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Abi Stephenson

@abistephenson.bsky.social
210 followers 306 following 28 posts

Writer (Guardian, Aeon, The Monthly, Australian Book Review, Lascaux Review)| Producer of books & ideas events, Webby award-winning animations (RSA Animates & Shorts)

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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 30/06/2026
Whether visiting Pope Francis or clothes shopping with Julia Louis Dreyfus, beloved essayist David Sedaris remains a sharp-witted misanthrope who secretly loves people. mnth.ly/4edSkYp
mnth.ly
‘The Land and Its People’
Whether visiting Pope Francis or clothes shopping with Julia Louis Dreyfus, beloved essayist David Sedaris remains a sharp-witted misanthrope who secretly loves people
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 05/06/2026
Coop tells us the guy “deserves to lose it”. But that’s the end of the folk hero portion, because he’s not redistributing the gains but paying off his ex-wife’s MonaLisa Touch vaginal rejuvenation. mnth.ly/5mPatwl
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Make it work: ‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ and ‘Your Friends & Neighbors’
Elle Fanning leads a stellar cast as a struggling single mother who turns kink to bank on OnlyFans, while the urbane Jon Hamm returns to steal from the rich and give to himself
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 03/06/2026
Read more: mnth.ly/jMZerV0
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 04/06/2026
Read more: mnth.ly/O7mh3UF
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 02/06/2026
‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ is the clear belt-winner, for me. While it doesn’t offer revolution, this genuinely felt, technicolour hug provides a small measure of real consolation. And there’s nothing fake about that. mnth.ly/2yM2BnS
mnth.ly
Make it work: ‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ and ‘Your Friends & Neighbors’
Elle Fanning leads a stellar cast as a struggling single mother who turns kink to bank on OnlyFans, while the urbane Jon Hamm returns to steal from the rich and give to himself
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 03/06/2026
As a cautionary tale for aspiring creatives, ‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ takes some beating. One day you’re a talented essayist at college, the next you’re churning out custom penis appraisals on OnlyFans. mnth.ly/3XBvvJK
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Abi Stephenson @abistephenson.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
New piece in June issue of @themonthly.com.au
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Australia Institute @australiainstitute.org.au · 11/02/2026
“If people who are struggling to put food on the table aren’t voting for a policy that taxes super yacht owners more, then the problem lies with the sales pitch, not the policy,” writes @abistephenson.bsky.social. An edited extract from Griffith Review 91. Read more: theaus.in/3Oo9Opn
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Alice Grundy @alicektg.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
@abistephenson.bsky.social on The Point about why tax policy is far sexier than you think
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 25/11/2025
Bruce Springsteen’s struggles with depression are at the forefront of Scott Cooper’s biopic about the making of the lo-fi classic album ‘Nebraska’ | Abi Stephenson mnth.ly/tkFxeIy
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Who’s the boss?: ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere’
Bruce Springsteen’s struggles with depression are at the forefront of Scott Cooper’s biopic about the making of the lo-fi classic album Nebraska
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 26/11/2025
"One of the clear standouts for me was how sensitively the film depicts a certain era of emotionally thwarted male relationships." mnth.ly/GLaUdMu
mnth.ly
Who’s the boss?: ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere’
Bruce Springsteen’s struggles with depression are at the forefront of Scott Cooper’s biopic about the making of the lo-fi classic album Nebraska
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 22/11/2025
Jeremy Allen White (‘Shameless’, ‘The Bear’), is shark-eyed throughout, believably miserable as a fugue-state Springsteen trapped behind the glass of depression. mnth.ly/0jGqKm4
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Who’s the boss?: ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere’
Bruce Springsteen’s struggles with depression are at the forefront of Scott Cooper’s biopic about the making of the lo-fi classic album Nebraska
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 21/11/2025
"To be a Bruce Springsteen fan – particularly as a young woman – is to spend a lot of time clearing up misconceptions. Admittedly, the brand has thrown off a confusing scent at times." mnth.ly/W95HuPV
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Who’s the boss?: ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere’
Bruce Springsteen’s struggles with depression are at the forefront of Scott Cooper’s biopic about the making of the lo-fi classic album Nebraska
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 07/11/2025
November issue out Monday (online today for subscribers)! With an extract from Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein’s ‘The Mushroom Tapes’, Madison Griffiths on abuse in horseracing, plus Abi Stephenson, Andrew Leigh, Robbie Arnott, and more. mnth.ly/uFHtxV3
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Birth Trauma Association @birthtrauma.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
This excellent piece on hyperemesis gravidarum should be required reading for maternity professionals. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
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Nicola Cutcher @nicolacutcher.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
Brilliant long-read from @abistephenson.bsky.social in the Guardian about extreme pregnancy sickness - how much suffering it causes and why it’s so weirdly neglected. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
Don’t call it morning sickness: ‘At times in my pregnancy I wondered if this was death coming for me’
The long read: The Victorians called it ‘pernicious vomiting of pregnancy’, but modern medicine has offered no end to the torture of hyperemesis gravidarum – until now
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
Unofficial Guardian (UK) Bot @guardian-uk-rss.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
The harsh reality of ‘extreme morning sickness’ | Letters
theguardian.com
The harsh reality of ‘extreme morning sickness’ | Letters
Letter: Dr Wendy Bryant responds to an article by Abi Stephenson about hyperemesis gravidarum
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Sara Crowley @saracrowley.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
An essential read by my dazzling pal @abistephenson.bsky.social "Far from languishing on the chaise longue without intervention, she could also receive the “rectal instillation” of morphine, laudanum or her own urine ..."
