Will Leitch
@williamfleitch.bsky.social
Author, LLOYD MCNEIL'S LAST RIDE, HOW LUCKY, THE TIME HAS COME. Contributing Editor, New York. Columnist, The Washington Post & The Athletic. Writer, MLB. Critic, Grierson & Leitch. Founder, Deadspin. Illini. Mattoonian. https://williamfleitch.substack.com
Pinned
Will Leitch
@williamfleitch.bsky.social
· May 20
Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride
SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
\"Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride broke my heart. And then it somehow mended that shattered heart, made it beat more buo...
www.harpercollins.com
Today is the release day for LLOYD MCNEIL'S LAST RIDE, my new novel about a cop who, upon learning he's dying of a brain tumor, tries to get himself killed so his family can get the insurance, keeps failing and becomes a civic hero. I think you will like it. www.harpercollins.com/products/llo...
Reposted by Will Leitch
The People vs. ICE
Renee Good’s death galvanized a city eager to push back against Trump’s invasion.
nymag.com
January 23, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Ranking the nominees (by how much I liked them, not by who will win):
1. One Battle After Another
2. Marty Supreme
3. The Secret Agent
4. Sinners
5. Train Dreams
6. Sentimental Value
7. Hamnet
8. Bugonia
9. Frankenstein
10. F1
1. One Battle After Another
2. Marty Supreme
3. The Secret Agent
4. Sinners
5. Train Dreams
6. Sentimental Value
7. Hamnet
8. Bugonia
9. Frankenstein
10. F1
January 22, 2026 at 1:51 PM
Ranking the nominees (by how much I liked them, not by who will win):
1. One Battle After Another
2. Marty Supreme
3. The Secret Agent
4. Sinners
5. Train Dreams
6. Sentimental Value
7. Hamnet
8. Bugonia
9. Frankenstein
10. F1
1. One Battle After Another
2. Marty Supreme
3. The Secret Agent
4. Sinners
5. Train Dreams
6. Sentimental Value
7. Hamnet
8. Bugonia
9. Frankenstein
10. F1
I enjoyed getting to talk to the great @audiecornish.bsky.social for her podcast "The Assignment," about the Olympics and current US status as global sports villain. You can listen, or, if you can get past that screenshot, you can watch: www.cnn.com/audio/podcas...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESWH...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESWH...
Is the US the villain of the Winter Olympics? | The Assignment
YouTube video by CNN
www.youtube.com
January 22, 2026 at 1:25 PM
I enjoyed getting to talk to the great @audiecornish.bsky.social for her podcast "The Assignment," about the Olympics and current US status as global sports villain. You can listen, or, if you can get past that screenshot, you can watch: www.cnn.com/audio/podcas...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESWH...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESWH...
Congratulations to Pluribus Other Fernando Mendoza.
January 20, 2026 at 4:20 AM
Congratulations to Pluribus Other Fernando Mendoza.
I wrote this. williamfleitch.substack.com/p/volume-6-i...
Volume 6, Issue 7: Tempest
"Sooner or later you'll make a mistake, I'll put you in a chain that you never can break."
williamfleitch.substack.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:27 PM
I wrote this. williamfleitch.substack.com/p/volume-6-i...
For @theathletic.com, I wrote about where in the hell all these Indiana football fans came from. www.nytimes.com/athletic/696...
Where did all these Indiana football fans come from? Why it’s a CFP takeover like no other
There are Indiana fans everywhere because things like this so rarely happen. Who could possibly resist a sports story unlike any other?
www.nytimes.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:32 PM
For @theathletic.com, I wrote about where in the hell all these Indiana football fans came from. www.nytimes.com/athletic/696...
I wrote this. It didn’t make me feel better. williamfleitch.substack.com/p/volume-6-i...
Volume 6, Issue 6: World Gone Wrong
"How can I live here, baby, Lord, and feel at ease?"
williamfleitch.substack.com
January 10, 2026 at 3:00 PM
I wrote this. It didn’t make me feel better. williamfleitch.substack.com/p/volume-6-i...
Reposted by Will Leitch
Forensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.
January 8, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Forensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.
One of those nights where the weight of it all sat on your chest and wouldn’t leave.
January 8, 2026 at 11:42 AM
One of those nights where the weight of it all sat on your chest and wouldn’t leave.
I wrote about Bill Connelly's excellent, and oddly hopeful, college football book FORWARD PROGRESS for @wsj.com's end of the year book wrapup. www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
Who Read What in 2025
We asked 50 luminaries from the worlds of business, politics, books and the arts about what they read—and what they recommend.
www.wsj.com
January 5, 2026 at 9:48 PM
I wrote about Bill Connelly's excellent, and oddly hopeful, college football book FORWARD PROGRESS for @wsj.com's end of the year book wrapup. www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
Paul Walter Hauser is so versatile.
Pete Golding looks like he just showed up to the dock and demanded a refund.
January 2, 2026 at 2:21 AM
Paul Walter Hauser is so versatile.
For @theathletic.com, I wrote about the existential question of what a "meaningless" college football game might actually be. www.nytimes.com/athletic/692...
The case for meaningless CFB bowl games: Remember, we are all sickos at heart
www.nytimes.com
December 30, 2025 at 7:07 PM
For @theathletic.com, I wrote about the existential question of what a "meaningless" college football game might actually be. www.nytimes.com/athletic/692...
Reposted by Will Leitch
CBS didn't run the 60 Minutes segment on CECOT, but over here at @propublica.org we've been working on the story since March, including finding out who each and every man sent to that maximum security prison was.
You can see our reporting here: www.propublica.org/series/depor...
You can see our reporting here: www.propublica.org/series/depor...
