Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 10m

Why does the US still have teen pregnancy and STI rates rivaling those in emerging economies? You’ll find the answer in @margaretgmyers.bsky.social’s THE FIGHT FOR SEX ED, the 1st comprehensive history of sex ed in US schools.

New Book Offers the First Comprehensive History of Sex Ed in America

"The Fight for Sex Ed" is both a vital historical resource and an urgent call to action.

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In These Times @inthesetimes.com · 1d

Octavia E. Butler saw the future—and warned us.

Aina Marzia reviews Positive Obsession by Susana M. Morris, a new biography tracing Butler’s journey to literary legend, showing how her vision transformed both sci-fi and Black liberation.

inthesetimes.com/article/octa...

Octavia Butler speaks passionately, set against a vibrant abstract background with bold geometric shapes and vivid colors, conveying energy and creativity.

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Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 1h

THE CANCER FACTORY tells the story of a group of Goodyear Tire & Rubber workers fatally exposed to toxic chemicals and the lawyer who sought justice on their behalf. And it won @sciencewriters.org’s 2025 Science in Society Journalism Award in the Books category!!

Announcing the 2025 NASW Science in Society Journalism Award winners

The National Association of Science Writers and its Awards Committee are pleased to announce the winners of the **2025 NASW Science in Society Journalism Awards.** This year, NASW is awarding prizes…

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AAUP @aaup.org · 21h

Over 100 Brown U students & 20 faculty members gathered outside
the campus today to demand that the university reject Trump’s loyalty oath compact. Professors & students taped their mouths shut to symbolize the compact’s threat to free speech, #academicfreedom & diversity of thought.
#DefendHigherEd

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Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 3h

With ART ABOVE EVERYTHING, @sgriest.bsky.social brings stories about women artists to parts of the world that normally people wouldn’t get to hear from otherwise. Their stories are so inspiring!

Alumna, author Stephanie Elizondo Griest talks new book, ‘Art Above Everything’

Stephanie Elizondo Griest said she travelled to various countries over 10 years and interviewed 70 women to find the answer to a question that haunted her entire career. Transforming art into…

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Authors Against Book Bans @authorsabb.bsky.social · 3h

Some #BannedBooksWeek thoughts from our Oregon chapter as well as some good news! In Oregon at least, the pace of bans and challenges seems to be slowing down.

Good News on Book Bans

Should Adolph Hitler’s book Mein Kampf be banned from libraries in Oregon? That is the question members of Authors Against Book Bans asked visitors to our table at the Pacific Northwest Booksellers…

eugeneweekly.com

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Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 4h

Need poetry that will give you life? Billy-Ray Belcourt’s THE IDEA OF AN ENTIRE LIFE probes the many sides of queer Indigeneity. Get into it! 😉🏳️‍🌈

2025 Fall Preview: Short Fiction and Poetry - Quill and Quire

Over the course of three instalments, Q&Q presents the titles we’re most excited about this fall. This week’s instalment features short fiction and poetry. Next week’s final instalment will feature…

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Chelle 🔵 @chelle78.bsky.social · 8h

www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

I’m just glad it went to someone standing up for democracy instead of tearing it apart!

Nobel peace prize 2025 live: María Corina Machado wins for work promoting democratic rights in Venezuela

US president had been conducting campaign to influence prize committee

www.theguardian.com

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Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 20h

📣THIS SUNDAY!📣

Kristen Buras is hosting an event at the New Orleans Jazz Museum where teachers and alumni of Carver High School will join her to chat about her book WHAT WE STAND TO LOSE. There’s still time to get tickets! 🎟️

Remembering Black Teachers and the Culture They Created in New Orleans

Join teachers/alums of historic Carver Senior High School and Desire community for storytelling on school's legacy & city's Black teachers

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Zeteo @zeteo.com · 2d

“As a Palestinian from Gaza, I can't go back. But white people — I can't go to their country without a lot of paperwork, but they can go back to my country.”

@mehdirhasan.bsky.social speaks with Plestia Alaqad on what it was like leaving Gaza in the middle of the genocide.

