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Alex Shephard

@alexshephard.bsky.social
12K followers 1.7K following 5.1K posts

senior editor at the new republic and box-to-box midfielder @goldengoalmag.bsky.social

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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 14h
"Manchester City's importance to the Premier League both as a brand and as a business is the real scandal here." newrepublic.com/article/2161...
newrepublic.com
How Manchester City Got Away With Historic Fraud
Yes, the English soccer club got caught—eventually. But the team’s meteoric rise was aided by the willful blindness of the Premier League.
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Guy (aka glecharles) @loudpoet.com · 18h
"Manchester City committed fraud on a massive scale primarily as a soft power project for an authoritarian nation because it was allowed to do so. The Premier League chose to look away." @alexshephard.bsky.social 🔥 Finish them! newrepublic.com/article/2161...
It was always a farce. The report released by the Premier League earlier this week details the specifics of its massive accounting sham. But the sham itself was always apparent for anyone with eyes to see. Manchester City’s rise was not inexorable, nor was it the result of a sophisticated, hidden conspiracy that required nearly a decade to unravel. Manchester City committed fraud on a massive scale primarily as a soft power project for an authoritarian nation because it was allowed to do so. The Premier League chose to look away. The team was good and the money was flowing. Questions about its finances—let alone about its ownership—were swept under the rug. As Manchester City became the best team in the Premier League, the Premier League became the most powerful league in Europe and, by extension, the world.
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Zito @zeets.bsky.social · 18h
newrepublic.com/article/2161...
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Andrew O'Hehir @andrewohehir.bsky.social · 19h
Spot on. I've been considering writing something -- and still may; ah, vanity -- but Alex has pretty much said it.
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 19h
I wrote about something that's been bugging me about the coverage of the Manchester City fraud story: It wasn't exactly a secret that the team was up to something fishy. Its fraud was not only brazen, it demanded willful ignorance on an almost comical scale. newrepublic.com/article/2161...
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 21h
“The growth of the Premier League’s edge over its rivals from $300 million to almost $3 billion is perhaps the biggest story in global soccer between 2009 and the present. It’s also a story that can’t be told without the biggest fraud in the history of the sport.”
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 21h
I wrote about Manchester City newrepublic.com/article/2161...
newrepublic.com
How Manchester City Got Away With Historic Fraud
Yes, the English soccer club got caught—eventually. But the team’s meteoric rise was aided by the willful blindness of the Premier League.
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Aaron Rodgers is football’s Joe Biden… just find an inconsequential project for him and get him off the field
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patrick @redford.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
SF and Oakland are more different during this tech boom than during either previous one. Why? For the great @oaklandreviewofbooks.org www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/the-great-vi...
oaklandreviewofbooks.org
The great vibes divergence
Why does San Francisco feel so weird during this tech boom while Oakland is more or less still Oakland?
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
this has been the best international break ever
cristiano ronaldo has a whiny meltdown
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
this meeting was supposed to happen in the coworking space I rent and was canceled while they were setting up tables and chairs lol
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Clint Smith @clintsmithiii.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Very excited to share the cover of my new book JUST BENEATH THE SOIL: WORLD WAR II THROUGH THE EYES OF ITS LAST WITNESSES. It will be out May 4, 2027. I learned so much writing this book and truly can't wait to share it with you all. It’s available for preorder now: sites.prh.com/justbeneatht...
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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I've reported first-hand on steel mills in Korea, China, Japan, Illinois, and Mississippi. This is 100% not going to happen. Disagree? Bet me. (Though I'm against online betting. It's just not going to happen.)
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Natalie Weiner @natalieweiner.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
was slings and arrows even on the list smh
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Michael Caley @michaelcaley.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I just love how Harry Kane is the purest most basic dumb guy athlete ever with the purest most basic dumb guy athlete goals I hope he succeeds in all of them and it brings him happiness
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Awful: Trump's Office of "Remigration" has just been exposed making sordid payments to authoritarian governments to take third-country deportees, leading to serious abuses. Dems tell me they will try to defund the agency if they win power. They should. 1/ New piece: newrepublic.com/article/2157...
newrepublic.com
Stephen Miller’s MAGA Terror Campaign Exposed by Damning New Leaks
Sordid revelations about the white-nationalist-themed Office of Remigration should galvanize Democrats: If they win power, they must try to shut it down.
