Boston Tom Levenson
@tomlevenson.bsky.social
Writer. (A Pox on Fools, a polemical history of vaccine rejection, out May 2026) Quondam documentarian (credits at PBS, BBC, etc.) Professing science writing at MIT. Lucky spouse & father. Servant to two feline overlords.. He/him. ALL OPINIONS MINE ALONE.
Forget the gold, the concrete desert that used to be the Rose Garden, and the missing East Wing.
The biggest change Trump has wrought on the White House is that giant For Sale sign he's got flashing up front.
The biggest change Trump has wrought on the White House is that giant For Sale sign he's got flashing up front.
November 25, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Forget the gold, the concrete desert that used to be the Rose Garden, and the missing East Wing.
The biggest change Trump has wrought on the White House is that giant For Sale sign he's got flashing up front.
The biggest change Trump has wrought on the White House is that giant For Sale sign he's got flashing up front.
The rules of late-empire American journalism:
1: do not attract Isaac Chotiner's attention.
2: If you draw Chotiner's gaze, look away and remain silent.
3: Refer to rule 1.
Most practitioners of what used to be the craft of journalism are much less than all that. Chotiner is their kryptonite.
1: do not attract Isaac Chotiner's attention.
2: If you draw Chotiner's gaze, look away and remain silent.
3: Refer to rule 1.
Most practitioners of what used to be the craft of journalism are much less than all that. Chotiner is their kryptonite.
A new kind of rapid Chotining. Please appreciate the alt-text.
November 25, 2025 at 4:38 PM
The rules of late-empire American journalism:
1: do not attract Isaac Chotiner's attention.
2: If you draw Chotiner's gaze, look away and remain silent.
3: Refer to rule 1.
Most practitioners of what used to be the craft of journalism are much less than all that. Chotiner is their kryptonite.
1: do not attract Isaac Chotiner's attention.
2: If you draw Chotiner's gaze, look away and remain silent.
3: Refer to rule 1.
Most practitioners of what used to be the craft of journalism are much less than all that. Chotiner is their kryptonite.
I am thinking that Mr. Hegseth is a threat to good order and discipline in the military.
His marshmallow-tough-guy eructations on Senator/Captain Kelly's uniform are exactly what career soldiers love to hear from civilian command.
His marshmallow-tough-guy eructations on Senator/Captain Kelly's uniform are exactly what career soldiers love to hear from civilian command.
November 25, 2025 at 4:31 PM
I am thinking that Mr. Hegseth is a threat to good order and discipline in the military.
His marshmallow-tough-guy eructations on Senator/Captain Kelly's uniform are exactly what career soldiers love to hear from civilian command.
His marshmallow-tough-guy eructations on Senator/Captain Kelly's uniform are exactly what career soldiers love to hear from civilian command.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/o...
November 25, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/o...
I know that this is a much manipulated image, but damn!
Comet Lemmon and the Milky Way apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap25112...
What did Comet Lemmon look like when it was at its best? One example is pictured here, featuring three celestial spectacles all at different distances. The closest spectacle is the snowcapped Meili Mountains of the Himalayas in China.
What did Comet Lemmon look like when it was at its best? One example is pictured here, featuring three celestial spectacles all at different distances. The closest spectacle is the snowcapped Meili Mountains of the Himalayas in China.
November 25, 2025 at 2:22 PM
I know that this is a much manipulated image, but damn!
Thread. Auntie fails the test.
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Thread. Auntie fails the test.
Damn.
Just damn.
Just damn.
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Fifteen Years
xkcd.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Damn.
Just damn.
Just damn.
I just deleted another post that was heartfelt, but not in need of widespread distribution.
Eye Iz Lerning.
Eye Iz Lerning.
November 25, 2025 at 2:31 AM
I just deleted another post that was heartfelt, but not in need of widespread distribution.
Eye Iz Lerning.
Eye Iz Lerning.
Reposted by Boston Tom Levenson
Genuine question: has any GOP member of house or senate spoken out about the Dept of defense and Hegseth threatening sen Mark Kelly with lawfare? Beyond disturbing
Especially any veterans?
Shame on all those who stay silent
Especially any veterans?
Shame on all those who stay silent
November 24, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Genuine question: has any GOP member of house or senate spoken out about the Dept of defense and Hegseth threatening sen Mark Kelly with lawfare? Beyond disturbing
Especially any veterans?
Shame on all those who stay silent
Especially any veterans?
Shame on all those who stay silent
Not wrong.
Not even a little.
Not even a little.
I'm going to posit that serially defending Nick Fuentes (sorry, his alleged good points) as a purported devil's advocate from the left is sufficient evidence that one has an antisemitism problem
November 25, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Not wrong.
