Jenna Flanagan
@jflannys.bsky.social
Journalist - Podcaster - Creator
Laid Off and Looking Podcast
https://soundcloud.com/laidoffandlooking-podcast
Laid Off and Looking Podcast
https://soundcloud.com/laidoffandlooking-podcast
You know how to stifle class mobility?
Cut off access to nursing.
Federal policy just did that.
I reported on this crisis 10 years ago.
We were warned.
Now we’re paying for it.
open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
Cut off access to nursing.
Federal policy just did that.
I reported on this crisis 10 years ago.
We were warned.
Now we’re paying for it.
open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
This Is a Crisis 10 Years in the Making
How Ignoring the Nursing Shortage, and Now Undermining Nursing Education, Is Putting America’s Healthcare System at Serious Risk
open.substack.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:49 PM
You know how to stifle class mobility?
Cut off access to nursing.
Federal policy just did that.
I reported on this crisis 10 years ago.
We were warned.
Now we’re paying for it.
open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
Cut off access to nursing.
Federal policy just did that.
I reported on this crisis 10 years ago.
We were warned.
Now we’re paying for it.
open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
Live Updates: Reiners’ Son Arrested After Director and His Wife Found Stabbed www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12...
Live Updates: Reiners’ Son Arrested After Director and His Wife Found Stabbed
www.nytimes.com
December 15, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Live Updates: Reiners’ Son Arrested After Director and His Wife Found Stabbed www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12...
Watching last night’s news about Rob Reiner unfold was a reminder of how thin the line is between reporting and rumor.
This is the information crisis we were warned about.
In the end, we shouldn't judge this moment by speed, but by how much accuracy we demand.
open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
This is the information crisis we were warned about.
In the end, we shouldn't judge this moment by speed, but by how much accuracy we demand.
open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
Opinion: The Problem We Were Warned About
In 2017, I interviewed Rob Reiner and David Frum on disinformation & democracy. Today, as the shocking news of Reiner’s death spreads faster than facts, that conversation feels devastatingly urgent.
open.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Watching last night’s news about Rob Reiner unfold was a reminder of how thin the line is between reporting and rumor.
This is the information crisis we were warned about.
In the end, we shouldn't judge this moment by speed, but by how much accuracy we demand.
open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
This is the information crisis we were warned about.
In the end, we shouldn't judge this moment by speed, but by how much accuracy we demand.
open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
Choosing yourself is hard.
Two years post-layoff, this job market is brutal. It's making talented people feel humble and desperate.
But I recently reread an old resignation email and remembered:
I’ve been here before
and I had the courage to walk away.
Can I do it again?
Two years post-layoff, this job market is brutal. It's making talented people feel humble and desperate.
But I recently reread an old resignation email and remembered:
I’ve been here before
and I had the courage to walk away.
Can I do it again?
Choosing Myself, Again
Before anyone praised my journalism, a resignation letter proved my words had power. Now, after a layoff, I’m searching for the courage of the woman who wrote it.
open.substack.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Choosing yourself is hard.
Two years post-layoff, this job market is brutal. It's making talented people feel humble and desperate.
But I recently reread an old resignation email and remembered:
I’ve been here before
and I had the courage to walk away.
Can I do it again?
Two years post-layoff, this job market is brutal. It's making talented people feel humble and desperate.
But I recently reread an old resignation email and remembered:
I’ve been here before
and I had the courage to walk away.
Can I do it again?
NYC receives 2.5 million packages a day but the people delivering them are getting injured at triple the average rate.
Student journalists uncovered why: unsafe vans, impossible quotas, & a system that shifts liability onto small operators.
This is the hidden cost of convenience.
Student journalists uncovered why: unsafe vans, impossible quotas, & a system that shifts liability onto small operators.
This is the hidden cost of convenience.
**You Ordered It, But At What Cost?
Why New York’s Delivery Workers Are Paying the Price for Our Holiday Convenience**
jflanagan.substack.com
December 9, 2025 at 5:08 PM
NYC receives 2.5 million packages a day but the people delivering them are getting injured at triple the average rate.
Student journalists uncovered why: unsafe vans, impossible quotas, & a system that shifts liability onto small operators.
This is the hidden cost of convenience.
Student journalists uncovered why: unsafe vans, impossible quotas, & a system that shifts liability onto small operators.
This is the hidden cost of convenience.
