamin.68

corgi nose zoomed in and mouth slightly open

she’s micromanaging me

Unionized ProPublica staff are on strike over AI, layoffs, and wages A key issue is protections against layoffs from AI

New: 150 unionized ProPublica workers are on strike TODAY over AI, layoff protections, wages, and more.

They're asking readers to not visit ProPublica or engage with content on other platforms. It's the first work stoppage of its kind at the newsroom.

www.theverge.com/news/908401/...

this book is out tomorrow!

spookiest part

I have listened to 20 min of the modern love podcast episode featuring zendaya and robert pattinson and gotten THREE ADS for the miniature wife show and an insurance ad that suggested I have daddy issues

Article excerpt from the Chicago Sun Times, reading: HEADLINE: After primary loss, Kat Abughazaleh moves to boost campaigns across Midwest SUBHEAD: Abughazaleh said Thursday that she will help campaigns "integrate mutual aid and direct action into their races," across the country, "especially in the Midwest." STORY: By Tina Sfondeles | Apr 2, 2026, 4:36pm CDT "Fresh off a second-place finish, progressive content creator and former congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh is scaling up her political network to help purple and progressive candidates in the Midwest - all while keeping her Rogers Park campaign office open as a mutual aid hub and community space."

Chicago Sun Times quote: Abughazaleh announced she will help campaigns "integrate mutual aid and direct action into their races," and she plans to help races across the country, "especially in the Midwest." Abughazaleh said she is working with partners to fund the project and plans to expand it to help other candidates. "But Kat, you lost your race. How could you even say that this model could win races?' Well I'm so glad you asked. We came in a very close second in a field of 15, beating out AIPAC and multiple established local politicians, and we did it with zero outside money," Abughazaleh said. "We brought in more first-time Gen Z donors than the DSCC [Democratic Senate Campaign Committee] the DCC [Democratic Congressional Committee], [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer, [House Minority Leader Hakeem] Jeffries and my next two primary opponents combined." Abughazaleh raised an astonishing $3.3 million in an anti-establishment primary race, which included avoiding newspaper and Democratic Party endorsements and using livestream events to solicit small-donor donations instead of begging big-time donors for cash. She also used that time to tell voters about her platform, which included universal health care, protections against price-gouging, more housing with federal incentives, climate action — and removing lead pipes. Abughazaleh said the campaign's framework for mutual aid - opening up her Rogers Park campaign office as a place for people to come for food, clothing and essential needs like baby formula — "was the No. 1 persuader to undecided voters."

Chicago Sun Times article excerpt reads: Part of her post-election plans also include increasing free community-focused events at the Rogers Park campaign office at 7016 N. Clark St. "By a long shot, people feel helpless and alone in the face of fascism, and the system is meant to make you feel that way. Authoritarians want you to feel paralyzed. They want you to keep doom scrolling. And instead, we came with a different offer," Abughazaleh said. "What if you join us for a park cleanup? What if you help us knit hats for people during a cold snap? What if you help us organize diapers for parents that need them?" Photos from campaign events showcased, from knitting mutual aid items to organizing with the Sunrise Movement to park cleanup days.

Defeatism? We don’t know her.

Our community support-based campaign model demonstrates a new model for politics and engaged a record number of young voters.

Now we’re not just going to keep doing that work. We’re helping campaigns across the country do the same.

Fake Fans into the digital marketing agency that creates your music taste

unsettling reminder of how much of social media is not real

open.substack.com/pub/elizamcl...

The Trans Panic Clickbait Economy A series of misleading claims have gone viral this month, sowing fear and confusion about ICE targeting trans people, a transgender public registry, and an imminent gender-affirming healthcare ban.

don't usually share substacks but this one feels important. shatterzone.substack.com/p/the-trans-...

resharing because AMERICAN HAN is now out!

www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/features/an-...