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For DEPTH PERCEPTION's third anniversary edition, some of the sharpest journalists shared their thoughts on the state of the industry. Media critic @sulliview.bsky.social feels hopeful for the future when she sees writers "who clearly care a lot, and when I see people doing important cultural work"

Graphic with DEPTH PERCEPTION branding and headshots of journalists Ryan Broderick, Eliot Williams, Margaret Sullivan, Nicholas Thompson, Laura Jedeed, Chuck Todd, Julia Angwin, Dave Jorgenson, Jelani Cobb, and Anthony Breznican with blue overlay, and text: "People are still curious." Top journalists on what keeps them hopeful

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 18h

What is the legacy of 9/11? We're still living in it. The special episode of LONG SHADOW: 9/11'S LINGERING QUESTIONS "Never Again" has been named as a finalist for THREE @signalawards.bsky.social. Help us win by voting today: bit.ly/LongShadowBe... bit.ly/LongShadowBe... bit.ly/LongShadowBe...

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Reposted by Long Lead

John Patrick Pullen @jppullen.com · 21h

Long Lead is going global! I'm so proud to see our feature on Russia's threats to its neighbors recognized by The Lovie Awards. Long Lead has won "Best Individual Editorial Feature" at The Webby Awards for the past four years, and with this nod, we are poised to win it in Europe too. PLEASE VOTE!

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 23h

Long Lead and Magnum Photos's feature BORDER LINE WAR, about the reality of neighboring Russia during its increasing hostilities to the West, has been selected as a finalist for TWO Lovie Awards. Vote for it to win, today: bit.ly/BorderLineWa... bit.ly/BorderLineWa...

Graphic with text on the left: 2026 LOVIE AWARDS VOTE BORDER LINE WAR Best Use of Photography Best Individual Editorial Feature and gold Lovie Award Trophy on the right

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 23h

The creation of Border Patrol and ICE are byproducts of the 9/11 terror attacks. Pre 2001, judges had erected firewalls between the government’s law enforcement efforts and intelligence gathering, repeatedly getting in the way of agents working to counter the rising threat of terrorist groups.

longshadowpodcast.com

Long Shadow podcast: 9/11's Lingering Questions

What is the legacy of 9/11? Reacting in the middle of one nightmare, the U.S. government created another — an apparatus that in the wrong hands, has become one of the most terrifying tools in the…

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 28/09/2026

Now, more than ever, it is necessary to understand the United States's past to learn how to create a better future for Americans of all backgrounds. Long Lead's feature, THE AGE OF INCARCERATION, is a powerful look at the survivors of World War II's Japanese American incarceration camps.

Quote graphic with archival photos from World War II Japanese American incarceration camps and cursive text in the middle The Age of Incarceration with quote underneath, "Now, more than ever, it’s vital to re-examine the past so we can better understand the darkness that’s gripping the present."

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 27/09/2026

When the first deportation flights took people out of the U.S. to countries they weren't even from, it wasn't @gillianbrockell.com's beat. She was just an interested journalist who once was a flight attendant — experience that came in handy to help cover ICE flights and third-country removals.

Graphic with DEPTH PERCEPTION branding and text: “I think a lot of journalists start pursuing journalism because they're really interested in people. I think the sort of objectivity thing kind of beats that out of people.” —Gillian Brockell, independent journalist covering deportation flights

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 26/09/2026

Looking for a read that will take your breath away? Experience THE DEPTHS SHE'LL REACH, Long Lead's feature about freediver Alenka Artnik who emerged from obscurity and mental health struggles to become one of the world’s most elite athletes. thedepths.longlead.com

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 25/09/2026

In 1888, wealthy landowners donated prime Los Angeles real estate to the U.S. government to house military veterans. Today the 388-acre property abuts the Brentwood neighborhood and the UCLA campus, is some of the country’s most valuable real estate, and houses very few vets — many in tiny shelters.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 24/09/2026

