Vicki Madden
@vlmadden.bsky.social
Teacher, very slow writer, lover of libraries & trains. Words in A Public Space and The New York Times. Rewilding my 1/3 acre garden, mending and darning socks and my little corner of the world
Also I help school leaders.
truenorthbk.org
vickimadden.net
Also I help school leaders.
truenorthbk.org
vickimadden.net
Facts
AOC: I want to remind you where the real crime is. It's in the oligarchs taking $170 billion of our money from health care and food assistance and public programs and taking that and funneling it into a secret police program.
December 16, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Facts
Nothing the tech bros give you is free.
How Your Private ChatGPT And Gemini Chats Are ‘Sold For Profit’
How Your Private ChatGPT And Gemini Chats Are ‘Sold For Profit’
These Chrome extensions see everything — and take everything. It may already be too late.
www.forbes.com
December 15, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Nothing the tech bros give you is free.
I just finished reading The Wax Child by @olgaravn.bsky.social , finished it in less than 24 hours. It's so astonishingly good, mesmerizing and propulsive.
Now I will listen again to this fascinating podcast, which I have already heard twice!
Now I will listen again to this fascinating podcast, which I have already heard twice!
Don't miss today's conversation with @olgaravn.bsky.social. Witches, folk magic, alchemy, the fear of women gathering, animating the archive through ritual & the imagination, & much more
Audio📻: tinhouse.com/podcast/olga...
@ndbooks.bsky.social @bookhugpress.bsky.social @vikingbooksuk.bsky.social
Audio📻: tinhouse.com/podcast/olga...
@ndbooks.bsky.social @bookhugpress.bsky.social @vikingbooksuk.bsky.social
Olga Ravn : The Wax Child - Tin House
Set during the 17th century witch trials in Denmark, and relayed to us through the voice of a magically animated wax child of one of the accused, Olga Ravn’s new book, which creates something uncannil...
tinhouse.com
December 15, 2025 at 1:22 AM
I just finished reading The Wax Child by @olgaravn.bsky.social , finished it in less than 24 hours. It's so astonishingly good, mesmerizing and propulsive.
Now I will listen again to this fascinating podcast, which I have already heard twice!
Now I will listen again to this fascinating podcast, which I have already heard twice!
Interesting...
⚠️ MILITARY BUILDUP – While tracking ICE flights, we keep on noticing more and more of these (unrelated) military cargo planes going to and from Puerto Rico.
It’s accelerating 👀
It’s accelerating 👀
December 14, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Interesting...
Reposted by Vicki Madden
"The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again."
- William Faulkner, The Paris Review, 1956
- William Faulkner, The Paris Review, 1956
December 12, 2025 at 1:06 PM
"The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again."
- William Faulkner, The Paris Review, 1956
- William Faulkner, The Paris Review, 1956
Reposted by Vicki Madden
Our new study provides rare causal evidence about NYC’s speed camera program. We find large reductions in collisions (30%) and injuries (16%) near intersections with cameras. www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... @astagoff.bsky.social ky.social @brendenbeck.bsky.social nbeck.bsky.social 🧪
Can speed cameras make streets safer? Quasi-experimental evidence from New York City | PNAS
Each year, approximately 40,000 people die in vehicle collisions in the United States,
generating $340 billion in economic costs. To make roads saf...
www.pnas.org
December 8, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Our new study provides rare causal evidence about NYC’s speed camera program. We find large reductions in collisions (30%) and injuries (16%) near intersections with cameras. www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... @astagoff.bsky.social ky.social @brendenbeck.bsky.social nbeck.bsky.social 🧪
Until you have a love one in jail, you really cannot understand the extreme level of scammery that goes on.
Prison telecom companies and more than a dozen red-state attorneys have challenged imposing limits on the cost of phone calls from prison, arguing that they would deprive lockups of necessary funding.
Priced Out of Phone Calls Home
The FCC blocked Biden-era limits on the exorbitant rates and fees charged by prison telecom companies, leaving incarcerated people and their families to fight for state-level reforms.
boltsmag.org
December 9, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Until you have a love one in jail, you really cannot understand the extreme level of scammery that goes on.
