Elizabeth Svoboda
@svobodster.bsky.social
Author of WHAT MAKES A HERO? and THE LIFE HEROIC. Contributing writer, Boston Globe Ideas. Words in Scientific American, Psychology Today, Atlas Obscura, NYT, etc. Book-in-progress: THE ART OF PACING.
Pinned
Elizabeth Svoboda
@svobodster.bsky.social
· Oct 18
My mother-in-law was nervous about wearing her #NoKings gear to the airport for her flight this morning, but she got *lots* of compliments. Even the TSA agent told her, "I like your shirt."
One thing I always hear from heroism experts is that doing small courageous things equips us to do big ones later on.
If Trump is getting Kisunla or Leqembi, he must have shown some clear evidence of cognitive impairment in testing. I could certainly see Trump having trouble with the "count backward from 60 by sevens" part of the MOCA even if he aced the "that's a giraffe" part.
Brain swelling, which necessitates regular MRI’s, and tiredness are main side effects of the Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, administered intravenously through the hand. — So, is Trump secretly taking Alzheimer’s medication?
December 11, 2025 at 3:52 AM
If Trump is getting Kisunla or Leqembi, he must have shown some clear evidence of cognitive impairment in testing. I could certainly see Trump having trouble with the "count backward from 60 by sevens" part of the MOCA even if he aced the "that's a giraffe" part.
Reposted by Elizabeth Svoboda
In a functioning society parents wouldn’t need to organize volunteer guard shifts at their kids’ immigrant-run daycare to prevent the federal government from abducting teachers and staff because they’re brown but that’s where we are now.
My first shift starts Wednesday afternoon.
Fuck ICE.
My first shift starts Wednesday afternoon.
Fuck ICE.
December 8, 2025 at 6:51 PM
In a functioning society parents wouldn’t need to organize volunteer guard shifts at their kids’ immigrant-run daycare to prevent the federal government from abducting teachers and staff because they’re brown but that’s where we are now.
My first shift starts Wednesday afternoon.
Fuck ICE.
My first shift starts Wednesday afternoon.
Fuck ICE.
Reposted by Elizabeth Svoboda
Know your rights. Protect your neighbors.
New York is — and always will be — a city for all immigrants.
New York is — and always will be — a city for all immigrants.
December 7, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Know your rights. Protect your neighbors.
New York is — and always will be — a city for all immigrants.
New York is — and always will be — a city for all immigrants.
Reposted by Elizabeth Svoboda
Another account spewing AI videos and “following” tens of thousands of people.
Block these clowns on site.
Block these clowns on site.
December 7, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Another account spewing AI videos and “following” tens of thousands of people.
Block these clowns on site.
Block these clowns on site.
Reposted by Elizabeth Svoboda
At some point someone just needs to say “you are an indecent person, you are lying to cover the slaughter of defenseless men, you know you are lying, and even under the tenets of your own professed faith you will certainly burn in hell if you continue down this path”
WELKER: Isn't it possible that even the act of taking off a t shirt could've been part of an attempt to get attention for help?
TOM COTTON: Or it could've been an attempt to signal to another cartel boat to come pick them up and pick up the cargo
TOM COTTON: Or it could've been an attempt to signal to another cartel boat to come pick them up and pick up the cargo
December 7, 2025 at 3:55 PM
At some point someone just needs to say “you are an indecent person, you are lying to cover the slaughter of defenseless men, you know you are lying, and even under the tenets of your own professed faith you will certainly burn in hell if you continue down this path”
My guess is the latter. Most of these strongman leaders only have to voice some half-formed thought and they have underlings falling all over themselves to do the leader's will — that's where they direct all their creative energy. They lower themselves into the trash can with relish.
📌Except not one of these journalists asked the most obvious question: “Do you demand these people ridiculously fawn over you like some tin-pot dictator, and shower you with praise, or do they actually lower themselves into your trash can, and just stink up the entire place on their own?”
