Meg Holden
@beleagueredsigh.bsky.social
T-girl, film nerd/writer, and all around dyke.
Crazy that I keep hopping into the-machine-that-makes-you-angry-anxious-and-afraid, and then thinking it's weird that I feel bad.
January 21, 2026 at 3:26 PM
Crazy that I keep hopping into the-machine-that-makes-you-angry-anxious-and-afraid, and then thinking it's weird that I feel bad.
There's a difference between reading as a skill and as media consumption. The skill discussion is an okay one to have, but I think when most people talk about if audio books are reading they're talking about media consumption.
I got into another debate about audiobooks last night, and, while I think listening is a valid way to experience a book, there is something to be said about our cultural resistance to active reading, especially among young people. It concerns me that many of my students exclusively depend on audio.
January 18, 2026 at 6:05 PM
There's a difference between reading as a skill and as media consumption. The skill discussion is an okay one to have, but I think when most people talk about if audio books are reading they're talking about media consumption.
Reposted by Meg Holden
If you read one thing today, it should be this
Iran report says 16,500 dead in ‘genocide under digital darkness’
www.thetimes.com/article/01ba...
Iran report says 16,500 dead in ‘genocide under digital darkness’
www.thetimes.com/article/01ba...
Iran report says 16,500 dead in ‘genocide under digital darkness’
Witnesses tell of the brutality inflicted on those taking part in anti-regime protests
www.thetimes.com
January 18, 2026 at 10:04 AM
If you read one thing today, it should be this
Iran report says 16,500 dead in ‘genocide under digital darkness’
www.thetimes.com/article/01ba...
Iran report says 16,500 dead in ‘genocide under digital darkness’
www.thetimes.com/article/01ba...
Reposted by Meg Holden
this is very much not the core of the issue. we tolerate all sorts of biological advantages and disadvantages in sports. the real fundamental question here is: why is this one different than the others?
January 16, 2026 at 6:06 PM
this is very much not the core of the issue. we tolerate all sorts of biological advantages and disadvantages in sports. the real fundamental question here is: why is this one different than the others?
Reposted by Meg Holden
A few months ago, ICE hired me
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
You’ve Heard About Who ICE Is Recruiting. The Truth Is Far Worse. I’m the Proof.
What happens when you do minimal screening before hiring agents, arming them, and sending them into the streets? We're all finding out.
slate.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:11 PM
A few months ago, ICE hired me
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
Reposted by Meg Holden
“When I speak about making our city more affordable, my vision is not limited to the homes that we live in or the child care that we’re making universal — it’s also a vision where we make it possible for working people to afford lives of joy, of art, of rest, of expression.”
Handing Out Free Tickets, Mamdani Says Theater Should Not Be ‘a Luxury’
www.nytimes.com
January 10, 2026 at 12:22 AM
“When I speak about making our city more affordable, my vision is not limited to the homes that we live in or the child care that we’re making universal — it’s also a vision where we make it possible for working people to afford lives of joy, of art, of rest, of expression.”
Something I've been trying to hold onto is that despair is easy and unproductive, and hope is difficult and productive.
Times are bad, and yet, we have to believe that they can be better, and then act on that belief to make them better.
And god, reading this back, it feels so trite... but even so.
Times are bad, and yet, we have to believe that they can be better, and then act on that belief to make them better.
And god, reading this back, it feels so trite... but even so.
January 8, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Something I've been trying to hold onto is that despair is easy and unproductive, and hope is difficult and productive.
Times are bad, and yet, we have to believe that they can be better, and then act on that belief to make them better.
And god, reading this back, it feels so trite... but even so.
Times are bad, and yet, we have to believe that they can be better, and then act on that belief to make them better.
And god, reading this back, it feels so trite... but even so.
Reposted by Meg Holden
Like, I post this as a joke, but it's really like this. It does no good to pretend otherwise. And if, in our hand-wringing laments, we don't acknowledge this or our role in making our own social media experience so shitty, nothing's going to change.
January 7, 2026 at 2:26 AM
Like, I post this as a joke, but it's really like this. It does no good to pretend otherwise. And if, in our hand-wringing laments, we don't acknowledge this or our role in making our own social media experience so shitty, nothing's going to change.
The Anthropocene Reviewed
Ok, everyone, what book is sacred enough to you to get sworn in on?
Strange takes on Mayor Zamdani swearing his oath on the Qu’ran. It has nothing to do with church & state. The point of the oath is for the person swearing in to do so upon some text that is sacred TO THEM. Some Presidents swore in w/o any book. John Quincy Adams was sworn on a law book. His choice.
January 2, 2026 at 2:32 AM
The Anthropocene Reviewed
The writers of stranger things really should have watched weathering with you and taken copious notes... Cause like, it's not the responsibility of children to kill themselves to fix the mistakes of adults.
January 1, 2026 at 3:06 AM
The writers of stranger things really should have watched weathering with you and taken copious notes... Cause like, it's not the responsibility of children to kill themselves to fix the mistakes of adults.
One thing I am really proud of myself for in 2025 is writing or cowriting multiple screenplays this year that I think are genuinely good. I'm a really harsh critic of my own work, and to have so much writing that I'm proud of is deeply gratifying.
January 1, 2026 at 12:31 AM
One thing I am really proud of myself for in 2025 is writing or cowriting multiple screenplays this year that I think are genuinely good. I'm a really harsh critic of my own work, and to have so much writing that I'm proud of is deeply gratifying.
Reposted by Meg Holden
The final Calvin and Hobbes, which appeared in papers 30 years ago today.
December 31, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The final Calvin and Hobbes, which appeared in papers 30 years ago today.
