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Allison Torres Burtka

@allisonburtka.bsky.social
903 followers 713 following 490 posts

Writer and editor in metro Detroit. Words in National Geographic, The Guardian, Outside, Parents, Audubon, Harvard Public Health, WebMD & more. writing portfolio: atburtka.journoportfolio.com

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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
I'm grateful to have contributed in a small way to this @illinoispress.bsky.social book on American folksongs, as a copyeditor. www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
wsj.com
‘Our Common Life’ Review: Tune and Tune Again
American folksongs are passed among musicians—each bringing their own style to the tune.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, Wendell Berry, Gloria Steinem, and Cassandra Wilson. They were some very bright lights. www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJuK...
youtube.com
Cassandra Wilson - Tupelo Honey
YouTube video by thatkrishna
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
My husband and I spent our honeymoon in Costa Rica. When we returned 22 years later with our two teenage daughters, we got to see it from their eyes, and it marked another stage of our lives. Story for @businessinsider.com www.businessinsider.com/returned-to-...
businessinsider.com
We fell in love with Costa Rica as newlyweds. Our kids made us fall for it differently 22 years later.
We expected nostalgia, but our daughters gave us something better when we returned to our honeymoon destination with them decades later.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
This is the kind of news I want on a hot July day.
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Christopher Wiggins @cwnewser.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
My interview: “I came to this country as an infant and became a U.S. citizen,” Roswell Encina said. “So sitting there, on the Fourth of July, I couldn’t help but think about the promise of America and the work still required to protect it.” www.advocate.com/news/people/...
advocate.com
Man in viral D.C. Metro photo says he was ‘terrified’ as masked white nationalists surrounded him
Roswell Encina, a gay Filipino American civic leader, said the Fourth of July encounter with Patriot Front was frightening and impossible to separate from American history.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
I love this show, but that episode was an absolute atrocity.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
A reminder to use the parking brake every time you park!
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Michigan Law @umichlaw.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
More than a decade ago, Amanda Rauh-Bieri, ’17, and Brett Frazer, ’17, met in Professor Edward Cooper’s Civil Procedure class. This spring, they raced through 201.95 miles of Spanish countryside in a gravel bike race called the Traka. Read more: michigan.law.umich.edu/news/two-201...
Brett Frazer, ’17, and Amanda Rauh-Bieri, ’17, after finishing the Traka gravel bike race in April. Both have found that cycling helps balance their lives as lawyers.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Sports boost kids' mental and physical health. Let them play.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
When Quinton Jones-Whitaker was 20, he went to prison for a crime he didn't commit. He wasn't there--he wasn't even involved. He served a 12.5-year sentence, was paroled last month, and was exonerated this morning, with the Michigan Innocence Clinic's help. michigan.law.umich.edu/news/quinton...
michigan.law.umich.edu
Quinton Jones-Whitaker, a Michigan Innocence Clinic Client, Exonerated after Serving 12 1/2 Year Prison Sentence | University of Michigan Law School
In 2014, when Quinton Jones-Whitaker was 20 years old, he was convicted of carjacking, armed robbery, and felony firearm possession and was sentenced to 12 1/2 to 22 years in prison. But he wasn’t inv...
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
The name "Lululemon" is purposely racist, to make fun of Japanese people. The company has acknowledged this but still hasn't changed the name, so I'm not surprised that it would be unconcerned about something like this.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Pretty sure they could have paid any random person $300 to do that paint job
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
“We’re all temporarily abled. We don’t start from a place of ability, and many of us won’t end that way, either." -The Hon. J. Chris Larson, @umichlaw.bsky.social alum, who created an internship program for people with intellectual disabilities quadrangle.michigan.law.umich.edu/class-notes/...
quadrangle.michigan.law.umich.edu
The Hon. J. Chris Larson, ’99: Boosting Inclusion | Law Quadrangle
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Happy that two travel articles I wrote were chosen for Solas Awards: -In NatGeo, a story on guided family camping trips (bronze award, Family Travel category) -In Wander, on a tree-planting program that uplifts struggling communities around the world (silver award, Travel and the Environment)
besttravelwriting.com
Best Travel Writing » Award Winners 2026
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International Bar Association @ibanews.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
In an interview with Allison Torres Burtka for Michigan Law (@umichlaw.bsky.social), 1983 alumnus Claudio Visco discusses his role as #IBA President, his vision for upholding the #RuleOfLaw, advancing diversity and addressing artificial intelligence. Read: michigan.law.umich.edu/news/claudio...
michigan.law.umich.edu
Claudio Visco, LLM ’83, Leads the International Bar Association | University of Michigan Law School
The International Bar Association (IBA) serves as the global voice of the legal profession, made up of bar associations, law societies, and individual lawyers across more than 170 countries. At its he...
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 25/02/2026
Incredible shot of Rep. Al Green holding up a "BLACK PEOPLE AREN'T APES!" sign with Trump in the foreground from photographer Kenny Holston (Getty)
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
A look at how climate change is affecting Michigan, from forests to trout to flooding to asthma
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
💚💚💚
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
The PERMIT Act, a bill in the Senate, would roll back many of the Clean Water Act's protections that have cleaned up our waters over the last 50 years. Thanks to @flowtc.bsky.social and @freshwaterfuture.bsky.social for their insight on what this might mean. planetdetroit.org/2026/02/detr...
planetdetroit.org
How a federal water pollution bill could jeopardize Detroit’s drinking water
The PERMIT Act could weaken Clean Water Act protections, affecting drinking water and ecosystems in Detroit and other areas.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
“I think everybody knows about the redwoods of California, but so few people know about the pines of Michigan or the beech or maple forests," Antonio Cosme, cofounder of Black to the Land Coalition, told me. “You can experience those majestic, awe-inspiring natural places up here.”
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Planet Detroit @planetdetroit.org · 16/02/2026
Michigan's northern forests may feel far from Detroit — but they filter the water we drink, clean our air, and buffer us from climate change. We've been reporting on those connections. Now we're bringing the conversation live. Join us Thursday at noon. Free. 👇 donorbox.org/events/90622...
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
good news for (fully caffeinated) coffee and tea drinkers!
