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Audrey Stienon

@astienon.bsky.social
655 followers 1.3K following 278 posts

industrial policy at the Open Markets Institute • fascinated about how we shape industries and markets to serve the public interest • book nerd & recovering globe trotter • views are my own • 🇧🇪🇺🇸

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Reposted by Audrey Stienon
WIRED @wired.com · 09/10/2026
More than two dozen workers at three major publishing houses—HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette—tell WIRED that LLMs are being used for publicity, cover art, back cover copy, and emails, as some execs push junior staff to champion the tech. Read the full story: buff.ly/p0ymGmN
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Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
SCOOP: Last week the National Design Studio announced a new AI website, America.gov. Turns out some NDS workers are on loan to the government and are actually employed by a newly formed nonprofit, founded by the general counsel of SpaceXAI who is himself a DOGE alum. www.wired.com/story/myster...
wired.com
A Mysterious Nonprofit Run by SpaceXAI’s Top Lawyer Is Paying the Salaries of Government Workers
The National Design Studio has been something of a successor agency to DOGE. A WIRED investigation finds some of its members are on loan from a nonprofit run by SpaceXAI’s general counsel.
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Reposted by Audrey Stienon
Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
“An ABC News analysis found defense companies backed by the president's sons, including Anduril, have now raked in more than $6 billion dollars in active or promised government contracts since those investments were made, according to the government's official contract reporting.”
abcnews.com
Trump sons' investments have won billions in Pentagon contracts since his election
The contract for a new plant in Baltimore is the latest linked to the brothers.
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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 05/10/2026
"Seven former Cornell students are accused of sexually assaulting another student who says she was incapacitated. Messages allegedly inviting other frat members were sent to a group chat during the assault. Everyone is talking about the seven. I keep thinking about the others." buff.ly/z7yWbR2
buff.ly
An Open Letter to Cornell University from the Mother of a Prospective Male Student
“Seven former Cornell students are accused in a civil lawsuit of sexually assaulting another Cornell student who says she was incapacitated. Messages alleged...
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The City Reporter @thecityreporter.nyc · 04/10/2026
“It means higher costs to the tune of a billion dollars,” Jessie Lazarus, chief of the MTA’s rolling stock program, said at the authority’s board meeting.
buff.ly
Trump Tariffs to Add $1B to Cost of New Trains and Buses in NYC: MTA
The transit agency says thousands of parts are sourced from all over the world.
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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
With Musk tweeting autism supremacy stuff again today, good time to read @juliametraux.bsky.social’s piece on the subject www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
The 4chan-coded ideology behind Elon Musk's war on normies
Musk thinks autism makes him superhuman. Just don't call it that.
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Reposted by Audrey Stienon
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 04/10/2026
"Absent policy steering, AI’s modeled effects increase the carbon intensity of the global economy and reinforce fossil fuel incumbency—outcomes that current analytical and governance frameworks do not fully capture."
nature.com
AI-driven productivity gains enable more CO₂ emissions than they avoid in a global energy–economy model - npj Climate Action
npj Climate Action - AI-driven productivity gains enable more CO₂ emissions than they avoid in a global energy–economy model
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The Intellectualist @theintellectualist.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
President Donald J. Trump commuted the prison term of David Gentile, who led GPB Capital, less than two weeks after he began serving a seven-year sentence in a $1.6 billion fraud that prosecutors said harmed more than 10,000 investors. theintellectualistofficial.substack.com/p/trump-free...
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Alan Wessman @alanwessman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Regardless of the merits of data centers, this is not an appropriate use of public lands, because it monopolizes the land for a single private entity rather than keeping the land as multi-use, defeating the whole idea of public lands. Let Valar purchase its own land if it needs space.
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Dissent Magazine @dissentmag.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The investment community at large bent over backward to get a piece of SpaceX stock. People wanted in, and badly. The IPO was a mass delusion event of astronomical proportions.
dissentmagazine.org
The SpaceX Sham - Dissent Magazine
The chief scandal of the AI boom is not the secretive financial machinations of tech oligarchs, but how much money they have raised on the open promise of an automated, transhumanist future.