Reposted by Meg Holden
every day they send me down the tboy mines and every day i come back empty handed
they shake me with increasing desperation asking where the tboys are
i cry out i dont know
they shake me with increasing desperation asking where the tboys are
i cry out i dont know
December 30, 2025 at 11:50 PM
every day they send me down the tboy mines and every day i come back empty handed
they shake me with increasing desperation asking where the tboys are
i cry out i dont know
they shake me with increasing desperation asking where the tboys are
i cry out i dont know
It's year five of making a list of each book I read this year. So here are the 19 books I read, in the order that I read them, with some thoughts on each book!
December 30, 2025 at 1:33 AM
It's year five of making a list of each book I read this year. So here are the 19 books I read, in the order that I read them, with some thoughts on each book!
I know trans women are real women because of how many of us have eating disorders.
December 25, 2025 at 4:06 AM
I know trans women are real women because of how many of us have eating disorders.
Reposted by Meg Holden
this was part of a plan the organized far right made to begin their attack on taking out trans people out of academia, what a disgrace of a university to give in to this
A graduate teaching assistant who gave a University of Oklahoma student a failing grade on a psychology essay will no longer be teaching at the university
Graduate instructor who gave failing grade to Samantha Fulnecky no longer teaching at OU
A graduate teaching assistant who gave a University of Oklahoma student a failing grade on a psychology essay will no longer be teaching at the university.
www.koco.com
December 23, 2025 at 8:44 AM
this was part of a plan the organized far right made to begin their attack on taking out trans people out of academia, what a disgrace of a university to give in to this
Reposted by Meg Holden
This essay by the author of a recent well-reviewed book about Tolkien starts modestly and then stabs you with a Morgul-blade halfway through, where you are pinioned by a twist in the telling. You may never recover. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
Opinion | Why I Keep Returning to Middle-Earth
www.nytimes.com
December 19, 2025 at 4:46 PM
This essay by the author of a recent well-reviewed book about Tolkien starts modestly and then stabs you with a Morgul-blade halfway through, where you are pinioned by a twist in the telling. You may never recover. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/o...
Reposted by Meg Holden
Actual psychologist here, and there are 2 things I would like to point out:
1. This sort of "we tried our best / we weren't so bad" is very much a classic move of the awful authoritarian and/or narcissistic parent, they've always done this and social media has allowed them more reach 🧵
1. This sort of "we tried our best / we weren't so bad" is very much a classic move of the awful authoritarian and/or narcissistic parent, they've always done this and social media has allowed them more reach 🧵
Welcome to the pissed-off parent pushback: After years of therapists and others encouraging adult children to cut ties with families they deem harmful or “toxic,” estranged parents are speaking out on.wsj.com/4s49U52
These Moms Are Done Being ‘Doormats’ for Their Estranged Children
Parents publicly blast their adult offspring for cutting them off, drawing tens of thousands of online followers.
on.wsj.com
December 16, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Actual psychologist here, and there are 2 things I would like to point out:
1. This sort of "we tried our best / we weren't so bad" is very much a classic move of the awful authoritarian and/or narcissistic parent, they've always done this and social media has allowed them more reach 🧵
1. This sort of "we tried our best / we weren't so bad" is very much a classic move of the awful authoritarian and/or narcissistic parent, they've always done this and social media has allowed them more reach 🧵
But also ambiguous endings in plot, are almost always clear endings in theme. It's like... basic storytelling.
so uh, the ending to NO COUNTRY isn’t ambiguous?
What's going on on that other website?
December 11, 2025 at 3:55 PM
But also ambiguous endings in plot, are almost always clear endings in theme. It's like... basic storytelling.
Reposted by Meg Holden
One of the many reasons AI can't produce good writing is it can't hate its own writing. It can't think to itself "Maybe I'm illiterate" during the writing process. And that's essential
December 9, 2025 at 8:45 PM
One of the many reasons AI can't produce good writing is it can't hate its own writing. It can't think to itself "Maybe I'm illiterate" during the writing process. And that's essential
Reposted by Meg Holden
Hi all!
I'm casting my paid mockumentary about YouTube drama culture ($500 CAD, about 3-4 minutes of dialogue, self-tape from home). Looking for a trans woman to play JENNA, an indie TTRPG creator whose Kickstarter blows up and then falls apart. Details + sides:
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
I'm casting my paid mockumentary about YouTube drama culture ($500 CAD, about 3-4 minutes of dialogue, self-tape from home). Looking for a trans woman to play JENNA, an indie TTRPG creator whose Kickstarter blows up and then falls apart. Details + sides:
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
JENNA EVERLY - Full Role Information
JENNA EVERLY - Full Role Information Project: A ~45 minute mockumentary about YouTube drama culture. Everything is fictional, meaning fake creators played by actors, fake Kickstarter, and fake screens...
docs.google.com
December 9, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Hi all!
I'm casting my paid mockumentary about YouTube drama culture ($500 CAD, about 3-4 minutes of dialogue, self-tape from home). Looking for a trans woman to play JENNA, an indie TTRPG creator whose Kickstarter blows up and then falls apart. Details + sides:
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
I'm casting my paid mockumentary about YouTube drama culture ($500 CAD, about 3-4 minutes of dialogue, self-tape from home). Looking for a trans woman to play JENNA, an indie TTRPG creator whose Kickstarter blows up and then falls apart. Details + sides:
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Reposted by Meg Holden
It's sad that we're all just relived paramount didn't get it. But jesus fucking christ bring back strong antitrust laws.
December 5, 2025 at 6:55 PM
It's sad that we're all just relived paramount didn't get it. But jesus fucking christ bring back strong antitrust laws.
"Receive" should also be spelled "recieve"
The word "gestures" should be spelled "guestures" and I will die on this molehill.
December 2, 2025 at 1:29 PM
"Receive" should also be spelled "recieve"