theguardian.com
Don’t call it morning sickness: ‘At times in my pregnancy I wondered if this was death coming for me’
The long read: The Victorians called it ‘pernicious vomiting of pregnancy’, but modern medicine has offered no end to the torture of hyperemesis gravidarum – until now
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Abi Stephenson @abistephenson.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
My new Guardian Long Read. The one in which I talk about medical misogyny, my favourite Napoleonic battle, a handsome US civil war surgeon, cocaine pessaries, the terrors of Victorian medicine, punk icon Patti Smith, and lots (and lots) of vomiting.
theguardian.com
Don’t call it morning sickness: ‘At times in my pregnancy I wondered if this was death coming for me’
The long read: The Victorians called it ‘pernicious vomiting of pregnancy’, but modern medicine has offered no end to the torture of hyperemesis gravidarum – until now
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
Natasha Walter @natashawalter.bsky.social · 31/07/2025
Fascinating by @abistephenson.bsky.social on the horror of hyperemesis. One of my dearest friends had this and really had to fight for appropriate care. I've always been struck by the fact that it was the probable cause of Charlotte Bronte's untimely death. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
Don’t call it morning sickness: ‘At times in my pregnancy I wondered if this was death coming for me’
The long read: The Victorians called it ‘pernicious vomiting of pregnancy’, but modern medicine has offered no end to the torture of hyperemesis gravidarum – until now
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 25/06/2025
“There are at least three roots to trip over here: these are confidential discussions between a patient and her psychiatrist, full of intimate psychiatric notes about someone else, and clearly addressed to yet another individual.” #NotestoJohn
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Joan Didion’s ‘Notes to John’
The posthumous collection of psychiatric summaries regarding the American writer’s tragically doomed daughter that should never have been published
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 16/06/2025
The excruciating posthumous collection of psychiatric summaries regarding the American writer’s tragically doomed daughter that should never have been published | Abi Stephenson
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Joan Didion’s ‘Notes to John’
The posthumous collection of psychiatric summaries regarding the American writer’s tragically doomed daughter that should never have been published
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 04/04/2025
“A polished, confident conjuring trick, Shankland’s glossy tour through the ballrooms, decaying palazzos and dusty Sicilian streets of a bygone era manages to be both elegiac and gently critical.” Abi Stephenson on Netflix’s #TheLeopard
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Gilded pleasures: ‘The Leopard’ and ‘The White Lotus’
Netflix’s Italian period drama is glorious with intense performances and visual detail, but the latest season of Binge’s hit satire of privilege and psychopaths falls flat
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 07/04/2025
Abi Stephenson on #TheWhiteLotus: “White has spoken about not wanting to write about ‘rich people in front of infinity pools’ forever, and one wonders if season 3 is perhaps an unconscious act of self-harm to liberate him from the yoke of his own success.”