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Reposted by Audrey Stienon
David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The imminent landlord bailout, a settlement of litigation over the COVID-era eviction moratorium, is dominated by affiliates of Starwood Capital, a private equity firm that itself received direct and indirect federal assistance during COVID. Zachary Groz reports. prospect.org/2026/09/25/p...
prospect.org
Private Equity Landlords Double-Dipping in Imminent Bailout - The American Prospect
Companies like Starwood Capital Group, which benefited greatly from financial assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, want a federal bailout on top of that.
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David Sirota @davidsirota.com · 25/09/2026
🚨EXCLUSIVE: AI safety rules were about to be enacted - then $25 million from OpenAI's president was deposited in Trump's super PAC and the rule disappeared. @levernews.com unearths documents exposing how AI oligarchs got Trump to kill rules they now claim to support. A must-read - pass it on👇
levernews.com
AI Regulation Was Coming. Then Trump Killed It.
After a flood of tech industry cash, President Donald Trump killed a requirement that AI giants disclose their riskiest experiments to national security officials. Now lawmakers are scrambling to catc...
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Elizabeth V @geolizzy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I never get tired of letting people know that US Rare Earth is sketchy and that it’s Round Top project isn’t very good and that they have yet to do anything involving rare earths despite getting a bunch of US government $$$ www.mining.com/web/the-tiny...
mining.com
The tiny magnet maker that attracted $1.6 billion from Lutnick
USA Rare Earth's mine at Round Top Mountain is about 85 miles southeast of El Paso, Texas.
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The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 24/09/2026
A pro-Trump ad that said it was paid for by the U.S. government aired on Fox News in major TV markets. Ethics experts said it could violate federal law. on.wsj.com/4hm6XYW
on.wsj.com
A pro-Trump ad that said it was paid for by the U.S. government aired on Fox News in major TV markets. Ethics experts said it could violate federal law.
The unusual ad, which said it was paid for by the U.S. government, aired on Fox News in major TV markets.
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Clara Jeffery @clarajeffery.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
@ariberman.bsky.social and @pemalevy.bsky.social have a damning new story about how the Roberts Court is reviving Jim Crow, relying on the same legal tactics used to undermine the Reconstruction. A must read to understand the stakes of this election. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Cover of Mother Jones issue on the new Jim Crow
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zeynep tufekci @zey.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Polls show people expect AI to at least advanced science. Navier-Stokes, right? AI may throttle science instead! It doesn’t always advance understanding, its glut overwhelms filters for quality, and its methods don’t fit medical research. Gift link to my NYT essay. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/o...
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William Turton @williamturton.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Even the defense contractor’s executives were surprised at how far their money went in D.C. “It was eye-opening for me, frankly. ‘Oh my God, all of it is for sale. It’s all for sale,’” one said. www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
propublica.org
The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way
After the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...
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William Turton @williamturton.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
In 2024 the former CEO of a defense contractor made a stunning confession to two FBI agents. He alleged that was the ringleader of a massive pay-to-play operation, bribing senators with campaign contributions in exchange for govt contracts. www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
propublica.org
The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way
After the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 21/09/2026
for your future voting knowledge, Gavin Newsom was central in pressuring the AGs to settle their antitrust lawsuit against Paramount:
deadline.com
Done! Paramount Settles Antitrust Suit, Set To Seal Deal For Warner Bros. Discovery
Paramount agreed to settle an antitrust suit by a dozen State Attorneys General led by California's Rob Bonta, the last obstacle to its merger with WBD.
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
NEW: @apnews.com confirms that ICE has begun electronically "disappearing" people in the agency's custody who have final orders of removal. As of last week, anyone jailed by ICE with a final order of removal will NOT appear in the ICE Online Detainee Locator System, making them effectively vanish.
apnews.com
AP Exclusive: ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stopped publicly revealing where it is holding most detainees who are subject to final deportation orders, in a move that has made it harder for lawyers an...
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Reposted by Audrey Stienon
Washingtonian @washingtonian.com · 19/09/2026
Is the US actually barreling toward a constitutional crisis over the lettering on an arts complex's façade?
washingtonian.com
If Trump Demolishes the Kennedy Center, We Have Problems - Washingtonian
Is the US actually barreling toward a constitutional crisis over the lettering on an arts complex's façade?
