Nitish Pahwa
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nitishpahwa.com
Nitish Pahwa
@nitishpahwa.com
6.9K followers 3.4K following 7.2K posts
staff writer for business/tech @slate.com and online media council member @wgaeast.bsky.social. words also in NYT, LARB, and POW Magazine. he/him. blurry visionary, blue-pill mercenary
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nitishpahwa.com
a "fun" addendum here, to paraphrase an @eliasisquith.blog observation: many (though not all) of these "anti-alarmist" types also cheered on the Iraq invasion
We might note how different actual Cassandras are from the picture painted of them by anti-alarmists, a core tenet of whose worldview is that progressives generally, and Cassandras in particular, simply haven’t understood Trump voters. As is so often the case in heated political debates, this is projection. Here’s a list of everyone I’ve quoted making anti-alarmist arguments, in this and another article on them: Ezra Klein, Matt Yglesias, Brett Stephens, Corey Robin, Jon Stewart, David Brooks, William Watson, John Harris, Simon Jenkins, Zachary Karabell, Josh Barro, and Noah Feldman. Not an exhaustive list, but enough for a quick sketch. All of them grew up in very blue areas of either California, New York, or Massachusetts (excepting Watson, who is Canadian, and Harris and Jenkins, who are British). All have spent the vast majority of their careers working in media or academia in either big blue cities or college towns. All are college grads, and many have an elite education: Yale, Harvard, Oxford, and so on. Many are the children of significant academics. All are men. I’m sure you can find exceptions, but this does seem to be the basic profile of a mainstream media anti-alarmist.
January 12, 2026 at 11:33 PM
nitishpahwa.com
as Desus Nice would say, "gotta hear both sides"

(Americans certainly deserve better than this tripe that's for sure)
The Free Press' headline: The Right Response to the Minneapolis ICE Shooting Kristi Noem and Jacob Frey react to a shooting with the speed and logic of the internet. Americans deserve better. The Editors — 01.07.26
January 9, 2026 at 6:58 PM
nitishpahwa.com
don't say I didn't warn ya slate.com/technology/2...
This is not to say the Free Press is a one-note operation; it has run op-eds critical of certain Trump administration moves and even reported on Immigration and Customs Enforcement abuses. But it’s that broader lack of journalistic ethics, combined with the shake-up of CBS leadership and the accounts of Weiss’ apparent clumsiness as Free Press chief, that has network staffers most concerned—rightly so, as their incoming EIC plans to play a “hands-on role” with editorial coverage in supposed service of “trust and integrity.” Bari Weiss has found a profitable niche, but it isn’t an “honest” or “fearless” one. And CBS viewers will find that out soon enough.
January 9, 2026 at 4:41 PM
nitishpahwa.com
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! x.com/stclairashle...
first tweet from Ashley St. Clair @stclairashley: "they took my checkmark and canceled my twitter premium lmao" reply from Joel Fischer @realJoelFischer: "Did you change anything on your bio?" Ashley: "No they legit removed me from premium entirely"
January 8, 2026 at 9:41 PM
nitishpahwa.com
louder, especially now that the shooter's name has been reported out slate.com/technology/2...
To be clear, the only person who directly caused Good’s death is the ICE agent who pulled the trigger. But it’s worth asking how we got to this moment, where a mother driving with her partner could have her life taken by a federal officer at close range, her killer is made out to be the real victim by the president of the United States, and the world’s wealthiest man lies on his social media platform that she attempted to ram into ICE agents. All of which happened after a “senior” Department of Homeland Security official admitted to media sources that the shooter did not act according to protocol, after it was revealed that the agents on the ground blocked Good from receiving medical care, and after dozens of professional video analyses undercut the fallacious claim that she had attempted to harm law enforcement. You can trace it to the self-professed right-wing “independent journalists” who’ve been empowered by the Trump administration, ICE, and the Nazi porn factory known as X to take on vigilante missions as parachute influencers professing to find The Truth but almost always lying.
January 8, 2026 at 7:50 PM
nitishpahwa.com
the citizen journalists who actually expose inconvenient truths are, more often than not, are punished for it. "independent" MAGA content creators, meanwhile, are offered algorithmic boosts by Elon Musk and credulity from federal authorities despite all their open hoaxes: slate.com/technology/2...
