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Tal Lavin

@swordsjew.bsky.social
168K followers 4.1K following 21K posts

journalist, author, reads too much. haggard and unblest. trans guy, he/him. feygeleh & proud 🦩 newsletter: buttondown.email/theswordandthesandwich contact: talialavinwrites@gmail.com

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Tal Lavin
Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 1h
Time for this classic again.
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Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 2h
Another thing about fraternities is that the hazing rituals where slightly older young men would physically, mentally emotionally and sometimes even sexually abuse slightly younger young men have always disturbed and upset me greatly. And it’s really telling that I’ve seen men defend those too
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emily blight 🐦‍⬛ @threnody.northsky.social · 4h
sometimes someone is just condescending enough in my replies that i flex every muscle in my body one at a time trying to figure out which one ignites me like the human torch. if i ever figure it out, some of y’all are fucked.
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 2h
i see this is a Spiralling Due To Rape Trauma Triggered By The News kind of day
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Robert Evans (the Only Robert Evans) @iwriteok.bsky.social · 6h
Last week the Portland Police made a huge deal about a K9 killed in the line of duty apprehending a dangerous suspect. Turns out that K9 was shot and killed by...the Portland Police www.kgw.com/article/news...
kgw.com
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Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · 8h
“Ever since we’ve posted the secondary coverage as well as the editorial, there’s been an absolute outpour of similar stories hitting my inbox and the sexual-misconduct tip line.”
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Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 8h
A man replied to this saying in earnest that women need to get organized and fight for our rights and men will follow. We did that. We do that. We mobilized the largest single day protest in global history on every continent and yet I have fewer rights than my mom did at my age.
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rax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.social · 13h
every day i thank god that neither my one-time rapist nor my longtime abuser ever amounted to shit. also every day it surprises me a little more that *being* rapists and abusers didn’t *automatically* vaunt them into amounting to shit
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Lindsey Boylan @lindseyboylan.bsky.social · 18h
This man is a monster. He seeks out women survivors because he hates them. And he hates them because he hates himself. He has harassed me and other women survivors many times over the years. It must end. He should never have a job anywhere.
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Hannah Vardit @hannahvardit.bsky.social · 23h
i worry that men think being A Good Guy is dramatically and heroically intervening on behalf of an endangered woman and then being publicly rewarded on a grand scale when actually being A Good Guy is just usually saying, “hey man that’s not funny” or “wow that’s fucked up” and there is no reward
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Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 14h
I literally don’t know a single woman who hasn’t been raped, stalked, groped, harassed, or sexually violated in some way at some point in their life. If you choose to doubt and dox survivors, just know every woman in your life is disgusted by you.
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Shivvy 🎃 @shivvy.blacksky.app · 29/09/2026
I know one of you called Serf Core becoming a thing. Get over here so we can give you your flowers
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 23h
me: reading is how i cope with stress :) friend: how are your stress levels? me:
Reading Challenge Press on! Read 222 books to get back on track.
517 of 1000 books read | 94 days left
52%
Challenge details
>
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
sometimes i drink pickle brine because a) it's delicious and b) helps when im dehydrated, and Bubbie's not only has superior pickles their brine is just .... so ..... rich and amazing
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Taylor Nichols, MD MS @tnicholsmd.com · 28/09/2026
Reiterating, once again, that this built in religious abuse of children is the reason that the US continues to refuse to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Also, @swordsjew.bsky.social wrote an exceptional book on this called Wild Faith> www.goodreads.com/en/book/show...
goodreads.com
Wild Faith: How the Christian Right Is Taking Over Amer…
An investigation into the rise of the Christian right o…
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Susan Rinkunas @susanrinkunas.com · 27/09/2026
by the way, this freak's rep who dropped him in April is back handling PR around the rape accusation. The rep is Mitchell Jackson—fka Mitchell Sunderland—who got fired by Vice for siccing Milo Yiannopoulos on his women coworkers at Broadly
people.com
Clavicular's Rep Drops Him Days After Suspected Overdose, Says Influencer 'Will Not Take His Health Seriously' (Exclusive Source)
Mitchell Jackson, a publicist for Clavicular, has stopped working with the controversial influencer over his drug use, PEOPLE can confirm.