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Revolving Door Project @revolvingdoordc.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Chuck Schumer killed the oversight legislation “feared most” by Big Tech while his daughters were employed in marketing at Meta and lobbying for Amazon.
commondreams.org
What OpenAI Having Chuck Schumer's Daughter as a Lobbyist Tells Us | Common Dreams
The compute giant’s hiring spree throws up a roadblock for Democrats’ ability to run against AI and corruption.
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Audrey Stienon @astienon.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Oh, look! Singapore's Speakers Corner made a friend. www.nparks.gov.sg/speakers-cor...
nparks.gov.sg
Speakers Corner
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Reposted by Audrey Stienon
Maggie Harrison Dupré @mharrisondupre.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
NEW: Brown Brothers Media is the most successful media company you've never heard of. For years, its success was fueled by AI, fake writers, and fake reporting. When we started asking questions, BBM started mass-deleting content. Somehow, what came next was even worse. futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com
How Three Brothers Built an AI Slop Empire by Buying Legitimate News Sites and Turning Them Into Zombie Content Farms That They Say Get 50 Million Page Views per Month
Brown Brothers Media is a media empire raking in millions of clicks with AI, fake writers, and plagiarism.
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Reposted by Audrey Stienon
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 16/09/2026
IMO billionaires should not be able to decimate industries & disrupt tens of thousands of families based on pique over regulatory decisions.
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Martin Austermuhle @maustermuhle.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Wow: The National Guard has signed a $292 million contract to house thousands of troops deployed to D.C. in 2,000 apartments in the city, instead of in hotels or other places where they've been put up. www.notus.org/defense/nati...
notus.org
National Guard Signs $292M Housing Contract for Troops in Washington, D.C.
The deal would provide 2,000 “apartment-style lodging units” for service members deployed in the city.
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Guardian US @us.theguardian.com · 15/09/2026
ICE is arresting a record number of pregnant women and teenagers, according to government documents obtained by the Guardian. At the same time, the agency appears to have lost count of how many suffered a miscarriage. 🧵
Two charts side by side. The first shows the number of pregnant people in ICE detention, which peaks in November 2025. The second shows the number of miscarriages recorded by ICE, until October 2025, when ICE said it has no updated information on the number of miscarriages.
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Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network @domesticemployers.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
"You feel stuck... The four walls of your room become like a jail." – HiH member Ligia Andrade Zúñiga, on life without a caregiver. The federal government froze $1.7B meant for CA's homecare program, citing fraud it can't prove. Real people pay the price. www.washingtonsun.com/healthcare/a...
washingtonsun.com
The Push Toward At-Home Care Is Caught in Trump’s Anti-Fraud Crusade
The Trump administration is holding more money from California’s home-care program than anywhere else.
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Free Press @freepress.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The same Big Tech billionaires building AI tools we didn't ask for are devouring TV networks, movie studios, and major newspapers. They want to watch us AND control what we watch. A 🧵 on the intersection between media consolidation and the growing surveillance state >>>
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Audrey Stienon @astienon.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
"These firms manage $7.3tn in assets of all kinds, affording them the ability to shape the pace of the transition away from fossil fuels." Even as some PE firms pose as "climate conscious" to attract investors, their record is fundamentally at odds w/ the claim www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
World’s top 20 private equity firms produce more greenhouse gases a year than most countries, report finds
Firms manage $7.3tn in assets and could afford to transition away from fossil fuels yet invest in natural gas and coal-fired plants to power datacenters
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Michelle Goldberg @michellegoldberg.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/14/o...
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 14/09/2026
When Republicans tried to repeal a law voters passed to ban gerrymandering, Utah’s women spoke up. The state's male politicians have punished them, but the women so far are unbowed. nyti.ms/3UTwX6r
Five conservatively dressed women sit for a portrait in front of paintings. Photo by Kim Raff for The New York Times
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Elizabeth Wilkins @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
We have tools, like the DPA, that can allow for government supervision. We have a Congress whose job it is to protect us. We have state legislatures, AGs, and civil society who can provide a counterweight to the labs. 5/
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PoPville @popville.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
“Many National Guard just moved into a luxury apartment complex in SW DC.” - A resident reports: www.popville.com/2026/09/nati...
popville.com
“Many National Guard just moved into a luxury apartment complex in SW DC.” - PoPville
"Dear PoPville, Wanted to share that many National Guard just moved into a luxury apartment complex in SW DC. They have rental furniture that was brought several weeks ago. Unsure if they each get the...