-my latest
-my latest
OPINION: On Tuesday, the President of the United States chaired a meeting of his busted cabinet that would have been impossible to believe just 10 years ago.
December 7, 2025 at 3:39 AM
My guess is the latter. Most of these strongman leaders only have to voice some half-formed thought and they have underlings falling all over themselves to do the leader's will — that's where they direct all their creative energy. They lower themselves into the trash can with relish.
A Ned Flanders-looking guy eager to watch people hang: pretty much personifies this moment in history
A Palantir billionaire just called for public hangings.
“It's time to bring back masculine leadership to protect our most vulnerable,” writes Joe Lonsdale.
This is where Silicon Valley authoritarianism is heading:
www.thenerdreich.com/joe-lonsdale...
“It's time to bring back masculine leadership to protect our most vulnerable,” writes Joe Lonsdale.
This is where Silicon Valley authoritarianism is heading:
www.thenerdreich.com/joe-lonsdale...
Joe Lonsdale Calls For Public Hangings
Silicon Valley radicalization escalates
www.thenerdreich.com
December 7, 2025 at 12:55 AM
A Ned Flanders-looking guy eager to watch people hang: pretty much personifies this moment in history
Imagine if — rather than pitting and ranking our kids against each other from birth — we raised them to know and embrace their dependence on shared systems and other living things. As @jeremydavidengels.bsky.social says, we contain multitudes and multitudes sustain us.
“Life is a shared project, and all of us benefit when we cooperate to ensure that there is less suffering, and more joy, in the world.”
What would happen if we made this sentiment the foundation of democracy?
Give this article a read if you’re curious about a better democratic future.
What would happen if we made this sentiment the foundation of democracy?
Give this article a read if you’re curious about a better democratic future.
Meditating on the connectedness of life could help reunite a divided country – here’s how ‘interbeing’ works
Meditation can change our perceptions about things we encounter in our daily lives − revealing the interconnectedness of reality.
theconversation.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Imagine if — rather than pitting and ranking our kids against each other from birth — we raised them to know and embrace their dependence on shared systems and other living things. As @jeremydavidengels.bsky.social says, we contain multitudes and multitudes sustain us.
this is exactly right. Our culture is so individualistic — especially in the "high achiever" reaches — that young people don't learn or practice collective solidarity. The higher on the social/ financial ladder you are, research shows, the WORSE you are at empathy and practicing solidarity.
~ journalists need to do a better job of protecting each other ~
~* the individualist, cutthroat mindset is a huge reason our industry has eroded *~
~*~* lack of solidarity is a byproduct of entrenched classism & white supremacy *~*~
~*~*~* any rebuilt media industry must reckon with this *~*~*~
~* the individualist, cutthroat mindset is a huge reason our industry has eroded *~
~*~* lack of solidarity is a byproduct of entrenched classism & white supremacy *~*~
~*~*~* any rebuilt media industry must reckon with this *~*~*~
December 5, 2025 at 8:31 PM
this is exactly right. Our culture is so individualistic — especially in the "high achiever" reaches — that young people don't learn or practice collective solidarity. The higher on the social/ financial ladder you are, research shows, the WORSE you are at empathy and practicing solidarity.
Reposted by Elizabeth Svoboda
Breaking: Vanity Fair and Olivia Nuzzi agreed to part ways after new revelations and allegations about an affair with RFK Jr. and her behavior while reporting on him.
Exclusive | Vanity Fair to Part Ways With Journalist Olivia Nuzzi
Nuzzi’s contract with Vanity Fair expires at year-end, following new allegations and revelations about her conduct while she reported on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
on.wsj.com
December 5, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Breaking: Vanity Fair and Olivia Nuzzi agreed to part ways after new revelations and allegations about an affair with RFK Jr. and her behavior while reporting on him.