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
where the snakes sleep by e. bailleu was a shockingly good book, one of the best books about a trans man falling in love with a venomous snake researcher despite myriad family secrets ive ever read
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Spencer Ackerman @attackerman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Ha ha that’s gross and should make everyone uncomfortable, anyway, Rahm presided over a Chicago police black site, lied about what it was and then I sued the Chicago police for its records that proved it:
theguardian.com
Homan Square revealed: how Chicago police 'disappeared' 7,000 people
Exclusive: Lawsuit exposes scale of detention at off-the-books interrogation warehouse while attorneys describe find-your-client chase ‘from a Bond movie’
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Just Jackie @doesnotcare.lol · 26/09/2026
I’d better sub, lest the police get me! (First time I drove down the cape and saw a Sandwich police car, I was most amused!)
The official seal of the Sandwich, MA police department.
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da share z0ne @dasharez0ne.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
NO ONE - dashare.zone ADMIN
A SKELTEN WHOS TORRENTIND SOME REAL SHYT, "NO ONE WANTS TO WATCH AI MOVIES, IF I GAVE A SHIT WHAT THE COMPUTER WANTED, I WOULDENT OBSESSIVELY BLOCK ADS AND REFUSE TO UPDATE MY SOFTWARE" - MAYBE I WOULD BELIEVE THE COMPUTER KNOWS WHAT I WANT TO WATCH IF IT DIDNT USE 20 YEARS OF STEALING MY DATA TO TRY TO SELL ME THE SAME THING I BOUGHT LAST WEEK - MAYBE I WOULD BELIEVE AN ALGORITHM WOULD ENTERTAIN ME IF EVERY SOCIAL MEDIA SITES ALGORITHM WASNT DETERMINED TO SHOW ME DUMB BULLSHIT TO MAKE ME MAD - MAYBE I WOULD BELIEVE THAT "AI" COULD MAKE SOMETHING OF WORTH IF IT HAD EVER DONE SO EVEN ONCE AFTER READING EVERY BOOK AND WATCHING EVERY VIDEO IN EXISTANCE - DASHARE.ZONE ADMIN
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
this is how i react to your shitty posts
a marble sculpture of a dude whose expression, to me, conveys incredible disgust. his hair is choppily textured and he wears a torque around his neck. 

wikipedia caption: The Dying Gaul, a Roman statue with torc in the Capitoline Museums in
Rome
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
you can subscribe to sandwich here: buttondown.com/theswordandthesandwich
buttondown.com
The Sword And the Sandwich
This is a newsletter about the dismal state of American politics, the far right, and .... sandwiches. Plus literature, whimsy, culture, and absolutely everything else you could imagine, brought to you...
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Wyrd Science Magazine @wyrdscience.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
new favourite Smaug dropped
the 1968 "pleasure in reading" edition of the hobbit featuring an adorable bright pink Smaug torching the inhabitants of lake town
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
i ordered baby corn in my pre storm grocery delivery but i got adult corn instead. i think it underwent puberty on the journey to my home
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Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
NEW: I came across a bookseller who was afraid that a mysterious company trying to buy some of his rarest books was going to use them to train AI models. I went down the rabbithole with him, and was confused and altogether existentially weirded out by what I found www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
A bookseller confronts a mysterious company hunting his rarest books
Was a Kentucky retailer targeted by a destructive AI "predator"?
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Oregon 🕎🎲 @oregonthedm.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
That's a headline for you cmarmitage.substack.com/p/big-balls-...
cmarmitage.substack.com
Big Balls Now Exposed to Serious Criminal Charges in at Least Six States
Fired at 17 for leaking secrets. Served a cybercrime ring. Named by the Social Security whistleblower. Now the government's model employee.
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
fuckin PLz subscribe to my god damned newsletter buttondown.com/theswordandthesandwich
buttondown.com
The Sword And the Sandwich
This is a newsletter about the dismal state of American politics, the far right, and .... sandwiches. Plus literature, whimsy, culture, and absolutely everything else you could imagine, brought to you...
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Reposted by Tal Lavin
Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 25/09/2026
🧐 www.axios.com/2024/10/25/m...
axios.com
Scoop: Meta strikes multi-year AI deal with Reuters
It's the first news deal Meta has made in the AI era.
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Lady Stardust @lizblackdog.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
yes do. it's a great read.
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
fuckin PLz subscribe to my god damned newsletter buttondown.com/theswordandthesandwich
buttondown.com
The Sword And the Sandwich
This is a newsletter about the dismal state of American politics, the far right, and .... sandwiches. Plus literature, whimsy, culture, and absolutely everything else you could imagine, brought to you...
