Sign in

Steph Cha

@stephcha.bsky.social
2.6K followers 253 following 187 posts

Author of Juniper Song novels and Your House Will Pay. Series editor of Best American Mystery & Suspense. TV writer.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Steph Cha
Rob D. Smith @robdsmith.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Preorder The Best American Mystery & Suspense edited by @stephcha.bsky.social and @meganabbott.bsky.social for 20% off right now! www.harpercollins.com/products/the...
harpercollins.com
The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2026
“Crime fiction has always been outsider fiction, and this anthology, too, is a safe harbor for misfits and outcasts,” writes guest editor Megan Abbott. Full...
0169
Steph Cha @stephcha.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
I was a National Book Awards judge in 2023, and one of the finalists was This Other Eden by Paul Harding, not just any straight white man, but a straight white man who had already won a Pulitzer. He was also shortlisted for the Booker that year.
1182
Reposted by Steph Cha
Katie Drummond @katie-drummond.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
NEW: The Department of Homeland Security has subpoenaed REI (yes, the outdoor retailer) for details on anyone who bought a specific green beanie in the Minneapolis area. It's one part of a larger, and very disturbing, effort to go after people protesting ICE:
wired.com
ICE Wants to Know Everyone Who Bought a Certain Green Beanie From REI in the Last 2 Years
Homeland Security Investigations agents hit the outdoor retailer with a controversial subpoena as part of a dragnet search for the identities of protesters who entered a Minnesota church in March.
18204115
Reposted by Steph Cha
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Plenty to reflect about re: the Arday affair, but I'm going to repeat this one thing. The playbook the right used here is effective even though it's not especially sophisticated, as it relies on the audience to do the dirty work. I've been calling it "Trojan horse propaganda", let's go with that. 1/
5763172016
Reposted by Steph Cha
Isabela Dias @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
A staggering 55 people have died in ICE custody since Trump's return to office. But the agency's official death toll record-keeping doesn't account for people like Prisciliano, whose health deteriorated in detention but died shortly after the agency released him from custody to be hospitalized.
motherjones.com
The Deaths ICE Doesn’t Count
Prisciliano Trejo Ricano passed away in the hospital days after being released from detention.
231345678
Steph Cha @stephcha.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Incredibly, Your House Will Be Pay made this list of the 50 best thrillers of the 21st Century. It is probably the 50th bestselling book on there, and I’m grateful to everyone who included it in their ballots.
nytimes.com
The 50 Best Thrillers of the 21st Century
59217
Reposted by Steph Cha
Sergio Perez @sergioperez.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Big props to @stephcha.bsky.social for the well-deserved spot on this @nytimes.com list - she’s that rare combo of amazing artist & all-around great person. Read “Your House Will Pay” - you won’t regret it!
nytimes.com
The 50 Best Thrillers of the 21st Century
263
Reposted by Steph Cha
Jordan Harper @jordanharper.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
www.newyorker.com/books/under-...
newyorker.com
How Jordan Harper Reinvented Noir for the Epstein Era
This year’s buzzy “A Violent Masterpiece” inverts the genre’s traditional contrast between optimism and despair. Is a hopeful crime novel still a noir?
59425
Reposted by Steph Cha
Alma Katsu (pre-order INCARNATE now! Coming Sept 22 in US) @almakatsu.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Here's the full list of @NYT's top 50 thrillers.Congrats to buds @blacktopkid.bsky.social @jeanhanff.bsky.social @silviamg.bsky.social @stephcha.bsky.social for making the list (and looking askance at some really deplorable picks) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
The 50 Best Thriller Books of the 21st Century (Gift Article)
Hundreds of novelists, librarians, editors and other book lovers voted. See how their ballots stack up.
2247
Reposted by Steph Cha
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
luckily he chose a remote, seldom visited corner of the country to make shit up about
521919
Steph Cha @stephcha.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Dreamt that my son produced a novel and I posted it online, like “not bad for a three-year-old,” then got slammed because I’d failed to notice it was 100% AI slop.
1131
Steph Cha @stephcha.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
This is an utter humiliation. Infuriating but also kind of satisfying, and I hope it’s watched by everyone in this man’s life, his kids, his friends, his doctors. I know these people have no shame, but imagine getting burned like this on television and having to go outside again. Hats off to Ossoff.
052
Steph Cha @stephcha.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
This is an excellent read.
010
Reposted by Steph Cha
Jordan Harper @jordanharper.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Obsessed with this line delivery
138623
Reposted by Steph Cha
buy my book @nmamatas.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Sara Gran's Claire DeWitt series combines pure detection with a kind of visionary metaphysical fantasy.
2205
Steph Cha @stephcha.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Please enjoy this thoughtful Colin Dickey takedown of the latest spasm of public-facing activity by the Sackler family.
1156
Steph Cha @stephcha.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
All the Koreans in this bar chanting ¡MÉ-XI-CO!
191
Reposted by Steph Cha
scarylawyerguy.bsky.social @scarylawyerguy.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Did the New York Times just BOTH SIDES Ken Paxton's sweetheart deal for a child sex predator. Yes, yes it did.