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
what a dimwit
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
he was on fire last night... what a show, what a man
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Monica Potts @monicapotts.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Please read my colleague @gracesegers.bsky.social on how "adolescents and young adults across the country are collapsing under the weight of isolation and pressure to succeed." newrepublic.com/article/2149...
newrepublic.com
The Dire National Crisis That Washington Won’t Touch
Adolescents and young adults across the country are collapsing under the weight of isolation and pressure to succeed. There’s no easy fix—but it’s past time for Washington to do something.
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Grace Segers @gracesegers.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
We've seen a lot about how young people are struggling with mental health. I took the time to speak with young adults across the country about why things are so bad, from their perspectives. My deep dive here: newrepublic.com/article/2149...
newrepublic.com
The Dire National Crisis That Washington Won’t Touch
Adolescents and young adults across the country are collapsing under the weight of isolation and pressure to succeed. There’s no easy fix—but it’s past time for Washington to do something.
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jesse jarnow @bourgwick.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
canonical, really. the closest thing there is to a proper bootleg series box from the never-ending tour. lots of sweet soundboards (& a few audience tapes).
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John Lingan @johnlingan.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
This is the most full-bore rock album Costello ever made and it contains two of his deepest ballads for good measure. “I Want You” is classic nasty-sarcastic mode but “Battered Old Bird” is simply one of the greatest things he ever recorded.
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Alexander Chee @alexanderchee.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I will just add that when I wrote about being Annie Dillard's student, I tried to rescue her class from being lost, as it were. Such as I could. I've taught a lot of what she taught me over the years and most of it has held up.
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I wrote about how Trump is bad at politics now newrepublic.com/article/2154...
newrepublic.com
Trump Forgot How to Do Politics—if He Ever Knew How
The president is defending AI and data centers to the hilt, while most of the country recoils.
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
perfect quote to describe Binghamton tbh
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Sharon 🪳🌹 @sharonk.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
if you would consult the charts:
AI could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2 pts
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n+1 @nplusonemag.com · 15/09/2026
On Thursday, October 1, join us for a conversation with n+1 film critic @hamrahrama.bsky.social. He’ll discuss recent bad news in movies and moviegoing with @tavlin.bsky.social and Lisa Borst. www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...
nplusonemag.com
Last Year in End Times Cinema
It’s been nearly a year since n+1 film critic A. S. Hamrah’s book Last Week in End Times Cinema—a study of bad news in the movie industry over the course of 365 days—was published. What’s happened in ...
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gwen howerton @kissphoria.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I asked AT&T Stadium about the Rolling Stone report about how they objected to Macklemore coming to Arlington next month. They didn't comment, but as I've noted they're still hosting Kanye West in November: www.chron.com/culture/arti...
chron.com
AT&T Stadium, which will host Ye this fall, objected to Macklemore
The Seattle rapper was dropped from Ed Sheeran's stadium tour bill.
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Great point from @alexshephard.bsky.social: Trump's $5000 scam is meant to recapture the magic of 2024, when Musk did similar. But none of the conditions of 2024 are present, so "he’s resorting to even more ludicrous bribery." On the pod, how MAGA lost the culture: newrepublic.com/article/2153...
newrepublic.com
Trump’s Rage Erupts as Brutal “Convention” Ratings Humiliate Him Badly
As Trump’s efforts to salvage the midterms falter, the author of a piece on his political weakness explains why the enthusiasm gap now favors Dems—and how MAGA squandered its hold on the culture.
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Rodger Sherman @rodger.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
The mantle of John Brown’s memory in college football must be carried forward by Georgia, which inexplicably uses “Battle Hymn of the Republic/John Brown’s Body” as their fight song for some reason probably without realizing it
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Jason Davis @davisjason.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
There's a new episode of The Best Soccer Show! Really good show on the USMNT and a little on the USL revenue share with @jtannenwald.bsky.social & @alexshephard.bsky.social. Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/4Br4... Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/u... Pocketcast: pca.st/y6ltvj2g
open.spotify.com
USMNT Present And Future With Alex Shephard and Jonathan Tannenwald
The Best Soccer Show · Episode
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The “check engine” light on your dashboard @aklingus.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I don't think enough is made of just how wild the White Album is in context, the biggest band on Earth completely renouncing the psychedelia that made them high culture icons with a bunch of starkly produced songs that range from silly to stupid to cutting-edge to fun as hell to REALLY stupid
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Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I've spent my entire career reporting on the War on Terror. Many this week have asked me for my extended thoughts on the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Here they are.
forever-wars.com
Today We Must Finally Remember What The 9/11 Commemorations Ignore
Righteous victimhood fueled the War on Terror. 25 years later, we also have to remember all of those slain under its banner
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Tyler Wilcox @tylerwilcox.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I wrote this for "Love and Theft"'s 20th anniversary ... I think I still agree with most of it five years later?
stereogum.com
"Love And Theft" Turns 20
“I contain multitudes,” Bob Dylan proclaimed at the start of his 2020 album Rough And Rowdy Ways. It’s a line that virtually only he and the poet he borrowed it from — Walt Whitman — could get away wi...