Not even a little.
Not even a little.
Do not steal people's work!
It's not complicated.
It's not complicated.
Just went to that new piracy site (not going to link to it & encourage this shit) & yup, almost all my work's there, including every format of THE NIGHTWARD you could want & every anthology I'm in. 🙄
Anyway, if you'd like to help me eat, please buy my book:
www.harpercollins.com/products/the...
Anyway, if you'd like to help me eat, please buy my book:
www.harpercollins.com/products/the...
The Nightward
Sturgeon, Nebula, Locus, and Ignyte awards finalist R.S.A. Garcia’s scifantasy debut novel—the first in a duology—in which Caribbean mythology meets The Wit...
www.harpercollins.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Do not steal people's work!
It's not complicated.
It's not complicated.
Damn Damn Damn Damn Damn!!!!!
R.I.P. Jimmy Cliff.
The Harder They Come was the first time I'd heard that sound, reaching all the way into my 14 y.o. west coast white kid bubble. Music was never the same for me.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHAb...
R.I.P. Jimmy Cliff.
The Harder They Come was the first time I'd heard that sound, reaching all the way into my 14 y.o. west coast white kid bubble. Music was never the same for me.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHAb...
Jimmy Cliff Recording The Harder They Come In Studio Session
YouTube video by Perry Henzell
www.youtube.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Damn Damn Damn Damn Damn!!!!!
R.I.P. Jimmy Cliff.
The Harder They Come was the first time I'd heard that sound, reaching all the way into my 14 y.o. west coast white kid bubble. Music was never the same for me.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHAb...
R.I.P. Jimmy Cliff.
The Harder They Come was the first time I'd heard that sound, reaching all the way into my 14 y.o. west coast white kid bubble. Music was never the same for me.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHAb...
This is true.
To me, refusing to vaccinate kids against wholly vaccine-preventable diseases is a form of child abuse, exposing kids to harm that ranges from simple assault (having the measles, chickenpox or whatever is no fun in itself) to manslaughter.
To me, refusing to vaccinate kids against wholly vaccine-preventable diseases is a form of child abuse, exposing kids to harm that ranges from simple assault (having the measles, chickenpox or whatever is no fun in itself) to manslaughter.
November 24, 2025 at 9:36 PM
This is true.
To me, refusing to vaccinate kids against wholly vaccine-preventable diseases is a form of child abuse, exposing kids to harm that ranges from simple assault (having the measles, chickenpox or whatever is no fun in itself) to manslaughter.
To me, refusing to vaccinate kids against wholly vaccine-preventable diseases is a form of child abuse, exposing kids to harm that ranges from simple assault (having the measles, chickenpox or whatever is no fun in itself) to manslaughter.
Reposted by Boston Tom Levenson
If I value keeping my blood pressure at non-stroke values should I avoid the RFK Jr. piece in The Atlantic?
I looked at the opening which read like a pretty typical beat-sweetening lede. How thoroughly does it normalize that bipedal public health catastrophe?
I looked at the opening which read like a pretty typical beat-sweetening lede. How thoroughly does it normalize that bipedal public health catastrophe?
November 24, 2025 at 9:29 PM
If I value keeping my blood pressure at non-stroke values should I avoid the RFK Jr. piece in The Atlantic?
I looked at the opening which read like a pretty typical beat-sweetening lede. How thoroughly does it normalize that bipedal public health catastrophe?
I looked at the opening which read like a pretty typical beat-sweetening lede. How thoroughly does it normalize that bipedal public health catastrophe?
The Maltese Turkey
What's your favorite Thanksgiving horror movie?
1. Poultrygeist
2. Dark Was The Meat
3. Rosemary's Gravy
4. The Evil Bread
1. Poultrygeist
2. Dark Was The Meat
3. Rosemary's Gravy
4. The Evil Bread
November 24, 2025 at 8:26 PM
The Maltese Turkey
The Trump/Kennedy body count grows.
(There should be a counter out there somewhere.)
(There should be a counter out there somewhere.)
6 people have died from a nationwide listeria outbreak.
31 babies have been hospitalized with botulism from contaminated baby formula.
Instead of firing crucial FDA employees & attacking the agency, Trump should be hiring more experts to crack down on these dangerous outbreaks.
31 babies have been hospitalized with botulism from contaminated baby formula.
Instead of firing crucial FDA employees & attacking the agency, Trump should be hiring more experts to crack down on these dangerous outbreaks.
November 24, 2025 at 8:25 PM
The Trump/Kennedy body count grows.
(There should be a counter out there somewhere.)