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Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 23h

The book bans that have accumulated in the past 4 years are unprecedented and undeniable. This report looks back at the 2024-2025 school year. #BannedBooksWeek @penamerica.bsky.social

The Normalization of Book Banning

This report offers a window into the complex and extensive climate of censorship between July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.

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Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 1d

📣NEXT TUESDAY!📣

@greenlightbklyn.bsky.social is hosting Atash Yaghmaian’s book launch of her debut memoir, MY NAME MEANS FIRE, at 7:30PM. She’ll be in conversation with Molly Roden Winter. Come through, Brooklyn!

Book Event: Atash Yaghmaian with Molly Roden Winter

Local Iranian-American author Atash Yaghmaian launches her unflinching and stunning debut memoir at Greenlight!

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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 1d

Cause the algorithms are increasingly shady and I don’t see much promotion, let me Gift Link this:

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/u...

Civil Rights Lawyer Bryan Stevenson on How America’s Story Should Be Told

www.nytimes.com

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Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 1d

@professortkh.bsky.social’s work, including her book RACIAL INNOCENCE, aims to aid those who care about the pursuit of racial equality by providing a more expansive view of the greater swath of the population that is harmed by anti-Black bias. #LatinxHeritageMonth

Caribbean Matters: Afro-Latinos and Hispanic American Heritage Month

Caribbean Matters is a weekly series from Daily Kos. Hope you’ll join us here every Saturday. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of ...

www.dailykos.com

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Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · 1d

"lockstep" is quite the word choice for this approach, AP

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 1d

Pope Leo XIV has blasted how wealthy people live in a “bubble of comfort and luxury” while the poor suffer. In his first teaching document Thursday, Leo confirms that he is in perfect lockstep with Pope Francis on matters of social injustice.

Pope Leo blasts economy that marginalizes poor while wealthy live in bubble of luxury

Pope Leo XIV has blasted how wealthy people live in a “bubble of comfort and luxury” while the poor suffer.

bit.ly

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Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 1d

For some of the interviewees in Marc Meyer’s VOICES FROM THE KITCHEN, the restaurant serves as a substitute family. Their food stories suffuse these pages. This is a food and family book if there ever was one. @publisherswkly.bsky.social

Voices from the Kitchen: Personal Narratives from New York’s Immigrant Restaurant Workers by

Restaurateur Meyer talked with his own employees for this bighearted and inviting collection of nearly 30 firsthand accounts fro...

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ACLU @aclu.org · 4d

We have the right to read what we want, no matter what politicians or school officials say.

Let us know what your favorite banned book is below. 📚

Yellow graphic with photos of books falling in the background. Text on the graphic reads: "Happy Banned Books Week! To celebrate, we’re going to: Read our favorite banned book, Defend freedom of speech in schools, Show appreciation for librarians and educators, Remind our community how books allow us to learn about new perspectives, experiences, and places, Get another banned book from our local library"

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Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 1d

“She knew people can only make change for the better if they first have hope, and so she championed it. It was what kept her going, and she never shirked from the job, even though it came at great personal cost by precluding what could have been a serene life in the forest that would have been far easier.

It is crushing to lose her at a moment in time when we need her most. But she clearly left us our marching orders. First, we need to claw and scratch and do whatever it takes not to lose hope. Then, we are to roll up our sleeves and get to work—with conviction—to fight for the planet. That is how we do it. That is how we pay tribute to the amazing Dr. Jane Goodall.”

“I, for one, am posting my favorite photo of her right next to my computer screen, knowing she’ll be keeping an eye on me. And next to it will be a shiny little star—of hope, of course.

Let’s keep Jane’s legacy alive, working even that much harder for the causes that matter most in these challenging times.

“I do believe there is a window of time when we can at least slow down climate change and loss of biodiversity. But only if we get together and take action now.”
– Jane Goodall Earth Day Message 2025”

—Nancy Merrick, author of Among Chimpanzees: Field Notes from the Race to Save Our Endangered Relatives

Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 1d

Nancy Merrick began working with primates in 1972 as a young field assistant in Jane Goodall’s famous Gombe camp. She pays tribute to her mentor and friend. #RestInPeace 🕊️

Photograph of Jane Goodall standing in front of flowers and wearing a turtleneck and microphone. Text above and below her photo says “In Memory of Jane Goodall, Messenger of Hope, 1934-2025” against a blue background.

