Holly Smith
@hsmithwrites.bsky.social
1.6K followers 2.1K following 1K posts
Editor-in-chief, Washington Independent Review of Books. Loser-in-chief, "Jeopardy!" season 39. "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever."
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Reposted by Holly Smith
sherylnyt.bsky.social
BREAKING: Friday night massacre underway at CDC. Doznes of "disease detectives," high-level scientists, entire Washington staff and editors of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) have all been RIFed and received the following notice:
Reposted by Holly Smith
ricksteves.bsky.social
This is just one entry in a 16-part Bluesky series sharing what I learned about smart development aid while filming my 2020 public television special “Hunger & Hope: Lessons from Ethiopia and Guatemala.” The full hour is streaming free & ad-free on the @pbs.org app and at www.ricksteves.com/hunger.
Hunger and Hope: Lessons from Ethiopia and Guatemala
In his new hour-long special available February 1, 2020, Rick Steves travels through Ethiopia and Guatemala to learn about extreme poverty — the more than 700 million people who struggle to live on le...
www.ricksteves.com
hsmithwrites.bsky.social
Nothing like arriving home to see Thing 3 (24 years old) watching "United 93" and vividly remembering watching 9/11 unfold in real time on live TV in the DC Metro area when that same kid was a newborn.
Reposted by Holly Smith
mehdirhasan.bsky.social
They didn’t just NOT give Trump the Nobel Peace Prize, they wrote a citation that reads like an anti-Trump rallying cry.

(He’s gonna extra-tariff Norway now, isn’t he?)
reuters.com
'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize
Reposted by Holly Smith
govpritzker.illinois.gov
Reporting live from Chicago, there’s no “hellscape” I’d rather be in.
Reposted by Holly Smith
autumnhousepress.bsky.social
"If I’m writing creative nonfiction, I owe the reader my best attempt to discover the truth."

Check out this wonderful interview with Ren!
hsmithwrites.bsky.social
I don't often drink vodka, but when I do, it's Absolut Krusty.
hsmithwrites.bsky.social
I'd say I'm horrified about this as the parent of a kid with a complex heart defect, but I'm really just horrified about it as a human being.
rbreich.bsky.social
An artificial heart for children with congenital heart defects was almost finished. Families had waited for years it.

Then, Trump canceled billions in grants for universities — including the grant for this device.

The cruelty is endless. www.npr.org/2025/10/09/n...
This 4-year-old's heart is failing. A federal grant that might help him was canceled
A Cornell University researcher has been developing an artificial heart for children for more than 20 years. Now, his research is on hold and his lab is shut down.
www.npr.org
Reposted by Holly Smith
Reposted by Holly Smith
junoryleejournalism.com
David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)
SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.
Reposted by Holly Smith
shanders.bsky.social
So excited about this! Come see Amber Sparks (and me) on Friday 10/24 at Politics & Prose at the Wharf!
ambersparks.bsky.social
Going on tour next week! Come say hi please don’t make me read to myself and that one guy who’s actually got earbuds in
Reposted by Holly Smith
adoptabledogs.bsky.social
Mya 🐶
Adult female Pit Bull Terrier mix
Adoptable from Knox County Ohio Dog Shelter (Mount Vernon, OH)

https://www.petfinder.com/dog/mya-78675363/oh/mount-vernon/knox-county-ohio-dog-shelter-oh799/
Mya is a Adult Pit Bull Terrier mix described as: Affectionate, Friendly, Gentle, Loyal and Playful Mya is a Adult Pit Bull Terrier mix described as: Affectionate, Friendly, Gentle, Loyal and Playful
hsmithwrites.bsky.social
Today's "No-Pressure Reading Recommendation" to my students (even though Tolstoy totally punted at the end)...
Reposted by Holly Smith
bradheath.bsky.social
WSJ: President Trump believed his Truth Social post demanding prosecutions of James Comey and other political foes was a private message to his attorney general, and "and was surprised to learn it was public."

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
hsmithwrites.bsky.social
"Ten Tumbleweeds Roll By, Pt. II" was better!
hsmithwrites.bsky.social
10 horror movies to get to know me

Alien
The Shining
It Follows
The Witch
The Babadook
Salem's Lot
Fright Night
An American Werewolf in London
Night of the Living Dead
The Ring
benjaminoc.bsky.social
10 horror movies to get to know me

Lake Mungo
Evil Dead 2
Island of Lost Souls
The Thing
Alien
Re-Animator
Near Dark
One Cut of the Dead
Witchhammer
The Descent
leegee.bsky.social
10 horror movies to get to know me

Island of Lost Souls
Cat People
I Married a Monster From Outer Space
Onibaba
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Thing
From Beyond
Pulse
A Dark Song
When Evil Lurks
Reposted by Holly Smith
samuelashworth.bsky.social
I'll be reading as part of the tribute to the god Percival Everett at the Writers Center next Friday, October 17.