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Mychal Denzel Smith

@mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social
983 followers 429 following 200 posts

Books: Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching/Stakes is High/one in progress about Virginia. Smoking cigars, drinking coffee, playing chess. I dunno man, what even matters now?

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Reposted by Mychal Denzel Smith
Los Angeles Review of Books @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Where does the self end—and the world begin? Join Mychal Denzel Smith for a six-week workshop on the art of weaving the personal with the public in non-fiction writing. Learn more and register today: lareviewofbooks.org/event/interiore…
A flier for the Interior/Exterior class
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Love to work with @ryandombal.bsky.social, love to write for worker-owned media (subscribe to @hearingthingsco.bsky.social!), love to write about the greatness of Bun B and his verse on "Murder"
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Reposted by Mychal Denzel Smith
The Drift @thedriftmag.com · 19/08/2026
Andrew Baker was also a “token black professor” at Bates College. But his perspective on the events Tyler Austin Harper recounts in his Atlantic cover story is very different. Read Baker’s side of the story online today. newsletter.thedriftmag.com/p/racism-and...
newsletter.thedriftmag.com
Racism and labor at Bates: the other side of the story
Andrew Baker responds to Tyler Austin Harper
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Attorney at Leisure @notsonicely.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Finally the correct take
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I wrote about "Woke 1"
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The Intercept @theintercept.com · 29/07/2026
Rand Paul is trying to put Anthony Fauci in prison for not confirming a conspiracy theory, but the key to blunting the next pandemic is universal healthcare.
interc.pt
Fauci’s Diary Isn’t the Key to Why Covid Ravaged the U.S. — Our Broken Healthcare System Is
Rand Paul wants Anthony Fauci in prison for not confirming a conspiracy theory, but the key to blunting the next pandemic is universal healthcare.
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John Knefel @johnknefel.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I spoke with @wajali.bsky.social about the Trump admin's plot to subvert the midterms, & how it is inseparable from the anti-immigrant bigotry that animates MAGA media. The racist "great replacement" theory braids election denialism and nativism together and they need to be understood as one issue
thelefthook.substack.com
This is the GOP's Plan to Steal the Election
Like helpful Bond supervillains, Trump and Republicans have already shared and begun their plans to try to steal or subvert the upcoming elections. How come nobody is stopping them?
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
I wrote about America's 250th by way of America's 200th, exploring the ways Richard Pryor and Gil Scott-heron gave voice to some bicentennial dissent Excited to publish this essay with @nplusonemag.com and to have worked on it with the brilliant @dtortorici.bsky.social
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
I wrote about America's 250th by way of America's 200th, exploring the ways Richard Pryor and Gil Scott-heron gave voice to some bicentennial dissent Excited to publish this essay with @nplusonemag.com and to have worked on it with the brilliant @dtortorici.bsky.social
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Reposted by Mychal Denzel Smith
n+1 @nplusonemag.com · 03/07/2026
"The semiquincentennial has not been like the bicentennial, and not just because it doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily." Mychal Denzel Smith (@mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social) on Richard Pryor, Gil Scott-Heron, the Freedom Train, and America's 250th: www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...
nplusonemag.com
Semiquincentennial Blues
We have passed the point at which absurdity is an aberration. The Monster Energy and Crypto.com sponsorships for the evening: very real. The female quotient including no women fighters, only the “Octa...
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
I hope today, and every day for the rest of his miserable bigoted life, someone puts a little shit in every meal Clarence Thomas eats
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Reposted by Mychal Denzel Smith
Jake Romm @jakeromm.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
I wrote about Bifo Berardi’s heinous new book "Thinking Gaza" for @defector.com Had to restrain myself from throwing this one across the room multiple times while reading. Not only deeply unserious as a work of theory, but also politically abhorrent. defector.com/franco-berar...
defector.com
Franco Berardi’s ‘Thinking Gaza’ Fails To Think | Defector
Gaza is the compass. These words—emblazoned on large banners at the 2025 People’s Conference For Palestine in Detroit, and frequently invoked by comrades in the Palestinian Youth Movement at speeches ...
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Maris Kreizman @maris.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Finally, some good news: workers at Hachette are unionizing, and you can sign an open letter of support. This is the way! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
Sign onto our open letter in solidarity with Hachette Workers Coalition!
To the management at Hachette Book Group, We are authors, publishing professionals, readers, and union supporters, and we are proud to express our full support for the Hachette Workers Coalition (HWC...
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
In the new issue of @bookforum.bsky.social I got to write about Langston Hughes, blues poetry, and communism: www.bookforum.com/print/3204/m...
bookforum.com
Manifesto’s Search for Meaning
A portrait of Langston Hughes as poet, radical, and political thinker – Mychal Denzel Smith
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
In the new issue of @bookforum.bsky.social I got to write about Langston Hughes, blues poetry, and communism: www.bookforum.com/print/3204/m...
bookforum.com
Manifesto’s Search for Meaning
A portrait of Langston Hughes as poet, radical, and political thinker – Mychal Denzel Smith
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
got the chance to write about Tom Junod's memoir, " In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man," for @newrepublic.com (and always a pleasure to have @lauramarsh.bsky.social as editor) newrepublic.com/article/2088...
newrepublic.com
My Father, the Midcentury Man—With a Lifetime of Secrets
Tom Junod wrestles with his father’s ideal of masculinity, and how to unlearn it.
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
got the chance to write about Tom Junod's memoir, " In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man," for @newrepublic.com (and always a pleasure to have @lauramarsh.bsky.social as editor) newrepublic.com/article/2088...
newrepublic.com
My Father, the Midcentury Man—With a Lifetime of Secrets
Tom Junod wrestles with his father’s ideal of masculinity, and how to unlearn it.
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
wrote about Kanye for @ms.now
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Reposted by Mychal Denzel Smith
ProPublica Guild @propublicaguild.org · 08/04/2026
We’re on strike today! Support our fight for a fair contract by NOT visiting the @propublica.org website or engaging with ProPublica stories today. Tell ProPublica’s management you won’t cross the picket line: actionnetwork.org/petitions/te...
We're on strike! Don't visit propublica.org on April 8
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i’m just a sweaty boi @rachelcaved.blacksky.app · 01/04/2026
1) i scream laughed, 2) god, if only
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Brandy Jensen @brandyjensen.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Hear him out
defector.com
I Demand That Jay-Z Perform All Of ‘Kingdom Come’ At His Yankee Stadium Concert | Defector
JAŸ-Z is coming back, umlaut included. Not that he’s been some kind of recluse the past few years, absent from the public imagination—he’s been doing evil billionaire things, laundering the NFL’s post...
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
back at @defector.com today, where I'm making the case for Jay-Z to perform his absolute worst (I mean truly garbage) album as part of his Yankee Stadium shows defector.com/i-demand-tha...
defector.com
I Demand That Jay-Z Perform All Of ‘Kingdom Come’ At His Yankee Stadium Concert | Defector
JAŸ-Z is coming back, umlaut included. Not that he’s been some kind of recluse the past few years, absent from the public imagination—he’s been doing evil billionaire things, laundering the NFL’s post...
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
the freelance hustle is a cold, harsh place, but if you don't wanna write... don't
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Brandy Jensen @brandyjensen.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
really good from @sayanniething.bsky.social on Apple TV’s “Imperfect Women” and the recent genre of show we could easily call “Imperfect Women”
defector.com
‘Imperfect Women’ Is The Latest Entry In A Fittingly Flawed Genre | Defector
In the sixth episode of Apple TV’s Imperfect Women, the soft-spoken housewife Mary (Elisabeth Moss) nervously awaits the judgment of her writing group. She is sharing a work of autofiction titled “Mar...
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Phillip Maciak @pjmaciak.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
What might THE PITT for higher education look like? Two new shows are definitely *not* interested in finding out! I wrote about ROOSTER and VLADIMIR and the problem of college caricature for @newrepublic.com newrepublic.com/article/2081...
newrepublic.com
What Is TV’s Problem With Professors?
