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Asher HELLbein

@asherelbein.bsky.social
23K followers 2.5K following 35K posts

Freelance writing about the wild, old and dead. Bylines in NatGeo, SciAm, The New York Times, Texas Monthly, and many other places. Repped by @desir.ee at Looking Glass Literary (fiction) and @benglishhh.bsky.social at Transatlantic (nonfiction)

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Reposted by Asher HELLbein
BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 6h
legalizing gambling was the single biggest social disaster of the last decade, and that's a high bar to clear.
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Screamer Jim @screamerjim.bsky.social · 10h
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rev. howard arson @theophite.bsky.social · 8h
Mehmed Pasha:
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Saul Elbein @saulelbein.bsky.social · 7h
can’t emphasize enough that said “maniac“ - is running for a seat at the TX agency responsible for regulating oil - that his plan for the office if he gets there amounts to “you will drink fracking waste and like it”
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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 13h
I spent a year watching school administrators do their jobs—and interviewing the students most impacted. I spoke to @thecut.com in a long-form Q&A about what I saw. Mainly, a system designed to protect perpetrators and punish victims in each and every case.
thecut.com
The Reason Why Colleges Still Fail to Address Sexual Violence
The “Cornell Seven” case highlights what’s wrong with Trump’s Title IX rules — and how the system was always designed to fail.
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Dr Matt Dempsey @sketchy-raptor.bsky.social · 13h
Blocking a scene...
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Wildlife Conservation Society @wcs.org · 15h
20 American chestnut trees are cause for celebration at our Bronx Zoo, writes @nytimes.com. “This is so much more than planting trees to us,” said Craig Piper. Proud to partner with @nyrp.bsky.social and The American Chestnut Foundation on this effort. 🌎 www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/n...
nytimes.com
20 Chestnut Trees: A Cause for Celebration at the Bronx Zoo
American chestnut trees were wiped out more than a century ago. Now, new trees that are fungus-resistant are being planted at the zoo.
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neuse river hag @neuseriverhag.bsky.social · 14h
i'm not a "both parties are the same" person, that's obviously not true, but it is true that everyone in the federal government exercises class solidarity with each other to some degree, and for SCOTUS that degree is something in the neighborhood of 99%
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 14h
Surfacing briefly from box hell to remark that moving for the first time in ten years does, indeed, suck
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Breaking down a small makeshift pond surrounded by logs for wildlife habitat is a great way to be reminded of one of the most common kinds of wildlife: the several species of native American roaches
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It's #fossilfriday! Meet Hatzegopteryx, a predatory, ground-stalking pterosaur the size of a small giraffe, found on the islands of Cretaceous Eastern Europe. Survival Verdict: lol good luck HOW TO SURVIVE PREHISTORY. Out April 27, 2027. Preorder now! bookshop.org/p/books/how-...
An enormous Hatzegopteryx pterosaur stands in the rain on all fours, its head a mass of turkey-like wrinkles around a wicked, machete-shaped beak. It turns a cold, considering eye on you. Two others approach through the mist. Art by Stieven Van Der Poorten for HOW TO SURVIVE PREHISTORY
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
It's #fossilfriday! Here's a guy from HOW TO SURVIVE PREHISTORY: Arthropleura, a (probably!) herbivorous millipede relative that roams the coal forests of Carboniferous Scotland. Survival Verdict: YES. It's got a nasty nip, but we feel if you get bit, you have it coming.
A large, flat green millipede of unusual size crawls through a Carboniferous swamp forest, with some tiny tetrapods crawling on its back. Art by Stieven Van Der Poorten, from HOW TO SURVIVE PREHISTORY
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Texas Highways @texashighways.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This is the world of dark tourism, luring visitors eager to engage with all things mystifying and macabre. @asherelbein.bsky.social @rachelmonroe.bsky.social texashighways.com/travel/do-yo...
texashighways.com
Go On a Haunted Texas Road Trip
Travel through the spookier side of the state on cursed ships, in haunted hotels, and at sites of alleged paranormal activity
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Waschesalon Grammy Campaign Manager @reginageorgebush.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
A24 accidentally and unwillingly becoming one of the biggest entertainment conglomerates in America by being the only people who are aware that highbrow liberals spend more money than anyone else
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Yeah, this is the one I'm laser-focused on
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maria_from_ga @mariafromga.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This is why giving Talarico money was pointless past like May/June/ he already defined himself and got earned media, Paxton money deluge was never going to overcome that + fundamentals + polls! Give to Nixon/Hamilton/Jackson: candidates who still need to define themselves
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Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Every woman on my Instagram feed and Instagram stories is FURIOUS about it. Furious!
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the abbot of unreason (an archaeologist) @merovingians.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
like!
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Ben McAdams (The Resurrection Arc) @purrtah.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Bottoms secure.actblue.com/donate/klb-web Jolly secure.actblue.com/donate/david... Hinojosa secure.actblue.com/donate/ads_m...
secure.actblue.com
Thank you for supporting Keisha Lance Bottoms for Governor!
Keisha is ready to roll up her sleeves and get to work to deliver for Georgia. Pitch in today!
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Ben McAdams (The Resurrection Arc) @purrtah.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Okay guys our Governor candidates need money. Bottoms, Hinojosa, Jolly are putting out good ads but they don’t have money to air them. These races are all tossups and we need to act like it At this point you gotta wind down your donations to the Senate candidates
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 03/10/2026
I have absolutely wondered about this. Amazing.
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28 Days Lehner 🪦 @danlehner.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
“okay so that leftist woman who has the profile pic that’s the squirrel from ‘TheSword in the Stone’, the really crazy, aggressive one? well, someone infiltrated a Discord she runs and she’s apparently like, Protocols-level antisemitic and”