(There should be a counter out there somewhere.)
Reposted by Boston Tom Levenson
Why synthetic emerald-green pigments degrade over time. Light, not humidity, is the greatest threat to 19th-century masterpieces like James Ensor’s "The Intrigue," study finds. arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Why synthetic emerald-green pigments degrade over time
Light is the greatest threat to 19th-century masterpieces like James Ensor’s The Intrigue, study finds.
arstechnica.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Why synthetic emerald-green pigments degrade over time. Light, not humidity, is the greatest threat to 19th-century masterpieces like James Ensor’s "The Intrigue," study finds. arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Reposted by Boston Tom Levenson
Tyson is one of just a few companies that controls the entire meat market.
Just last month, it paid $85M to settle charges it illegally conspired with other meatpackers to raise pork prices.
Corporate monopolies are great for executives and a raw deal for everyone else.
Just last month, it paid $85M to settle charges it illegally conspired with other meatpackers to raise pork prices.
Corporate monopolies are great for executives and a raw deal for everyone else.
Tyson CEO Donnie King made $22.7 million last year.
The week before Thanksgiving, he told 3,200 workers in Lexington, Nebraska that they're losing their jobs.
The week before Thanksgiving, he told 3,200 workers in Lexington, Nebraska that they're losing their jobs.
November 24, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Tyson is one of just a few companies that controls the entire meat market.
Just last month, it paid $85M to settle charges it illegally conspired with other meatpackers to raise pork prices.
Corporate monopolies are great for executives and a raw deal for everyone else.
Just last month, it paid $85M to settle charges it illegally conspired with other meatpackers to raise pork prices.
Corporate monopolies are great for executives and a raw deal for everyone else.
All of it stolen in one way or another from the victims of his fraud and the American taxpayers. (Remember: bribes are theft. They get things done against the interests of everyone not bribing, AKA you and me.)
The president had a record net worth of $7.3 billion in September.
Trump’s Net Worth Drops $1.1 Billion
The president had a record net worth of $7.3 billion in September.
www.forbes.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:42 PM
All of it stolen in one way or another from the victims of his fraud and the American taxpayers. (Remember: bribes are theft. They get things done against the interests of everyone not bribing, AKA you and me.)
This is bitterly, brutally true.
everything is "performative" because we're in a social media panopticon where everything becomes free content for our tech overlords so they can be rich and we can get a strangely unfulfilling but addictive form of attention
November 24, 2025 at 2:51 AM
This is bitterly, brutally true.
Reposted by Boston Tom Levenson
Just an absolutely gutting essay by Tatiana Schlossberg, a writer, mother of two young children, and cousin of RFK Jr who is dying of leukemia.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
November 22, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Just an absolutely gutting essay by Tatiana Schlossberg, a writer, mother of two young children, and cousin of RFK Jr who is dying of leukemia.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Reposted by Boston Tom Levenson
The media needs to stop calling it a peace plan. It's a Republican surrender plan for Europe. Why? Because Republicans have embraced fascist plutocracy and Europe isn't.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/23/e...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/23/e...
Trump’s signals to Zelensky and Europe: Accept this plan or you’re on your own | CNN
The 28-point plan hammered out by US and Russian envoys and put to Ukraine this week came with a deadline and an implicit threat: Sign up or face the risk of being abandoned.
www.cnn.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:29 PM
The media needs to stop calling it a peace plan. It's a Republican surrender plan for Europe. Why? Because Republicans have embraced fascist plutocracy and Europe isn't.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/23/e...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/23/e...
Reposted by Boston Tom Levenson
Fam I have just learned that the incredible Dr. Richard Pan @drpanmd.bsky.social is running for Congress for CA-06.
Dr. Pan has been a tireless advocate for public health. RFK Jr. rolled into California twice to try to scuttle 2 state vaccine-related bills that Dr. Pan had proposed. Dr. Pan won.
Dr. Pan has been a tireless advocate for public health. RFK Jr. rolled into California twice to try to scuttle 2 state vaccine-related bills that Dr. Pan had proposed. Dr. Pan won.
November 24, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Fam I have just learned that the incredible Dr. Richard Pan @drpanmd.bsky.social is running for Congress for CA-06.
Dr. Pan has been a tireless advocate for public health. RFK Jr. rolled into California twice to try to scuttle 2 state vaccine-related bills that Dr. Pan had proposed. Dr. Pan won.
Dr. Pan has been a tireless advocate for public health. RFK Jr. rolled into California twice to try to scuttle 2 state vaccine-related bills that Dr. Pan had proposed. Dr. Pan won.
Training for Thursday:
November 24, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Training for Thursday: