Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Elham Shirin

Sierra Magazine @sierramagazine.bsky.social · Sep 4

The deadly toll of wildfire is widely known. The lasting psychological effect? Less so. Here’s how farmworkers are grappling with the costs of doing business in the age of accelerating wildfires.

Wildfires Have Lasting Psychological Effects on Farmworkers

Farmworking communities face a long struggle to overcome mental and emotional impacts

www.sierraclub.org

1 1

Elham Shirin @eshirin.bsky.social · Sep 6

Research shows that wildfires are superspreader events for anxiety, depression, PTSD—directly causing challenges that need psychological treatment.

For Sierra Magazine, I dug into what this means for farmworkers disproportionately exposed to wildfire smoke.

www.sierraclub.org/sierra/wildf...

Wildfires Have Lasting Psychological Effects on Farmworkers

Farmworking communities face a long struggle to overcome mental and emotional impacts

www.sierraclub.org

2 4

Reposted by Elham Shirin

michael ◉●○•° @ontopunk.bsky.social · Sep 3

"Community organizing is both a science and an art — a science because it is grounded in a systematic understanding of power and oppression, an art because it demands creativity, empathy, and adaptability in order to build relationships and trust." - James Forman

1 93 260

Reposted by Elham Shirin

Philip Jacobson @philjaco.bsky.social · Aug 28

Latest article in our Brazil shark meat series

Mongabay @mongabay.com · Aug 27

A Brazilian lawmaker said he would call for a parliamentary hearing after Mongabay’s shark meat investigation.

Experts say the uncovered public tenders show greater extinction risk for sharks and urging stronger global protection.

Industry groups called Mongabay’s investigation “alarmist."

Mongabay shark meat exposé sparks call for hearing and industry debate

Endangered shark meat and heavy metals found in Brazil’s public food trigger a reckoning.

news.mongabay.com

1

Reposted by Elham Shirin

Nathaniel Hoffman @paleomedia.bsky.social · Aug 28

Hot Summer and affordability, in Atmos

atmos.earth/its-going-to...

It’s Going to Be Harder to Afford Hot Summers | Atmos

Amidst the hottest summer on record, federal protections are being cut, energy costs are on the rise, and millions face deadly heat.

atmos.earth

1

Reposted by Elham Shirin

New York Amsterdam News @nyamnews.bsky.social · Aug 15

The 110 St-Central Park North subway station has been officially renamed to honor one of Harlem’s greats: El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, known to all as Malcolm X. Read more here: https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2025/08/14/harlems-110-st-subway-station-finally-renamed-for-malcolm/

Harlem's 110 St. subway station finally renamed for Malcolm X

The 110 St-Central Park North subway station has been officially renamed to honor El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, known to all as Malcolm X.

amsterdamnews.com

8 11

Reposted by Elham Shirin

Himal Southasian @himalmag.bsky.social · Aug 18

📣 🎙️ Coming up in the final episode of ‘Muslim Life – and Death – in Modi’s India’ with Harsh Mander, writer Zeyad Masroor Khan on growing up in a Muslim ghetto in Aligarh, resistance to communal division in India, and more

1

Elham Shirin @eshirin.bsky.social · Aug 16

Every South Asian 90s kid transported to Lucky Ali’s O Sanam memories after this interview! www.thenation.com/article/poli...

“The Nation” Interviews Zohran Mamdani

New York's Democratic mayoral nominee shares his views on the city's affordability crisis, the new media landscape—and how Democrats need to stand up for what they believe.

www.thenation.com

Reposted by Elham Shirin

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · Aug 15

"What began as a modest effort by a few members of a small congregation to reach out to migrants would evolve into a deep experiment in solidarity..."

our new issue of @hammerandhope.bsky.social is out! today I want to highlight this article by Benji Hart

hammerandhope.org/article/chic...

Venezuelan Migrants, a Black Church, and an Experiment in Solidarity

A pastor in Chicago helps build a coalition that aids recent arrivals by asking them what they need.

hammerandhope.org

3 230 520

Reposted by Elham Shirin

Todd Woody @toddwoody.bsky.social · Aug 6

The US and China are vying for influence over deep sea mining in the Cook Islands. By ‪@jonherskovitz.bsky.social
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

US to Pursue Seabed Mining With Cook Islands After China Pact

The US has entered talks with the Cook Islands to develop seabed mineral resources, just months after the South Pacific nation formalized cooperation pacts with China that included exploration for und...

www.bloomberg.com

4 3

Elham Shirin @eshirin.bsky.social · Jul 24

"...But since the other side has the swords, and we’re stuck here with our Expo markers, we have no choice but to think creatively about how these pitiful weapons can be made lethally effective."

www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-pen...

The Pen Vs. The Sword

Writers are powerless next to the might of the state. Or are they?

www.currentaffairs.org

Elham Shirin @eshirin.bsky.social · Jul 24

"The pen struggles against the sword, because it is not mightier, it is weaker, and it has to be used very skilfully if it’s going to defeat the superior force of arms..."

