Megan Burbank
@meganburbank.bsky.social
reporter covering culture, politics, and abortion policy in the absence of Roe at The Nation, NPR, The New Republic, Axios. girl about town at Burbank Industries. formerly Crosscut, Seattle Times, Portland Mercury, The Stranger.
meganburbank.substack.com ✨
meganburbank.substack.com ✨
Pinned
Halloween was my last day at Crosscut/Cascade PBS, a month after my team was laid off. What do we lose when we lose a newsroom? Even before I was an editor there, Crosscut amplified abortion access and reproductive health policy coverage while other newsrooms waited for Dobbs to force the issue.
I'm pretty sure watching this many holiday movies made me dumber but it was worth it
gilmorewomen.substack.com/p/we-watched...
gilmorewomen.substack.com/p/we-watched...
We Watched Holiday Romcoms So You Don't Have To
From Champagne Problems to A Merry Little Ex-Mas, We Love Holiday Trash and So Can You
gilmorewomen.substack.com
December 5, 2025 at 10:10 PM
I'm pretty sure watching this many holiday movies made me dumber but it was worth it
gilmorewomen.substack.com/p/we-watched...
gilmorewomen.substack.com/p/we-watched...
terrible news. Hush is so good!
On the day that @opb.org CEO Rachel Smolkin posted this video, saying OPB’s funding gap of $5 million was closed, I was also told by the Chief Content Officer that Hush was canceled. Eighty percent of my income, and my health insurance - gone. I was given no reason for the cancellation. 1/x
OPB has closed this year’s $5 million budget gap created when Congress ended federal funding. Our work is not done. A strong future for free and fair journalism requires your support.
https://www.opb.org/pressroom/presidents-update-funding-cut-update-building-trust/
https://www.opb.org/pressroom/presidents-update-funding-cut-update-building-trust/
December 4, 2025 at 1:42 AM
terrible news. Hush is so good!
just remembering the era of movie + TV trailers where pathos was conveyed ONLY thru slow, acoustic covers of the hits of the '80s
why... why did we do that
why... why did we do that
December 4, 2025 at 1:11 AM
just remembering the era of movie + TV trailers where pathos was conveyed ONLY thru slow, acoustic covers of the hits of the '80s
why... why did we do that
why... why did we do that
my favorite Christmas carols are Carol of the Bells and O Come Emanuel because they’re the scariest
November 30, 2025 at 12:27 AM
my favorite Christmas carols are Carol of the Bells and O Come Emanuel because they’re the scariest
wrote about my many Lilith Fair feelings ✨ be careful if you read this because I've heard it makes people want to listen to Sarah McLachlan which might make you seem cool and mysterious to the people around you 🔮
meganburbank.substack.com/p/for-the-lo...
meganburbank.substack.com/p/for-the-lo...
For the Love of Lilith Fair
Is it possible to be nostalgic for a concert you didn't attend?
meganburbank.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 2:42 AM
wrote about my many Lilith Fair feelings ✨ be careful if you read this because I've heard it makes people want to listen to Sarah McLachlan which might make you seem cool and mysterious to the people around you 🔮
meganburbank.substack.com/p/for-the-lo...
meganburbank.substack.com/p/for-the-lo...
I promise I’m not writing a think piece but it’s wild to see Olivia Nuzzi get one million second chances from legacy pubs and a prestigious staff job after violating basic journalistic ethics multiple times while so many talented journalists I know who did not sleep with sources are out of work
November 25, 2025 at 6:19 PM
I promise I’m not writing a think piece but it’s wild to see Olivia Nuzzi get one million second chances from legacy pubs and a prestigious staff job after violating basic journalistic ethics multiple times while so many talented journalists I know who did not sleep with sources are out of work
very generous of Florence to make an album that sounds like the Yellowjackets soundtrack, she really knows her target demo
November 24, 2025 at 3:10 AM
very generous of Florence to make an album that sounds like the Yellowjackets soundtrack, she really knows her target demo
Reposted by Megan Burbank
1. Nearly every transgender person walks this earth knowing people like us who are no longer with us.
In writing about transgender people every day, I hold in my heart the people who are now our ancestors, and I try to bring their light forward.
These are the people I'm remembering today.
In writing about transgender people every day, I hold in my heart the people who are now our ancestors, and I try to bring their light forward.
These are the people I'm remembering today.
The People I Remember On This Trans Day Of Remembrance
Elisa Shupe, Lia Smith, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, and so many more names are worth remembering today.
www.erininthemorning.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:55 PM
1. Nearly every transgender person walks this earth knowing people like us who are no longer with us.
In writing about transgender people every day, I hold in my heart the people who are now our ancestors, and I try to bring their light forward.
These are the people I'm remembering today.
In writing about transgender people every day, I hold in my heart the people who are now our ancestors, and I try to bring their light forward.
These are the people I'm remembering today.
how “am” I? I got the cold everyone else has this week and watched all of SLOMW and decided Jessi is my favorite because she has a job
November 20, 2025 at 6:22 PM
how “am” I? I got the cold everyone else has this week and watched all of SLOMW and decided Jessi is my favorite because she has a job
I wrote about the Washington Post’s very silly take on Katie Wilson
open.substack.com/pub/meganbur...
open.substack.com/pub/meganbur...
The Washington Post is Wrong About Katie Wilson
Her precarity turned out to be a superpower, not a liability.
open.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:48 PM
I wrote about the Washington Post’s very silly take on Katie Wilson
open.substack.com/pub/meganbur...
open.substack.com/pub/meganbur...
Reposted by Megan Burbank
to have an affair with one longshot presidential candidate twice your age that you’re profiling may be regarded as a misfortune; to have two looks like carelessness
November 18, 2025 at 1:44 AM
to have an affair with one longshot presidential candidate twice your age that you’re profiling may be regarded as a misfortune; to have two looks like carelessness
Reposted by Megan Burbank
writers! do not date writers
November 18, 2025 at 2:05 AM
writers! do not date writers
I’m probably too close to the material, but this NYT framing suggests that the Mercury’s endorsement process is new and small-scale. Untrue: I was on the endorsement committee when I worked there years ago and the Merc’s endorsements have been similarly influential to The Stranger’s over the years
November 18, 2025 at 2:04 AM
I’m probably too close to the material, but this NYT framing suggests that the Mercury’s endorsement process is new and small-scale. Untrue: I was on the endorsement committee when I worked there years ago and the Merc’s endorsements have been similarly influential to The Stranger’s over the years
WaPo’s framing echoes what the Harrell campaign got wrong: For millennial voters, knowing someone lives in a small apartment and has experienced financial precarity is not a disqualifying dig of any kind. If anything it’s partly why Wilson was able to win
You guys realize that taxing people to pay for services isn't socialism, right? This is just how governments work.
November 18, 2025 at 1:58 AM
WaPo’s framing echoes what the Harrell campaign got wrong: For millennial voters, knowing someone lives in a small apartment and has experienced financial precarity is not a disqualifying dig of any kind. If anything it’s partly why Wilson was able to win
Reposted by Megan Burbank
sure did
The establishment is afraid and for good reason. Read Megan Burbank. She’s good. (She reported on my Neko Case / Phoebe Bridgers skeleton pajamas)
Hi if you’d like to hear about the mayoral race from people actually in Seattle I can help with that. We aren’t panicking 🙂
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
November 18, 2025 at 12:13 AM
sure did
Reposted by Megan Burbank
In Seattle, "ballots counted exceeded 55 percent of registered voters (compare this to 42 percent in the NYC mayor’s election)."
Hi if you’d like to hear about the mayoral race from people actually in Seattle I can help with that. We aren’t panicking 🙂
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
November 17, 2025 at 10:13 PM
In Seattle, "ballots counted exceeded 55 percent of registered voters (compare this to 42 percent in the NYC mayor’s election)."
Hi if you’d like to hear about the mayoral race from people actually in Seattle I can help with that. We aren’t panicking 🙂
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
November 17, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Hi if you’d like to hear about the mayoral race from people actually in Seattle I can help with that. We aren’t panicking 🙂
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Two Burbanks are better than one! My dad and I cobylined on this father-daughter collab at @thenation.com after seeing how Katie Wilson’s daycare “scandal” just didn’t stick because it only made her more relatable to millennials and Gen Z voters
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Establishment Democrats Tried to Derail Katie Wilson’s Campaign—and Failed
The precariat rose up, with passion, desire for change, and votes.
www.thenation.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Two Burbanks are better than one! My dad and I cobylined on this father-daughter collab at @thenation.com after seeing how Katie Wilson’s daycare “scandal” just didn’t stick because it only made her more relatable to millennials and Gen Z voters
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Thanks, Alex! You can thank my dad for the Burien detail in this father-daughter collab
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Cool to see a The Nation actually acknowledge some of Katie’s actual wins, and to see coverage of the Burien election! Thanks @meganburbank.bsky.social !!!
Cool to see a The Nation actually acknowledge some of Katie’s actual wins, and to see coverage of the Burien election! Thanks @meganburbank.bsky.social !!!
Establishment Democrats Tried to Derail Katie Wilson’s Campaign—and Failed
The precariat rose up, with passion, desire for change, and votes.
www.thenation.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Thanks, Alex! You can thank my dad for the Burien detail in this father-daughter collab
- I’m going on a long walk with a new friend and there are a lot of side quests
- Final girl and final cat
- There isn’t room in this ballet academy for the both of us
- Journalists are poorly dressed but competent
- Women in shoulder pads get their revenge
- Final girl and final cat
- There isn’t room in this ballet academy for the both of us
- Journalists are poorly dressed but competent
- Women in shoulder pads get their revenge
What are your top 5 movie genres? Mine are:
- Roaring rampage of revenge
- Reluctantly, I must resume my life of violence
- On reflection, the risk assessment on our giant monster facility and/or attraction could have been more thorough
- Girl survives
- Crime but make it quirky
- Roaring rampage of revenge
- Reluctantly, I must resume my life of violence
- On reflection, the risk assessment on our giant monster facility and/or attraction could have been more thorough
- Girl survives
- Crime but make it quirky
November 16, 2025 at 9:45 PM
- I’m going on a long walk with a new friend and there are a lot of side quests
- Final girl and final cat
- There isn’t room in this ballet academy for the both of us
- Journalists are poorly dressed but competent
- Women in shoulder pads get their revenge
- Final girl and final cat
- There isn’t room in this ballet academy for the both of us
- Journalists are poorly dressed but competent
- Women in shoulder pads get their revenge
I started reading The NY Times Olivia Nuzzi book reveal story and then I remembered I have free will so I stopped
November 14, 2025 at 7:30 PM
I started reading The NY Times Olivia Nuzzi book reveal story and then I remembered I have free will so I stopped
if you drive a Tesla in Seattle and you think your brights aren’t on can you do us all a favor and double-check?
sincerely,
a person in a little sedan who just wants to get home without being blinded by you
sincerely,
a person in a little sedan who just wants to get home without being blinded by you
November 13, 2025 at 2:07 AM
if you drive a Tesla in Seattle and you think your brights aren’t on can you do us all a favor and double-check?
sincerely,
a person in a little sedan who just wants to get home without being blinded by you
sincerely,
a person in a little sedan who just wants to get home without being blinded by you
Reposted by Megan Burbank
Four years from now serious people will point to Wilson's narrow margin as a sign of vulnerability, but they'll be fooling themselves. I pretty much agree with Erica's take. Attacking Wilson as unready and inexperienced worked. Just not quite enough. But that attack can't work against an incumbent.
Wilson Wins In a Squeaker (That Should Not Have Been This Close)
Wonder if incumbent Bruce Harrell will call her "Mayor-Elect Wilson" or if he'll keep referring to his successor as "this person" and "she."
publicola.com/2025/11/12/w...
Wonder if incumbent Bruce Harrell will call her "Mayor-Elect Wilson" or if he'll keep referring to his successor as "this person" and "she."
publicola.com/2025/11/12/w...
Wilson Wins In a Squeaker (That Should Not Have Been This Close) - PubliCola
By Erica C. Barnett The voters have spoken: Katie Wilson will be the next Mayor of Seattle. On Wednesday, incumbent…
publicola.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Four years from now serious people will point to Wilson's narrow margin as a sign of vulnerability, but they'll be fooling themselves. I pretty much agree with Erica's take. Attacking Wilson as unready and inexperienced worked. Just not quite enough. But that attack can't work against an incumbent.
with so much criticism going toothless or getting cut altogether, I am so happy that Ned and Bob are writing pieces like this one at The Vinyl Cut
www.vinylcut.net/review-patti...
www.vinylcut.net/review-patti...
Review: Patti Smith, 50 years on
The 50th anniversary reissue of Horses includes an all-analog cut of Smith’s 1975 debut and a second LP of outtakes.
Few debuts are as striking and complete a statement of purpose as Horses, the firs...
www.vinylcut.net
November 12, 2025 at 7:02 PM
with so much criticism going toothless or getting cut altogether, I am so happy that Ned and Bob are writing pieces like this one at The Vinyl Cut
www.vinylcut.net/review-patti...
www.vinylcut.net/review-patti...