21660831537
Reposted by Steph Cha
Jake_Vig @jakevig.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
I am having Spencer Pratt send himself a Cameo congratulating him on his relocation out of Los Angeles.
213816
Reposted by Steph Cha
Brenny @pissedoffinnh.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Wow.. nerves of steel
301104349
Reposted by Steph Cha
dell cameron @dell.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
NEW: One day after we revealed Meta was quietly building face recognition into its smart glasses, the latest version deletes it. Meta execs, who called our reporting "dishonest" and "misleading," continue to dodge our questions.
wired.com
Meta Deletes Face-Recognition System From Its Smart Glasses App After WIRED Report
The code WIRED identified is gone from the latest version of Meta AI, the companion app for the company’s smart glasses. Meta won’t say why or whether it’s coming back.
601422566
Reposted by Steph Cha
josh (oldfriend99) @oldfriend99.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
I love how you do one thing wrong and suddenly you "made a mistake"
91155171
Reposted by Steph Cha
Viktor Winetrout @viktorwinetrout.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
[whispering to crying baby] You have no idea
41296274
Reposted by Steph Cha
Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Bari Weiss not beating the bootlicking propagandist allegations here:
18097412848
Reposted by Steph Cha
Stephen King @stephenking.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
A VIOLENT MASTERPIECE, by Jordan Harper: If you like horror/suspense/mystery, with a hanging that parallels the Jeffery Epstein "suicide," pick this barn-burner up now. The only book that equals it for sheer terror is THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
411167118
Steph Cha @stephcha.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
If by “using AI” you mean “dodging AI like it’s trying to drip squeegee water on my clean windshield” or perhaps “worrying about AI on a daily basis entirely against my will.”
040
Reposted by Steph Cha
Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
this is a masterpiece
247210888226
Reposted by Steph Cha
Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
I’m not sure why this isn’t being mentioned more, but: IRS policy for 50 years has been that the sitting president & VP get audited every year, in an effort to reassure the public they’re not corruptly abusing the office to enrich themselves.
3599543906
Steph Cha @stephcha.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
I switched to DuckDuckGo when I almost got scammed for hundreds in fees by a third party travel site posing as a direct hotel booking page by paying Google for higher placement than the hotel I searched for by name. Very happy with it. AI functions available, but not insistent and easy to disable.
0234
Reposted by Steph Cha
Evan Simko-Bednarski @simko-bednarski.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
I don't think folks younger than 30 know what the internet once legitimately promised to be (and I would argue briefly was): a boundary-less space of pretty much uncommodified information and communication. A mix between community bulletin boards and university library stacks.
6537011073
Steph Cha @stephcha.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
I’ve been reading “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism,” which details how Google, in order to make money, evaded public scrutiny and democratic controls to use our data as raw material to reshape the world, all while assuring us the outcomes were both positive and inevitable. Bless these kids. 🥰🥰🥰
140
Reposted by Steph Cha
Gillian Brockell @gillianbrockell.com · 15/05/2026
TPUSA was promoting an anti-trans event on Juniper's campus when she was stabbed to death Sunday. I'm pretty well-informed + I only heard about this today on the "It Could Happen Here" podcast. Violence against trans and nonbinary people has skyrocketed in recent years. Media coverage is dismal.
81609528
Reposted by Steph Cha
mindflakes @mindflakes.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Too many keys on a piano. How am I supposed to remember what they all do? There should be just one key that plays a song in its entirety. And there should be a machine that can press the key and listen to the song on my behalf. I don't need to be involved.
743286
Reposted by Steph Cha
Moira Donegan @moiradonegan.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
The rule appears to be that redistricting is always legal when it benefits Republicans and never legal when it benefits Democrats.
6537461024
Reposted by Steph Cha
Solomon @solomonrmissouri.com · 11/05/2026
two things can be true... 1. yes 2. And also there is a scrutiny and surveillance of Black women (because that's what we are talking about in the WNBA Black women) that is not given to any other group of people www.thenation.com/article/soci...
thenation.com
WNBA Players Should Have Picketed, Not Attended, the Met Gala
At the Bezos ball, WNBA stars chose celebrity over solidarity.
14926160
Reposted by Steph Cha
Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
A bit of cheerleading for you: Even some gerrymandered seats are not 100% certain to go the way the GOP wants in a wave election. In the last five midterm elections, the incumbent's party lost 9, 13, 30, 40, and 63 seats. Do you know how many turnovers Democrats need to flip the House? Three.
16946297
Reposted by Steph Cha
Victor LaValle @victorlavalle.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
The only thing more terrifying than the Devil is the American health care system. TODAY OUR SHOW GOES LIVE. The Terror: Devil in Silver streaming on AMC+ & Shudder. On AMC linear in September. To celebrate I'm sharing a thread of the films and tv that inspired our show's tone and mood and style.
1424356
Reposted by Steph Cha
L.A. Material @lamaterial.com · 28/04/2026
