iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 21h

There is a moment at the very very end of Abdul El-Sayed's podcast with Ezra Klein (book recommendation section) where he talks about the idea of "speaking truth to pain" and this will be staying with me for an extremely long time. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/o...

But there’s also something about truth to pain. We talk a lot about truth to power, but I think it’s actually a lot harder to speak truth to pain. I say that as someone who went to medical school, realizing that in a lot of our politics right now, we’ve got to get a lot better at speaking truth to pain if we’re going to get through some of these challenges that we have.

What does “truth to pain” mean?

It’s one thing to look power in the eye and say: You’re wrong about this. But there’s a way in which pain is very difficult to reason with. Because when somebody is in their pain, they’re in their trauma. They see that pain, and they may not see what’s causing it.

I remember just very explicitly being in a trauma ward with a gunshot wound patient and watching this big guy with his hand on his gunshot wound. All the folks are trying to pull his hand off his pain, that point of his gunshot wound, this clear vulnerability.

And this emergency room doctor had the presence of mind to be like: Everyone, stop. And she looks him in the eyes, and she’s like: I get that really hurts, and I’m so sorry that you’re here. You don’t want to be here. We don’t want you to be here. But if you don’t let us fix this, you could die. So I’m going to take your hand, and I’m going to move it off, OK? Because I need to get there so that you can live.

She was speaking truth to pain. He understands he’s at the hospital, he needs care, but he also doesn’t want anybody to touch the wound. Which is a natural thing. And I think it is a really great metaphor for how we think about a lot of these challenges we talked about today.

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Gareth Gaston @cggaston.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Here is a contemporaneous account of school closing in Charlottesville: drive.google.com/file/d/1dbMP...

drive.google.com

SchoolDesegregationGastonHammond.pdf

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Deborah Baker @deborahbaker.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

With the support of the vast majority of its white residents, Charlottesville closed its schools too.

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@GeoBlogs @geoblogs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Excellent piece on Andri Snær Magnason in yesterday’s Observer

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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 23/09/2026

‘Israelis branded Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham as traitors, not Jews, “Kapos”. There were calls for violence against them, for them to be ostracised, sent to Gaza or exiled elsewhere.’ Alona Ferber on the frenzied response to the documentary 𝘕𝘈𝘡𝘈, new on the blog. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/se...

lrb.co.uk

Alona Ferber | Layers of Denial

The frenzy in Israel surrounding the documentary NAZA is fundamentally undemocratic. That is what happens after years of...

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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 22/09/2026

America’s longest-running paternity dispute has seemingly come to an end: Thomas Jefferson fathered children with Sally Hemings, his enslaved chambermaid, and the Smithsonian has the DNA to prove it. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/9tkTEI

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Cameron Clark @cameronclark.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

A key point: you do need a theory of communication, alongside a theory of politics, to be an effective operator I think the centre and left struggle, generally, with "playing the game" - it's not enough to just have policy prescriptions you think will work

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Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 21/09/2026

If European countries & other signatories to the International Criminal Court have any self-respect, they'd sanction Rubio & Trump for obstructing investigations of Netanyahu's war crimes.

wsj.com

Exclusive | Trump Ramps Up Bid to Dismantle International Criminal Court

The U.S. administration is preparing sweeping sanctions that would cut the court off from much of the global financial system.

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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

New for @talkingpointsmemo.com: Marshall Rawson, GOP nominee for Florida legislature, marched w/ Nazis in Charlottesville, condoned slavery, & called for execution of gay people. Does GOP even care? Is there a limit to MAGA's "never punch right" ethos? talkingpointsmemo.com?p=1558029&pr...

talkingpointsmemo.com

We Asked 28 GOP Officials If They’d Denounce the GOP Nominee Who Marched With Nazis in Charlottesville

This week I asked 28 current and former Republican Party officials in...

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Rabih Alameddine @rabihalameddine.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

On short lifespans

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Nicola Spurr @nicolaspurr.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Book people are the best people

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The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 15/09/2026

Florida’s Marshall Rawson joined the “Unite the Right” rally—and was even spotted with the man who drove his car into counterprotesters. trib.al/YRaForf

trib.al

Republican Nominee Marched at Violent Neo-Nazi Rally

Florida’s Marshall Rawson joined the “Unite the Right” rally—and was even spotted with the man who drove his car into counterprotesters.

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Livable Cville @livablecville.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

This Wednesday, September 16th at 6pm at the Jefferson School, PHAR and community partners are hosting an event called “Whose City? A Community Panel About Luxury and Affordable Housing.” This promises to be an engaging and informative event - please consider attending!

WHOSE CITY?
A COMMUNITY PANEL ABOUT LUXURY AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING
WEDNESDAY, SEP 16TH 6:00PM

Learn more about how racial inequity relates to housing and how safe, stable housing is the foundation for economic well-being, workforce stability, and the strength of the whole community

Shamaal Sheppard
Former Senior Policy
Analyst
Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality

James Bryant
Vice President
10th & Page
Neighborhood
Association, Retired
Educator

Latricia Giles
Executive Director
Charlottesville Public
Housing Association
of Residents

Zyahna Bryant
School Board Member;
10th & Page
Neighborhood
Association Organizer;
Deputy Political
Director, Tom Perriello for Congress

Jefferson School
African American Heritage Center Auditorium
233 4th St NW, Charlottesville, VA 22903

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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

⁨7am at the Amtrak station in Baltimore. The glamour!⁩ Our new book comes out tomorrow -- get a copy and come see us on the road. naomiklein.org/end-times-fa...

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Christopher Mathias @letsgomathias.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

NEW: @talkingpointsmemo.com can reveal GOP nominee for Florida legislature: -marched at deadly Charlottesville Nazi rally w/ white supremacist group's flag -has *many* white supremacist donors -appears to advocate lynching He is expected to win Nov. election talkingpointsmemo.com/news/florida...

talkingpointsmemo.com

Exclusive: He Marched With Nazis in Charlottesville. Now He’s Expected to Join the Florida Legislature.

The Republican nominee for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives...

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Adam Chapman @adamchapman.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

This is a very interesting new resource, The Register of British Slave-Traders. 'The Register focusses on the individuals who sought to profit from the enslavement of over 3 million African men, women, and children, whose identity was – for the most part – erased from the historical record.' 🗃️

britishslavetraders.org

The Register of British Slave-Traders

The Register of British Slave-traders compiles and presents information on all known slave-traders in Britain who invested in the trafficking of captive Africans from 1563 to 1807.

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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

It’s alarming how much influence Hasan Piker may potentially one day have in the Democratic Party. by Laura Loomer, Nick Fuentes, David Duke, Thomas Rousseau, James Fishback, and Alex Jones

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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

*How he research and writes There are some great tips for finding stories and documents from Radden Keefe, as well as some killer lines on writing compelling stories Be “like a duck floating on the crystalline surface of a pond!" www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTvo...

youtube.com

Trump's America, Coming to Britain | Patrick Radden Keefe

YouTube video by Democracy for Sale

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Blake Rogers Wilson @bodyindc.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

R.I.P. Oscar Grant

A graffiti covered confederate statue. A small poster dedicated to Oscar Grant of Oakland is in the front of the frame. Grant is pictured on the left.

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NPR @npr.org · 12/09/2026

Leading Palestinian writer Raja Shehadeh has documented Israel's occupation of the West Bank since day one. Fearing the occupation might consume his archive, he secretly moved it to Scotland n.pr/4yyXSmn

n.pr

The secret quest to preserve Palestinian writer Raja Shehadeh's diaries

Leading Palestinian writer Raja Shehadeh has documented Israel's occupation of the West Bank since day one. Fearing the occupation might consume his archive, he secretly moved it to Scotland

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Sergey Vasiliev @sevslv.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

“An Exception in World Affairs”: a must-read essay by Aryeh Neier in @nybooks.com, reflecting on the institutional success of the ICTY and why it may have been just what the title says: an exception in world affairs.

nybooks.com

An Exception in World Affairs | Aryeh Neier

Ratko Mladić’s death last week at eighty-three in The Hague—where he was serving a life sentence for committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and

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Steven Beschloss @stevenbeschloss.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Still waiting: —for evidence Mitch McConnell is alive. —Republicans to confess how batshit crazy Trump is. —John Fetterman to announce he’s become a Republican. …Supreme Court supermajority to admit they really don’t care about upholding the Constitution. …Americans to prove enough is enough.

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Craig Harrington @craigipedia.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Oh my gosh, the best political video on YouTube just got updated after a decade and a half and it's still just perfect! It visualizes something that I've talked about a lot since the first video came out: The real problem is the billionaire class. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gxl...

youtube.com

Wealth Inequality in America (Updated 2026)

YouTube video by politizane

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

JON STEWART: “They began covering their ass 3 weeks after 9/11… There was poison in the air, on the ground, on your pets/clothes… THE CITY KNEW. Rather than limit the damage, they covered it up… After 9/11, business will never be usual again.” (From @mamdanibulletin.bsky.social )

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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

BUNCH: “.. Americans are an amazingly brave people .. They’ve got to be brave enough to face their own history. .. And I will stand against wind and tide to prevent history from being erased ..” @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/a...