Long Lead creates world-class journalism, working with independent journalists to tell stories that are in-depth, immersive, impactful, and independent. longlead.com

longlead.com

Long Lead

An award-winning story studio focused on finding, financing, producing, and publishing original, in-depth journalism.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 23/09/2026

The ICE shooting of a DoorDash driver in Austin on Sunday is yet another abuse suffered by an ordinary American at the hands of federal agents of the DHS — a department created to help protect Americans but during Trump's second term is instead misusing its power.

longshadowpodcast.com

Long Shadow podcast: 9/11's Lingering Questions

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 23/09/2026

Journalist @gillianbrockell.com is a self professed "aviation geek" — and her role as a former flight attendant helped her with the connections to cover one of the biggest stories of the year: ICE deportation flights.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 22/09/2026

When you start looking at why America is so polarized, there are actually very explainable reasons about how our politics ended up as broken as they are right now, shares LONG SHADOW host @vermontgmg.bsky.social in his DEPTH PERCEPTION discussion about the history-chart topping podcast.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 21/09/2026

An ICE agent shot a DoorDash driver on Sunday in Austin, TX. It's the latest misuse of power by federal agents in Trump's second term which @vermontgmg.bsky.social says has marked "the arrival of a dystopian America, one that would have been unrecognizable to the Americans in the summer of 2001"

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 21/09/2026

Journalist and host of LONG SHADOW: 9/11'S LINGERING QUESTIONS Garrett Graff shares that understanding the fear and trauma the United States felt after 9/11 is the key to understanding the government's response afterward — namely, the Iraq War and the overhaul of national security.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 21/09/2026

In a special episode of LONG SHADOW: 9/11'S LINGERING QUESTIONS commemorating the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that changed the world, host Garrett Graff reflects on the legacy of the response to that day and the creation of government departments like the DHS, Border Patrol, and ICE.

Graphic with text at the top "Reacting in the middle of one nightmare, we created another — an apparatus that in the wrong hands, has become one of the most authoritarian tools in the history of our country." -Garrett Graff, host of LONG SHADOW: 9/11's LINGERING QUESTIONS and photo of ERO/ICE officers making an arrest during a Targeted Enforcement Operations in and around Minneapolis, Minnesota during the week of January 14, 2026.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 20/09/2026

Following finding the texts that would end his marriage and beginning to report on his experience that would become his memoir, Jones shares, “I just began documenting things. It wasn’t out of a journalistic thing. But as I think about traumatic events in my life, I do tend to go outside myself.”

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 20/09/2026

On Friday, September 11, the Ninth Circuit rejected the VA's request to reconsider its case again homeless vets fighting for housing at the West LA VA. The fight has been decades in the making as the land at the West LA VA has been chipped away by surrounding businesses.

homeofthebrave.substack.com

Homeless veteran lawsuit prevails again, as Ninth Circuit rejects VA’s rehearing request

Veterans Affairs has lost every ruling in this landmark housing and disability case. Will it appeal to the Supreme Court next?

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 19/09/2026

Crime has run rampant in federal agencies like Border Patrol and ICE since their founding — issues that the Bush, Obama, and Biden administrations all contributed to, leading us to where we're at now with the Trump administration, with ICE's nationwide raids, mass deportations, and more.

longshadowpodcast.com

Long Shadow podcast: 9/11's Lingering Questions

How Do We Move on from 9/11? A firefighter and police officer were in the World Trade Center when it collapsed on them. The experience keeps them fighting.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 18/09/2026

Immigration had been a hot-button issue for years, but after the 9/11 terror attacks, policymakers turned to reorganize "homeland security," focusing on reforming how the U.S. government handled immigration and border security. 📷: U.S. Department of Homeland Security

WASHINGTON (October 12, 2021) Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas participates in wreath laying ceremony at the National Law Enforcement Memorial. (DHS Photo by Zachary Hupp/Released)

