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Katie Darby Mullins

@katiedarbymullins.bsky.social
416 followers 569 following 189 posts

Writer, Founder/Editor in Chief at The Apologist, Heavy-Metal mouth. I’m too online— I’ve lost the context. I want to be the OK Go of writing.

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Reposted by Katie Darby Mullins
The Liberty Pear @thelibertypear.com · 04/10/2026
🚨🗳️ This week alone, I’ve donated over $200 to help James Talarico win Texas. Winning a Senate seat in TEXAS changes the conversation about what is possible everywhere; and the end of MAGA as we know it. 🤠 We’re down to the final stretch. Here’s how to help 👇 thelibertypear.com/2026/09/23/h...
thelibertypear.com
How to Help Talarico Right Now
A few simple ways to help James Talarico: share his latest posts, repost clips, donate, volunteer, and register to vote.
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Psyched to have placed in @expositionreview.bsky.social’s Flash 405 competition with a piece about the Great Abortion Songs of the Late ‘90s. Nice to have a piece on music coming ot before @marchxness.bsky.social this year! expositionreview.com/flash-405/th...
expositionreview.com
The Summer I Drove a Teal Chevy Beretta - Exposition Review
by Katie Darby Mullins Honorable Mention – Flash 405, June 2026: “Loop” Nonfiction   I have never had an abortion except for the summer I couldn’t turn the radio on without hearing about one. I drove ...
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Draft one of new book, “LIARS GO TO HELL,” finished today! I’ve got the synopsis, but this art by @batsyhead.bsky.social sums it up just as well:
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Me, write something current and topical? Sure! I just finished an essay called “The Tragedy of Tom Wambsgans.” Folks are starving for cultural think pieces on four year old shows, right? (In my world, “Succession” will always be relevant…)
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Sharing some old short stories that were never online before— this one, “BRING ELIZA HOME,” was originally published in Iron Horse Literary. A young teenager’s disabled older sister goes missing, and she tries to cope online. open.substack.com/pub/katiedar...
open.substack.com
BRING ELIZA HOME
(Previously published in Iron Horse)
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Reposted by Katie Darby Mullins
March Xmas 2026 @marchxness.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
And in the 16 slot, @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social grabs Harvey Danger's "Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas (Sometimes)": www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3og...
youtube.com
Harvey Danger - Sometimes You Have to Work On Christmas
YouTube video by JohnnyChicago
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
I GOT A GOLDEN TICKETTTTTTTT!!!!
static.klipy.com
Golden Ticket
ALT: Golden Ticket
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Today’s song about songs— @fatherjohnmisty.bsky.social’s “Josh Tillman and the Accidental Dose” X Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks.” open.substack.com/pub/katiedar...
open.substack.com
Day 6: Father John Misty’s “Josh Tillman and the Accidental Dose” X Van Morrison’s “Astral Weeks”
An incredible song about an incredible song/album
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Psyched to be talking about OK Go, The Rolling Stones, Everclear, and Cheap Trick in today’s celebration of songs about songs! open.substack.com/pub/katiedar...
open.substack.com
Days 4-5: OK Go, “A Good Idea at the Time” X The Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil; Everclear’s “Sunshine (That Acid Summer)” X Cheap Trick, “Surrender”
Two more inclusions in April’s Songs about Songs Holiday!
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Day Three of Songs about Songs/Songwriters: Waylon Jennings’s “Bob Wills is Still the King” X Bob Wills’s “New San Antonio Rose”— open.substack.com/pub/katiedar... If you missed the first two it was Okkervil River X EVERYONE and Amanda Shires X Roy Orbison. Tell me your favorite songs about songs!
open.substack.com
Waylon Jennings, “Bob Wills is Still The King” X Bob Wills, “New San Antonio Rose” X Willie Nelson
B-side showing “Bob Wills is Still the King,” Waylon Jennings— the A-side was ANOTHER music-referencing song, mega-hit “Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?”
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Hello, @marchxness.bsky.social friends! I decided instead of doing “Poetry Month,” I’m doing “Songs that Talk About Other Songs Month,” and if you want to come share favorites or just chat music, I’d love the March Xness to slide into April Ridiculousness. open.substack.com/pub/katiedar...
open.substack.com
Amanda Shires, “Strange Dreams” X Roy Orbison, “Only the Lonely”/“Crying”
Day Two of National Songs That Talk About Other Songs Month
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
@themountaingoats.bsky.social I wanted to tell you— “Bleed Out” is the record that saved my soul when I was putting my body through the motions. It helped me quit my job. Every song is a perfect metaphor for the way I increasingly felt as a professor, but especially “Hostages” and the title track.
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
Friends, I took a summer vacation from @theapologistzine.bsky.social, and I am so glad I did: this first issue back, about liminal space characters, is the perfect way to kick off and celebrate my newfound independence. I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I do. substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
Lost in Space(s): The Internal Wars of Liminal Characters
By: Dawn Adepoju & Briane Willis
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
@jasonkirk.fyi hey, I run a zine about the intersection of pop culture and personal journeys— I asked around about evangelical/exvangelical folks and what the first secular art they truly loved was. A friend pointed me to you! First, I’m PSYCHED because your book looks amazing & I love sports, too—
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
Man, I said OUT LOUD, TO HUMANS this week that I felt like Coach Prime had been suspiciously quiet. Apparently he was busy beating bladder cancer. Sorry Prime Time. I won’t joke anymore. Thanks for making sure my team had enough rings so I can be a jackass forever.
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Reposted by Katie Darby Mullins
earworms magazine (SUBS OPEN UNTIL 11/5) @earwormsmag.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
absolutely scrumptious pop is our game y’all, FEED US 😛😛 drop some hits down below and then drop some absolute bangers to our inbox, we want to read what u write when it’s all about that sweet sweet music
man eating lots of genetically altered foods behind words that say:
how it feels to enjoy a mainstream pop song
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
Crowdsourcing: when I was in high school, #marilynmanson released Mechanical Animals and was widely regarded as a mitigating factor in the Columbine shooting. Does #genz have any musicians/bands like that, that are shocking in a way that makes them beloved and reviled? #music #helpanold
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Reposted by Katie Darby Mullins
earworms magazine (SUBS OPEN UNTIL 11/5) @earwormsmag.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
🌟ARTIST SPOTLIGHT🌟 we were so lucky to publish not 1 but 2 @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social poems, and this one, “LANA SINGS THE WORLD ON FIRE,” inspired by Lana Del Ray’s “The Greatest,” is absolutely FANTASTIC earwormsmag.wixsite.com/earwormsmag/...
earwormsmag.wixsite.com
LANA SINGS THE WORLD ON FIRE | Earwormsmag
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
@mohammed177.bsky.social oh my Lord, I just saw the work you are doing. Thank you for illuminating the struggle of Palestine and amplifying voices that are being silenced by bombs, hunger, and loss. You are doing something few people would have the stomach OR the heart for.
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Man, if Luka isn’t on the court, all I want is a good game. I really wanted a game seven. I don’t want this season to end, at least not until football starts. But I actually teared up watching Hali go down. It is SO HARD to see a young man who is so joyful be in so much pain.
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
I’m personally offended by the Google AI commercial in which a guy Googles “What’s something cool going on in the city?,” sees “James Blunt concert,” and he goes, all the while “She’s So High” by Tal Bachman plays. Go home, Google, you’re drunk.
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Reposted by Katie Darby Mullins
Taco Bell Quarterly @tacobellquarterly.org · 17/06/2025
Literature is dead and no one reads anymore! I would still encourage you to make terrible life choices and become a writer anyway! Fuck a job, write poetry!
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Me rn cleaning the trash out of my daughter’s room:
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 14/06/2025
Absolutely one of the highlights of my fifteen-year career as a writing prof, @earwormsmag.bsky.social released their first issue and did me the honor of publishing me! Very proud to be part of their inaugural issue. Everyone— especially those of you who write about music!— submit to Issue 2!
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Reposted by Katie Darby Mullins
earworms magazine (SUBS OPEN UNTIL 11/5) @earwormsmag.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
🌟ARTIST SPOTLIGHT🌟 @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social channel’s the drumming talents of Travis Barker during his performance with Yung Thug on SNL to give us “TURNED TO VIOLENCE,” a poem you’re absolutely going to want to read immediately right now!! earwormsmag.wixsite.com/earwormsmag/...
earwormsmag.wixsite.com
TURNED TO VIOLENCE | Earwormsmag
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Reposted by Katie Darby Mullins
Erin Keane @erinkeane.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
@carynrose.bsky.social on Benmont Tench, Heartbreaker and so much more, and the keepers of rock history's sacred duty to play the hits www.salon.com/2025/05/27/b...
salon.com
The magic of rock and roll is a sacred archive maintained by those alive to still play the hits
Founding members of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell, hold the notes of memory.
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Curious: as a Xennial, is it unprofessional or required for me to quote Jay-Z when I quit doing anything? I think my new email sign off may be “I’ve got 99 problems/ Bein’ a bitch ain’t one.”
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
My formalist poetry education is most useful when I’m listening to bubblegum pop. Is Hoku’s “How Do I Feel (The Burrito Song)” good? If we’re going strictly by metrics and rhyming, “how we met” and “some brunette” is great, so I guess so.
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
I so wish that, when trying to ruin hope Cowboys fans have, Stephen A. was required to take one snap against, say, the Eagles, & see how many seconds he has to get an accurate ball downfield. Wonder how his QBR would stack against Dak’s. Think he could make CeeDee’s stats pop?
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
I quit my job last week and have been listening to @aimeemann.bsky.social’s “Nothing is Good Enough” (and a few other songs), but my husband overheard, pulled up the rest of the album, and said, “Oh man, Bachelor #2 is FULL of bangers about how much people suck.” Perfect one-line pitch.
aimeemann.bsky.social
Aimee Mann (@aimeemann.bsky.social)
Singer-songwriter working on a graphic memoir.
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Reposted by Katie Darby Mullins
A.M. Hayden (Windy Chicken Poet) @windychickenpoet.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
I am thrilled to be featured for National Poetry Month on The Apologist! The editor's note by Katie made my day! Check out these poems about hard-rocking women who have rocked my soul. theapologistzine.substack.com/p/poems-by-a... @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social @theapologistzine.bsky.social
theapologistzine.substack.com
Poems by A.M. Hayden
A collection inspired by artistic women
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
So excited and proud to be able to post not just pop culture commentary, but pop culture ART at @theapologistzine.bsky.social today! Thanks @amhayden.bsky.social for letting me publish your beautiful poems. theapologistzine.substack.com/p/poems-by-a...
theapologistzine.substack.com
Poems by A.M. Hayden
A collection inspired by artistic women
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
I have been studying Spanish for at least 30 minutes a day, reading in Spanish, practicing with AI, and translating for over three years. I just realized I am more comfortable, out loud, with the made up language at the end of Missy Elliott’s “Gossip Folks.” Learn languages when you’re young, kids.
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Jerry Jones says the Cowboys are putting together “substantive trades” before Draft Day. He does know that he can’t hurt us worse than Nico did, right? (I hope he can’t?)
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
A thing I just very genuinely said to a room full of adults: “Y’all are probably too young to be TV on the Radio fans, but you should check out the new Tunde Adebimpe record.” In horrible news, no one corrected me. Why do we, as a people, allow the younger generations to forget sacred texts?
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Reposted by Katie Darby Mullins
Olivia Campbell @oliviacampbell.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
It's SO good
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
The new Tunde Adebimpe record is an absurd bop, which, while not a surprise, is still a delight. It was good to hear a line like “My heart beats a spark of revival” and feel as though I could trust the voice and singer. In fact, I *needed* that.
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
All right, I’m trying to get into #localh, by which I mean I love literally everything I’ve ever heard by Local H, but I’m unschooled. Any tips on where to start to go beyond the radio?
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
OK. Now I’m crying about this. Lana is still the soundtrack, but at least these tears feel well-placed.
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
“Hey Katie, how are you doing?” “Pretty good, just sobbing to the new #lanadelrey song “Henry, come on,” and no, I don’t know why.” “Cool. Cool cool cool. So normal for you, then?”
media.tenor.com
a man in a leather jacket and tie is saying cool cool cool cool cool cool cool
ALT: a man in a leather jacket and tie is saying cool cool cool cool cool cool cool
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
My daily Dallas Cowboys roundup email this morning was headlined, “What did Dallas’s NFC East rivals do during free agency?” And like a petulant child, I rolled my eyes and then said, “Everything right.”
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
You know, we may have lost the game, but I had one of the most important and exciting days of my adult life today, and I can’t wait to share more about that. So I’m taking this excellent picture of Luka stomping and using it as my “this is how I feel now” bookmark. I look forward to explaining why.
Luka Doncic in Sunday’s game against OKC where they won by over 20 points. He’s stomping in triumph and delight.
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
I did not realize there was such a thing as a basketball game going so well that it made you anxious, but man, this #lakers game is doing that. Also I am grateful to have followed Luka to LA, because this team is wildly fun to watch.
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Now an ACTUALLY young woman is with an ACTUALLY older man. He’s in a suit and she’s dressed in plain workout clothes. This is a safe room, clearly, so he’s Agent X and she’s Emily. Emily is under duress but cannot leave because of a tornado warning. Also the inherent threat of Agent X.
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
All right, Madison Booker just put down a beautiful fadeaway shot so I have a minute for General Hospital. I thought there was a couple having an argument, but they looked roughly the same age. That’s not how this usually works. But then a younger woman came in (I’m calling her Trixie) and gasped—
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Worse, in my General Hospital, she’s an exceptionally skilled assassin— and I can tell everyone loathes her for it. Why can’t people just be happy for successful women??
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
What time is it? Apparently whenever #generalhospital comes on! Today’s actually features THE HOSPITAL, which makes me think no one there has ever been sick. Hospitals SEEM like a source of conflict but there is so, so much waiting around. So much. Hospitals are scary or boring or both.
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Spending a lot of time with #carlysimon lately. She’s the perfect mix between dead-on devastating (“Like a River”) and whimsical. I can’t get over the line “Their children hate them for the things they’re not/They hate themselves for what they are” in “That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard it Should Be.”
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Katie Darby Mullins @katiedarbymullins.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Thanks Last Syllable Lit for publishing an essay that is either about: sleep, intensity, acting, my stroke, my OCD, procedural television, a moment of kindness on social media, or @vincentdonofrio.bsky.social. I hope it’s the latter, but most likely all of the above. lastsyllablelit.com/procedural
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