Deported and Imprisoned Archives
A case-by-case investigation that examines the Trump administration’s claims that these immigrants are all “sick criminals” and “terrorists” and that shows what they suffered during months in one of t...
www.propublica.org
December 22, 2025 at 4:08 PM
CBS didn't run the 60 Minutes segment on CECOT, but over here at @propublica.org we've been working on the story since March, including finding out who each and every man sent to that maximum security prison was.
You can see our reporting here: www.propublica.org/series/depor...
You can see our reporting here: www.propublica.org/series/depor...
Reposted by Will Leitch
For @theathletic.com, I tried to imagine a world in which each of the 12 CFP teams won the national championship. www.nytimes.com/athletic/689...
How a national title would feel for every CFP team, from unbearable to euphoric
www.nytimes.com
December 16, 2025 at 4:37 PM
For @theathletic.com, I tried to imagine a world in which each of the 12 CFP teams won the national championship. www.nytimes.com/athletic/689...
For @theathletic.com, I tried to imagine a world in which each of the 12 CFP teams won the national championship. www.nytimes.com/athletic/689...
How a national title would feel for every CFP team, from unbearable to euphoric
www.nytimes.com
December 16, 2025 at 4:37 PM
For @theathletic.com, I tried to imagine a world in which each of the 12 CFP teams won the national championship. www.nytimes.com/athletic/689...
Reposted by Will Leitch
It's our lightning-round episode! We do rapid-fire reviews of
The Testament of Ann Lee
Song Sung Blue
My Undesirable Friends
No Other Choice
Father Mother Sister Brother
Dead Man’s Wire
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3YlI...
And coming soon: Dorkfest.
The Testament of Ann Lee
Song Sung Blue
My Undesirable Friends
No Other Choice
Father Mother Sister Brother
Dead Man’s Wire
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3YlI...
And coming soon: Dorkfest.
December 16, 2025 at 4:32 PM
It's our lightning-round episode! We do rapid-fire reviews of
The Testament of Ann Lee
Song Sung Blue
My Undesirable Friends
No Other Choice
Father Mother Sister Brother
Dead Man’s Wire
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3YlI...
And coming soon: Dorkfest.
The Testament of Ann Lee
Song Sung Blue
My Undesirable Friends
No Other Choice
Father Mother Sister Brother
Dead Man’s Wire
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3YlI...
And coming soon: Dorkfest.
Reposted by Will Leitch
For @theathletic.com, I wrote about how college football's problem is that no one can accept failure as a lesson to be learned from rather than a grievous abnormality caused by malignant outside figures solely motivated by taking from you what you believe to be yours. www.nytimes.com/athletic/687...
Notre Dame (and others) blame everyone but themselves in CFB’s lawless, leaderless era
Everyone in college football wants a cookie, and they're throwing a tantrum until they get their dessert.
www.nytimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 2:14 PM
For @theathletic.com, I wrote about how college football's problem is that no one can accept failure as a lesson to be learned from rather than a grievous abnormality caused by malignant outside figures solely motivated by taking from you what you believe to be yours. www.nytimes.com/athletic/687...
For @theathletic.com, I wrote about how college football's problem is that no one can accept failure as a lesson to be learned from rather than a grievous abnormality caused by malignant outside figures solely motivated by taking from you what you believe to be yours. www.nytimes.com/athletic/687...
Notre Dame (and others) blame everyone but themselves in CFB’s lawless, leaderless era
Everyone in college football wants a cookie, and they're throwing a tantrum until they get their dessert.
www.nytimes.com
December 9, 2025 at 2:14 PM
For @theathletic.com, I wrote about how college football's problem is that no one can accept failure as a lesson to be learned from rather than a grievous abnormality caused by malignant outside figures solely motivated by taking from you what you believe to be yours. www.nytimes.com/athletic/687...
So happy for those James Madison and Tulane players who earned their way into watching themselves get selected for the CFP and then got to watch all the television people spend the next 20 minutes trashing them and saying they wish they wouldn’t be there.
December 7, 2025 at 5:50 PM
So happy for those James Madison and Tulane players who earned their way into watching themselves get selected for the CFP and then got to watch all the television people spend the next 20 minutes trashing them and saying they wish they wouldn’t be there.
Reposted by Will Leitch
"There was no way Trump was going to be able to resist this spectacle," @williamfleitch.bsky.social writes.
"What’s the point of being president if you can’t have the Village People perform for you at a soccer event, after all?"
"What’s the point of being president if you can’t have the Village People perform for you at a soccer event, after all?"
Opinion | The World Cup draw, always ridiculous, outdid itself with Trump
Soccer fans just want to know who their team will be playing. FIFA has other ideas.
wapo.st
December 6, 2025 at 12:25 AM
"There was no way Trump was going to be able to resist this spectacle," @williamfleitch.bsky.social writes.
"What’s the point of being president if you can’t have the Village People perform for you at a soccer event, after all?"
"What’s the point of being president if you can’t have the Village People perform for you at a soccer event, after all?"
This was like when we told our kids they could stay up until midnight on New Years Eve and then we'd play a Netflix countdown video at 7:30 and then put them to bed.
December 5, 2025 at 5:41 PM
This was like when we told our kids they could stay up until midnight on New Years Eve and then we'd play a Netflix countdown video at 7:30 and then put them to bed.
For @theathletic.com, I wrote about Rivalry Week, and how the closest thing to sports godliness is making sure the people who mean the most to you in your life are completely miserable for the next 12 months. www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...
College Football Playoff bids are great. Making your rival miserable is still better
The College Football Playoff race matters this week. But beating the team you hate the most? That lasts the rest of your life.
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:15 PM
For @theathletic.com, I wrote about Rivalry Week, and how the closest thing to sports godliness is making sure the people who mean the most to you in your life are completely miserable for the next 12 months. www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...