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 17/09/2026

After 9/11, establishment media — like Fox News and CNN — got behind a war that many in the public viewed as unjust and unnecessary, which may sound familiar today. But that coverage encouraged the first big wave of political blogging online, says @vermontgmg.bsky.social in BREAKING THE INTERNET.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 17/09/2026

What is the best career advice that you’ve ever received? What’s the biggest threat to journalism right now? Top journalists weigh in on the state of the industry every week in Long Lead's newsletter DEPTH PERCEPTION. Follow our Starter Pack to keep an eye out for the stories they're covering.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 16/09/2026

The Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and Border Protection are agencies that were created after 9/11 to protect us from future attacks. Now they're the ones carrying out campaigns of intimidation and violence in the U.S. Listen to LONG SHADOW's new episode 'Never Forget' to learn more.

podcasts.apple.com

“Never again” / What is the legacy of 9/11?

Podcast Episode · Long Shadow · S1 E9 · 1h 10m

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 16/09/2026

Sometimes a writer's best profile comes from examining their own personal experiences. Famed for his Esquire profile of Roger Ebert, writer Chris Jones' memoir chronicles the emotional turbulence of the end of his marriage and the path of rebuilding his life to where it is today.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 15/09/2026

Veterans experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles sued the VA, arguing that the VA was failing disabled veterans who needed housing. They won in federal district court. The VA appealed. The vets won again in the Ninth Circuit. The VA asked the entire Ninth Circuit to reconsider the case.

homeofthebrave.substack.com

Homeless veteran lawsuit prevails again, as Ninth Circuit rejects VA’s rehearing request

Veterans Affairs has lost every ruling in this landmark housing and disability case. Will it appeal to the Supreme Court next?

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 14/09/2026

The September 11 terrorist attacks bring us to this moment we're in now in the U.S., where the consolidation of national security in the federal government has created a massive federal apparatus and national secret police force stronger and larger than our country could have imagined in 2001.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 13/09/2026

In her new book, Rozina Ali traces stories from four families that lived in four distinct eras in the history of Islamophobia, asking "What is their story? How have they been changed? How did they understand what happened to them? How did they react to what happened to them?"

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 13/09/2026

Reacting in the middle of one nightmare, the U.S. government created another — an apparatus that in the wrong hands, has become one of the most terrifying tools in the history of the country. Listen to the special episode of LONG SHADOW: 9/11'S LINGERING QUESTIONS to learn how we got here.

podcasts.apple.com

“Never again” / What is the legacy of 9/11?

Podcast Episode · Long Shadow · S1 E9 · 1h 10m

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 12/09/2026

In the wake of 9/11, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush tried to better protect the U.S. border by scaling up hiring for the Border Patrol. During Trump's second term, DHS conducted another hiring surge, making many of the same Bush-era mistakes.

longshadowpodcast.com

Long Shadow podcast: 9/11's Lingering Questions

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 12/09/2026

In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, a promise echoed through the halls of the U.S. government: “Never again.” Fueled by post-9/11 fear, the country’s onconsolidated 22 agencies under the banner of the Department of Homeland Security in order to leep the nation safe and stop the next attack.

Graphic with text on left: “What liberties would we sacrifice to protect our freedom? How much power would we give our government? In the wake of 9/11, we couldn’t see what was being created.” and photo of United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the south tower of the World Trade Center complex in New York City during the September 11 attacks on the right.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 12/09/2026

Port Authority Police Officer Will Jimeno was one of few people who survived the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Trapped under the rubble for hours, he was finally saved that night. Jimeno now spends his time helping people who face struggles in many walks of life.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 11/09/2026

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 11/09/2026

In a span of just 47 minutes, two planes hit the Twin Towers on September 11 and changed the world. For those living in those chaos-filled moments, Garrett Graff shares, "We didn’t know when the attacks began. We didn’t know when they would end. We didn’t even know how many had occurred."

longshadowpodcast.com

Long Shadow podcast: 9/11's Lingering Questions

Named "Best History Podcast" by the Signal Awards, this conspiracy-free series on September 11 was updated in 2026 and is hosted by journalist and historian Garrett Graff.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 11/09/2026

Five years ago, LONG SHADOW: 9/11'S LINGERING QUESTIONS was released with 8 episodes looking at different aspects of questions that still exist. Its finale asked, "How do we move on from 9/11?" A new episode explores how we can't move on from the terror attacks: We're still living in their legacy.