Just listened to what maybe the most interesting conversation ever—on the FAQ NYC podcast, part of the good work of @thecity.nyc (please become a monthly sustainer)- with Baruch Herzfeld.
Episode 462: A Vision for NYC’s Deliveristas and a Battery-Powered Future
Podcast Episode · FAQ NYC · 12/05/2025 · 47m
podcasts.apple.com
December 7, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Just listened to what maybe the most interesting conversation ever—on the FAQ NYC podcast, part of the good work of @thecity.nyc (please become a monthly sustainer)- with Baruch Herzfeld.
So, let me get this straight: we're pardoning convicted drug traffickers and assassinating suspected drug traffickers or random fishing boats?
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/w...
Trump Announces Pardon for Honduran Ex-President Convicted in Drug Case
www.nytimes.com
November 29, 2025 at 12:20 AM
So, let me get this straight: we're pardoning convicted drug traffickers and assassinating suspected drug traffickers or random fishing boats?
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/w...
Huge loss--Tekserve was everything quirky and non-huge-corporation-controlled that made NYC what it was. As tech direction at schools, I made a choice in mid-90s to be "mac person." It saved me so much work maintaining 100s of computers. Tekserve was my go to. RIP
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/t...
David Lerner, a Mr. Fix-it of Apple Computers, Dies at 72
www.nytimes.com
November 28, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Huge loss--Tekserve was everything quirky and non-huge-corporation-controlled that made NYC what it was. As tech direction at schools, I made a choice in mid-90s to be "mac person." It saved me so much work maintaining 100s of computers. Tekserve was my go to. RIP
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/t...
Reposted by Vicki Madden
I need everybody to read this and understand what’s going on. These are spouses of US citizens in the country legally. They have entry clearance and green cards, they’ve passed background checks and have no criminal records. ICE is taking them anyway.
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Green Card Interviews End in Handcuffs for Spouses of U.S. Citizens
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:40 PM
I need everybody to read this and understand what’s going on. These are spouses of US citizens in the country legally. They have entry clearance and green cards, they’ve passed background checks and have no criminal records. ICE is taking them anyway.
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
What. Is. Happening.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Green Card Interviews End in Handcuffs for Spouses of U.S. Citizens
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:22 PM
What. Is. Happening.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Reposted by Vicki Madden
Sometimes I think it’s going to be the librarians who will save us all.
November 25, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Sometimes I think it’s going to be the librarians who will save us all.
Reposted by Vicki Madden
The mayor-elect’s much-touted online portal has received 70,000 -plus applications from people seeking “roles across City agencies and offices.”
But that’s not the real path to landing a city job. Good stuff, as they say in the trade, from @reuvenblau.bsky.social www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/25/c...
But that’s not the real path to landing a city job. Good stuff, as they say in the trade, from @reuvenblau.bsky.social www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/25/c...
70K Apply to Mamdani’s Transition Team. Here’s How to Actually Get Hired by NYC.
More than 70,000 people have applied to Mamdani’s transition site, but the real route to thousands of open roles runs through civil service exams.
www.thecity.nyc
November 25, 2025 at 2:01 PM
The mayor-elect’s much-touted online portal has received 70,000 -plus applications from people seeking “roles across City agencies and offices.”
But that’s not the real path to landing a city job. Good stuff, as they say in the trade, from @reuvenblau.bsky.social www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/25/c...
But that’s not the real path to landing a city job. Good stuff, as they say in the trade, from @reuvenblau.bsky.social www.thecity.nyc/2025/11/25/c...
@katiehonan.bsky.social I'm listening to the newest FAQ NYC with Crystal Hudson. Did she say that the Speaker's office has a staff of 400? That seems shocking.
November 24, 2025 at 10:33 PM
@katiehonan.bsky.social I'm listening to the newest FAQ NYC with Crystal Hudson. Did she say that the Speaker's office has a staff of 400? That seems shocking.
"The educated poor is a class that used to make up the creative life of New York City....A reasonable cost of living & local & national programs [made] a dignified life accessible for more Americans & gave people the ability to provide for themselves and their families while still living creatively.