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Adam Sharp @adamcsharp.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
For those wondering what "Batman's Aff His Nut" sounds like in a proper Glaswegian accent, here's Robert Florence, who penned it, reciting it over a Batman teaser...
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Interesting, and sort of tracks with my suspicions
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
That is...crazy. That's *crazy*
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I don't know if I believe this but *god* it would be so funny
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Given that he is (as it were) constitutionally incapable of changing tack at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if people who're starting to feel kind of sour on him are only souring further the more they see him doing the same thing
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Jesus Lizard Superstar 🖤 🐀🐀🐀 @acekatana.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This is my least favorite dinosaur the motherfucker makes me uncomfortable
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
HOW TO SURVIVE PREHISTORY is the all-ages compendium you need in case of time travel safari, quantum accident, or genetic park scenario. Words by me! Art by the incredible @stievenvdp.bsky.social! Preorder now -- it could save your life!
bookshop.org
How to Survive Prehistory: A Guide to the Wildest Beasts of Ancient Earth
From Smithsonian and Scientific American writer Asher Elbein comes the ultimate illustrated guide to prehistory's most dangerous real-life monsters, perfect for lovers of survival guides and dinosaur ...
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Allison Thurman @adotnon.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Dang, I love learning about the existence of new (to me) pterosaurs!
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Government by rapists, for rapists
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Joking aside, I would be shocked if a single one of the Fox X-Men made it to the third act
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It's #fossilfriday! Meet Hatzegopteryx, a predatory, ground-stalking pterosaur the size of a small giraffe, found on the islands of Cretaceous Eastern Europe. Survival Verdict: lol good luck HOW TO SURVIVE PREHISTORY. Out April 27, 2027. Preorder now! bookshop.org/p/books/how-...
An enormous Hatzegopteryx pterosaur stands in the rain on all fours, its head a mass of turkey-like wrinkles around a wicked, machete-shaped beak. It turns a cold, considering eye on you. Two others approach through the mist. Art by Stieven Van Der Poorten for HOW TO SURVIVE PREHISTORY
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
What I suppose I find interesting about AI conciousness is that the idea's boosters are never, so far as I can tell, asked the question "why are you trying to make a slave"
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Razzball @razzball.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Announcing the merger with Titanic footage is an incredible bit
David Ellison • @ellisonskyd... 2h
What once was the peak, is now just the beginning.
Paramount and Warner Bros. shaped over a century of culture. By combining them, we aren't rewriting history — we're equipping these iconic studios with a more powerful engine. Together, we are Skydance: a creative-first ho Show
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ghost malone ergo propter bones @proptermalone.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
boy, at-will employment is a bear sometimes, huh
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Hare 🍉 @haredurer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I think it was @asherelbein.bsky.social's feed where I saw an 1870 news clipping from Chicago, making fun of white people who complained about seeing black people in public spaces. "The cultivating of antipathies is a luxury whose costs should be borne by the bearer." Nazis want to charge us for it.
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Taniel @taniel.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Voter registration deadlines are SUNDAY in Alaska, Rhode Island, South Carolina. And MONDAY in: Arizona, Arkansas Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and *Texas*. If you live in these states, verify your registration now, literally.
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I do think this is where the rubber meets the road for some number of people
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Generally speaking I feel like people who cannot make this distinction regarding us are also extremely dangerous and fickle allies for anyone else
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Mikhail Gorbaechev @mikhailgorbaechev.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This is also something that North American Muslims have to worry about, it's kind of sickening to watch people dismiss the importance of ideologically driven violence against a community as a basis to be concerned for their safety and welfare.
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Mikhail Gorbaechev @mikhailgorbaechev.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It's true that there's not much structural antisemitism in North America anymore but you know I'm not sure if it matters that the guys coming through the synagogue door with an assault rifle are in line with a structural system of oppression.
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
3000 words on the novel today, followed by bashing out a 900 word journalism draft, because we are 🎵packing🎵tomorrow🎵
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Man, I love this
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Was it good for us? No. But I'd be lying if I said, as someone who loves gossip, that it wasn't pretty fun
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Sorry, I'm now having a Proustian reverie of things past
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Well, well, well
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dan mentos @danmentos.com · 22/09/2026
[job interview] interviewer: so god killed all your kids? job: that's right
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Maladroithe @maladroithe.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
pathsofpassion Follow
your feelings are valid == you are allowed to feel what you feel
your feelings are valid =/= whatever actions you take based purely on your emotions is reasonable and right
your feelings are valid. that doesn't mean your understanding of a situation is correct; it doesn't mean you haven't misunderstood something; it doesn't mean you have the right to hurt someone else because you feel hurt, or unhappy, or sad, or angry, even if they obviously 'deserve it for how they made you feel
your feelings are valid; you are not wrong for feeling whatever way you feel. But just because you feel something doesn't make it true
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Asher HELLbein @asherelbein.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I'm enjoying the fact that Ken Paxton is getting dragged through Trump's public need to humiliate and belittle anyone loyal to him
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