Podcast cover of episode 9 of LONG SHADOW: 9/11'S LINGERING QUESTIONS with LONG SHADOW text in red with photo of Statue of Liberty with burning Twin Towers on 9/11 in the background

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 11/09/2026

40% of Americans are now too young to remember 9/11. Garrett Graff (@vermontgmg.bsky.social), author, historian, and host of LONG SHADOW: 9/11’S LINGERING QUESTIONS shares how the telling of 9/11 in U.S. history books is too tidy and contained.

Graphic with photo of World Trade Center on fire after September 11, 2001 terrorist attack and text: "When we talk about 9/11 in the history book way, we rob it of the human element and we rob it of the fear, the chaos, the confusion, and the trauma." -Garrett Graff, author, historian, and host of LONG SHADOW: 9/11’S LINGERING QUESTIONS

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 11/09/2026

A major storm front swept across the East Coast on the evening of Monday, September 10th, 2001. It brought behind it a high-pressure ridge of dry Canadian air that created a unique phenomenon that pilots call “Severe Clear.” On September 11th, the sky up and down the East Coast was bright blue.

longshadowpodcast.com

Long Shadow podcast: 9/11's Lingering Questions

Named "Best History Podcast" by the Signal Awards, this conspiracy-free series on September 11 was updated in 2026 and is hosted by journalist and historian Garrett Graff.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 10/09/2026

Frank Culbertson was like millions of Americans, watching the scenes in lower Manhattan unfold while at work. But unlike any other American, he was watching from NASA's International Space Station, where he floated over the U.S. every 90 minutes.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 10/09/2026

Sunken by grief, a woman found herself alone on a bridge, contemplating suicide. 10 years later, she became the world’s greatest female freediver and is getting stronger with each record-breaking plunge. How did Alenka Artnik emerge from mental health struggles to push the limits of the human body?

thedepths.longlead.com

She Dove to Escape Grief—And Became One of the World’s Greatest Athletes

Embracing her pain, Alenka Artnik pushes the limits of the human body, on just one breath.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 10/09/2026

25 years after the September 11 terror attacks, national security journalist Garrett Graff shares that the U.S. should break up the Department of Homeland Security — a bureau that was once consolidated to protect the country, but has "been turned against ordinary Americans" in our streets.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 09/09/2026

On September 11, 2001, @rozinaali.bsky.social was made aware of her Muslim identity. In her new book, 'Seasons of Fury,' Ali traces America’s post-9/11 reckoning through the intimate stories of four Muslim families across eight decades, making the case that Islamophobia was rooted long before 9/11

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 09/09/2026

For an attack that changed all of our lives… there’s still a lot we don’t know about 9/11. Like where was United Airlines Flight 93 headed? And who was the 20th hijacker? LONG SHADOW: 9/11's LINGERING QUESTIONS takes a look at the questions that still loom — even 25 years later.

longshadowpodcast.com

Long Shadow podcast: 9/11's Lingering Questions

Named "Best History Podcast" by the Signal Awards, this conspiracy-free series on September 11 was updated in 2026 and is hosted by journalist and historian Garrett Graff.