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Monthly @themonthly.com.au · 01/04/2025
Netflix’s Italian period drama #TheLeopard is glorious with intense performances and visual detail, but the latest season of Binge’s hit satire of privilege and psychopaths falls flat | Abi Stephenson
buff.ly
Gilded pleasures: ‘The Leopard’ and ‘The White Lotus’
Netflix’s Italian period drama is glorious with intense performances and visual detail, but the latest season of Binge’s hit satire of privilege and psychopaths falls flat
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
Canongate @canongate.co.uk · 27/01/2025
Hey we're nine followers off of that first hurdle of 10,000, send this post to your top nine friends who like independent books published with integrity, vision, drive and passion and I guess we'll be at the big funny number and maybe my boss will finally respect me
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Jason Kirk @jasonkirk.fyi · 21/01/2025
The "he's not gonna listen to her" reactions are missing many points. Lots of other people are also hearing it. Lots of people can see him hearing it, then weigh what she's said with what he'll do. Lots of people can see her refusal to surrender these ancient teachings to the latest face of empire
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SomersetWhovian 💙 🇺🇦 @clairecopperman.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
Thoughtful article from @abistephenson.bsky.social on an incredibly tough decision. I love the final description of her daughter "In silence, but with a hearing key right at hand; ready to unlock the blooming, buzzing cacophony of the world whenever she chooses." www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
theguardian.com
The cochlear question: as the parent of a deaf baby, should I give her an implant to help her hear?
The long read: Cochlear implantation is controversial in ways that parallel medical situations – such as artificial limbs and cornea transplants – are not. Why does this issue provoke such fierce deba...
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Shannon Watts @shannonrwatts.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
Beautiful essay: “Why does society want to frame deafness as a medical abnormality, rather than a sensory difference? A parent’s difficult decision about whether to give her child a cochlear implant.”
aeon.co
Why I want my deaf daughter to have the best of both worlds | Aeon Essays
As the hearing parent of a deaf baby, I’m confronted with an agonising decision: should I give her an implant to help her hear?
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
Nigel Warburton @nigelwarburton.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
I was delighted to be able to commission Abi Stephenson to write this Aeon.co essay about her daughter’s deafness and the dilemmas for parents - wonderful to see it syndicated by The Guardian too, and reaching an even wider readership www.theguardian.com/society/2024...
theguardian.com
The cochlear question: as the parent of a deaf baby, should I give her an implant to help her hear?
The long read: Cochlear implantation is controversial in ways that parallel medical situations – such as artificial limbs and cornea transplants – are not. Why does this issue provoke such fierce deba...
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Mrs Tales (🇬🇧) @mrstales.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
I thought this was an extremely thoughtful article, well worth a read.
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Sara Crowley @saracrowley.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
Resharing this thought provoking essay by my amazing friend @abistephenson.bsky.social ⭐
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Eric Brown @sophisteuein.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
This is a thoughtful discussion of a difficult issue.
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Abi Stephenson @abistephenson.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
Didn’t explicitly have ‘a @theguardian.com Longreads byline’ on my Christmas wishlist this year - but the idea of writing for my favourite newspaper has vaguely (preposterously, dreamily) been on my mind since I bought my first copy at 17. amp.theguardian.com/society/2024...
amp.theguardian.com
The cochlear question: as the parent of a deaf baby, should I give her an implant to help her hear? | Deafness and hearing loss | The Guardian
<strong>The long read:</strong> Cochlear implantation is controversial in ways that parallel medical situations – such as artificial limbs and cornea transplants – are not. Why does this issue provoke...
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Reposted by Abi Stephenson
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 12/12/2024
The cochlear question: as the parent of a deaf baby, should I give her an implant to help her hear?
theguardian.com
The cochlear question: as the parent of a deaf baby, should I give her an implant to help her hear?
Cochlear implantation is controversial in ways that parallel medical situations – such as artificial limbs and cornea transplants – are not. Why does this issue provoke such fierce debate? * This essay first appeared under the title The Cochlear…
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Abi Stephenson @abistephenson.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Had a lot of fun reviewing this gorgeous biography of Madrid for the December edition of the Australian Book Review. It’s behind a 💲 paywall but the mag is brilliant and well worth the subscription 🗞️ www.australianbookreview.com.au/abr-online/c...
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
"One of my teachers at Columbia was Joseph Brodsky...and he said 'look,' he said, 'you Americans, you are so naïve. You think evil is going to come into your houses wearing big black boots. It doesn’t come like that. Look at the language. It begins in the language.'"
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Zsuzsanna Chappell @zsuzsannachappell.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
A wonderful essay by @abistephenson.bsky.social on Aeon about making difficult decisions as the parent of a deaf child. aeon.co/essays/why-i...?
aeon.co
Why I want my deaf daughter to have the best of both worlds | Aeon Essays
As the hearing parent of a deaf baby, I’m confronted with an agonising decision: should I give her an implant to help her hear?
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Sara Crowley @saracrowley.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
Please read this incredibly nuanced and thoughtful essay by my wonderful pal @abistephenson.bsky.social
aeon.co
Why I want my deaf daughter to have the best of both worlds | Aeon Essays
As the hearing parent of a deaf baby, I’m confronted with an agonising decision: should I give her an implant to help her hear?
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