You all MUST READ this piece by Kaitlyn Greenidge about the power of art to “exist outside of a tech lord’s algorithm.”
www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-...
www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-...
The Artist Who Reminds Us that Another Way Is Possible
The late artist Abigail McGrath cultivated a creative life for herself filled with freedom, joy, and a commitment to beauty. In an age of authoritarianism and algorithms, it’s a kind of life worth pro...
www.harpersbazaar.com
November 23, 2025 at 7:05 PM
"The educated poor is a class that used to make up the creative life of New York City....A reasonable cost of living & local & national programs [made] a dignified life accessible for more Americans & gave people the ability to provide for themselves and their families while still living creatively.
Reposted by Vicki Madden
Grand opening, grand closing.
X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.
X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.
November 22, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Grand opening, grand closing.
X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.
X quietly disabled a new feature that showed which country an account was posting from when it revealed that lots of popular right wing MAGA accounts were being run from foreign countries like India and Nigeria.
Reposted by Vicki Madden
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Reposted by Vicki Madden
The partisan divide has grown, too. The wealthiest 100 tended to give more to Republicans than to Democrats before last year. But giving to the GOP spiked in 2024, with *84%* of donations going to back Republicans or conservative PACs.
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
The partisan divide has grown, too. The wealthiest 100 tended to give more to Republicans than to Democrats before last year. But giving to the GOP spiked in 2024, with *84%* of donations going to back Republicans or conservative PACs.
Reposted by Vicki Madden
Federal election spending by the 100 wealthiest Americans is now 140x what it was in 2000.
Last year they crossed $1 billion in election spending.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Last year they crossed $1 billion in election spending.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Federal election spending by the 100 wealthiest Americans is now 140x what it was in 2000.
Last year they crossed $1 billion in election spending.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Last year they crossed $1 billion in election spending.
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
This confirms my experience: under Bloomberg we had to retain kids who didn’t “pass” NYS exams. Idea was adults would change and address kid needs, but mostly we just got 6th graders who were 2 years over-age, discouraged and acting out (because they still couldn't read as well as 11 yo classmates)
Despite temporary test score gains, Jiee finds that “third grade retention significantly reduces annual earnings at age 26 by $3,477 (19%)” — driven by increased absenteeism, violent behavior, and juvenile crime, and reduced likelihood of H.S. graduation.
Super important findings for policymakers!
Super important findings for policymakers!
November 21, 2025 at 1:32 PM
This confirms my experience: under Bloomberg we had to retain kids who didn’t “pass” NYS exams. Idea was adults would change and address kid needs, but mostly we just got 6th graders who were 2 years over-age, discouraged and acting out (because they still couldn't read as well as 11 yo classmates)
I just love this article so much about all the things libraries do for us and with us. Featuring my library @bklynlibrary.bsky.social and also seed library, which I may help maintain at my other library in Catskill.
Extralibrary Loan: placesjournal.org/article/extr...
Extralibrary Loan: placesjournal.org/article/extr...
Extralibrary Loan: Making the Civic Infrastructure We Need
Amid a war on public knowledge, libraries are pushing outward, enlarging the commons through new configurations of civic and creative life.
placesjournal.org
November 21, 2025 at 12:51 AM
I just love this article so much about all the things libraries do for us and with us. Featuring my library @bklynlibrary.bsky.social and also seed library, which I may help maintain at my other library in Catskill.
Extralibrary Loan: placesjournal.org/article/extr...
Extralibrary Loan: placesjournal.org/article/extr...
Reposted by Vicki Madden
1/ Announcing GovScape – a public search system for 10 million U.S. government PDFs (70 million pages)! GovScape offers visual search, semantic text search, and keyword search. Explore below:
Website: www.govscape.net
ArXiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010
Website: www.govscape.net
ArXiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010
www.govscape.net
November 18, 2025 at 8:19 PM
1/ Announcing GovScape – a public search system for 10 million U.S. government PDFs (70 million pages)! GovScape offers visual search, semantic text search, and keyword search. Explore below:
Website: www.govscape.net
ArXiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010
Website: www.govscape.net
ArXiv link: arxiv.org/abs/2511.11010