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Reposted by Long Lead

John Patrick Pullen @jppullen.com · 08/09/2026

9/11 is a somber day of patriotism and reflection. Observe the day however you will, but every year many people remember by re-listening to LONG SHADOW: 9/11's LINGERING QUESTIONS, a podcast by @vermontgmg.bsky.social and @longlead.com. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 08/09/2026

Historian and 'Only Plane in the Sky' author @vermontgmg.bsky.social shares that when discussing 9/11, "we don’t forget but I’m not sure we remember either." Graff says the history textbook version of 9/11 is factually true, but it's not the day that anyone who was alive remembers living.

Graphic with text on the left: "When we talk about 9/11 in the history book way, we rob it of the human element and we rob it of the fear, the chaos, the confusion, and the trauma." -Garrett Graff, author, historian, and host of LONG SHADOW: 9/11’S LINGERING QUESTIONS and photo on the right of the Twin Towers on fire on September 11, 2001

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 07/09/2026

In 2020 Trump called Portland, Oregon's protesters "terrorists." a term used after 9/11 to justify illegal surveillance of muslims, Illegal torture of prisoners at black sites, and the erosion of our constitutional rights in the name of our safety. Calling Americans "terrorists" was a new frontier.

Graphic with photo at the top of A U.S. Border Patrol agent (right) and an ICE officer detain a protester outside the ICE facility on October 4, 2025 in Portland, Oregon and text at the bottom: "If anyone who disagreed with the state could be labeled a terrorist by the commander-in-chief, they could be subjected to the cold apparatus we built to pursue terrorists wherever they could be." -Garrett Graff, discussing 2020 protests in special episode of LONG SHADOW: 9/11'S LINGERING QUESTIONS

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 06/09/2026

"I think we got almost everything wrong after 9/11" shares historian @vermontgmg.bsky.social who's studied 9/11 and its effects for decades. The world we're living in currently is one born from the United States' response to the terror attacks — but now we're experiencing a different kind of terror.

Graphic with DEPTH PERCEPTION branding and text: “This agency that was very much set up in the wake of 9/11 to respond to the fear of 9/11 and has been turned against ordinary Americans in streets of ordinary American cities, to repress political freedoms, to repress civil liberties, and to punish freedom of speech. This is an agency and a department that cannot be allowed to continue standing in the government of the United States.” —Garrett Graff, national security journalist and host of 'LONG SHADOW'

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 06/09/2026

Follow Long Lead across social platforms to keep up to date with our award-winning journalism. longlead.com

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 05/09/2026

Historian and journalist Garrett Graff’s book ‘Only Plane in the Sky’ has been re-released for the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The new edition includes an oral history of the raid of Osama Bin Laden, along with essays about elements of that day that have stood out over time.

bookshop.org

Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “This is history at its most immediate and moving…A marvelous and memorable book.” —Jon Meacham “Remarkable…A priceless civic gift…On page after page, a reader will…

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 05/09/2026

You may not realize it, but the terror we’re seeing on America’s streets today — masked federal officers, ICE raids, families torn apart at the border — is a byproduct of post-9/11 fear, when the U.S. embarked on the largest bureaucratic overhaul in half a century.

longlead.substack.com

What is the legacy of 9/11? We’re living in it

Long Lead's Signal Award-winning history podcast 'Long Shadow' returns with a special episode about the legacy of September 11 — and how it’s impacting America today.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 04/09/2026

Billie Jean King Youth Scholarship Award winner Ashley Badis was a water polo on her high school girl's team when she took on the Hawaiian government in a Title IX lawsuit. She shared, “You can’t invoke any change unless you start with the first step and speak up.” title-waves.longlead.com

Photo of Ashley Badis on Ewa Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii showing her facing the ocean while holding a water polo ball up in her hand and TITLE IX written across her right bicep.

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Long Lead @longlead.com · 04/09/2026

You can’t understand the Department of Homeland Security, the war in Iraq, or our border approach now unless you can understand the fear, the chaos, the confusion, and the trauma that were a byproduct of the September 11 terrorism attacks, shares historian @vermontgmg.bsky.social.

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