This isn’t just the government “meme teams” or the propagandists in the Pentagon press room. This is a direct network for budding MAGA acolytes. Ever since Musk took X in the direction of “maximal truth-seeking” and proceeded to do anything but—dismissing or ignoring his own beloved Community Notes, reconfiguring his chatbot to parrot white nationalist fantasies—the far right has been able to get direct lines to Trump’s inner circle via their paid blue checks and sensationalist lies boosted by bots and anonymous foreign accounts. There’s a reason the infamous neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes can credit X with furthering his fame. We’ve come a long way from the early days of realizing the potential of video on the internet, when bystander-filmed videos of police shootings helped contradict government and media narratives downplaying racism and aggression within law enforcement. By now, many of the people who filmed those shootings have since been punished and persecuted for telling the truth. (They’re also witnessing Musk and his influencer army attempt to claim George Floyd was not murdered.) Yet people like Nick Sortor are actively encouraging Kyle Rittenhouse to come join them in Minneapolis. ICE had already shot dozens of Americans and killed an activist in Los Angeles and repeatedly lied about the circumstances of all those encounters and threats before, more often than not, retracting their original stories. The FBI director, taking all his cues from Nick Shirley types, feels confident enough about those misleading videos to sideline Minnesota professionals wishing to look into the shooting.
January 8, 2026 at 6:56 PM
nitishpahwa.com
defining social dynamic of this administration
JD Vance: This chat's kind of dead. Anything going on?
January 8, 2026 at 5:33 PM
nitishpahwa.com
www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-...
President Trump said in a Fox News interview Wednesday that he has watched some, but not all, of the disturbing video of George Floyd's death, which has ignited protests across the country and around the world calling for police reform. "The George Floyd case, nothing has to be said. I watched that," Mr. Trump said in a phone interview with Sean Hannity. "I couldn't really watch it for that long a period of time, it was over eight minutes. Who could watch that?" "But it doesn't get any more obvious or it doesn't get any worse than that," he added.
January 8, 2026 at 5:18 PM
nitishpahwa.com
remember this lol x.com/dlippman/sta...
a Daniel Lippman tweet, Oct. 24, 2024: SPOTTED via @playbookdc: Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at a Harris campaign fundraiser in NYC on Monday.
January 8, 2026 at 2:14 PM
nitishpahwa.com
I love my gambling app that also pretends to be a source of reliable news x.com/Polymarket/s...
Polymarket tweet, Jan. 7, 2026: BREAKING: Tim Walz has declared "war against the Federal Government"
January 8, 2026 at 2:12 PM
nitishpahwa.com
speaking of, very "interesting" development here x.com/stclairashle...
an Ashley St. Clair tweet: It appears Grok has been banned from replying to me regarding certain issues, which would imply a unique retaliatory restriction has been placed on my account for asking that non consensual explicit content produced of me be removed. All for the low price of $8 a month!
January 7, 2026 at 2:29 PM
nitishpahwa.com
ok maybe the Marty Supreme promo campaign has gone too far www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Rodríguez, 56, had been a key figure in Maduro’s tight inner circle, heading a string of key portfolios including the Foreign Ministry that enabled her to build international bridges. She was named oil minister in 2024 after Maduro’s widely contested reelection, putting her in charge of the national oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA, with the task of cleaning up corruption and bringing more transparency to the bloated firm’s accounts. An accomplished table-tennis player, Rodríguez regularly fields calls from senior executives at international oil companies, from Houston to Mumbai, and has longstanding relationships in Beijing and Moscow, which she visits on her government jet.
January 6, 2026 at 8:43 PM
nitishpahwa.com
lots of people on this site rightly railed against Starmer and Ofcom's inaction, but there should be just as much opprobrium directed toward the Congress members who took on a markup blitz of censorious "child safety" bills last year yet have said nothing about Grok's CSAM slate.com/technology/2...