The start of Nancy Merrick’s tribute to Jane Goodall: “The world lost a mighty inspiration this past week as Dr. Jane Goodall, revered scientist and humanitarian, passed from this life. Her love of the natural world and all its creatures shaped generations of us. She taught us that we are not above nature, that our daily decisions matter, and that we must protect the planet. Most importantly, she required us to keep hope alive, and then to use that hope to become better stewards of the planet.

I have had the joy of knowing Jane Goodall as mentor and friend since I studied chimpanzees with her at Gombe Stream Research Centre when I was 19 (54 years ago), so hearing of her passing struck hard.”

“My daughter phoned with the news as my husband and I were driving to southern California to hear her speak. We had also hoped to have some time with her at what we call a “Friends of Jane” event. This special gathering of 20 or so of us for socializing and a meal was always followed by “The Meeting.” Jane would convene us in a circle of chairs, asking us each to report on what we’d done to better the world since our last get-together. Jane would then regale us with her own report, which, of course, was always extremely humbling.”

“But we knew each of our reports mattered enormously to her, because Jane wanted to know we were actively working to amplify her efforts to protect the natural world and the poor, and to stand up to the bullies. In fact, that is precisely why she travelled 300 days a year, even into her 90s. She needed every person in that room, and in every room on the planet, to be actively working to protect what is precious.

Jane accomplished so much in so many realms, but I believe the world was thirstiest for her accomplishments as a “Messenger of Hope.” She first took on the mantle in mid-life and would gradually come to believe it was a God-given assignment.”

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Terence Keel @terencekeel.bsky.social · 2d

The #Goodreads #giveaway for "The Coroner's Silence" (@beaconpress.bsky.social) ends this Friday! Click the link below to enter. ⬇️

Terence Keel @terencekeel.bsky.social · 24d

Book #giveaway is open now over on #Goodreads! Follow the link below to enter to win one of 25 copies of “The Coroner’s Silence,” (@beaconpress.bsky.social ) now through Oct. 11.
shorturl.at/muO9V
(U.S. only and a valid mailing address is required.)
#bookgiveaway #nonfiction #bookrelease #truecrime

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Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 1d

Among all the mothers Margeaux Feldman found while reading, they found themself returning to Freud’s Dora.

Dora’s loss of voice was her body’s way of protecting her from the double trauma of having her family disbelieve her.

“The Many Sick Mothers of My Heart.” Life at the Intersection of Sickness and Trauma

In many ways, I’ve known sickness my whole life. Born with eczema that covered my arms and legs in red, rashy welts, peaking as a teenager and returning, uninvited, throughout my adulthood. As a te…

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Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 1d

ICE’s violent attacks on journalists and others exercising their First Amendment rights should be thoroughly investigated by the local authorities whose states and municipalities ICE has invaded.

Quote card from FPF Advocacy Director Seth Stern

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Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 1d

Jared Fox’s classroom case study effectively reveals how he transformed his students into ‘community scientists’ who advocate for change. He writes all about it in LEARNING ENVIRONMENT! #BackToSchool

Bookshelf - Hamilton College

Alumni and faculty members who would like to have their books considered for this listing should contact Stacey Himmelberger, editor of Hamilton magazine.

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ffrf.org @ffrf.org · 2d

“This is not the next big thing. Christian nationalism is here, and it is deeply entrenched in our government in ways that should concern all Americans, regardless of their views on religion.”

www.texasmonthly.com/news-politic...

He Calls Church-State Separation a Myth. He’s Now Weighing In on Public School Curricula.

David Barton, far-right Christian activist and founder of Wallbuilders, has been appointed by Texas's board of education to advise on social studies instruction.

www.texasmonthly.com

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Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 2d

The questions Sara Moslener raises throughout AFTER PURITY feel eminently relevant to life in the US today. She does an excellent job of conveying how deeply the ideological currents of purity run. @publisherswkly.bsky.social

After Purity: Race, Sex, and Religion in White Christian America by Sara Moslener

Does a certain strain of conservative Christianity also bolster racist ideologies within the U.S.? Moslener (Virgin Nation), hos...

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