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Not the Guy @notnotnuanced.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
this was really good and very depressing haha
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Jake Lahut @jakelahut.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A weird second order effect of the decision to do a midterm GOP convention in Dallas is that it brought a ton of earned media to the Talarico campaign. He has been booked front to back with on-camera interviews.
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Leander **BUY THE LONG GAME** Schaerlaeckens @leanderalphabet.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Column on, well, him. And sports. Him and sports. @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/s...
theguardian.com
An embattled Donald Trump is increasingly using sports as prop | Leander Schaerlaeckens
Sports is the rare topic in which the president has succeeded in shifting the conversation to his preferred terms
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
making a bridge burning appearance at a pointless and meaningless midterm convention for a party and a president that everyone hates basically sums up were Fetterman has been for a long time
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Dave Weigel @daveweigel.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I'm a white-knuckle hater of the "both parties are the same/uniparty" blackpill, which really crumbles if you compare GOP state trifectas and Dem trifectas for 10 seconds.
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David_j_roth @davidjroth.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I wrote about a story that fascinated me even though I don't really care about YouTube Stuff or golf, which is the hilariously disastrous collaboration between Callaway and YouTube yutzes Good Good. The internet is a big ocean full of very weird fishes. defector.com/callaway-gol...
defector.com
Callaway Golf Got Wrecked By YouTube Doofuses Because Everyone's Out Of Ideas | Defector
Try this, maybe: Think of the internet as an ocean vast enough to contain a near-infinite constellation of distinct watery biomes, each populated by creatures that have evolved to suit the one in whic...
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David_j_roth @davidjroth.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Obviously this is a hilarious and obvious lie but it's instructive in that Trump knows he's supposed to care about this thing, and manifestly does not and cannot care about it, and so he has to put himself into the story just to make it something he can talk about. He almost died that day!
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Amanda Mull @amandamull.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Lots of journalists have learned this firsthand over the past decade—they’ve watched coworkers and peers at other publications make the most reasonable asks imaginable in contract negotiations and watched their employers respond by spending millions on lawyers who drag it out for years and then lose
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Jose Pagliery @josepagliery.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
"it is difficult to grasp the scale of what is happening in and around this small Midwest city, and to its Haitian population, their friends, and neighbors." Read this.
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
this is so well done nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Inside Trump’s Ballroom Obsession
The president’s bid for architectural immortality is barreling toward completion.
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Jonathan Liew @jonathanliew.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
tumaini on how tennis betting got into the front-row seats www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/s...
theguardian.com
‘They disturb the game’: how betting fans are taking over tennis courts
Jeering and heckling are increasingly commonplace, even at grand slams, as spectators try to influence matches
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
a dog who refuses to accept that her preferred park exit is closed indefinitely
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Jake Lahut @jakelahut.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
New: The website for the Republican convention in Dallas keeps redirecting to the DOJ's landing page for the Epstein files. Something funky is going on: straightfromthehut.substack.com/p/jeffrey-ep...
straightfromthehut.substack.com
Jeffrey Epstein haunts GOP convention in Dallas
Uh oh — the website for the Texas shindig keeps redirecting to the Epstein files landing page.
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Marlow Stern @marlownyc.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Spoke with Pablo Torre about getting the Clippers story right, the NBA's historic penalty against them, Kawhi Leonard's culpability, how he's *not* investigating Jalen Brunson/Knicks and his next big story on Dodgers owner Mark Walter: variety.com/2026/sports/...
variety.com
Pablo Torre Sounds Off on the NBA’s Historic Ruling Against the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard and ESPN — and Teases His Next Big Sports Investigation
“Pablo Torre Finds Out” host on the NBA’s historic ruling against the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard’s slap on the wrist and ESPN undermining his reporting.
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
behind closed doors you say?
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Alex Shephard @alexshephard.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
replacing Bartiromo with Jason Chaffetz also feels like a pretty pointed response aimed at the White House
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