The highly anticipated Metro D Line Extension opens next week, and subway service is not the only thing on offer. The new Wilshire stops will feature activations like pickleball, salsa classes, weekly farmers markets, and more to attract locals and commuters. lamaterial.com/p/activate-t...
lamaterial.com
Pickleball and salsa lessons: How Metro will 'activate' new D Line stations
Plus, unpacking the battle over "zone zero" regulations, Sergey Brin's California departure and more.
1113
Reposted by Steph Cha
David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
In Seattle's Pike Place Market, vendors claimed that removing cars would cripple them. Nope. Sales actually rose. Remember: Studies show that biz owners consistently exaggerate how many customers drive and undercount those who walk, bike, or ride transit. Info: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
theurbanist.org
Pike Place Market Pedestrianization Pilot Boosts Sales and Visits
All signs point to Seattle's pilot program limiting car access to Pike Place being a success: sales were up 6.5% in 2025 compared to 2024, and the number of local visitors jumped by 5.6%. As the City ...
843052775
Reposted by Steph Cha
Josie Glausiusz @josiegz.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
The cruelty of the Trump Administration is beyond belief. Drastically-reduced funding for PEPFAR/USAID means that in Zambia, people are dying of AIDS due to lack of cheap drugs that can treat or prevent HIV infection. PEPFAR was originally funded by George W Bush. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/h...
nytimes.com
AIDS Creeps Back in Parts of Zambia, a Year After U.S. Cuts to H.I.V. Assistance
31718
Steph Cha @stephcha.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Love this profile of @jordanharper.bsky.social, who could not be more deserving. For a Crawl Through Hollywood’s Underside, Let Him Be Your Guide www.nytimes.com/2026/04/26/b...
nytimes.com
For a Crawl Through Hollywood’s Underside, Let Him Be Your Guide
185
Reposted by Steph Cha
Grudgie the Whale @grudgie.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
For the “tone down the rhetoric” crowd, Trump literally posted Obama’s address and the next day a 1/6 guy armed to the teeth showed up casing the residence.
4458831454
Reposted by Steph Cha
I Travel Like Sound Dog @chadstanton.blacksky.app · 25/04/2026
We got rid of affirmative action so now Black kids have to define themselves by recounting personal trauma to signal that they are Black. overcast.fm/+AAHuusmwS-k
overcast.fm
In college admission, trauma is shorthand for Blackness — Code Switch
At most elite colleges and universities, affirmative action is a thing of the past. But admissions offices are still interested in building racially diverse incoming classes — which can mean looking a...
319364
Steph Cha @stephcha.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Highly recommend subscribing to @lamaterial.bsky.social, doubly so if you have any connection to L.A. Great writing, detailed reporting, somehow 100% relevant to my interests. Also, the newsletter takes me back to like 2010 internet, when I got news, gossip, and millennial snark on Google Reader.
230
Reposted by Steph Cha
Hayes Davenport @hayesdavenport.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Bill Essayli, Trump's man in L.A., talks a lot about fraud. Something he doesn't talk about: his family's federal fraud case, and how he defended it against the office he now runs. Our reporter Matt Hamilton uncovered the case and went deep on a major Trump player. lamaterial.com/p/bill-essay...
lamaterial.com
Trump's Man in L.A.
Bill Essayli is the face of Trump’s immigration and fraud crackdown in Southern California. Defending his own family’s fraud case, with the ACLU’s help, pitted him against the office he now leads.
0277
Reposted by Steph Cha
ACLU @aclu.org · 17/04/2026
Dr. Rümeysa Öztürk has returned to Türkiye after completing her Ph.D. program in child study and human development. Last year, her life was disrupted when ICE targeted her unlawfully with detention and deportation in retaliation for an op-ed she co-wrote in support of Palestinian human rights.
Burgundy graphic with quote "“The time stolen from me by the U.S. government belongs not just to me, but to the children and youth I have dedicated my life to advocating for. With them in mind, I am choosing to return home as planned to continue my career as a woman scholar without losing more time to the state-imposed violence and hostility I have experienced in the United States – all for nothing more than co-signing an op-ed advocating for Palestinian rights.” The quote is attributed to Dr. Rümeysa Öztürk, Scholar unlawfully detained by the Trump administration for her speech, on her decision to return home to Türkiye. Below the quote is a photo of Dr. Öztürk in graduation garb, standing in front of a book shelf.
3351102
Reposted by Steph Cha
Rob D. Smith @robdsmith.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
This story made it into The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2026 edited by @stephcha.bsky.social and @meganabbott.bsky.social Incredibly grateful. Incredible blown away.
1166
Reposted by Steph Cha
Tahir Duckett @tahir.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
It is really frustrating that this will be viewed as a win for liberals when it is honestly a win for conservatives (and a national embarrassment) that the Court granted cert to begin with.
324848
Reposted by Steph Cha
Puff the Magic Hater @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
I read the NYT piece, and I am holding onto the words of a woman who fended off inappropriate advances from a 60-year-old Cesar Chavez at the age of 19. “It makes you rethink in history all those heroes,” Esmeralda Lopez said. “The movement — that’s the hero.”
514419951
Reposted by Steph Cha
Lydia Kiesling @lydiakiesling.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
When people in the future ask what America was show them this
Screenshot from NY Mag feature on how much people make in NYC: "Bronx Day-Care Worker