But it’s not just that the U.S. and U.K.’s foot-dragging compares unfavorably with these countries’ statements—it’s that both superpowers have made a big show of forcing digital communities to add “safety measures,” from invasive age-verification gates to beefed-up moderation teams, for the ostensible sake of child safety. Yet at this moment, when an app that both governments use has devolved into a web-leading source of A.I.-deepfaked and nonconsensual porn, the Americans and Brits are keeping dangerously mum. Late last year, U.S. lawmakers at both the state and federal level thought it would be a swell idea to try to fast-track bills that could collectively obliterate freedom of expression online: banning virtual private networks, sunsetting Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, passing a “Kids Online Safety Act” that conservative activists have already promised to weaponize against online statements of LGBTQ+ support and abortion-rights advocacy. All of it was, naturally, framed as necessary for saving the children from mature and inappropriate detritus—by forcing them away from the net via unsafe collection of identifying information and strict restrictions on any website that primarily features user-generated content (including social networks much, much smaller than Facebook or X). Critics have pointed out, repeatedly, that these laws will do nothing to save underage users from exploitation and will instead criminalize a lot of stuff that isn’t child sexual abuse material. Related From Slate: Twitter Is Dead (Really, We Mean It)
January 6, 2026 at 7:22 PM
nitishpahwa.com
genuinely curious how many clicks this push notif got
Truth Social 6:16 PM push notification 🚨WATCH: Mamdani gives inaugural address after being sworn in as NYC ...
January 2, 2026 at 5:33 AM
nitishpahwa.com
this autogenerated share copy lmaooooo
Cloon on Instagram: "#explore #funny" Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of bars, where exceptional drinks, impressive ambiance, and top-notch service await. Discover the best bars in town, from trendy … 
January 1, 2026 at 12:43 AM
nitishpahwa.com
This is where Labour’s opponents have identified the government’s—and Miliband’s—weakest link. Contrary to claims of an “anti-green backlash”, strong action on climate change is still supported by large majorities of the public, among voters of all parties except Reform UK. But both Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch reject net zero and promise to repeal the Climate Change Act because they know they can get purchase with the public by claiming that climate policy is the cause of high energy prices. And they are gunning for Miliband—“Britain’s most dangerous man," as the Daily Express has it—in the process.
December 29, 2025 at 6:04 PM
nitishpahwa.com
annnd my rap-singles ballot
Songs 1. “Back Again/Liquor Store” – Rio Da Yung OG and RMC Mike 2. “KURTIS SNO” – Moskino 3. “Flood” – Little Simz 4. “Glitchin” – Skrilla 5. “Orchards” – Navy Blue 6. “L.O.A.T.” – Veeze 7. “Checkers” – Aesop Rock 8. “Take Me Thru Dere” – Metro Boomin feat. Quavo, Breskii, YK Niece, and DJ Spinz 9. “WENT WEST” – BabyChiefDoIt 10. “Air Fryer” – Bruiser Wolf and Harry Fraud 11. “Ludacris” – Maxo 12. “One of My Bedbugs Ate My Pussy” – cupcakKe 13. “New Year Same Me” – Luh Tyler feat. Rob49 14. “Been Ballin” – Paco Panama 15. “TURNED A THRIFT STORE INTO AN ARENA” – La Reezy 16. “1995” – Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist 17. “Daddy’s Girl” – Rapsody and Madlib 18. “Cracks in the Ceiling” – Lefty Gunplay and JasonMartin 19. “Rule 4080” – Rome Streetz and Conductor Williams 20. “Hundred Acres” – Noname 21. “No Date” – MexikoDro 22. “Middle of the Summer” – Lil Baby 23. “Day in the Sun” (“Gettin’ Wit U”) – De La Soul 24. “Last One Alive’!” – Pink Siifu 25. “Silver Lining” – Lil Yachty and Sauce Walka
December 26, 2025 at 11:56 PM
nitishpahwa.com
not to mention @kieranpressreyn.bsky.social on Rob49, @paulxt.bsky.social on Banditdamack, @ptoon.bsky.social in Zelooperz, and the indefatigable @passionweiss.bsky.social himself with the final word on "Doot Doot," better known as "6 7" www.passionweiss.com/2025/12/26/t...
But it is amazing that he sparked a jubilant cultural phenomenon that wound up on South Park, became Dictionary.Com’s word of the year, sparked In-N-Out bans of the number “67,” and induced Christmas morning levels of glee in pre-adolescents. The same numbers being nonsensically used to educate American children about rhythm actually call back to a scorching funeral pyre full of smoke signals towards fallen rivals, incarcerated 21-year old hood rap stars facing triple homicide charges, regional diamond merchants, and Hurricane Chris.