I'm getting "hands grasping frantically for deliverance before their owners disappear into quicksand"
in the movies this is the screensaver on the computers at the world’s most evil company
December 5, 2025 at 7:17 PM
I'm getting "hands grasping frantically for deliverance before their owners disappear into quicksand"
Reason #6467743 to practice humane parenting: Have you EVER heard of an autocrat who had a stable, loving childhood? I mean ever?
December 5, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Reason #6467743 to practice humane parenting: Have you EVER heard of an autocrat who had a stable, loving childhood? I mean ever?
Guess who: "Although _____ almost invariably introduces a few human elements into his speeches... he seems to lack any real sense of humor. He can never take a joke on himself. [An associate] says, 'He takes himself seriously and will flare up in a temperamental rage at the least impingement.'"
December 5, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Guess who: "Although _____ almost invariably introduces a few human elements into his speeches... he seems to lack any real sense of humor. He can never take a joke on himself. [An associate] says, 'He takes himself seriously and will flare up in a temperamental rage at the least impingement.'"
Reposted by Elizabeth Svoboda
And there's the motive.
Pipe bomb suspect told FBI he believed 2020 election conspiracy theories
The suspect has been cooperating with the FBI, according to sources, and is expected to make his first court appearance on Friday.
www.nbcnews.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:22 PM
And there's the motive.
I wonder if My Lai crossed Admiral Bradley's mind for even a flicker of a second of those 42 minutes? In any case, he's now linked with those perpetrators for the rest of his life.
Military leaders sat in an office for 42 minutes watching two men on the verge of drowning mid-ocean, clinging to wreckage, with no aid or ability to call for help. They sat there deciding whether to execute them, and then they did it.
December 5, 2025 at 3:05 AM
I wonder if My Lai crossed Admiral Bradley's mind for even a flicker of a second of those 42 minutes? In any case, he's now linked with those perpetrators for the rest of his life.
Reposted by Elizabeth Svoboda
Military leaders sat in an office for 42 minutes watching two men on the verge of drowning mid-ocean, clinging to wreckage, with no aid or ability to call for help. They sat there deciding whether to execute them, and then they did it.
December 5, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Military leaders sat in an office for 42 minutes watching two men on the verge of drowning mid-ocean, clinging to wreckage, with no aid or ability to call for help. They sat there deciding whether to execute them, and then they did it.
Reposted by Elizabeth Svoboda
TBH I'm a little baffled at how Nuzzi apparently hasn't thought up a single talking point, explanation, or excuse for the central question of her ethical breech.
She acts like it never even occurred to her that people would question her about the results of her actions.
She acts like it never even occurred to her that people would question her about the results of her actions.
@timmiller.bsky.social: "He's being nominated to HHS Secretary…You had information that you could have shared…and you didn't share anything about him. Why? Did you still love him?"
Olivia Nuzzi: "I don't know how to responsibly handle this on camera." lnk.thebulwark.com/4ozkaz8?utm_...
Olivia Nuzzi: "I don't know how to responsibly handle this on camera." lnk.thebulwark.com/4ozkaz8?utm_...
December 4, 2025 at 3:58 PM
TBH I'm a little baffled at how Nuzzi apparently hasn't thought up a single talking point, explanation, or excuse for the central question of her ethical breech.
She acts like it never even occurred to her that people would question her about the results of her actions.
She acts like it never even occurred to her that people would question her about the results of her actions.
Reposted by Elizabeth Svoboda
Why is The Bulwark of all places platforming Nuzzi at this point?
December 3, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Why is The Bulwark of all places platforming Nuzzi at this point?
Reposted by Elizabeth Svoboda
Let me get this straight: we trained this guy to be an elite killer, abandoned his country to the Taliban, isolated him, arbitrarily banned him from working and so left his family unsupported.
I don’t know if there’s any more efficient way of producing a mental health crisis outside of torture.
I don’t know if there’s any more efficient way of producing a mental health crisis outside of torture.