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Some details: Kremlev, the Russian who sponsored Don Jr's wedding, is a former member of the Night Wolves biker gang, went to China with Putin and is personally sanctioned by Ukraine for his role in abducting children www.propublica.org/article/dona...
propublica.org
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 11/09/2026
25 years ago, terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people, including 2,753 New Yorkers. As we remember that terrible day, let us also remember the first responders, office workers and strangers who ran toward danger to help each other.
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public health guy @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
CDC’s 9/11 world trade center health program was one of the first things this regime purged. just something to remember when republicans get really into the performative nationalism this week
abcnews.com
New York Republicans scold Trump for CDC cuts that affect 9/11 responders
Critics say the Trump administrations cuts to CDC staff will negatively affect a health fund for 9/11 first responders.
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Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Flew under the radar last week, but the Trump administration rolled back a rule for federal contractors that at least 7% of workers within each job group in their workforce are people with disabilities. www.disabilityscoop.com/2026/08/31/l...
disabilityscoop.com
Labor Department Rescinds Disability Hiring Mandate
A decade-old federal rule designed to increase employment of people with disabilities will soon be no more.
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lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 04/09/2026
i don't think we should be listening to the Please Don't Prosecute The Tech Billionaires lobby on the subject of who to prosecute
Blue Horizon Project

The Blue Horizon Project is a new initiative from Chamber of Progress to restore tech optimism in the Democratic Party and reset the relationship between Democrats and the technology sector.
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The Citizens @the-citizens.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
repeat after me: a settlement isn’t change if the business model stays intact citizensreunited.substack.com/p/metas-17b-...
citizensreunited.substack.com
Meta’s ($17b) Cost of Doing Business
Plus: Burning Up
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Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 03/09/2026
Who should have more influence: organized labor or organized capital? news.gallup.com/poll/713936/...
news.gallup.com
Record-High 47% Want Unions to Have More Influence
Support for labor unions is at its modern-day peak in the U.S., both in approval and in Americans' desire for unions to gain influence.
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Open Markets Institute @openmarkets.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
In @dissentmag.bsky.social, OMI's @clairek.bsky.social & Sandeep Vaheesan lay out what a real affordability agenda should look like: rein in corporate power, invest in public goods, and raise workers’ incomes. dissentmagazine.org/online_artic...
dissentmagazine.org
The Fight Over Affordability - Dissent Magazine
We’re living in a period of excess business pricing power, not overbearing workers.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 02/09/2026
President Trump, never one to pinch pennies on anything shiny and new, has spent millions of taxpayer dollars on pet construction projects around Washington, D.C. They’re not going well.
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Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 01/09/2026
Private equity’s housing model can turn homes into vehicles for extracting returns. At Syracuse’s Nob Hill, investors bought the complex with little of their own capital, maintenance was deferred, conditions deteriorated, and tenants bore the consequences.
nytimes.com
How a Private Equity Group Drove an Apartment Complex Into the Ground
After decades as a coveted address in Syracuse, N.Y., the sprawling Nob Hill complex descended into neglect, squalor and death. One family paid a terrible price.
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The Lever @levernews.com · 01/09/2026
Opioid settlement money was supposed to help communities recover from an addiction crisis. Instead, 19 law enforcement agencies spent nearly $1 million of it on Flock cameras and other automated license-plate readers, according to Mother Jones.
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Adam Parkhomenko @adamparkhomenko.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
The iconic weeping willow trees outside the Kennedy Center have been cut down by Trump.
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Economic Policy Institute @epi.org · 31/08/2026
There’s an entire hidden industry built to stop workers from unionizing. We uncovered it. U.S. employers spend roughly $1.7 BILLION PER YEAR on union-avoidance consultants and law firms to prevent workers from organizing and bargaining for better pay and working conditions. #econsky #laborday 1/3
epi.org
U.S. employers spend more than $1.5 billion annually on union avoidance
Key takeaways Many U.S. employers hire union avoidance consultants to keep their workers from organizing and bargaining for better pay and working conditions. We estimate that employers spend roughly ...
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Better Things Are Possible @internethippo.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
This quote is from last February. Good work sir!
"Regulations, basically, should be default gone," Musk said. "Not default there, default gone. And if it turns out that we missed the mark on a regulation, we can always add it back in."
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