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Laura Castañón

@lacastanon.bsky.social
458 followers 190 following 152 posts

Technically a science writer, but more likely hanging with dogs, building a skull collection, playing ttrpgs, or messing about in boats.

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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The vast majority of my car trips are 15-minute drives to bring my dogs to green space. It's so frustrating. (And yes, I'm working on a bike solution for two 20lb pups...)
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I have just learned that the synonym for swole/jacked is spelled "yoked" (like an ox) as opposed to "yolked" (like Gaston eating five dozen eggs)
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Puppy and I were flattened by zoom meetings
A brown and white mop of a dog lying flat and sad on a bench by a window, wishing jobs were unnecessary
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Kat Eschner @keschner.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
"The Parton I love most might be this unreliable-narrator Dolly, with her practiced one-liners and bank of colorful anecdotes that at once seduce and beguile and absolutely defy anyone to get a full purchase on the so-called truth."
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I've had to buy How far the light reaches at least three times because I keep shoving my copy into people's hands and going READ THIS
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Sabrina Imbler @sabs.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
"[Graham] built a tower of monstrosity right up to the sky and then died. Do him the honor of acknowledging his life's work." a great @albertburneko.bsky.social blog on a rotted man defector.com/lindsey-grah...
defector.com
Lindsey Graham Dead, World No Worse | Defector
The Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina died on Saturday, after what reports have called a “brief and sudden illness” following an official visit to Ukraine. He was 71. In 2003 Graham ...
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Greg Jericho @grogsgamut.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Don’t live your life so that when you die people say “oh I was hoping it’d be the other guy, but I’ll take it”
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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
"To lose her on a morning commute at an intersection the city has explicitly documented as dangerous for years is just an unmitigated tragedy, a systemic failure." Deaths like Louisa's occur because our leaders prioritize the convenience of drivers over the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.
bostonglobe.com
‘Systemic failure’: Crash that killed Boston transit planner sparks furor over road safety efforts - The Boston Globe
Residents and public officials alike have been concerned about pedestrian and cyclist safety on the stretch of Tremont Street in Mission Hill near Parker Street for years.
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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Statement from @bikeboston.bsky.social, @streetsboston.bsky.social, and @walkmass.bsky.social about Louisa Gag, who was hit and killed by a driver today. Yet another life taken because our society and leaders refuse to address the destruction wrought by cars.
We are devastated by the loss of Boston resident and transportation planner, Louisa Gag. On Thursday morning, a driver struck and killed Louisa on her bicycle commute to city hall along Tremont Street near Roxbury Crossing.
Louisa Gag is not just a number on a spreadsheet; she was a champion for safer streets, a vibrant part of the planning and advocacy community, and a person dedicated to fixing the very system that failed her.
MASSACHUSETTS VISION ZERO COALITION
Prior to joining the city of Boston's Transportation Department, Louisa graduated with a masters from the Tufts Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy program and worked at Livable Streets Alliance. Our hearts are with Louisa, her family, and all her colleagues and friends at BTD, UEP, and in the advocacy community.
Fatalities are a heartbreaking reminder of the safety gaps in our infrastructure. Inaction and needless delays have consequences. Changes must be made to dangerous streets before we lose a community member, not after.
We need safer streets now.
MASSACHUSETTS VISION ZERO COALITION
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Jocelyn @historygirl.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
One of the more interesting photos I've taken of the city skyline. This was after 90 minutes of sailing in between the commuter ferries, whale watching boat, historic ships, a few Boston whalers, harbor police, some water taxis, other sonars, & more. Just glad the LNG moved on before we sailed.
A photograph of the Boston city skyline taken from the water. In the foreground is Boston Harbor, comprised of small waves which are dark teal or green blue in color. In the middle ground is the city skyline which is partially obscured by a consistent white fog bank. The shoreline and wharves cannot be seen, but the tops of the skyscrapers can.  A few boats sail on the water in front of the fog bank. Above the buildings is a light blue sky.
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
I have a feature in the July/August print issue of Popular Mechanics! I'm exceedingly proud of this story and so so grateful to all the folks who shared their stories and let me hold pieces of a ship that sank 70 years ago.
Photo of a print magazine page featuring an image of a Titanic-like cruise liner listing heavily in the ocean. The text reads: The Mount Everest of Shipwrecks. For 70 years, the Andrea Doria has lured divers into the frigid, murky waters of the North Atlantic with the promise of discovery -- and the very real possibility of death. By Laura Castañón
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Can someone explain the field of vision part of this? As in, why does it narrow and how do we know?
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Second night in a row of successfully rooting SO HARD for a friend's team. Sooo... who has strong World Cup feelings for me to get behind?
