laura olin
@lauraolin.bsky.social
the best goddamn dancer in the american ballet academy // lauraolin.com
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laura olin
@lauraolin.bsky.social
· Jan 1
> 202: What resonated, 2025
Andrew Wyeth, Otherworld Hi hi, For an indeterminate number of years I’ve wrapped up each year not with a “best of” list but a slightly different way of...
buttondown.com
Each year I take stock of what stuck with me most from the last 12 months. Not a "best of" list, but a "most resonant." Here's 2025's. buttondown.com/lauraolin/ar...
The story of 21st century America is that of millions of people being held hostage by the whims of a few deranged men and it uh sucks
February 4, 2026 at 2:49 PM
The story of 21st century America is that of millions of people being held hostage by the whims of a few deranged men and it uh sucks
Reposted by laura olin
A lot of people cannot just start a paid newsletter or become freelancers to sustain their careers. The sports, metro, and international desks did work that requires *team* resources, like legal checks, documents, access to archives, and long-term beat experience.
February 4, 2026 at 2:42 PM
A lot of people cannot just start a paid newsletter or become freelancers to sustain their careers. The sports, metro, and international desks did work that requires *team* resources, like legal checks, documents, access to archives, and long-term beat experience.
Between the Washington Post and the Kennedy Center, it's been quite a week for storied DC-area institutions to be killed for no good reason.
February 4, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Between the Washington Post and the Kennedy Center, it's been quite a week for storied DC-area institutions to be killed for no good reason.
Reposted by laura olin
I personally do not think some rich man should be able to buy an institution like this like a toy and then break it when he doesn’t want to play with it anymore. bsky.app/profile/benm...
New: Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray and HR Chief Wayne Connell tell employees to stay home for a zoom webinar ahead of “significant actions across the company.” Widely expected layoffs are scheduled to begin today.
February 4, 2026 at 11:53 AM
I personally do not think some rich man should be able to buy an institution like this like a toy and then break it when he doesn’t want to play with it anymore. bsky.app/profile/benm...
Reposted by laura olin
This part of our response essay is where I'm at. Boiling down all of politics to electoralism has been absolutely terrible for resisting rising authoritarianism.
www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
February 3, 2026 at 11:28 PM
This part of our response essay is where I'm at. Boiling down all of politics to electoralism has been absolutely terrible for resisting rising authoritarianism.
www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
www.bostonreview.net/forum/how-no...
Reposted by laura olin
This is action EVERY city in the country can take. If your hotels cooperate with ICE, goodbye liquor revenue.
A Minneapolis City Council committee delayed action Tuesday on renewing liquor licenses for two Minneapolis hotels that have housed federal immigration officers.
Minneapolis Council committee delays liquor licenses for 2 hotels over hosting federal agents
The City Council will hold a public hearing on the liquor licenses for the Canopy by Hilton in the Mill District and Depot Renaissance Hotel.
www.startribune.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:57 AM
This is action EVERY city in the country can take. If your hotels cooperate with ICE, goodbye liquor revenue.
Reposted by laura olin
74% of Democrats support abolishing ICE, with 53% *strongly* supporting it, according to YouGov polling from last month.
Weak calls for "reform" are coming from *elected* Democrats like Chuck, not the average Democratic voter.
Weak calls for "reform" are coming from *elected* Democrats like Chuck, not the average Democratic voter.
Democrats want commonsense reform for ICE:
End the roving patrols and racial profiling.
Take accountability and abide by the same rules as local police.
Masks need to come off, body cameras need to stay on—no secret police in the United States of America.
End the roving patrols and racial profiling.
Take accountability and abide by the same rules as local police.
Masks need to come off, body cameras need to stay on—no secret police in the United States of America.
February 3, 2026 at 10:36 PM
74% of Democrats support abolishing ICE, with 53% *strongly* supporting it, according to YouGov polling from last month.
Weak calls for "reform" are coming from *elected* Democrats like Chuck, not the average Democratic voter.
Weak calls for "reform" are coming from *elected* Democrats like Chuck, not the average Democratic voter.