$31,000

$16,600 from day-care profits

$14,400 from trainings and consulting

Last year, I lost a lot of kids. I live in the Bronx, and a bunch of families in my neighborhood lost their child-care vouchers. We're talking about people who make as much as I do; most of the moms I work with are home health aides. They can't afford full-time child care. If I have 16 kids, I can pay myself for 40 hours of work. But last year, I didn't, and obviously I'm still doing the same amount of work. I've been running the day care out of my home for more than seven years. It's a profession I entered out of necessity and have stayed in out of passion. I pay for everything - food, cleaning supplies, toys - and we have to meet the same requirements as a large company in terms of paying for liability insurance, which can feel pointless in this industry. I mean, if something happens to one of my children, I lose my license. End of story."Screenshot from NY Mag feature about how much people make in NYC: "Consultant

$17,000,000

$9.5 million from consulting fees

$7.5 million in stock in companies that went public

The big-picture way that I make my money is consulting; that work covers my day-to-day.

Separate from that, I had stock in a couple of companies that went public. Because I made money later in life, my tastes and needs are a lot simpler. I don't spend money on things like having multiple homes, or flying private, or watches, or boats. I make enough money that I do what I want and I don't think about it. I also don't believe in leaving my kids a crazy amount of money because everyone I know who has that is fucked up, so why would I do that to them?"
722880