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Tyler, from the Internet @tylerfromtheinternet.com · 30/05/2026
let's be clear, let's be very clear, let's be incredibly clear about something: Marcia Lucas is why you love Star Wars. She's why Star Wars worked. She's why it has heart. She's responsible for the in-media-res beginning, she's responsible for basically everything charming and unique about >
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Laura Helmuth @laurahelmuth.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
"Would-be authoritarians don’t need to staff their regimes with ideological true believers, offer extreme enticements or impose draconian punishments in order to make successful power grabs. They just need to figure out how to target their ideal labor pool: the frustrated and mediocre."
nytimes.com
Actually, Democracy Dies in H.R.
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
They told me this was a dog @darthbluesky.bsky.social
I... it's... well, technically it's a miniature schnauzer upside down in an armchair. But you somehow can't see her front paws or her ears and she's giving crazy eyes and she's bent at a stupid angle. Think inverted sea lion, but gray and fuzzy and considering biting an ankle. She is perfect.
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The Onion @theonion.com · 16/05/2026
“I’m just so goddamn fed up with all this,” Gina Small, 29, said in a comment on the U.S. economy that one of her friends assumed was about the world’s ongoing humanitarian crises, another friend thought was about the weaponization of America’s military against its own people.
theonion.com
Everyone In Conversation Under Different Impression As To Which Horrific News Being Discussed
HENDERSON, NV—Solemnly nodding in agreement as they took turns speaking, each person engaged in an intense dinner conversation at a local restaurant Tuesday was reportedly under an entirely different ...
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Killian made her debut in the @lni.media newsletter and we're all very proud! (As a palate cleanser, not because she was the focus of any local or international news. Killian does not know how to start wars or gut the voting rights act.)
Screenshot of a photo of a tan, lightly striped crested gecko climbing on a weird wooden fish (blue, angler-adjacent, impressive underbite). Text underneath reads "This picture unsettles me and I'm trying to interrogate why. Killian did nothing wrong."
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Alan Elrod @aselrod.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
This from @jamellebouie.net is fantastic. Expand SCOTUS, yes, but also strip it of the powers it has accrued to itself. Make it serve the people and the republic as was intended. Also, let me add: the Roberts Court delenda est youtu.be/SRzS61buXkQ?...
youtu.be
The Supreme Court is Corrupt. This is What We Can Do About It.
YouTube video by Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
There is one named Hermie that visits Harvard's Countway Library!
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Audrey Dutton @audreydutton.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
I genuinely do not understand management's refusal to agree to basic protections, like that they won't replace us with AI. It's baffling. Makes no sense. We're on strike to show management how serious we are about this, and how eager we are to get a contract done!
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Arielle Duhaime-Ross @adrs.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
"Rowling has been transparent about her desire to keep assisting people in their efforts to rob transgender people of their dignity and human rights. That seems very much to be the entire point of The J.K. Rowling Women's Fund" www.theverge.com/report/90181...
theverge.com
There is no ethical consumption of HBO’s Harry Potter series
You can’t without supporting Rowling’s transphobic bigotry.
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
My dog is dying and it's awful, but also people I haven't spoken to in years are coming out of the woodwork to remind me of the things she ate and the trouble she caused over the last 13 years and I'm treasuring every second of it
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Kendra "Gloom is My Beat" Pierre-Louis @kendrawrites.com · 27/03/2026
If your story can be written by AI it's not a story that needs to be written.
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Elana Levin @levin.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Outdoorsy types & lovers of merino socks: The Union of REI workers is asking us to pledge to join a worker lead boycott during the company’s big annual spring sale. Sign the pledge @reiunion.bsky.social 💪🏻 #UnionStrong
ourrei.com
Vote to Boycott REI
Learn why co-op members are boycotting REI after years of broken promises and anti-worker, anti-democratic behavior.
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Evan Urquhart @evanurquhart.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
The thing about journalism that even people in the industry don't always understand is that the only hard part is having ethics, and that part is very hard indeed.
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
I cut a car off on my bike at a 4-way stop (accidentally, but totally my error) and the guy pulled up close beside me, matched my pace so I was pinned between his SUV and the curb, and slammed on his horn. I managed not to jerk the handlebars and die, but sure felt like attempted murder
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
We've lost visual
Back porch with several large windows completely covered in snow. The biggest window has a large metal dragonfly hanging in it because I don't want birds to fly into it. There are also some long gauzy curtains, cushions,  and general mess because it's winter, please don't judge me
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Breaking down the whole Bad Bunny halftime show so I don't have to:
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Soraya Nadia McDonald @soraya.press · 09/02/2026
Benito is a threat b/c he makes art so alluring and enjoyable you want to understand everything about it and then you end up learning about sugar and slavery and colonialism and the Taínos and Hawaii and then you probably have some thoughts of your own, and that's why art is powerful and dangerous
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Glad all the millennials are on the same page here
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 04/02/2026
INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.
lizzie johnson
@lizziejohnsonnn
·
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I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone. I have no words. I'm devastated.
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lizzie johnson
@lizziejohnsonnn
·
Jan 25
Waking up without power, heat, or running water. (Again.) 

