Virginia Heffernan
@virginiaheffernan.bsky.social
The New Republic, The Guardian, WIRED, Politico, LA Times, NY Times, The Atlantic, &c
WHAT ROUGH BEAST
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-rough-beast/id1787176282
MAGIC + LOSS
https://virginiaheffernan.substack.com/
WHAT ROUGH BEAST
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-rough-beast/id1787176282
MAGIC + LOSS
https://virginiaheffernan.substack.com/
Pinned
What Rough Beast
Politics Podcast · What Rough Beast, hosted by Virginia Heffernan (Wired, Trumpcast) and Stephen Metcalf (Slate, Culture Gabfest) is a podcast where we bear witness to America’s demise, and ask what m...
podcasts.apple.com
If you were a Trumpcast listener, this may be what you need now: my new show w/Stephen Metcalf. It's designed to be adrenaline for a better future.
We look straight at the catastrophe. And we ask what can be built from the rubble. It's also free & ad-free.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
We look straight at the catastrophe. And we ask what can be built from the rubble. It's also free & ad-free.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
Reposted by Virginia Heffernan
"The crackpots & wokes were right. They were silenced, and now 100s of 1000s in RU and UA are dead, while 66,000 people are unlawfully detained in the U.S.
More than 50,000 children in Gaza have been reported as killed or injured since October 2023. Thousands more are starving, sick, or missing."
More than 50,000 children in Gaza have been reported as killed or injured since October 2023. Thousands more are starving, sick, or missing."
November 25, 2025 at 10:09 PM
"The crackpots & wokes were right. They were silenced, and now 100s of 1000s in RU and UA are dead, while 66,000 people are unlawfully detained in the U.S.
More than 50,000 children in Gaza have been reported as killed or injured since October 2023. Thousands more are starving, sick, or missing."
More than 50,000 children in Gaza have been reported as killed or injured since October 2023. Thousands more are starving, sick, or missing."
Marjorie Taylor Greene has defied three child s*x-abuse networks: the one in the Catholic Church, the fictional one in QAnon, and now the Trump-Epstein ring.
newrepublic.com/article/2036... via @newrepublic.com
newrepublic.com/article/2036... via @newrepublic.com
Good for Marjorie Taylor Greene (but She’s Still a Loopy Racist)
The shock announcement didn’t surprise everyone. She’s been tilting away from MAGA and toward America First for quite some time.
newrepublic.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Marjorie Taylor Greene has defied three child s*x-abuse networks: the one in the Catholic Church, the fictional one in QAnon, and now the Trump-Epstein ring.
newrepublic.com/article/2036... via @newrepublic.com
newrepublic.com/article/2036... via @newrepublic.com
The Wokes and the Crackpots Were Right
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/the-wokes-...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/the-wokes-...
The Wokes and the Crackpots Were Right
They warned the military in cities, Trump's Russia ties, and the destruction of Gaza. Everyone should have listened.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:15 PM
The Wokes and the Crackpots Were Right
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/the-wokes-...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/the-wokes-...
Reposted by Virginia Heffernan
"...if big PAC money and lavish spending actually hurts a politician’s chances at victory, that might be a curious new incentive for thrift."
The incomparable @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social on the failed billionaire buy-out of big-city mayoral elections.
newrepublic.com/article/2033...
The incomparable @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social on the failed billionaire buy-out of big-city mayoral elections.
newrepublic.com/article/2033...
The Real Losers in Seattle’s Mayoral
Election? Oligarchs.
They poured mountains of dollars into trying to find ways to stop socialist Katie Wilson. But to younger voters, their money stinks.
newrepublic.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:48 PM
"...if big PAC money and lavish spending actually hurts a politician’s chances at victory, that might be a curious new incentive for thrift."
The incomparable @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social on the failed billionaire buy-out of big-city mayoral elections.
newrepublic.com/article/2033...
The incomparable @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social on the failed billionaire buy-out of big-city mayoral elections.
newrepublic.com/article/2033...
The presser with Mamdani and Trump is yielding a lot of far-ranging and complex insights across the political spectrum and it's that I want to make New York City affordable for all New Yorkers
November 21, 2025 at 11:46 PM
The presser with Mamdani and Trump is yielding a lot of far-ranging and complex insights across the political spectrum and it's that I want to make New York City affordable for all New Yorkers
I've been writing in three parts about the moral catastrophes roiling American religion.
It's an urgent subject, and we need as many perspectives as possible. So I've just dropped the paywalls.