Both Netflix’s Vladimir and HBO’s Rooster play into a politically charged caricature of academia.
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Lauren Markham @laurenmarkham.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
I got to write about my dad's fave foe and shadow self -- cult leader and politician Lyndon LaRouche -- for The Believer. I wish he were still alive to read it (my dad, that is.... I don't think LaRouche would favor the piece....)
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
Thing is, I don’t care if Sinners “deserves” the awards or not. I think it should win everything because it was the movie where they shot a bunch of Klan members. That’s my criteria of deservedness.
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Lauren Markham @laurenmarkham.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Just a few more weeks to apply to Storyboard, a week-long writers residency in Moraga, CA this June. The animating ethic behind the Storyboard Residency is that writing, however feeble the written word can feel at times, is indeed of great social purpose. www.stmarys-ca.edu/storyboard-r...
stmarys-ca.edu
Storyboard Residency | Saint Mary's College
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Brandy Jensen @brandyjensen.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Really good deep dive on the terrible state of hip-hop media archives and what that means for culture writing today
defector.com
Lost Recipes | Defector
In 1991, Spin magazine took the Compton rap collective N.W.A out to eat for a profile at the Russian Tea Room in Manhattan. The white author presents gangsta rap as a cynical enterprise, no different ...
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Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
I’m actually not sure we can come back from “prediction markets for war crimes”, as a society. I think this might be it for us.
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John Williams @johnwilliams.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
"It is a sign of a fatally limited imagination to assume that we can only ever desire the pittance to which we are currently reconciled." www.newyorker.com/books/page-t...
newyorker.com
The End of Books Coverage at the Washington Post
Becca Rothfeld, a former critic at the Washington Post, on the death of the paper’s books section.
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Shane Thomas @tokenbg.blacksky.app · 06/02/2026
Screenshot of text: What some critics of "identity politics," like Jilani, often want to direct us toward is a politics that does not consider race as a salient factor in US life at all—despite acknowledging the racist terror brought about by the current right-wing regime.Screenshot of text: To ignore race—or gender, or sexuality— while attempting to build working class solidarity is to say that there are some concerns of working class people that do not matter.Screenshot of text: Unfortunately, from critics like Jilani, the messaging around working class solidarity seems to always trend toward 'accept more racism" rather than "be less racist." Non-white people are expected to organize alongside and excuse white racists because of our shared interests in defeating capitalism, with no assurances our particular concerns around white supremacy addressed. And in the absence of a working class coalition that reckons with this issue, those elites who have captured identity politics are able to step in and siphon off more support for their inept agenda because it does at least acknowledge the salience of race.Screenshot of text: What Táíwò suggests as an antidote to this is a "constructive political culture" that would "focus on outcome over process—the pursuit of specific goals or end results rather than avoiding complicity in injustice or promoting purely moral or aesthetic principles." Matters of representation are not wholly inconsequential, but they are not the ends-the specific goals must remain significant material change in the lives of all working class people. But those goals can not be so narrowly defined as to exclude any issue that is not a purely economic one, even if the expense is the loss of support among those who refuse to see beyond their own racism, heterosexism, and queerphobia. We must demand the world we want.
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Lit Hub @literaryhub.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
@mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social on identity politics, democratic socialism, and Zohran Mamdani’s uncertain relationship with New York’s Black voters.
buff.ly
Can Zohran Mamdani Survive at the Intersection of Identity Politics and Democratic Socialism?
For the next four years, Zohran Mamdani will be the most scrutinized politician in the United States. Part of that is the nature of being the mayor of New York City, the financial and media capital…
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Kelsey McKinney @mckinneykelsey.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
I AGREE defector.com/i-thoroughly...
defector.com
I Thoroughly Enjoyed Watching Michael Rapaport Eat Shit On ‘The Traitors’ | Defector
As the parent of a toddler, my TV watching habits have lately tended more toward Peppa Pig and Ms. Rachel than Heated Rivalry or The Pitt. I would like to keep abreast of whatever the internet is buzz...
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Allison Good @allisonwgood.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
So good
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Sam Thielmonster @samthielman.com · 04/02/2026
The guy who owns Amazon shutting down the books section of the Washington Post is beyond parody
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
many thanks to @brandyjensen.bsky.social and @defector.com for letting write about two passions: my love of 'The Traitors' and my hatred of Michael Rapaport
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The Intercept @theintercept.com · 18/01/2026
Establishment Democrats are rejecting an increasingly popular position by refusing to take a bold stance that happens to be good politics.
interc.pt
“Abolish ICE” Is More Popular Than Ever. How Will Democrats Drop the Ball This Time?
Establishment Democrats are refusing to take a bold stance by accpeting the increasingly popular position of "Abolish ICE."
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Jesse Myerson @jessemyerson.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Summary abduction is now the primary tactic deployed by the Trump regime in pursuit of both its domestic and foreign aims. This is not a sovereign government, but a kidnapping syndicate.
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Ludacris was once worth a million gazillion fafillion dollars, so color me unimpressed
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Amy Goodman trying so hard not to smile while delivering this news
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Too much news happening, just tell me how much time they’re gonna give Puffy
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Giving a toddler a bath is the real cure for perfectionism, you have to accept they’re only kinda clean because there’s definitely pee in that water
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The Intercept @theintercept.com · 08/09/2025
"Mamdani’s opponents understand that defund is toxic, which is why they want to tie the mayoral frontrunner to his previous stance," writes @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social.
interc.pt
Zohran Mamdani Won’t Defund the Police. The Movement Can Grow With Him Anyway.
It wouldn’t be savvy politics for Mamdani to run on defunding the police. Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo know that.
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Mychal Denzel Smith @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
it's telling that in the face of all of Pablo's (really incredible) reporting, the only defense Mark Cuban can muster is "Steve Ballmer is not stupid" which is both an example of class solidarity among the ultra-wealthy and a repetition of the lie at the heart of so much of U.S. rot
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The Believer @thebeliever.net · 03/09/2025
We're excited to share that @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social’s essay "Scholar's Mate" has been selected by Hanif Abdurraqib to appear in The Year’s Best Sports Writing 2025 (@triumphbooks.bsky.social). Read it now on our site. www.thebeliever.net/scholars-mate/
thebeliever.net
Scholar's Mate - Believer Magazine
If you would like to score an easy victory in chess against someone who is unfamiliar with the game, and you are playing as white (a similar idea can be employed if you are playing as black, but it is...
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Triumph Books @triumphbooks.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Pre-order The Year's Best Sports Writing 2025 with @barnesandnoble.com: buff.ly/FBQRUv7 @mychaldenzelsmith.bsky.social @imogenwk.bsky.social @autostraddle.bsky.social @noemamag.com @theguardian.com @espn.com @levernews.com @literaryhub.bsky.social @defector.com @blockclubchi.bsky.social
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Triumph Books @triumphbooks.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Hanif Abdurraqib has curated an extraordinary collection showcasing incredible feats and diverse perspectives across the world of sports. We're honored to announce this year's featured writers! Pre-order The Year's Best Sports Writing 2025 today: buff.ly/7gs9meT
This year's featured writers: 
Lex Pryor
Kim Cross 
Frankie de la Cretaz
Melissa Febos
Daniel Ray
Zito Madu
Kaveh Akbar
Devin G. Kelly
Mac Crane
Maitreyi Anantharaman
Nick Hunt
Katie Barnes
Leyton Cassidy
Zack Davis
Helena Gjone
Yousra Samir Imran
Giri Nathan
Amos Barshad
Jamie Nesbitt Golden
Roman Stubbs
Katie Heindl
Mychal Denzel Smith
Lisa Williamson Rosenberg
Imogen West-Knights
Darrell Powell
Simon Akam
James Thomas
Niharika Pandit
Ettore Ewen (Big E)
Peter Flax
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