But the work here in Kyiv continues. Warming up in the car, writing in pencil — pen ink freezes — by headlamp.
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Jon Collins @jcollins.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
“If I am killed doing this, throw my body at the White House, martyr the shit out of me & raise hell. Do not be sad. Do not think I would do anything differently. I would do it over & over again — this is too important to sit down & shut up and not do anything.” www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
mprnews.org
Pursued by federal agents, suburban ICE observers remain resolved
After a frightening pursuit by federal agents, suburban ICE observers say fear hasn’t stopped them from protecting their communities.
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sarah jeong @sarahjeong.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
we got you 😭 www.theverge.com/policy/86857...
theverge.com
Best gas masks
“How did these people go out and get gas masks?” AG Bondi asked.
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Lisa Song @lisalsong.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Great story, with possibly the greatest author's disclosure of all time: "Disclosure: Prior to his election, the author was Councilor Green’s DM in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign."
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
"we live in hell but we are going to fucking win" is exactly how I'm feeling these days
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Elise Schuenke @troubledminnesotan.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
There’s a rally going on in Boston rn and they’re chanting “we’re not cold, we’re not afraid, MN taught us to be brave!” and I might cry
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Nicole Bedera @nbedera.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
For @msnownews.bsky.social, I wrote an article about how ICE Watch is grounded in sociological theories of violence prevention. The reality is that most men will only commit public violence in extremely specific scenarios and ICE Watch disrupts the conditions necessary for escalation.
ms.now
Opinion | I'm a Minneapolis sociologist who studies violence. Here's how ICE observers are helping.
Research into how violence occurs shows that disapproval from the people around you can help reduce it.
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Truly surreal to be in Tierra del Fuego and hear an Argentinian guide accurately explaining ICE and Renee Good's murder to a woman from Barcelona. Four different countries represented in our group, all giving me looks of sympathy. "Seems like you don't really have a government anymore"
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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 15/01/2026
“ICE is doing what ICE is designed to do” played over video of ICE engaging in acts of violence should be the wall to wall DNC media strategy right now
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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 14/01/2026
Yup. Everything in this thread, up to and including the end. You don't eat around the cockroach.
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Defector @defector.com · 07/01/2026
ICE agent kills woman, DHS tells obvious, insane lies about it: defector.com/ice-agent-ki...
defector.com
ICE Agent Kills Woman, DHS Tells Obvious, Insane Lies About It | Defector
On Wednesday in Minneapolis, masked government agents apparently representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surrounded a stationary vehicle stopped in the middle of a residential street.…
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
My dad introduced me to Phil Ochs as a kid (I wrote a parody of Draft Dodger Rag for a 4th grade project about the circulatory system like a Very Normal Child) and I've had his music stuck in my head all year. Can't imagine why.
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
I'm pleased to announce the creation (birth?) of my perfect luminous son.
A pixar-ass looking homemade lamp. The body is a stack of oval rocks, with flat 3-toed feet made of copper wire. His copper wire arms/hands are holding up his poorly constructed blue lampshade head, which has two yellow-orange eyes on it, illuminated by the bulb. He is perfect and I made him for a gift exchange so THIS PHOTO IS ALL I HAVE LEFT. They grow up so fast...
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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
This Yglesias piece in the NYT is horrifically bad. Almost every "fact" it cites is provably false. At best it is cocktail party banter from a pundit who knows nothing of energy. At worst, it was cut/paste from oil industry talking points. So, a rebuttal: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Obama Supported It. The Left in Canada and Norway Does. Why Don’t Democrats?
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Tasseled wobbegongs are wonderful, but this is the underappreciated goosefish! Great camouflage paired with an angler spine to attract fish snacks (and the occasional diving seabird).
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Jason GRIZZLED Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
It's that time of year! The time when deer guts start to undergo a magical transformation! (Also the time of year many well-intentioned people accidentally mess the whole thing up, leading to dead deer!) 🧪 jasonbittel.substack.com/p/the-deer-t...
jasonbittel.substack.com
The Deer, They Are A-Changin'
Something magical is happening in your backyard.
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sarah jeong @sarahjeong.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
how did i go so long not knowing we were literally teaching people to read wrong. i knew something wasn't right but jesus christ www.apmreports.org/episode/2019...
apmreports.org
How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers
For decades, schools have taught children the strategies of struggling readers, using a theory about reading that cognitive scientists have repeatedly debunked. And many teachers and parents don't kno...
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
"One formative influence was Watson’s making his one and only important scientific discovery when he was only 25. ... he discovered nothing afterward, even as colleagues were cracking the genetic code or deciphering how DNA is translated into the molecules that make cells (and life) work."
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Laura Castañón @lacastanon.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
In the last 18 hours, I was broken up with, got to pet a live opossum, fangirled at a writer I randomly saw at a taxidermy museum, and am starting my favorite conference. Having a normal one!
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