"They think THIS is news?" if you've ever thought that, blame the assignment desk.
But wait! Prof. Benjamin Davis, says before you direct your ire, assignment desk editors have corporate overlords to please... so who's really to blame for the state of our journalism?
youtu.be/auEfoqqsr4U?...
But wait! Prof. Benjamin Davis, says before you direct your ire, assignment desk editors have corporate overlords to please... so who's really to blame for the state of our journalism?
youtu.be/auEfoqqsr4U?...
Who Makes the News?
YouTube video by Laid Off and Looking Podcast
youtu.be
December 8, 2025 at 10:00 PM
"They think THIS is news?" if you've ever thought that, blame the assignment desk.
But wait! Prof. Benjamin Davis, says before you direct your ire, assignment desk editors have corporate overlords to please... so who's really to blame for the state of our journalism?
youtu.be/auEfoqqsr4U?...
But wait! Prof. Benjamin Davis, says before you direct your ire, assignment desk editors have corporate overlords to please... so who's really to blame for the state of our journalism?
youtu.be/auEfoqqsr4U?...
If journalism were a person, we’d be staging an intervention.
But since it’s an industry, we made a podcast instead!
🎧 Press Pass: When The News Becomes a Joke
Because at this point, you either laugh… or start a Substack. (I've got one of those too! @jflanagan.substack)
youtu.be/MgeyrBqRvwQ?...
But since it’s an industry, we made a podcast instead!
🎧 Press Pass: When The News Becomes a Joke
Because at this point, you either laugh… or start a Substack. (I've got one of those too! @jflanagan.substack)
youtu.be/MgeyrBqRvwQ?...
When the News Becomes a Joke
YouTube video by Laid Off and Looking Podcast
youtu.be
November 29, 2025 at 4:49 PM
If journalism were a person, we’d be staging an intervention.
But since it’s an industry, we made a podcast instead!
🎧 Press Pass: When The News Becomes a Joke
Because at this point, you either laugh… or start a Substack. (I've got one of those too! @jflanagan.substack)
youtu.be/MgeyrBqRvwQ?...
But since it’s an industry, we made a podcast instead!
🎧 Press Pass: When The News Becomes a Joke
Because at this point, you either laugh… or start a Substack. (I've got one of those too! @jflanagan.substack)
youtu.be/MgeyrBqRvwQ?...
“They are lucky that what Black people are looking for is equality and not revenge.” Kimberly Jones
That line hits even harder today and makes me think of Sojourner Truth.
Her revolution was never about revenge, it was about renewal.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
That line hits even harder today and makes me think of Sojourner Truth.
Her revolution was never about revenge, it was about renewal.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Sojourner Truth’s America: The Woman Who Turned the World Right Side Up
How a woman from Ulster County, NY found her voice to use her faith in defiance of white supremacy and patriarchy to reshape the soul of American democracy
substack.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:32 PM
“They are lucky that what Black people are looking for is equality and not revenge.” Kimberly Jones
That line hits even harder today and makes me think of Sojourner Truth.
Her revolution was never about revenge, it was about renewal.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
That line hits even harder today and makes me think of Sojourner Truth.
Her revolution was never about revenge, it was about renewal.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
TV news used to feel like a public service.
Now it feels like a performance.
This week we talk with @newsjennifer.bsky.social about how the news became just another TV show, and what it’ll take to earn trust again.
youtu.be/3yVhBudH5YY?...
#Journalism #LocalNews #MediaTrust
Now it feels like a performance.
This week we talk with @newsjennifer.bsky.social about how the news became just another TV show, and what it’ll take to earn trust again.
youtu.be/3yVhBudH5YY?...
#Journalism #LocalNews #MediaTrust
Can TV News Be Fixed?
YouTube video by Laid Off and Looking Podcast
youtu.be
November 23, 2025 at 5:36 PM
TV news used to feel like a public service.
Now it feels like a performance.
This week we talk with @newsjennifer.bsky.social about how the news became just another TV show, and what it’ll take to earn trust again.
youtu.be/3yVhBudH5YY?...
#Journalism #LocalNews #MediaTrust
Now it feels like a performance.
This week we talk with @newsjennifer.bsky.social about how the news became just another TV show, and what it’ll take to earn trust again.
youtu.be/3yVhBudH5YY?...
#Journalism #LocalNews #MediaTrust
The emotional cost of journalism is real.
