Elizabeth Spiers
@espiers.bsky.social
NYT opinion writer, Slate Money co-host, Dem messaging consultant, NYU prof, former EIC The New York Observer, Dealbreaker founder and Gawker founding editor. Brooklyn via Bama. Rednexican. Striver with no chill.
https://linktr.ee/elizabethspiers
https://linktr.ee/elizabethspiers
Pinned
Melania at the Multiplex
Packaging a $75 million bribe from Jeff Bezos as a vapid, content-challenged biopic.
www.thenation.com
Some brave journalists go to war zones and get shot at. I went to the Melania movie, and would probably opt for being shot at over having to sit through it again www.thenation.com/article/cult...
Reposted by Elizabeth Spiers
I sincerely hope that JD Vance gets this reaction every single place he goes.
Vice President JD Vance gets roundly booed at the opening ceremony of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympics. "Those are a lot of boos for him, whistling jeering," says the presenter. US athletes receive a warm welcome from fans, though.
February 6, 2026 at 9:34 PM
I sincerely hope that JD Vance gets this reaction every single place he goes.
Reposted by Elizabeth Spiers
The gall. He shot a woman who posed no threat to him and then boasted about it as he and his colleagues falsely maligned *her* reputation to cover it up.
The only question should whether his texts are admitted as evidence at his criminal trial.
The only question should whether his texts are admitted as evidence at his criminal trial.
The feds say the release of a Border Patrol agent's texts could "sully" his reputation.
But a judge says they're fair game, partly because Homeland Security has shown "zero concern" for the rep of Chicago's Marimar Martinez.
UPDATED @chicago.suntimes.com story: chicago.suntimes.com/2026/02/06/f...
But a judge says they're fair game, partly because Homeland Security has shown "zero concern" for the rep of Chicago's Marimar Martinez.
UPDATED @chicago.suntimes.com story: chicago.suntimes.com/2026/02/06/f...
Federal judge will let Marimar Martinez release text messages sent by Border Patrol agent who shot her
U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis pointed out that Martinez is "presumed innocent of any offense of which she has not been convicted." Martinez's attorney said the text messages and other evidence ...
chicago.suntimes.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:00 PM
The gall. He shot a woman who posed no threat to him and then boasted about it as he and his colleagues falsely maligned *her* reputation to cover it up.
The only question should whether his texts are admitted as evidence at his criminal trial.
The only question should whether his texts are admitted as evidence at his criminal trial.
Reposted by Elizabeth Spiers
Pour one out for every professional political pundit, writer, consultant whatever that has spent the last decade trying to pretend that the Trump phenomenon was about trade or opiates and not a big chunk of white america losing its mind over having a black president bsky.app/profile/kyle...
A screenshot from a video posted on Trump's Truth Social account: truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...
February 6, 2026 at 9:28 AM
Pour one out for every professional political pundit, writer, consultant whatever that has spent the last decade trying to pretend that the Trump phenomenon was about trade or opiates and not a big chunk of white america losing its mind over having a black president bsky.app/profile/kyle...
Reposted by Elizabeth Spiers
“Is it too obvious to say that of course the right only values family as a system of ownership and property, only values motherhood as a way to push women from public life… only values babies & births when they are white babies and white births, meant to reproduce the nation as they imagine it?”
"The people tearing these loved ones apart are often the very same people who have spent so much of the past several years lecturing the American people, and in particular American women, about the importance of parenthood and family," writes @moiradonegan.bsky.social.
Republicans are the party of separating and destroying families | Moira Donegan
Their ‘pro-family’ rhetoric is a cynical and hollow sham
www.theguardian.com
February 6, 2026 at 6:31 PM
“Is it too obvious to say that of course the right only values family as a system of ownership and property, only values motherhood as a way to push women from public life… only values babies & births when they are white babies and white births, meant to reproduce the nation as they imagine it?”
Reposted by Elizabeth Spiers
One of the reasons I so greatly dislike the “can men and women be friends?” nonsense (yes, full stop, shut up) is that it casts suspicion on people with opposite-sex friends instead of where it more often belongs: on people with no opposite-sex friends.
Anyway, yeah. The overwhelming impression one gets from so many of these emails is that a lot of them are guys who have never had a real, serious friendship with a woman in their lives.
Which sucks for them, but also sucks for every woman who has to deal with them, ever.
Which sucks for them, but also sucks for every woman who has to deal with them, ever.
February 5, 2026 at 6:47 PM
One of the reasons I so greatly dislike the “can men and women be friends?” nonsense (yes, full stop, shut up) is that it casts suspicion on people with opposite-sex friends instead of where it more often belongs: on people with no opposite-sex friends.
I realize you've all already read 1,826,362 Melania reviews (including mine, perhaps) but it is always worth reading @drewmagary.bsky.social on pretty much anything and this is great. I also will not be able to unsee the fact that "[Trump] stands in italics."
"It has no journalistic value and even less entertainment value."
'Melania' is so, so, so bad
"It has no journalistic value and even less entertainment value."
bit.ly
February 6, 2026 at 6:39 PM
I realize you've all already read 1,826,362 Melania reviews (including mine, perhaps) but it is always worth reading @drewmagary.bsky.social on pretty much anything and this is great. I also will not be able to unsee the fact that "[Trump] stands in italics."
Reposted by Elizabeth Spiers
I've also added more dates for all three workshops (opinion writing, personal essay, and developing a writing practice): www.elizabethspiers.com/workshops/
Workshops
Learn to write professional op-eds and personal essays with Elizabeth Spiers, a contributing writer for The New York Times opinion section, former columnist at Fortune and Fast Company, and opinion co...
www.elizabethspiers.com
February 4, 2026 at 6:21 PM
I've also added more dates for all three workshops (opinion writing, personal essay, and developing a writing practice): www.elizabethspiers.com/workshops/
I want a personal apology from every reactionary centrist who claimed Trump supporters were just motivated by “economic anxiety”
Last night, Trump posted a video to his social media platform that contained a racist clip showing Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys. It's still up:
February 6, 2026 at 1:48 PM
I want a personal apology from every reactionary centrist who claimed Trump supporters were just motivated by “economic anxiety”
The next opinion workshop is on Tuesday!
I've also added more dates for all three workshops (opinion writing, personal essay, and developing a writing practice): www.elizabethspiers.com/workshops/
Workshops
Learn to write professional op-eds and personal essays with Elizabeth Spiers, a contributing writer for The New York Times opinion section, former columnist at Fortune and Fast Company, and opinion co...
www.elizabethspiers.com
February 6, 2026 at 1:52 AM
The next opinion workshop is on Tuesday!
Reposted by Elizabeth Spiers
the Epstein files are really devastating because they remind me of how many girls and women miss out on professional opportunities, mentorship and careers because of how many powerful, rich and influential men only view girls and women — and interactions with them — through the lens of sex
February 5, 2026 at 5:05 PM
the Epstein files are really devastating because they remind me of how many girls and women miss out on professional opportunities, mentorship and careers because of how many powerful, rich and influential men only view girls and women — and interactions with them — through the lens of sex
TIL that Jeffrey Epstein bought Woody Allen 31 pairs of luxury boxer shorts www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/s...
How Epstein Used Luxury Goods to Curry Favor
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 3:34 PM
TIL that Jeffrey Epstein bought Woody Allen 31 pairs of luxury boxer shorts www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/s...
Reposted by Elizabeth Spiers
Name them
shame them
shame them
February 5, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Name them
shame them
shame them
Reposted by Elizabeth Spiers
Crucial from @brianbeutler.bsky.social: Anyone selling warehouses to ICE for camps should prepare for video leaking of "people inside being tortured." They'll have to answer for atrocities "in their communities."
On the pod we went big on Trump's new vulnerabilities:
newrepublic.com/article/2061...
On the pod we went big on Trump's new vulnerabilities:
newrepublic.com/article/2061...
Trump Reveals Hint of Panic on ICE as Prison Camps Anger MAGA Country
As Trump’s planned ICE detention camps face resistance in unlikely places, a sharp observer of Democrats explains how this moment is handing them a major opportunity to seize control of this debate.
newrepublic.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Crucial from @brianbeutler.bsky.social: Anyone selling warehouses to ICE for camps should prepare for video leaking of "people inside being tortured." They'll have to answer for atrocities "in their communities."
On the pod we went big on Trump's new vulnerabilities:
newrepublic.com/article/2061...
On the pod we went big on Trump's new vulnerabilities:
newrepublic.com/article/2061...
I'm in the files because I wrote about Epstein being a creepy pedophile way back in 2006 and someone sent it to him. I'm okay with that. (Dealbreaker was doing flood the zone Epstein coverage at the time, along with Gawker and The Palm Beach Post, and well, almost no one else.)
do not honestly know if this title is literal or metaphorical
February 5, 2026 at 2:43 PM
I'm in the files because I wrote about Epstein being a creepy pedophile way back in 2006 and someone sent it to him. I'm okay with that. (Dealbreaker was doing flood the zone Epstein coverage at the time, along with Gawker and The Palm Beach Post, and well, almost no one else.)
Reposted by Elizabeth Spiers
Organizers of the National Prayer Breakfast invite Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez, the dictator of El Salvador, best know for his torture camps and friendly relations with drug cartels, as a featured speaker. The invitation is a good demonstration of the political values of Christian Nationalists.
February 5, 2026 at 2:19 PM
Organizers of the National Prayer Breakfast invite Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez, the dictator of El Salvador, best know for his torture camps and friendly relations with drug cartels, as a featured speaker. The invitation is a good demonstration of the political values of Christian Nationalists.
I do not know how anyone ever confused Epstein for a genius. He just pulled stuff out of his ass all the time. Writing is a complex mental task neurologically and not at all linear: uwaterloo.ca/writing-and-...