1.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/religious-...
It's an urgent subject, and we need as many perspectives as possible. So I've just dropped the paywalls.
1.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/religious-...
Religious Convulsions
Moral catastrophes have hit Catholics, Protestants, and now Jews..
virginiaheffernan.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:25 PM
I've been writing in three parts about the moral catastrophes roiling American religion.
It's an urgent subject, and we need as many perspectives as possible. So I've just dropped the paywalls.
1.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/religious-...
It's an urgent subject, and we need as many perspectives as possible. So I've just dropped the paywalls.
1.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/religious-...
"The problem for billionaires is written on the tin: It’s their billions. Lately, once the money of the private-jet set enters a campaign, the stink of the oligarchy sticks to the campaign."
Me today @newrepublic.com :
newrepublic.com/article/2033... via @newrepublic.com
Me today @newrepublic.com :
newrepublic.com/article/2033... via @newrepublic.com
The Real Losers in Seattle’s Mayoral
Election? Oligarchs.
They poured mountains of dollars into trying to find ways to stop socialist Katie Wilson. But to younger voters, their money stinks.
newrepublic.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:51 PM
"The problem for billionaires is written on the tin: It’s their billions. Lately, once the money of the private-jet set enters a campaign, the stink of the oligarchy sticks to the campaign."
Me today @newrepublic.com :
newrepublic.com/article/2033... via @newrepublic.com
Me today @newrepublic.com :
newrepublic.com/article/2033... via @newrepublic.com
Reposted by Virginia Heffernan
VH: It’s my opinion that Catholics shipwrecked in the 1990s with the priest-abuse revelations. Protestants likewise shipwrecked in 2016 with the election of Donald Trump. And Jews are shipwrecking right now, terribly, with the fall of Israel into authoritarianism and crimes against humanity.
November 19, 2025 at 4:35 PM
VH: It’s my opinion that Catholics shipwrecked in the 1990s with the priest-abuse revelations. Protestants likewise shipwrecked in 2016 with the election of Donald Trump. And Jews are shipwrecking right now, terribly, with the fall of Israel into authoritarianism and crimes against humanity.
It’s amazing to me that a few yrs ago I looked into the owner of Business Insider. First it was some Christian Democrats of Germany, a center-right family that sounded far-right to me. Didn’t subscribe. Then I was told “private equity” had acquired it so I thought “that sounds normal” & was all in.
November 19, 2025 at 4:27 PM
It’s amazing to me that a few yrs ago I looked into the owner of Business Insider. First it was some Christian Democrats of Germany, a center-right family that sounded far-right to me. Didn’t subscribe. Then I was told “private equity” had acquired it so I thought “that sounds normal” & was all in.
Also Sherlock Holmes, with all the sleuthing around the dog that didn’t bark.
But from his nutbag punctuation it’s clear Epstein could barely read beyond the title of one of Nabokov’s books. He’s not curled up with Ada or Speak, Memory
But from his nutbag punctuation it’s clear Epstein could barely read beyond the title of one of Nabokov’s books. He’s not curled up with Ada or Speak, Memory
I was just joking about the injustice of Vladimir Nabokov's name being dragged through the mud like this. But, uh, I think that ship sailed a while ago.
November 19, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Also Sherlock Holmes, with all the sleuthing around the dog that didn’t bark.
But from his nutbag punctuation it’s clear Epstein could barely read beyond the title of one of Nabokov’s books. He’s not curled up with Ada or Speak, Memory
But from his nutbag punctuation it’s clear Epstein could barely read beyond the title of one of Nabokov’s books. He’s not curled up with Ada or Speak, Memory
What’s private equity and is it new?
November 19, 2025 at 4:13 PM
What’s private equity and is it new?
Nick Fuentes is an incel Catholic, and Charlie Kirk was a married evangelical family man. This matters a LOT in the current splintering of the right. (DM me if you need a comp subscription.)
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/protestant...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/protestant...
Protestants and Catholics are warring again.
MAGA Christians are at each other's throats.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Nick Fuentes is an incel Catholic, and Charlie Kirk was a married evangelical family man. This matters a LOT in the current splintering of the right. (DM me if you need a comp subscription.)
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/protestant...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/protestant...
Remember 2021, when MTG tried to start an America First caucus, dedicated to “common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions” and had it rejected by her own party as racist and nativist?
November 17, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Remember 2021, when MTG tried to start an America First caucus, dedicated to “common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions” and had it rejected by her own party as racist and nativist?