Reporter burnout isn’t just about workload, it’s about covering chaos with no time to heal.
This week on Laid Off and Looking, Louisa Ortiz Pérez on the mental health crisis inside newsrooms.
youtu.be/cICogTXIlAk?...
#Journalism #MentalHealth
Reporter burnout isn’t just about workload, it’s about covering chaos with no time to heal.
This week on Laid Off and Looking, Louisa Ortiz Pérez on the mental health crisis inside newsrooms.
youtu.be/cICogTXIlAk?...
#Journalism #MentalHealth
The Emotional Toll of Journalism
YouTube video by Laid Off and Looking Podcast
youtu.be
November 18, 2025 at 1:18 AM
The emotional cost of journalism is real.
Reporter burnout isn’t just about workload, it’s about covering chaos with no time to heal.
This week on Laid Off and Looking, Louisa Ortiz Pérez on the mental health crisis inside newsrooms.
youtu.be/cICogTXIlAk?...
#Journalism #MentalHealth
Reporter burnout isn’t just about workload, it’s about covering chaos with no time to heal.
This week on Laid Off and Looking, Louisa Ortiz Pérez on the mental health crisis inside newsrooms.
youtu.be/cICogTXIlAk?...
#Journalism #MentalHealth
Reposted by Jenna Flanagan
We are entering the post-blame phase of the government shutdown.
My conversation of @wbai.org in New York City with @jflannys.bsky.social and @laurajedeed.bsky.social.
🔊 Listen: wbai.org/archive/prog...
My conversation of @wbai.org in New York City with @jflannys.bsky.social and @laurajedeed.bsky.social.
🔊 Listen: wbai.org/archive/prog...
WBAI Radio Archives
wbai.org
October 28, 2025 at 11:09 AM
We are entering the post-blame phase of the government shutdown.
My conversation of @wbai.org in New York City with @jflannys.bsky.social and @laurajedeed.bsky.social.
🔊 Listen: wbai.org/archive/prog...
My conversation of @wbai.org in New York City with @jflannys.bsky.social and @laurajedeed.bsky.social.
🔊 Listen: wbai.org/archive/prog...
Why is it every week contains the most frightening and stupid news at the same time?
We discuss this week on We Decide!
We discuss this week on We Decide!
Trump’s Versailles Moment: East Wing Demolished for Ballroom as Food Stamps Are Zeroed Out
Listen HereWe Decide: America at the Crossroads with Jenna Flanagan 10-27-25Now, with President Trump's demolition of the East Wing of the Whi...
wbai.org
October 28, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Why is it every week contains the most frightening and stupid news at the same time?
We discuss this week on We Decide!
We discuss this week on We Decide!
🛑 Government “shutdown” = services shut to you.
VA nurses skipping paychecks, prisons on “augmentation,” families losing ACA support because offices are dark. Shutdowns don’t save money, they waste capacity.
Read the Full piece: open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
VA nurses skipping paychecks, prisons on “augmentation,” families losing ACA support because offices are dark. Shutdowns don’t save money, they waste capacity.
Read the Full piece: open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
What Happens When Government Stops? Just Ask the Workers Who Keep It Running
For most Americans, the shutdown is a passive event. Life hasn’t really changed yet, but for the less than 2% employed by the government, going a month without a paycheck is a mushrooming catastrophe.
open.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 9:51 PM
🛑 Government “shutdown” = services shut to you.
VA nurses skipping paychecks, prisons on “augmentation,” families losing ACA support because offices are dark. Shutdowns don’t save money, they waste capacity.
Read the Full piece: open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
VA nurses skipping paychecks, prisons on “augmentation,” families losing ACA support because offices are dark. Shutdowns don’t save money, they waste capacity.
Read the Full piece: open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
“AI can help with the grunt work. But it cannot replace an editor.” - @sisiwei.bsky.social
Our podcast interview explores the promise & peril of AI in journalism.
Our podcast interview explores the promise & peril of AI in journalism.
Jenna Flanagan (@jflanagan)
📰 New Post: Can AI Replace Editors?
AI is racing into newsrooms just as layoffs hit the industry hard. Some outlets are even letting algorithms pump out articles under fake bylines.
Journalist @Sisi...
substack.com
September 29, 2025 at 4:18 AM
“AI can help with the grunt work. But it cannot replace an editor.” - @sisiwei.bsky.social
Our podcast interview explores the promise & peril of AI in journalism.
