Sign in

Maya Pontone

@mayapontone.bsky.social
496 followers 257 following 10 posts

arts & culture journalist signal @petridishemoji.98 email me! maya(at)mayapontone(dot)com

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 06/12/2025
Listen to the latest from @revealnews.org, on a harrowing journey to deliver aid to Gazans: “We were at gunpoint; like, you could see the laser on our chest.” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Activists tried to deliver aid to Gaza. They were met with drone attacks and imprisonment.
Activists sailed to Gaza to deliver aid, but were met with drone attacks and imprisonment. An exclusive look at the Global Sumud Flotilla.
19749
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 19/11/2025
The hate crime charge against Alexa Wilkinson for photographing vandalism of the New York Times building is a dangerous precedent, no matter what you think of Wilkinson.
freedom.press
Journalist or not, photography isn’t a hate crime
Gatekeeping over hate crime charges misses the forest for the trees
37833
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Another one www.koin.com/news/oregon/...
koin.com
‘Our hearts hurt’: USDA directs Oregon grocer not to offer discounts to SNAP recipients
“You cannot treat SNAP-EBT customers differently than any other customer,” the USDA’s SNAP Equal Treatment Rule reads.
1317156
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Diedrich Bader @diedrichbader.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
If sandwich shops don’t start offering a sandwich named “the acquittal” then what are we even doing
679317785362
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Jason "Red5" Lyall @jaylyall.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
By this time next week, the estimated deaths due to the illegal destruction of USAID and the shuttering of its aid efforts will breach 400,000. More than 260,000 will be children. Source: www.bu.edu/sph/news/art...
bu.edu
Tracking Anticipated Deaths from USAID Funding Cuts
Brooke Nichols has launched online tracking tools that capture estimated increases in mortality and disease spread for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases as a result of the near-total...
471180822
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 08/10/2025
Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.
(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.
177106374822
Maya Pontone @mayapontone.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
And if you subscribe to Hyperallergic you'll see that we ran a report on the rise of NYC's clowning culture a whole year ago! hyperallergic.com/932760/insid...
hyperallergic.com
Inside Brooklyn’s Very Own Immersive “Clown Cult”
The bi-monthly variety show gathers both newcomers and veterans of the craft to help participants discover “the power in cringe.”
010
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Matt Zoller Seitz @mattzollerseitz.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Please use alt text when posting illustrations or photos or other images. I realize it feels like an inconvenience if you didn't ever do it at the other place, but folks who need it are a zillion times more inconvenienced every single day.
381014330
Maya Pontone @mayapontone.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Any US-based museum workers out there interested in speaking with me about their workplace protocols for immigration enforcement-related searches, send me a message or DM me for a story! Anonymous tips welcome!!
02221
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Politico @politico.com · 03/09/2025
NYC Mayor Eric Adams has been reluctant to abandon his reelection bid — but an influential post in Trump’s administration could incentivize him to bow out.
politico.com
NYC Mayor Eric Adams faces a decision: A Trump administration post to drop his reelection campaign
The embattled New York City mayor was offered a HUD post, a person familiar with the talks tells POLITICO.
406532
Reposted by Maya Pontone
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 11/08/2025
Funeral held for Anas al-Sharif and other journalists killed in Israeli strike
theguardian.com
Funeral held for Anas al-Sharif and other journalists killed in Israeli strike
Last post from Al Jazeera’s Sharif, one of ‘Gaza’s bravest journalists’, laments world doing nothing to stop ‘massacre’ of Palestinians * Middle East crisis – live updates Hundreds of mourners carried the body of the prominent Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif through the streets of Gaza City on Monday, a day after he and four colleagues were killed in an Israeli airstrike, prompting condemnation from across the world. Sharif, one of Al Jazeera’s most recognisable faces in Gaza, was killed while inside a tent for journalists outside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Sunday night. Seven people in total were killed in the attack, including the Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and the camera operators Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa, according to the Qatar-based broadcaster. Continue reading...
1418661
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 30/07/2025
Trump’s plan to rig the 2026 midterms became crystal clear on Wednesday, as Texas Republicans introduced a new congressional redistricting map that would give their party five new seats in the US House, making it much more difficult for Democrats to retake the chamber next November.
motherjones.com
Trump’s Texas gerrymander Is supercharging a new war on democracy
Texas Republicans just unveiled a shocking plan to give their party five new House seats.
33343163
Reposted by Maya Pontone
ProPublica @propublica.org · 15/07/2025
The whooping cough vaccination rate for Washington state kindergartners in 2023-2024 was 90.2%, slightly below the U.S. rate of 92.3%. But in 4 counties, the rate for children ages 19-35 months was around 30%. In one county, it was below 12%. (Published April)
propublica.org
“Not Just Measles”: Whooping Cough Cases Are Soaring as Vaccine Rates Decline
While much of the country is focused on the spiraling measles outbreak, experts warn that whooping cough and other preventable diseases could get much worse with falling vaccination rates and Trump’s…
36760280
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Mark D. Levine @marklevinenyc.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
There is currently an NWS flash flood warning in effect for all five boroughs of NYC. But no City agency has posted it on this platform. Please help spread the word. “If you live in a basement apartment or low-lying area, be ready to move to higher ground.”
11765564834
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 07/07/2025
A reminder: FEMA is no longer going door-to-door to assist disaster victims [From our Climate Desk partner @wired.com]
motherjones.com
FEMA will no longer go door-to-door to assist disaster victims
The move, says one agency worker, will “severely hamper our ability to reach vulnerable people.”
788125056187
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Julianne McShane @juliannemcshane.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Statement from @cairnational.bsky.social: "These posts represent the same Islamophobic playbook from the same bigots we see almost any time a Muslim runs for public office." (1/2)
162
Reposted by Maya Pontone
NPR @npr.org · 25/03/2025
When the California biotech firm filed for bankruptcy, there was one looming question for customers: What's going to happen to my data?
npr.org
How to delete your 23andMe data after the company filed for bankruptcy
When the California biotech firm filed for bankruptcy, there was one looming question for customers: What's going to happen to my data?
20377142
Maya Pontone @mayapontone.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
read this report!! by @isafarfan.bsky.social regarding Mahmoud Khalil's imprisonment by immigration officials and its connections to his suspension by Columbia University last spring theintercept.com/2025/03/19/c...
theintercept.com
Columbia Apologized to Mahmoud Khalil in May 2024 for One-Day Suspension
Marco Rubio justified Mahmoud Khalil’s arrest using the same protest charges Columbia brought against him that were dismissed a day later.
051
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Matt Leys @mattleys.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
This reads like the opening paragraph of a novel so bleakly dystopian you'd put it down after five pages
608176222917
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Jason Leopold @jasonleopold.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
🚨BIG SCOOP: Musk’s DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets Edward Coristine posted online that he had retained access to the firm’s servers. Now he has access to sensitive government information. 🎁 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Musk’s DOGE Teen Was Fired By Cybersecurity Firm for Leaking Company Secrets
Edward Coristine posted online that he had retained access to the firm’s servers. Now he has access to sensitive government information.
41099185010
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Julie DiCaro @juliedicaro.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this exactly what Musk did at Twitter?
2102
Maya Pontone @mayapontone.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
030
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 31/01/2025
Tariffs are taxes. "Trump insists that tariffs are paid for by foreign countries. In fact, its is importers — American companies — that pay tariffs, and the money goes to U.S. Treasury. Those companies, in turn, typically pass their higher costs on to their customers in the form of higher prices."
pbs.org
Trump favors huge new tariffs. How do they work?
Former President Donald Trump has proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China and a 20% tariff on everything else the United States imports. This week, he raised the ante still higher.
531364276
Reposted by Maya Pontone
WIRED @wired.com · 31/01/2025
Our latest scoop: Government tech workers are having to defend their projects to random Elon Musk bros. A recent high school graduate and former Neuralink intern has been joining meetings to review lines of code and other work history of career public servants, sparking chaos. wrd.cm/40SsDVz
wrd.cm
Government Tech Workers Forced to Defend Projects to Random Elon Musk Bros
A recent high school graduate and former Neuralink intern has joined meetings to review lines of code and other work history of career public servants, sparking chaos at a major government agency.