Reposted by laura olin
Already seated, listening to Garcia and now Sen. Blumenthal, are two of Renee Nicole Good's brothers, Luke and Brent Ganger.
Blumenthal says Good and Alex Pretti, while here in spirit, "should be here in person, but they were murdered. They were murdered by their own government, in cold blood."
Blumenthal says Good and Alex Pretti, while here in spirit, "should be here in person, but they were murdered. They were murdered by their own government, in cold blood."
February 3, 2026 at 8:16 PM
Already seated, listening to Garcia and now Sen. Blumenthal, are two of Renee Nicole Good's brothers, Luke and Brent Ganger.
Blumenthal says Good and Alex Pretti, while here in spirit, "should be here in person, but they were murdered. They were murdered by their own government, in cold blood."
Blumenthal says Good and Alex Pretti, while here in spirit, "should be here in person, but they were murdered. They were murdered by their own government, in cold blood."
Reposted by laura olin
Media coverage of Gaza has plummeted. So today on @thenation.com, we're doing something pretty special: we're only running pieces by people in and from Gaza.
We're calling it "A Day for Gaza." You can find links to all of the incredible pieces here. Please read! www.thenation.com/article/worl...
We're calling it "A Day for Gaza." You can find links to all of the incredible pieces here. Please read! www.thenation.com/article/worl...
A Day for Gaza
Today, The Nation is turning over its website exclusively to stories from Gaza and its people. This is why.
www.thenation.com
February 3, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Media coverage of Gaza has plummeted. So today on @thenation.com, we're doing something pretty special: we're only running pieces by people in and from Gaza.
We're calling it "A Day for Gaza." You can find links to all of the incredible pieces here. Please read! www.thenation.com/article/worl...
We're calling it "A Day for Gaza." You can find links to all of the incredible pieces here. Please read! www.thenation.com/article/worl...
You know he was so proud of adding the "like" in there for "authenticity"
Of all the things in the history of the world that definitely did not happen - this is the pinnacle.
February 3, 2026 at 3:11 PM
You know he was so proud of adding the "like" in there for "authenticity"
Reposted by laura olin
February 3, 2026 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by laura olin
Nikolai Kochergin (1897-1974)
February 3, 2026 at 9:04 AM
Nikolai Kochergin (1897-1974)
Reposted by laura olin
This watermark graffiti by street artist Mathieu Tremblin is, like, the best thing ever.
January 29, 2026 at 8:47 PM
This watermark graffiti by street artist Mathieu Tremblin is, like, the best thing ever.
Reposted by laura olin
While the pasty incels who work the federal agencies continue to churn out feeble, bloodless AI pastiches of Axis propaganda, here’s how a living breathing artist powerfully invokes design history. This is by illustrator Emily K in South Philly, a free poster-sized download on her website: →
January 15, 2026 at 7:57 PM
While the pasty incels who work the federal agencies continue to churn out feeble, bloodless AI pastiches of Axis propaganda, here’s how a living breathing artist powerfully invokes design history. This is by illustrator Emily K in South Philly, a free poster-sized download on her website: →
Reposted by laura olin
2026 if Larry Krasner had been the AG tasked with prosecuting J6 in
instead of Merrick Garland
instead of Merrick Garland
February 3, 2026 at 4:38 AM
2026 if Larry Krasner had been the AG tasked with prosecuting J6 in
instead of Merrick Garland
instead of Merrick Garland
The “I welcome their hatred” candidate is going to get my vote
If you campaigned for the presidency on a promise to destroy these assholes, you would win a landslide the size of FDR in 1936, when he campaigned on a promise to destroy these assholes.
Yes, Peter decided that the continued existence of our democracies isn't compatible with his desired level of personal freedom.
An absolute enemy of humanity.
An absolute enemy of humanity.
February 3, 2026 at 1:33 AM
The “I welcome their hatred” candidate is going to get my vote
Reposted by laura olin
Today at school dismissal, I followed a suspicious pickup around for a bit, keeping an eye on them, trying to figure out if they were ICE. Then I realized they were keeping an eye on me also. Then I realized they were, in fact, other parents. Life in Minnesota, January 2026.
February 2, 2026 at 10:09 PM
Today at school dismissal, I followed a suspicious pickup around for a bit, keeping an eye on them, trying to figure out if they were ICE. Then I realized they were keeping an eye on me also. Then I realized they were, in fact, other parents. Life in Minnesota, January 2026.
I’m about to finally become a conspiracy theorist about only this topic
February 2, 2026 at 11:52 PM
I’m about to finally become a conspiracy theorist about only this topic
Reposted by laura olin
We didn't say body cams on ICE. Their murders are already on video. We said no more ICE.
February 2, 2026 at 10:16 PM
We didn't say body cams on ICE. Their murders are already on video. We said no more ICE.
Reposted by laura olin
Remember like 15 years ago, when Russian dash cams of horrible accidents went viral? And everyone in Russia was using them because they couldn’t trust the authorities? Fundamentally, the dash cam and the body cam are the visual record of a failed state. They are a symptom posing as a substitute
February 2, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Remember like 15 years ago, when Russian dash cams of horrible accidents went viral? And everyone in Russia was using them because they couldn’t trust the authorities? Fundamentally, the dash cam and the body cam are the visual record of a failed state. They are a symptom posing as a substitute
The Kennedy Center is going to be a smoldering heap of rubble by mid-July unless the Kennedy family (and anyone else who cares) actively makes noise to stop it. Gonna need human barricades, legal injunctions, threatened litigation against demolition firms, etc.
February 2, 2026 at 3:49 PM
The Kennedy Center is going to be a smoldering heap of rubble by mid-July unless the Kennedy family (and anyone else who cares) actively makes noise to stop it. Gonna need human barricades, legal injunctions, threatened litigation against demolition firms, etc.
Reposted by laura olin
The US could be solving this problem. We are letting Russia kill, injure, and harm people. Enabling massive human suffering — a cold winter without heat and water — is wrong in itself and will not lead to peace.
⚡️Ukraine warns its air defense systems are running out of missiles as Russia ramps up massive high-intensity strikes.
“Certain Systems Are Left Empty”: Ukrainian Official Warns of Critical Air Defense Missile Gaps
Ukraine is experiencing a critical missile shortage for its air defense systems, highlighting the need for urgent support against Russian attacks.
united24media.com
February 2, 2026 at 2:20 PM
The US could be solving this problem. We are letting Russia kill, injure, and harm people. Enabling massive human suffering — a cold winter without heat and water — is wrong in itself and will not lead to peace.
Reposted by laura olin
Since a lot of the coverage is omitting this detail: The Kennedy Center HAD a $250 million renovation and expansion just a few years ago, in 2019.
February 2, 2026 at 12:38 PM
Since a lot of the coverage is omitting this detail: The Kennedy Center HAD a $250 million renovation and expansion just a few years ago, in 2019.
Reposted by laura olin
If a university student group had celebrated Charlie Kirk being killed, complete with a graphic made from an actual picture of the killing, the whole lot of them would have been expelled before the ink on the digital story was dry.
University of Illinois college republicans advocate for executing protesters as “traitors” with art that takes a disturbing killing and makes it even more extreme.
dailyillini.com/news-stories...
dailyillini.com/news-stories...
‘Fell the enemies:’ Illini Republicans support ICE amid killings - The Daily Illini
In a post that included a graphic of a presumed officer holding a gun to someone's head, Illini Republicans stated that they “stand with ICE."
dailyillini.com
February 2, 2026 at 12:03 PM
If a university student group had celebrated Charlie Kirk being killed, complete with a graphic made from an actual picture of the killing, the whole lot of them would have been expelled before the ink on the digital story was dry.
This show is kind of a mess and the new book with cheeky Current Events references sucks but there are still so. many. bangers and the three incredible leads are basically in a diva-off the whole time. Go if you like divas and ABBA (who wrote the music)
February 2, 2026 at 2:14 AM
This show is kind of a mess and the new book with cheeky Current Events references sucks but there are still so. many. bangers and the three incredible leads are basically in a diva-off the whole time. Go if you like divas and ABBA (who wrote the music)