Our podcast interview explores the promise & peril of AI in journalism.
Big outlets validate. Smaller ones dig first.
Alyson McDevitt of Compliance Week broke the Epstein banks story 18 months ago, before the NYT picked it up.
Support local + niche journalism, it’s how the truth survives.
#SupportLocalNews
open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
Alyson McDevitt of Compliance Week broke the Epstein banks story 18 months ago, before the NYT picked it up.
Support local + niche journalism, it’s how the truth survives.
#SupportLocalNews
open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
The Pickup Artist: When Big Papers Profit from Smaller Newsrooms Scoops
When big newspapers “validate” reporting first broken by local or niche outlets, it’s called a ‘pickup’. The practice can create reach, but risks erasing the journalists who did the hard work first.
open.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Big outlets validate. Smaller ones dig first.
Alyson McDevitt of Compliance Week broke the Epstein banks story 18 months ago, before the NYT picked it up.
Support local + niche journalism, it’s how the truth survives.
#SupportLocalNews
open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
Alyson McDevitt of Compliance Week broke the Epstein banks story 18 months ago, before the NYT picked it up.
Support local + niche journalism, it’s how the truth survives.
#SupportLocalNews
open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
... as Dave reminded us all, the government shutdown is set to happen AT. THE. END. OF. THE. MONTH.
The mystique of Charlie Kirk — and what we're not talking about.
My conversation today with @jflannys.bsky.social and @laurajedeed.bsky.social on @wbai.org. davelevinthal.substack.com/p/the-mystiq...
My conversation today with @jflannys.bsky.social and @laurajedeed.bsky.social on @wbai.org. davelevinthal.substack.com/p/the-mystiq...
The mystique of Charlie Kirk — and what we're not talking about
There's much left unsaid
davelevinthal.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 4:22 PM
... as Dave reminded us all, the government shutdown is set to happen AT. THE. END. OF. THE. MONTH.
Reposted by Jenna Flanagan
The mystique of Charlie Kirk — and what we're not talking about.
My conversation today with @jflannys.bsky.social and @laurajedeed.bsky.social on @wbai.org. davelevinthal.substack.com/p/the-mystiq...
My conversation today with @jflannys.bsky.social and @laurajedeed.bsky.social on @wbai.org. davelevinthal.substack.com/p/the-mystiq...
The mystique of Charlie Kirk — and what we're not talking about
There's much left unsaid
davelevinthal.substack.com
September 15, 2025 at 10:09 PM
The mystique of Charlie Kirk — and what we're not talking about.
My conversation today with @jflannys.bsky.social and @laurajedeed.bsky.social on @wbai.org. davelevinthal.substack.com/p/the-mystiq...
My conversation today with @jflannys.bsky.social and @laurajedeed.bsky.social on @wbai.org. davelevinthal.substack.com/p/the-mystiq...
Reposted by Jenna Flanagan
I was on We Decide with @jflannys.bsky.social alongside the fabulous @davelevinthal.com this morning
You can listen to me get angrier than I've ever gotten on-air here:
wbai.org/archive/prog...
You can listen to me get angrier than I've ever gotten on-air here:
wbai.org/archive/prog...
WBAI Radio Archives
wbai.org
September 16, 2025 at 1:47 AM
I was on We Decide with @jflannys.bsky.social alongside the fabulous @davelevinthal.com this morning
You can listen to me get angrier than I've ever gotten on-air here:
wbai.org/archive/prog...
You can listen to me get angrier than I've ever gotten on-air here:
wbai.org/archive/prog...
Season 3 of the Laid Off and Looking Podcast is HERE!
As we got started, co-host Dom unloads on how journalists have to walk an increasingly precarious tight rope to get attention for their work.
Like and Follow for the Laid Off and Looking Podcast: News is Changing, We're Telling the Story!
As we got started, co-host Dom unloads on how journalists have to walk an increasingly precarious tight rope to get attention for their work.
Like and Follow for the Laid Off and Looking Podcast: News is Changing, We're Telling the Story!
September 14, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Season 3 of the Laid Off and Looking Podcast is HERE!
As we got started, co-host Dom unloads on how journalists have to walk an increasingly precarious tight rope to get attention for their work.
Like and Follow for the Laid Off and Looking Podcast: News is Changing, We're Telling the Story!
As we got started, co-host Dom unloads on how journalists have to walk an increasingly precarious tight rope to get attention for their work.
Like and Follow for the Laid Off and Looking Podcast: News is Changing, We're Telling the Story!
What happens when influencers become trusted sources over the people reporting the stories?
Laid Off and Looking co-host Domenic Camia share his frustrations with the impossible demands on journalists.
*WARNING: a little bit of potty mouth, but hey… he’s a journalist!
Laid Off and Looking co-host Domenic Camia share his frustrations with the impossible demands on journalists.
*WARNING: a little bit of potty mouth, but hey… he’s a journalist!
September 14, 2025 at 9:43 PM
What happens when influencers become trusted sources over the people reporting the stories?
Laid Off and Looking co-host Domenic Camia share his frustrations with the impossible demands on journalists.
*WARNING: a little bit of potty mouth, but hey… he’s a journalist!
Laid Off and Looking co-host Domenic Camia share his frustrations with the impossible demands on journalists.
*WARNING: a little bit of potty mouth, but hey… he’s a journalist!
Reposted by Jenna Flanagan
The conversation we’re not ready to have yet is that having empathy for a white supremacist is part of what upholds white supremacy.
And by that measure alone, it fails to be empathy at all.
And by that measure alone, it fails to be empathy at all.
September 10, 2025 at 10:37 PM
The conversation we’re not ready to have yet is that having empathy for a white supremacist is part of what upholds white supremacy.
And by that measure alone, it fails to be empathy at all.
And by that measure alone, it fails to be empathy at all.
An afternoon w my dad.
All he needed was a brace for an arthritic hand BEFORE Labor Day weekend closures.
We got: insurance drama, conspiracy theories, & one very illegal left turn.
A hilarious & tender reminder of what it means to see your parents aging.
👉 jflanagan.substack.com/p/the-wrist-...
All he needed was a brace for an arthritic hand BEFORE Labor Day weekend closures.
We got: insurance drama, conspiracy theories, & one very illegal left turn.
A hilarious & tender reminder of what it means to see your parents aging.
👉 jflanagan.substack.com/p/the-wrist-...
The Wrist Brace
True Stories of my father, Bill Flanagan
jflanagan.substack.com
September 1, 2025 at 11:15 PM
An afternoon w my dad.
All he needed was a brace for an arthritic hand BEFORE Labor Day weekend closures.
We got: insurance drama, conspiracy theories, & one very illegal left turn.
A hilarious & tender reminder of what it means to see your parents aging.
👉 jflanagan.substack.com/p/the-wrist-...
All he needed was a brace for an arthritic hand BEFORE Labor Day weekend closures.
We got: insurance drama, conspiracy theories, & one very illegal left turn.
A hilarious & tender reminder of what it means to see your parents aging.
👉 jflanagan.substack.com/p/the-wrist-...
Who knew pizza orders could cause this much hope
August 30, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Who knew pizza orders could cause this much hope
Over 1400 health workers dead.
Gaza’s medical system is collapsing — and the global health community is too quiet.
@doctorsagainstgenocide.bsky.social
🔗 open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
#MedicalNeutrality #GazaFamine #HealthCrisisGaza
Gaza’s medical system is collapsing — and the global health community is too quiet.
@doctorsagainstgenocide.bsky.social
🔗 open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
#MedicalNeutrality #GazaFamine #HealthCrisisGaza
August 26, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Over 1400 health workers dead.
Gaza’s medical system is collapsing — and the global health community is too quiet.
@doctorsagainstgenocide.bsky.social
🔗 open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
#MedicalNeutrality #GazaFamine #HealthCrisisGaza
Gaza’s medical system is collapsing — and the global health community is too quiet.
@doctorsagainstgenocide.bsky.social
🔗 open.substack.com/pub/jflanaga...
#MedicalNeutrality #GazaFamine #HealthCrisisGaza
In a Hotter World, Some People Age Faster, Researchers Find
Go Go Magic Melanin ✊🏾
Go Go Magic Melanin ✊🏾
In a Hotter World, Some People Age Faster, Researchers Find
www.nytimes.com
August 25, 2025 at 6:01 PM
In a Hotter World, Some People Age Faster, Researchers Find
Go Go Magic Melanin ✊🏾
Go Go Magic Melanin ✊🏾