27350156
Reposted by Maya Pontone
John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 29/01/2025
OpenAI right now
Scene from The Princess Bride where Vizzinni says "You're trying to kidnap what I've rightfully stolen"
287435356256
Maya Pontone @mayapontone.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
Per a Smithsonian spokesperson: "Our Institution is fully committed to excellence in our workforce, free from discrimination and harassment. We are closing our Office of Diversity but retaining our efforts at visitor accessibility as it serves a critical function."
030
Reposted by Maya Pontone
mari cohen @maricohen.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
NEW: My longform report on the field of genocide studies is now unpaywalled. What happens when institutions that grew out of the study of the Holocaust—where Israel is often understood as the survivors' state—must grapple with Israel committing genocide? jewishcurrents.org/can-genocide...
jewishcurrents.org
Can Genocide Studies Survive a Genocide in Gaza?
A discipline born from the study of the Holocaust faces its contradictions as Israel stands accused of the “crime of crimes.”
411236
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 23/01/2025
The trailblazing painter Jo Baer, who rejected Minimalism for self-described “radical figuration,” has died at 95.
hyperallergic.com
Jo Baer, Painter of “Radical Figuration,” Dies at 95
“There was an awful lot going on in the world, and I didn’t just want to sit there and draw straight lines,” the artist said of her turn away from abstraction.
05710
Reposted by Maya Pontone
NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
In this Indiana diner everyone has three questions: How's the breaded tenderloin? Is the quarry hiring? And when do I get to pay 25% more for my tariffed coffee to teach Colombia a lesson?
674276387
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Rita L. Portela @westernspinster.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
ICE is trying to deport Native American people to Mexico. This one from the Mescalero Apache Tribe. That's right. People indigenous to the United States, tribal members. ICE is trying to remove them from the US. This is the second verified incident I've heard about. We were here 1st. #ICE
On Mescalero Apache Tribe letterhead: MESCALERO Apache Tribe P.O. Box 227 108 Central Avenue Mescalero, New Mexico 88340 TRIBE Office: (575) 464-4494 Fax: (575) 464-9220 STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT THORA WALSH-PADILLA ON IMMIGRATION INCIDENT INVOLVING A TRIBAL MEMBER As of 3:45 PM this afternoon, the Tribe verified only a single incident where an ICE January 23, 2025 Mescalero, NM Last night and throughout the day today, I received multiple calls from concerned Mescalero Apache Tribal Members in relation to rumors of incidents involving Tribal Members and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. agent questioned a Tribal Member in a public place in Ruidoso. This incident occurred yesterday. ICE agents began questioning a family standing in line in front of the Tribal member. The family was escorted outside. Then, an ICE agent still inside the public place approached the Tribal Member in Spanish. The Tribal Member responded by stating the Tribal Member spoke English. The ICE agent asked the Tribal Member for a passport. The Tribal Member presented a picture of a New Mexico Driver's License and a Tribal identification card. The ICE agent did not continue questions at this point and exited. While this is the only incident we have been able to verify. Tribal leadership is actively working with the New Mexico Congressional Delegation to ensure that the rights of Tribal Members are protected. To be safe, be aware of your surroundings, let family members/friends know where you are, and keep identification with you at all times. If possible, then carry multiple forms of identification (driver's license, state-issued identification card, Tribal identification card, Certificate of Indian Blood, etc.). Thora Walsh-Padilla President
749163697694
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
New 2024 data: Over 50% of GOP fundraising now comes from just 100 mega-donors. Trump’s embrace of the billionaire class—and their embrace of him—will only supercharge this trend.
481070541
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Teen Vogue @teenvogue.com · 22/01/2025
This op-ed explains how to start an ICE Watch neighborhood program in your community. ⤵️
teenvogue.com
How to Keep Tabs on ICE Agents Who May Be Surveilling Your Neighborhood
Here’s a step-by-step guide.
11058023039
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Matt Stromberg @mattstromberg.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
I spoke with a few of the scores of artists who lost their houses and studios in the LA fires for @hyperallergic.com, alongside @valentinadl.bsky.social @mayapontone.bsky.social @surrhealism.bsky.social hyperallergic.com/982535/it-lo...
hyperallergic.com
“It Looks Like a Bomb Exploded”: LA Artists Grapple With Loss as Fires Rage
“I literally only have the clothes I’m wearing, but that’s the same story as thousands of others,” artist Amir Nikravan told Hyperallergic.