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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

We woke up thinking about the long shadow of all the workers’ wins and even their losses. We made it free to watch the short documentary that dominated my life this year. Happy Labor Day. vimeo.com/1224659811/7...

vimeo.com

Power to the People, Y'all [Happy Labor Day]

Power to the People, Y’all is a character-driven documentary that explores aging, legacy, and resistance through interviews with five founding members of the Winston-Salem Chapter of the Black Panther...

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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Ugly but fascinating stuff from @lcrw.news. Valuable for those of us who study rightwing movements. And reminiscent, as a literary artifact, of the kind of weird insight the great alt-weeklies of the late 20th century used to offer. leftcoastrightwatch.org/articles/mee...

leftcoastrightwatch.org

MEET THE FORMER TPUSA VIDEOGRAPHER SELLING NAZI MEME SHIRTS | Left Coast Right Watch

As the opening seconds of September trickled into minutes, LCRW’s editor sat cross-legged against a granite pillar in the 62-degree Provo night. Across from them was a 27-year-old in a chocolate-chip ...

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 08/09/2026

to place the sexual and reproductive exploitation of black women at the center of your understanding of american slavery is to see that the system was forced birth and this, in turn, should lead to a more expansive vision of what the 13th amendment actually guarantees.

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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I'm biased, as faculty on the campus to which our president brought the state riot squad for the most modest of protests, but I think this is essential reading far beyond Dartmouth, a deep & measured case study--not a polemic--of how capitulation can occur even on a campus that had every advantage.

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Scroll @scroll.in · 06/09/2026

Instead of celebrating and showcasing Panjim’s enviable uniqueness, truly blessed with a riviera, a beach, & priceless heritage buildings, our city fathers seem single-minded in destroying those very same assets to reduce into another urban mess. scroll.in/article/1095... By Luis Dias

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Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 05/09/2026

Guyana is at least the sixth country to start taking third-country nationals since mid-July. (along with Burundi, Liberia, Belize, Dominica, St Lucia). Jamaica and the Bahamas may also be taking third-country nationals, but no one has been able to confirm it yet. 34 countries total now by my count.

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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I'd like this to be less folks saying similar things about a few links, more people saying "look at this." @cajuntaper.bsky.social sent me this video about how wealth is extracted from his state. No matter what you think you know, it's astonishing, & horrifying. www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWTi...

youtube.com

Why Louisiana Stays Poor

YouTube video by Together Louisiana

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Dawna and RealMonkeyCat @dawna9.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

BRAVO BRAVA to whoever hacked or created the fake Republican Natl Convention website directing folks to the Epstein Files. Ain’t life grand? 👏🏼💥👏🏾💥👏💥👏🏿💥👏🏽💥👏🏻💥

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Elle Cordova @ellecordova.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Rough Draft vs Final Draft

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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 03/09/2026

Breaking News: Gloria Steinem, the feminist crusader who galvanized the modern women’s movement, challenged sexist assumptions and fought for gender equality, has died at 92. nyti.ms/4cVollO

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Greg M. Epstein @gregmepstein.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I wasn't sure what @anildash.com would mean by "Cancer Capital" or how I would feel about his use of that disease as a metaphor. But turns out he's...dead on. Completely correct usage 👇 and every bit as chilling as a cancer reference should be

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Deborah Baker @deborahbaker.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Mythili Rao is so good at this.

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Mythili Rao @mythili.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I spoke with Marlon James about Jamaica's forgotten AIDS crisis, Nirvana, Toni Morrison, why his characters read so much, the gay Jamaican experience he missed out on as a young man, and why The Disappearers isn't a book about class. At @intelligence2.bsky.social: open.spotify.com/episode/0ynP...

open.spotify.com

NYT’s Novel of the Century? Marlon James on The Disappearers

Intelligence Squared · Episode

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Anupama Ranawana @msamrc.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

This is magnificent. Thank you @blacklikewho.bsky.social "The neoliberal university is a killing field. It kills in many ways"

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Open Measures @openmeasures.io · 02/09/2026

Here's a video from senior researcher @jaredlholt.bsky.social explaining how he uses the Open Measures platform to approach stories like these

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Laurent Dubois @soccerpolitics.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

What a great set of finalists - and delighted to see Kim Hall's amazing book among them!

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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

In case you missed it they need a new one because Anna Wintour bullied them into celebrating a murder-mouth lying bigot who was a bridge too far so they had to backpedal and tho I’m no expert in these matters this seems like one of the best ideas in America right now. www.allure.com/story/met-ga...

allure.com

What If Dolly Parton Was the 2027 Met Gala Theme?

She understood better than anyone the sheer joy, and the great power, in fashion and beauty.

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