Rachel Cohen Booth
@rcobooth.bsky.social
Vox reporter - covering housing, homelessness, family policy
trying to prod productively
trying to prod productively
Reposted by Rachel Cohen Booth
I can’t stress this enough. The state of 4th Amendment law is that the cops can’t force you to type in a passcode but they can force you to swipe your finger or present your face. Never stop using passcodes/passwords to unlock your devices. And consider additional code to unlock Signal.
The FBI was able to access Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson's Signal messages because she used Signal on her work laptop. The laptop accepted Touch ID for authentication, meaning the agents were allowed to require her to unlock it. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
February 1, 2026 at 12:08 AM
I can’t stress this enough. The state of 4th Amendment law is that the cops can’t force you to type in a passcode but they can force you to swipe your finger or present your face. Never stop using passcodes/passwords to unlock your devices. And consider additional code to unlock Signal.
Reposted by Rachel Cohen Booth
Guys if you see observers thank them. There’s real stress and burnout in the ranks right now. People understand they are waking up every day to chase and monitor federal thugs who can execute them. But they keep doing it nonstop to protect their neighbors
January 25, 2026 at 2:32 AM
Guys if you see observers thank them. There’s real stress and burnout in the ranks right now. People understand they are waking up every day to chase and monitor federal thugs who can execute them. But they keep doing it nonstop to protect their neighbors
this was so good, and I had no real idea this was happening
CNN is hawking betting odds about whether Trump will buy Greenland. Who thought this was a good idea?? I wrote about the mainstreaming of Polymarket and Kalshi www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
America Is Slow-Walking Into a Polymarket Disaster
Why is the media obsessed with prediction markets?
www.theatlantic.com
January 18, 2026 at 7:31 PM
this was so good, and I had no real idea this was happening
Reposted by Rachel Cohen Booth
Update:
The admin is moving to quickly deport witnesses who saw ICE detainee die.
They say the man was just trying to get his meds.
ICE guards shackled him
Then they choked him.
The admin moved to deport the witnesses — right after they spoke to WaPo.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
The admin is moving to quickly deport witnesses who saw ICE detainee die.
They say the man was just trying to get his meds.
ICE guards shackled him
Then they choked him.
The admin moved to deport the witnesses — right after they spoke to WaPo.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
January 18, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Update:
The admin is moving to quickly deport witnesses who saw ICE detainee die.
They say the man was just trying to get his meds.
ICE guards shackled him
Then they choked him.
The admin moved to deport the witnesses — right after they spoke to WaPo.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
The admin is moving to quickly deport witnesses who saw ICE detainee die.
They say the man was just trying to get his meds.
ICE guards shackled him
Then they choked him.
The admin moved to deport the witnesses — right after they spoke to WaPo.
www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Reposted by Rachel Cohen Booth
Also, when you defy Trump, you’re kind of implicitly making fools of the elite law firms and universities and media companies and billionaires and Congress, which is fun.
January 17, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Also, when you defy Trump, you’re kind of implicitly making fools of the elite law firms and universities and media companies and billionaires and Congress, which is fun.
Reposted by Rachel Cohen Booth
They expect - they NEED - the people they threaten to fall in line, like the law firms and universities and media companies and billionaires and Congress did. If you say “No, make me,” they simply do not have a Plan B. TRUMP DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH GUYS TO MAKE YOU.
January 17, 2026 at 2:07 PM
They expect - they NEED - the people they threaten to fall in line, like the law firms and universities and media companies and billionaires and Congress did. If you say “No, make me,” they simply do not have a Plan B. TRUMP DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH GUYS TO MAKE YOU.
"Both in Massachusetts and around the country, white and Asian parents were far likelier to pull their children out of public schools than Hispanics and African Americans." www.the74million.org/article/fall...
January 8, 2026 at 12:33 PM
"Both in Massachusetts and around the country, white and Asian parents were far likelier to pull their children out of public schools than Hispanics and African Americans." www.the74million.org/article/fall...
What's surprised me most about pregnancy
Little Yosemites
rcobooth.substack.com
January 6, 2026 at 1:01 AM
Reposted by Rachel Cohen Booth
I feel like "attention hacking" is most of politics now. The Minnesota aid fraud story is becoming a perfect example.
Recap: In 2022, the Biden DOJ filed the first charges against dozens of fraudsters, many of them Somali-American, who'd fleeced a state food aid program. (1/x)
Recap: In 2022, the Biden DOJ filed the first charges against dozens of fraudsters, many of them Somali-American, who'd fleeced a state food aid program. (1/x)
December 29, 2025 at 1:30 AM
I feel like "attention hacking" is most of politics now. The Minnesota aid fraud story is becoming a perfect example.
Recap: In 2022, the Biden DOJ filed the first charges against dozens of fraudsters, many of them Somali-American, who'd fleeced a state food aid program. (1/x)
Recap: In 2022, the Biden DOJ filed the first charges against dozens of fraudsters, many of them Somali-American, who'd fleeced a state food aid program. (1/x)
some last thoughts on a big year open.substack.com/pub/rcobooth...
December 30, 2025 at 12:04 AM
some last thoughts on a big year open.substack.com/pub/rcobooth...
there's going to be pressure within Trump world in 2026 to rewrite the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to exclude patients undergoing IVF
@annanorth.bsky.social looks at the likely showdown at the EEOC www.vox.com/policy/47264...
@annanorth.bsky.social looks at the likely showdown at the EEOC www.vox.com/policy/47264...
