Gina Kaufmann
@ginak.bsky.social
560 followers 710 following 230 posts
Journalist-reader-writer-watcher-worrier-joker Editor @theworld.org Formerly: Real Humans, Central Standard & Midwesternish @KCUR + freelance for Nieman Reports, PRX, Mass Humanities, WBUR’s Cognoscenti, Boston Globe, Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls
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ginak.bsky.social
Correction: it was apparently a Vancouver radio station that did this and I just listened from KC? it’s all kinda hazy…
ginak.bsky.social
Standing in a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd as everyone shouted in unison “my god, what have I done?!” was the Gen X catharsis I needed.
ginak.bsky.social
If you only listen to one interview about the Saudi comedy festival and the outrage it’s sparked, make it this one. Not with a western comic who did or didn’t participate, but with a Saudi dissident whose friends have been killed and whose father is in prison. theworld.org/segments/202...
A Saudi dissident weighs in on comedy festival controversy - The World from PRX
This week is supposed to be all laughs in Saudi Arabia’s capital, where the Riyadh Comedy Festival is entering its second week. It’s billing itself as “the world’s biggest comedy festival” — and big n...
theworld.org
Reposted by Gina Kaufmann
anneapplebaum.bsky.social
President Macron:
“We were very naive to leave our public space to social media networks controlled by US or Chinese companies that don’t share our interests and not interested in survival of our democracies.”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MggN...
French President Macron Speaks at German Unity Day Ceremony | WION LIVE
YouTube video by WION
www.youtube.com
ginak.bsky.social
I read this today and it feels truer than anything

"There’s a dream I have in which I love the world... Hand on my heart. Hand on my stupid heart."

www.splitthisrock.org/poetry-datab...
Meditations in an Emergency | Poetry Database | Split This Rock
www.splitthisrock.org
ginak.bsky.social
Oy. And I say that sincerely.
ginak.bsky.social
I don’t hate the polar bear takeover. In fact, the polar bear just sauntering out the front door like he owns the place really delights me. m.youtube.com/shorts/wn0nZ...
Polar bears take over abandoned research station in Russia
YouTube video by Associated Press
m.youtube.com
ginak.bsky.social
Moms, let’s prevent the dangerous condition of narcissism. I think that’s a Willie Nelson lyric, right? Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be…
ginak.bsky.social
Former resident of the state and journalist who covered it, here…

All of this is true, and understanding it is important if you want to grasp what’s happening in middle America. You can go to diners looking for people to confirm your preconceptions, or you can read this.
ginak.bsky.social
It’s kind of a reading emergency. We got Hulu/Disney in anticipation of medical recovery in the household this coming week then turned right around and canceled it 😂
ginak.bsky.social
Seeking recommendations for unputdownable artist/musician/dancer biographies, ideally with political undertones (or overtones) - will read anything but this is my preferred genre and I am stocking up
ginak.bsky.social
“… journalism and history and books and plays and music. All of these are ways to understand yourself and to understand society and to understand politics. So if you’re robbed of those things, you’re robbed of the ability to form opinions.”
penamerica.bsky.social
Journalists and co-founders of Russian Independent Media Archive (RIMA), M. Gessen and Anna Nemzer, joined human rights advocate Yaqiu Wang and PEN America’s Viktorya Vilk to talk about media erasure under authoritarian governments at #PENWorldVoices 2025. Read more: pen.org/what-oversea...
Propaganda, Isolation, Censorship, and Entertainment: What Overseas Press Know About the Authoritarian Playbook
Anna Nemzer, M. Gessen, and Yaqiu Wang discuss how media falls victim under authoritarianism, and what America should watch out for.
pen.org
ginak.bsky.social
It’s hard to know what you’ll end up missing about a place when you leave. The things I miss about Kansas City (other than people) are often surprising and random. But what you won’t miss, THAT… tends to be felt most acutely early on, as relief.
cjjanovy.bsky.social
Why must the supposedly greatest country in the world so desperately need to keep bragging about how great it is? open.substack.com/pub/cjjanovy...
What we won't miss about America
Here are a few things we know for sure.
open.substack.com
ginak.bsky.social
PSA from the 40-something mom at the hip hop event, the kids are sampling Bell Biv Devoe 🔥
Reposted by Gina Kaufmann
mccanner.bsky.social
I’ve been thinking a lot today about a boss I had during the Boston bombing manhunt. I’d casually retweeted someone, and his narrowed eyes appeared over his screen.

“Do you know that person?”
“No.”
“Do you know what he tweeted to be true?”
“No.”
“Then don’t share it.”