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
There are a lot of people who are going to complain about being unfairly vilified by that halftime show and it's because they know in their hearts they're on Team Hate.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Karoline Leavitt: “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.” Well, KKKaroline, vicious racism actually matters to many Americans. But probably not any you know. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Posts Video Portraying Obamas as Apes
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 25/01/2026
Walz: "To Americans who are watching this, I've got a question for you: What side do you want to be on? The side of an all powerful federal govt that can kill, injury, menace, & kidnap its citizens off the streets? Or on the side of a nurse at the VA hospital who died bearing witness to such govt?"
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Fred Guttenberg @fredguttenberg.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Terrorizing children
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
A 5-year-old boy has been snatched from his driveway in Minnesota, flown to Texas, and put behind bars. How does terrorizing children "protect America"? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
ICE detains five-year-old Minnesota boy arriving home, say school officials
Superintendent says Liam Ramos and his father were taken into custody while in their driveway and sent to Texas
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again. www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.
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Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
school being canceled because the president sent armed thugs to harass and imprison the populace for voting against him should be the biggest domestic scandal in american history
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Jeff Burtka🇲🇽🇨🇦🇬🇱🇵🇦🇺🇦 @jeffburtka.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
MLK could have written this today.
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Oregon 🕎🎲 @oregonthedm.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
If ya don't want political reactions in your factory Don't bring politicians into your factory Seems really simple
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 13/01/2026
This is completely fucking unacceptable. Shut this terrorist government down until it stops brutalizing its own citizens.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Glad these 6 prosecutors stood up to this. It's absurd for the DOJ to investigate the widow of the woman killed by an ICE agent--rather than investigating the shooter. This is not how things work.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
These FDA/HHS announcements that they'll conduct new studies on mifepristone, Tylenol & other drugs that have been shown to be safe for many years is bad news for the safety of all our drugs. They are trying to drive the FDA on whims, not science. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
Mifepristone and the Future of FDA Drug Regulation
On September 19, 2025, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Martin Makary announced that HHS would be ...
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
Wherever their new venue is, I hope they sell out their first performance immediately.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Remembering today that having your heart broken is a necessary step on the path to becoming fully human. Whichever heartbreak is your first, it’s probably critical that a state break your heart so that you can develop a political imagination. If this is your first, I’m sorry and also welcome.
A 35 year old letter to the editor, written by a very ballsy 15 year old, about the Rodney King verdict.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
We should be thanking the officers who did their jobs and put their lives on the line to defend our democracy. We should also call the insurrectionists who killed officers and tried to overthrow the government what they are: insurrectionists, traitors, criminals (pardon or no pardon).
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
In 2025, there were 2,065 confirmed cases of measles in the United States. 3 deaths. All of them completely preventable. We're doing worse than some developing countries. Venezuela apparently had 0 measles cases in 2025. www.cdc.gov/measles/data...
cdc.gov
Measles Cases and Outbreaks
Find the latest numbers of confirmed U.S. measles cases. CDC updates this page weekly.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
My mom, 78, had Glacier National Park on her bucket list, so we went on a hiking trip there, even though I wasn't sure how much she'd be able to do. Turns out, way more than she expected--she pretty much became an outdoor adventurer. www.sierraclub.org/sierra/i-too...
sierraclub.org
I Took My Mom on a Hiking Trip to Glacier National Park
And she found that, with support, she could do more than she expected
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
This is what all the Turning Point conference attendees aspire to be.
A bag of white chocolate chips, labeled "premier white"
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
What I absolutely DON'T need from a newspaper is an article on why one sexual predator isn't sorry about his friendship with another sexual predator.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
At least Forbes is telling it like it is. There is no limit to his cruelty.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
Fred Rogers said to look for the helpers. Ahmed el Ahmed realized what was happening at Bondi Beach and ran to help, all by himself, pouncing on one of the gunmen and grabbing his gun away. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/w...
nytimes.com
Syrian-born Australian Who Tackled Bondi Gunman Hailed as Hero
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Richy Craven @richycraven.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
Rob Reiner: I'm going to make a coming of age drama, a fantasy adventure story, a romantic comedy, a psychological horror and then a courtroom drama. Us: Across your entire career? Reiner: In a 6 year period. Us: That sounds- Reiner: -Each one will be arguably the best movie in that genre.
Extract from Rob Reiner's Wikipedia 

Filmography 
1986 - Stand By zme
1987 - The Princess Bride
1989 - When Harry Met Sally
1990 - Misery
1992 - A Few Good Men
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
My dog died a few days ago, and then this showed up at my door. It's from Chewy, where I had to cancel autoships I had set up for her food and meds. This is how you go above and beyond in customer service.
A colorful bouquet of yellow and purple flowers in a vase
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
If only there were *something* Target could do differently! This article doesn't acknowledge that the company's sudden abandonment of DEI (and then doubling down on it every time they had an opportunity to reconsider) is the main reason people are staying away.
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Aaron Parnas @aaronparnas.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen. Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
This is perfect.
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Allison Torres Burtka @allisonburtka.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
This is what's wrong with journalism, the NYT, politicians, health care--all of it. Do I want to read about this journalist's infatuation with this imbecile who's bringing back preventable diseases? I sure don't. Reading just part of this breathless article is more than enough.
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