1

Reposted by Elham Shirin

Nitish Pahwa @nitishpahwa.com · Jul 15

you've heard about the college kids who can't do anything without ChatGPT's help—but what about the students who oppose generative A.I. for myriad reasons and refuse to rely on it as a shortcut? well, I found and spoke with a few of them here: slate.com/life/2025/07...

What It’s Like to Be a Student Who Hates ChatGPT

“Everyone is using it”—almost everyone.

slate.com

60 870 2.3K

Reposted by Elham Shirin

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · Jul 8

Hakeem Jeffries' brother endorses Zohran Mamdani ––>

32 240 2K

Elham Shirin @eshirin.bsky.social · Jul 9

"Even with our coaxing, the wood will never be entirely still. Wood will move if you let it. It will tug on your perfect joints, or, if you’re good at what you do, expand into the hidden spaces you have left for it."

orionmagazine.org/article/towa...

Toward an Architecture of Belonging - Orion Magazine

What if the way we built things was a little bit more animal?

orionmagazine.org

Reposted by Elham Shirin

Mongabay @mongabay.com · Jul 7

A new report from the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) finds that more than half of the 95 energy transition-related lawsuits recorded globally since 2009 took place in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Almost half of all cases were filed by Indigenous peoples.

In Latin America, energy transition stirs a rise in human rights lawsuits

A new report by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) finds that more than half of the 95 legal cases initiated around the world since 2009 by those impacted by the energy transition…

news.mongabay.com

9 23

Reposted by Elham Shirin

Peter Sterne @petersterne.com · Jun 29

ICYMI, @cityandstateny.bsky.social has been taking Zohran Mamdani and DSA seriously for years, even as other publications dismissed them as a powerless fringe group: www.cityandstateny.com/opinion/2025...

Editor’s note: City & State’s groundbreaking coverage of Zohran Mamdani’s rise

Our magazine will continue to be ahead of the curve reporting on campaigns and elections.

www.cityandstateny.com

2 13 87

Elham Shirin @eshirin.bsky.social · Jun 29

The truth is that for anyone who’s done any sort of community organizing or worked with communities—even as a reporter: you already know the answer. There’s no secret sauce. It’s as simple as meeting people where they’re at, and being authentic and humble.

2

Elham Shirin @eshirin.bsky.social · Jun 29

Tired: News outlets covering Mamdani’s win like there’s some special sauce on why Mamdani appealed to “regular people”.

Wired: Reporters like Ryan Grim and others giving his candidacy the attention and seriousness he deserved from the get go.

1 2

Elham Shirin @eshirin.bsky.social · Jun 26

Apparently there are only two choices for racially marked people in America in the public sphere: either be confronted with blatant racism or sneaky foxes who smile at you while questioning your qualifications.

1

Elham Shirin @eshirin.bsky.social · Jun 26

Highly doubt that being an "experienced" politician is what appeals to the vast majority of the electorate.

1 1

Elham Shirin @eshirin.bsky.social · Jun 26

Most people losing their shit over Mamdani's supposed lack of experience have ZERO problems supporting barely qualified, super PAC-backed candidates that support their political or foreign policy agendas.

1 3

Reposted by Elham Shirin

David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · Jun 25

This really was a case of organized people over organized money.
prospect.org/politics/202...

In one of the most stunning results in Democratic politics in years, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani is poised to come from nowhere and pull off a major victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the establishment’s overwhelming choice for the job. With 90 percent of the results in, Mamdani had captured 43.5 percent of the vote to Cuomo’s 36.3 percent. The final results with all allocations in the ranked-choice process will be announced next Tuesday.

The win is a shock considering what Cuomo and his deep-pocketed allies threw at Mamdani in the late stages of the race, including tens of millions of dollars in Super PAC ads, endorsements from former president Bill Clinton and kingmaker former House leader Jim Clyburn, and a flurry of media rage. But as Mamdani said on Stephen Colbert’s show this week, while Cuomo had organized money, he had organized people.

Cuomo conceded that late Tuesday evening with a de facto concession speech in which he praised Mamdani’s campaign.

The margin, which virtually no pollster predicted, matches the excitement that canvassers have seen throughout New York for weeks and saw again on Tuesday. A near-record heat wave had some convinced voters would stay home, especially after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a state of emergency for 32 counties on Sunday, including for all five New York City boroughs. But the results speak for themselves.

3 89 390

Reposted by Elham Shirin

Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · Jun 25

25+ million dollars. A former president. Some of the richest people in the US. The entire liberal and conservative political establishment. And Zohran Mamdani — and all the people behind him — beat it all.

14 260 1.3K

Reposted by Elham Shirin

David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · Jun 25

NYS Tenant Bloc out with a statement:
“Tenants are the majority in New York. Zohran Mamdani understands that and he gave us something to vote for... Tonight’s results send a clear message to landlord-backed politicians like Andrew Cuomo: your time is over."

11 300 2K