February 5, 2026 at 1:59 PM
I do not know how anyone ever confused Epstein for a genius. He just pulled stuff out of his ass all the time. Writing is a complex mental task neurologically and not at all linear: uwaterloo.ca/writing-and-...
Reposted by Elizabeth Spiers
The billionaire class wants to decimate the white collar workforce. Because white collar workers are expensive. And because white collar workers—who historically sided with billionaires—are questioning that alliance. Which makes their knowledge and resources a huge threat to billionaire power.
February 5, 2026 at 11:03 AM
The billionaire class wants to decimate the white collar workforce. Because white collar workers are expensive. And because white collar workers—who historically sided with billionaires—are questioning that alliance. Which makes their knowledge and resources a huge threat to billionaire power.
Reposted by Elizabeth Spiers
The morning after mass layoffs, The Washington Post publishes this as their lead editorial. The owner and publisher clearly have no idea why they are losing subscribers. Meanwhile they have destroyed a storied brand.
Support independent media. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
Support independent media. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
February 5, 2026 at 12:29 PM
The morning after mass layoffs, The Washington Post publishes this as their lead editorial. The owner and publisher clearly have no idea why they are losing subscribers. Meanwhile they have destroyed a storied brand.
Support independent media. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
Support independent media. hubs.ly/Q03M8rql0
Reposted by Elizabeth Spiers
Seven years ago yesterday, this ad ran during the Super Bowl.
'Democracy Dies in Darkness': Super Bowl commercial (2019)
YouTube video by Washington Post
www.youtube.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Seven years ago yesterday, this ad ran during the Super Bowl.
This also speaks to my argument re: rich guys and newspapers: they think their business side hires are smart and they're just hobbled by the actual journalists, who are idiots.
"I realized that the Post wasn’t the same paper that had recruited me, and that I didn’t want to work for an owner and publisher who couldn’t articulate a vision and confused contempt for the newsroom with a business plan."
-- Ashley Parker, on why she jumped ship
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
-- Ashley Parker, on why she jumped ship
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
The Murder of The Washington Post
Today’s layoffs are the latest attempt to kill what makes the paper special.
www.theatlantic.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:58 PM
This also speaks to my argument re: rich guys and newspapers: they think their business side hires are smart and they're just hobbled by the actual journalists, who are idiots.
My next opinion writing workshop is next week! www.elizabethspiers.com/workshops/
Workshops
Learn to write professional op-eds and personal essays with Elizabeth Spiers, a contributing writer for The New York Times opinion section, former columnist at Fortune and Fast Company, and opinion co...
www.elizabethspiers.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:33 PM
My next opinion writing workshop is next week! www.elizabethspiers.com/workshops/
One of us has dealt with rich owners while running a newsroom and it’s not you, ma’am
The most embarrassing post to be posted today … 🥇
I don't buy the idea that Bezos is intentionally killing the Post. If he wanted to do that he could have just bought it and shut it down. Plenty of rich people have done that. The problem is he hired a Murdoch tabloid team to manage it and it's not a Murdoch tabloid and you can't run it like one.
February 4, 2026 at 4:11 PM
One of us has dealt with rich owners while running a newsroom and it’s not you, ma’am
Reposted by Elizabeth Spiers
The big tech founder whose 417-foot, $500 million superyacht needs a 256-foot, $75 million superyacht to "shadow" it -- because the bigger yacht lacks a helipad -- had to cut his paper's newsroom almost in half, for reasons
NEWS: The cuts were so severe that at least one department head asked to leave The Post rather than be included in the planning.
Peter Finn, The Post's international editor, requested that he be laid off once he learned about the scope of the cuts to his section.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Peter Finn, The Post's international editor, requested that he be laid off once he learned about the scope of the cuts to his section.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Washington Post Begins Sweeping Layoffs
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 4:05 PM
The big tech founder whose 417-foot, $500 million superyacht needs a 256-foot, $75 million superyacht to "shadow" it -- because the bigger yacht lacks a helipad -- had to cut his paper's newsroom almost in half, for reasons
I don't buy the idea that Bezos is intentionally killing the Post. If he wanted to do that he could have just bought it and shut it down. Plenty of rich people have done that. The problem is he hired a Murdoch tabloid team to manage it and it's not a Murdoch tabloid and you can't run it like one.
February 4, 2026 at 3:10 PM
I don't buy the idea that Bezos is intentionally killing the Post. If he wanted to do that he could have just bought it and shut it down. Plenty of rich people have done that. The problem is he hired a Murdoch tabloid team to manage it and it's not a Murdoch tabloid and you can't run it like one.
I don't know what it is about idiots who buy newspapers without understanding why they exist or what their business is, but I think gutting books coverage is some kind of canary in the coalmine. These jackasses don't read books, so they assume no one else does either.
February 4, 2026 at 2:53 PM
I don't know what it is about idiots who buy newspapers without understanding why they exist or what their business is, but I think gutting books coverage is some kind of canary in the coalmine. These jackasses don't read books, so they assume no one else does either.