Alleged D.C. Shooter Begged CIA for Help as He Tried to Find Work newrepublic.com/post/203784/... via @newrepublic.com
Alleged D.C. Shooter Begged CIA for Help as He Tried to Find Work
The National Guard shooting suspect felt abandoned by the CIA after working together for so long, his fellow unit member said.
newrepublic.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Let me get this straight: we trained this guy to be an elite killer, abandoned his country to the Taliban, isolated him, arbitrarily banned him from working and so left his family unsupported.
I don’t know if there’s any more efficient way of producing a mental health crisis outside of torture.
I don’t know if there’s any more efficient way of producing a mental health crisis outside of torture.
"let them" is doing a lottttt of revelatory work here...
"I chose a crass serial rapist and adulterer, who calls women 'nasty' and 'piggy,' and took away by daughters' reproductive rights, over my daughters. So why are they displeased with me??? It must be all THEIR fault! I take no responsibility. NONE!"
December 2, 2025 at 10:54 PM
"let them" is doing a lottttt of revelatory work here...
Reposted by Elizabeth Svoboda
Anytime anyone brags about working obscene hours per week, remember that one of the biggest advocates for the 40 hour workweek was Henry Ford — and not because he cared about the workers
It's simply not good for productivity to work people to the bone
It's simply not good for productivity to work people to the bone
December 1, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Anytime anyone brags about working obscene hours per week, remember that one of the biggest advocates for the 40 hour workweek was Henry Ford — and not because he cared about the workers
It's simply not good for productivity to work people to the bone
It's simply not good for productivity to work people to the bone
For most people, AI tools simply don't meet the "essential" bar. While I've occasionally found them useful for brainstorming, I don't depend on them in any sense. I can get results just about as good with garden-variety noodling around on search engines.
Three years into the generative-AI wave, demand for the technology seems surprisingly flimsy
Investors expect AI use to soar. That’s not happening
Recent surveys point to flatlining business adoption
econ.st
December 1, 2025 at 3:48 PM
For most people, AI tools simply don't meet the "essential" bar. While I've occasionally found them useful for brainstorming, I don't depend on them in any sense. I can get results just about as good with garden-variety noodling around on search engines.
Reposted by Elizabeth Svoboda
If we cannot hold the line on being able to give bad grades for bad work then everything else we do is screwed.
Look, y'all know I hate AI as much as the next passionate hater of AI, but ChatGPT has nothing on the University of Oklahoma deciding that based on the first amendment students can literally say anything in their papers as existential threat to the university.
Oklahoma University has placed a grad student instructor on admin leave for failing a psychology paper on gender for citing *the Bible* as a source of empirical evidence.
In response, OU has placed on instructor on admin leave citing, get this, the FIRST AMENDMENT.
Universities are cooked.
In response, OU has placed on instructor on admin leave citing, get this, the FIRST AMENDMENT.
Universities are cooked.
December 1, 2025 at 1:47 PM
If we cannot hold the line on being able to give bad grades for bad work then everything else we do is screwed.
Reposted by Elizabeth Svoboda
We will not advance multiracial democracy until we stop blanket dehumanization of others based solely on their group identity presentation. From endemic racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia in narratives surrounding “crime” “immigration” and “voting patterns” to in-community jokes. It must stop.
November 30, 2025 at 7:07 PM
We will not advance multiracial democracy until we stop blanket dehumanization of others based solely on their group identity presentation. From endemic racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia in narratives surrounding “crime” “immigration” and “voting patterns” to in-community jokes. It must stop.
Reposted by Elizabeth Svoboda
In 25 years of teaching creative writing, by far and away the two most common traits I've seen among successful writers are that they read avidly and that they support other writers enthusiastically.
November 30, 2025 at 12:39 AM
In 25 years of teaching creative writing, by far and away the two most common traits I've seen among successful writers are that they read avidly and that they support other writers enthusiastically.