Reposted by Virginia Heffernan
Sobering and profound piece by @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/of-course-...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/of-course-...
November 13, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Sobering and profound piece by @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/of-course-...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/of-course-...
The world of “history is complex and it’s not evil mustachioed men exchanging bags of money and trafficked girls in back rooms” has some explaining to do
November 12, 2025 at 9:01 PM
The world of “history is complex and it’s not evil mustachioed men exchanging bags of money and trafficked girls in back rooms” has some explaining to do
This one has been a long time in coming. Reflections on the philosophical catastrophes facing Catholics, Protestants, and now Jews.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/religious-...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/religious-...
Religious Convulsions
Priest abuse, then Trump, now Netanyahu have hit three major religions hard. Each is catastrophic. But, as Catholicism has shown us, something will emerge from the devastation.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:21 PM
This one has been a long time in coming. Reflections on the philosophical catastrophes facing Catholics, Protestants, and now Jews.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/religious-...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/religious-...
Latest episode of What Rough Beast:
Harvesting chaos with Kristianna Smith @mochaeinstein27.bsky.social
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/harvesting...
Harvesting chaos with Kristianna Smith @mochaeinstein27.bsky.social
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/harvesting...
Harvesting chaos with Kristianna Smith
On collective imagination, liberation work, and daring to dream beyond compromise
virginiaheffernan.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Latest episode of What Rough Beast:
Harvesting chaos with Kristianna Smith @mochaeinstein27.bsky.social
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/harvesting...
Harvesting chaos with Kristianna Smith @mochaeinstein27.bsky.social
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/harvesting...
Defining neoliberalism—optimization, consumerism, and bookmaking—so you can purge your inbox of it.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/money-is-s...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/money-is-s...
Money is something everyone else has
Purging your inbox of neoliberalism.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Defining neoliberalism—optimization, consumerism, and bookmaking—so you can purge your inbox of it.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/money-is-s...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/money-is-s...
ZM, yesterday: I'm for human dignity and other harmless things
ZM, today: EUGENE V. DEBS
ZM, today: EUGENE V. DEBS
November 5, 2025 at 4:26 AM
ZM, yesterday: I'm for human dignity and other harmless things
ZM, today: EUGENE V. DEBS
ZM, today: EUGENE V. DEBS
hey there verizon something is wrong with my screen - it's saying that a rapist fraud beloved of billionaires lost something
November 5, 2025 at 3:04 AM
hey there verizon something is wrong with my screen - it's saying that a rapist fraud beloved of billionaires lost something
Enough with worrying about whether Democrats should tack left or center. What we need from Democrats (from Mamdani to Spanberger) is sweat. Wrote this for @newrepublic.com today:
newrepublic.com/article/2026...
newrepublic.com/article/2026...
Mamdani, Spanberger, and Sherrill Have One Important Thing in Common
Yes, they have real ideological differences. But they’re all out there hustling. And hustle is what the Democrats need right now.
newrepublic.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Enough with worrying about whether Democrats should tack left or center. What we need from Democrats (from Mamdani to Spanberger) is sweat. Wrote this for @newrepublic.com today:
newrepublic.com/article/2026...
newrepublic.com/article/2026...
Zohran has brought tryhardism back and it’s the best thing to happen to politics. No more no-drama Obama. He sweats it all
November 3, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Zohran has brought tryhardism back and it’s the best thing to happen to politics. No more no-drama Obama. He sweats it all
I’m like an animal. I can smell the times ahead.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/im-like-an...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/im-like-an...
I’m like an animal. I can smell the times ahead.
From perfume to fascism, how each new meme devours the last. Featuring J.D. Vance, Peter Thiel, Friedrich Nietzsche, Russell Vought, and Benito Mussolini.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:08 PM
I’m like an animal. I can smell the times ahead.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/im-like-an...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/im-like-an...
It's a vibrating week w/ Mike Albo's book Hologram Boyfriends out. This book is so beautiful & delonelyfying. Buy it in any form, and watch your life improve & become funnier. It's also a reminder of the Underminer and our 35y friendship, the best of my life. + @albomike.bsky.social
October 28, 2025 at 8:39 PM
It's a vibrating week w/ Mike Albo's book Hologram Boyfriends out. This book is so beautiful & delonelyfying. Buy it in any form, and watch your life improve & become funnier. It's also a reminder of the Underminer and our 35y friendship, the best of my life. + @albomike.bsky.social