December 19, 2025 at 12:07 AM
there's going to be pressure within Trump world in 2026 to rewrite the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to exclude patients undergoing IVF
@annanorth.bsky.social looks at the likely showdown at the EEOC www.vox.com/policy/47264...
@annanorth.bsky.social looks at the likely showdown at the EEOC www.vox.com/policy/47264...
Reposted by Rachel Cohen Booth
I wrote about a schism on the right over IVF, that’s set to come to a head in 2026 (gift link)
The looming showdown over IVF, explained
Trump says he supports IVF. That’s about to be tested.
www.vox.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:27 PM
I wrote about a schism on the right over IVF, that’s set to come to a head in 2026 (gift link)
and yes, many people in NYC spend even more than that!
the headline estimate came from the 2025 NYC comptroller report
bsky.app/profile/rcob...
the headline estimate came from the 2025 NYC comptroller report
bsky.app/profile/rcob...
December 13, 2025 at 1:59 AM
and yes, many people in NYC spend even more than that!
the headline estimate came from the 2025 NYC comptroller report
bsky.app/profile/rcob...
the headline estimate came from the 2025 NYC comptroller report
bsky.app/profile/rcob...
Aparna Raj is running on it in Ward 1
December 13, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Aparna Raj is running on it in Ward 1
Universal child care in NYC won't be easy. But it's possible, practical, and could give the United States a desperately-needed blueprint.
I wrote for @nytimes.com about what Zohran Mamdani will need to keep in mind as he looks to deliver on his campaign pledge
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/o...
I wrote for @nytimes.com about what Zohran Mamdani will need to keep in mind as he looks to deliver on his campaign pledge
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/o...
December 13, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Universal child care in NYC won't be easy. But it's possible, practical, and could give the United States a desperately-needed blueprint.
I wrote for @nytimes.com about what Zohran Mamdani will need to keep in mind as he looks to deliver on his campaign pledge
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/o...
I wrote for @nytimes.com about what Zohran Mamdani will need to keep in mind as he looks to deliver on his campaign pledge
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/o...
"Democratic socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and moderate presumptive City Council Speaker Julie Menin are seemingly on an ideological collision course. But free child care is emerging as one issue area they might potentially align on."
www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
Menin and Mamdani could find common ground on child care push
The incoming mayor and speaker-elect are aligned on the $6 billion program, but will face major financial and logistical challenges.
www.politico.com
December 13, 2025 at 12:14 AM
"Democratic socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani and moderate presumptive City Council Speaker Julie Menin are seemingly on an ideological collision course. But free child care is emerging as one issue area they might potentially align on."
www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
ahh so cool! and thank you!
December 13, 2025 at 12:13 AM
ahh so cool! and thank you!
I wrote about this risk back in the spring: www.vox.com/immigration/...
The immigration crackdown threatening to break America’s child care system
What happens if the people caring for American children get deported?
www.vox.com
December 11, 2025 at 12:29 AM
I wrote about this risk back in the spring: www.vox.com/immigration/...
Chris Herbst and @erdaltekin.bsky.social find the increase in ICE arrests since Trump took office to be associated with 39,000 fewer foreign-born child care workers and 77,000 fewer U.S.-born working mothers (as of July)
www.newamerica.org/better-life-...
www.newamerica.org/better-life-...
The Impact of Increased ICE Activity on the Child Care Workforce and Mothers’ Employment
The surge in ICE arrests erodes the child care workforce and pulls mothers of young children out of the labor market.
www.newamerica.org
December 11, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Chris Herbst and @erdaltekin.bsky.social find the increase in ICE arrests since Trump took office to be associated with 39,000 fewer foreign-born child care workers and 77,000 fewer U.S.-born working mothers (as of July)
www.newamerica.org/better-life-...
www.newamerica.org/better-life-...
And being in those kinds of relationships but not helping at home also decreases likelihood of kids
More housework≠ more children inherently, but in the modern world a *lack* of gender equality does seem to make the birth rate fall even faster. (See South Korea/ Japan/ Southern Europe)
More housework≠ more children inherently, but in the modern world a *lack* of gender equality does seem to make the birth rate fall even faster. (See South Korea/ Japan/ Southern Europe)
December 8, 2025 at 4:49 PM
And being in those kinds of relationships but not helping at home also decreases likelihood of kids
More housework≠ more children inherently, but in the modern world a *lack* of gender equality does seem to make the birth rate fall even faster. (See South Korea/ Japan/ Southern Europe)
More housework≠ more children inherently, but in the modern world a *lack* of gender equality does seem to make the birth rate fall even faster. (See South Korea/ Japan/ Southern Europe)
most women do not live anymore in a world where they need to settle for selfish/demeaning partners to survive. the "reservation wage" of entering a relationship, as Patrick Brown puts it, has gone up. & not entering those types of partnerships decreases chance of having kids
December 8, 2025 at 4:48 PM
most women do not live anymore in a world where they need to settle for selfish/demeaning partners to survive. the "reservation wage" of entering a relationship, as Patrick Brown puts it, has gone up. & not entering those types of partnerships decreases chance of having kids
I wanted to know...do men care if that makes fertility less likely? what responsibility, if any, do they think they have for all this? www.vox.com/policy/47078...
Traditional gender roles won’t get men what they want
Men’s search for meaning is everyone’s problem.
www.vox.com
December 8, 2025 at 4:47 PM
I wanted to know...do men care if that makes fertility less likely? what responsibility, if any, do they think they have for all this? www.vox.com/policy/47078...