47230
Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
this is how you become khaleeSiEO
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Jordan @malicae.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I'm here for the executive assistant position
static.klipy.com
Emilia Clarke
Alt: Emilia Clarke as Danerys eating a raw, bloody horse heart
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The Age of the Great Dessication is upon us
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Tom Scocca @tomscocca.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Do not carry a cold beverage in their presence. Politely decline any drinks or sweetmeats they may offer. Keep a plain iron nail in your left trouser pocket and a sachet or paper twist of coarse salt in your right shoe. Enter and leave your chair moving clockwise. Follow up with a thank-you note.
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
me, strongest: showing up eating a gigantic raw elk steak, my jaws dripping with blood
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octopodiformes.bsky.social @octopodiformes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Oh to look outside the window and see that the weather is GIANT SANDWICH
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
listen, you're probably reading something depressing or petty so why not dive into a brisk and cheerful account of the 1873 vienna world's fair & its concurrent sandwich buttondown.com/theswordandt...
buttondown.com
Notable Sandwiches #151: Pebete
Welcome back to Notable Sandwiches, the feature where my editor David Swanson and I eat our way through Wikipedia’s List of Notable Sandwiches. This week,...
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Nineteenth century World's Fairs have always sounded dope as hell to me, so today's newsletter is a @davidswanson.bsky.social deep dive into Grand Expositions, world's fair food, and spectacles that drew shahs and emperors alike: buttondown.com/theswordandt...
buttondown.com
Notable Sandwiches #151: Pebete
Welcome back to Notable Sandwiches, the feature where my editor David Swanson and I eat our way through Wikipedia’s List of Notable Sandwiches. This week,...
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
today, the sword and the sandwich explores the rise and fall of World's Fairs and the sandwiches they begot along the way, by way of Vienna, 1873, and the pebete sandwich: buttondown.com/theswordandt...
buttondown.com
Notable Sandwiches #151: Pebete
Welcome back to Notable Sandwiches, the feature where my editor David Swanson and I eat our way through Wikipedia’s List of Notable Sandwiches. This week,...
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
pagodas! a transylvania exhibit! emperor franz joseph visiting 48 times! and ... a bread so good it became a notable sandwich halfway round the world! today @davidswanson.bsky.social reports from the 1873 Vienna World's Fair! buttondown.com/theswordandt...
buttondown.com
Notable Sandwiches #151: Pebete
Welcome back to Notable Sandwiches, the feature where my editor David Swanson and I eat our way through Wikipedia’s List of Notable Sandwiches. This week,...
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
in today's newsletter, @davidswanson.bsky.social explores how a bread roll from the Vienna World's Fair became a beloved Latin American sandwich.... with much discussion of how World's Fairs came about and sometimes caused cholera epidemics: buttondown.com/theswordandt...
buttondown.com
Notable Sandwiches #151: Pebete
Welcome back to Notable Sandwiches, the feature where my editor David Swanson and I eat our way through Wikipedia’s List of Notable Sandwiches. This week,...
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
asking for blurbs is possibly the shittiest single part of being an author if im honest
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
wow the king of spades from decks of cards was based on a real person and it's this guy
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
im supposed to be bullying some lesbians in boston bc theyre annoying? whatever i have people being way more annoying about shittier things in my neighborhood
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geoffrey @parsnip.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
this is ultimately where i land on all of it. it's some annoying bullshit. whatever. but i think if you're mad about it you're probably mad about someone being rude to you online and you need to go outside. perhaps to a bar
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
coming across this book in my recommendations made me question my life choices
From Book 1: What happens when a Highland witch falls for the Loch Ness Monster?
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Tal Lavin @swordsjew.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
tres golpes is the best breakfast invented by any nation. the dominican republic has conquered breakfast
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Stephen Miller’s Office of Remigration was deliberately named to announce to the world that white nationalism is now the basis for US immigration policy. If Dems win power, they should defund it. They should also defund third-country deportations. New from me: newrepublic.com/article/2157...
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 24/09/2026
We are at the break glass moment on the Democratic Party and its treatment of transgender people, and it is my opinion that if we don’t act now and loudly demand to be heard, we will suffer the consequences of their shift.
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Ben Ehrenreich @benehrenreich.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
And don’t neglect to check out today’s @flaminghydra.com, in which @swordsjew.bsky.social mines his Arctic obsession for gold. Regarding the noble musk ox: “The longest winters cannot defeat them. They eat saxifrage. They walk through the blizzard unscathed.” flaminghydra.com/issue-654/
flaminghydra.com
Cold comfort / Wave caught
Tal Lavin dreams of the frozen North, and Trevor Alixopulos goes for a swim
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