0146
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Mark D. Levine @marklevinenyc.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
MTA just announced they are phasing out all 1,700 remaining 1980s era subway cars with the iconic orange seats. Not gonna lie. I’ll miss them.
61763107
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Let's say you are under investigation by the DOJ for fraud. The normal avenues of bribery - a large campaign donation - is off the table because you are a foreign national. So how do you direct tens of millions of dollars to Trump? www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
washingtonpost.com
Chinese entrepreneur invested $30M in Trump’s crypto project after election
Justin Sun, who recently made headlines for buying, then eating, a $6 million banana art piece, is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission on charges of fraud, market manipulatio...
15545208
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 02/12/2024
The Andy Warhol Foundation announced the winners of its 2024 Arts Writers Grant, including several Hyperallergic contributors, who will receive between $15,000–$50,000.
hyperallergic.com
Meet the Recipients of the 2024 Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant
Hyperallergic contributors including former News Editor Jasmine Weber are among this year’s grantees.
1334
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 03/12/2024
As some New York galleries close, others bloom. From artist-run studios to expanded outposts, explore our guide to 10 new art spaces to visit in NYC.
hyperallergic.com
10 New Art Spaces to Visit in New York City
An artist-run exhibition program, a Lower East Side gallery’s Chelsea outpost, and other recently opened art spots to add to your itinerary.
0182
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Elad Nehorai @eladn.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
There have been more articles about Bluesky being a liberal echo chamber in the past week than there were about Nazis being reinstated and boosted for the 2 years Musk has owned Twitter.
8542761086
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 17/11/2024
Founded at the peak of second-wave feminism, the Women’s Studio Workshop has since expanded from a grassroots organization in a framehouse to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that’s hosted hundreds of residents.
hyperallergic.com
How the Women's Studio Workshop Shakes Up the Art of Bookmaking
What started as a small feminist arts collective has grown to host hundreds of residents and publish countless books under its own imprint.
213034
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Katelyn Oldham *Abolish ICE. Defund DHS.* @katelynstarrpdx.bsky.social · 31/07/2024
Yikes.
69042
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 12/02/2024
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) unexpectedly closed its galleries to the public after over pro-Palestinian protesters took over the building’s second-floor atrium for a massive demonstration. Organizers unveiled a banner that read “MoMA Trustees Fund Genocide, Apartheid, and Settler Colonialism.”
hyperallergic.com
MoMA Shutters as 500+ Protesters Infiltrate Atrium in Support of Palestine
Organizers unveiled a banner that read “MoMA Trustees Fund Genocide, Apartheid, and Settler Colonialism.”
01212
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 12/02/2024
Around 300 people gathered at the Brooklyn Museum on Saturday to decry Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and the suppression of pro-Palestine voices. 10 demonstrators were arrested.
hyperallergic.com
10 Arrested in Protest Outside Brooklyn Museum
Around 300 people gathered at the museum to decry Israel's bombardment of Gaza and the suppression of pro-Palestine voices.
0247
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 08/12/2023
Artists and curators are cutting ties with Art Canada Institute after it was accused of suppressing Arab and Muslim voices.
hyperallergic.com
Citing Silencing of Arab Voices, Artists Cut Ties With Art Canada Institute
The nonprofit, based out of the University of Toronto, asked a group of Arab and Muslim artists for a last-minute “sensitivity review” of their exhibition.
063
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 06/12/2023
Queer Cinema for Palestine festival returns for its third iteration, amplifying the global movement for a permanent ceasefire through film screenings around the world.
hyperallergic.com
Queer Cinema for Palestine Pushes Back Against Israel’s “Pinkwashing”
The event, running now through December 10, first launched in 2021 as an alternative to the government-sponsored Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival.
051
Reposted by Maya Pontone
Joe Sudbay @joesudbay.bsky.social · 27/11/2023
“In at least 70 public cases across 12 states, women with pregnancy complications faced severe health risks and were denied abortion care or had treatment delayed due to abortion bans. Some nearly died or lost their fertility as a result. The doctors say the true number is much higher.”
17946