December 26, 2025 at 7:25 PM
nitishpahwa.com
wow even Fox Nation is wishing us "happy holidays" on Xmas Eve ... now we know who really won the War on Christmas ...
a promotional email from Fox Nation. subject line: "Happy Holidays from Fox Nation" then, the Fox Nation logo and the prompt "Click below for a holiday message from Fox Nation" are seen above an embedded video with the Fox News logo. below the video: "Wishing You a Joyous Holiday Season"
December 24, 2025 at 2:23 PM
nitishpahwa.com
holy hell www.aninews.in/news/world/a...
Dhaka [Bangladesh], December 19 (ANI): The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council has strongly condemned the brutal murder of a young Hindu man named Dipu Chandra Das in Bhaluka, Mymensingh, in Bangladesh. "Yesterday (18 December) around 9:00 pm in Bhaluka, Mymensingh, a group of miscreants brutally beat to death a garment worker named Dipu Chandra Das on allegations of so-called blasphemy. They then hung his body from a tree and set it on fire, provoking actions that undermine communal harmony," the largest minority group of Bangladesh said in a statement. "The Council has strongly condemned and protested this heinous incident and has demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible and the assurance of exemplary punishment," it added. The Bangladesh interim government also condemned the incident. "We wholeheartedly condemn the lynching of a Hindu man in Mymensingh. There is no space for such violence in new Bangladesh. The perpetrators of this heinous crimine will not be spared," the interim government said in a separate statement.
December 19, 2025 at 11:16 PM
nitishpahwa.com
I know we're tired of all these people but I would uh genuinely love to know more about this
And so you betrayed a source and killed the story for Mr. Kennedy, correct? And you did this repeatedly, didn’t you? The bear story, the nanny story, the story Jessica Reed Kraus told you about one of Mr. Kennedy’s former paramours in Palm Beach, the information Lis Smith provided you, the tip Josh Barro gave you, the information from the Trump campaign? You gathered it all and sent it directly to Mr. Kennedy, didn’t you? You did this so much that you joked that you felt like David Pecker, didn’t you?
December 19, 2025 at 10:29 PM
nitishpahwa.com
anyway congrats, as ever, to Larry Ellison slate.com/technology/2...
Now, just six months into Trump’s term, Ellison has procured for himself a sweeping empire, ruling over acres’ worth of A.I. infrastructure, gaining a megasized media arm for himself via Paramount-Skydance, potentially winning another powerful media apparatus with TikTok, and seeing his own ideologies and goals reflected by a friendly White House. The Trump 2.0 era has been spectacular for “one rich asshole called Larry Ellison”—mostly because he’s done so much to shape it.
December 18, 2025 at 11:20 PM
nitishpahwa.com
so glad we ripped TikTok away from Chinese ownership so we could uhhhh transfer some of those stakes to the Emiratis and still leave ByteDance and its investors (Jeff Yass?) with 50% control
The new U.S. operations of TikTok will have three “managing investors” that will collectively own 45 percent of the company: Oracle Corporation, Silver Lake, and MGX (Abu Dhabi’s state investment firm). Another 5 percent will be owned by other new investors, 30.1 percent will be “held by affiliates of certain existing investors of ByteDance; and 19.9 percent will be retained by ByteDance.”
December 18, 2025 at 11:15 PM
nitishpahwa.com
the thing about commentators who self-brand as fearless truth-tellers is that their ideals of "free debate" always take the dullest, most predictable tacks possible www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/bus...
CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss is looking to make her mark on the network news division, launching a series of primetime town halls and debates alongside Weiss’ The Free Press under the banner “Things That Matter.” CBS says that Vice President JD Vance, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have all agreed to participate in the town halls, with the debates set to address topics like “Does America Need God?” “Has Feminism Failed Women?” and “Should Gen Z Believe in the American Dream?” CBS has lined up people like Isabel Brown and Harry Sisson to debate the American dream, Steven Pinker and Ross Douthat to debate the God question, and Liz Plank and Allie Beth Stuckey to debate the feminism question.
December 18, 2025 at 2:08 PM
nitishpahwa.com
A two-panel meme of the goose from Untitled Goose Game. In the first frame, it tips its head back and inhales; in the second, it honks loudly.
December 17, 2025 at 2:32 AM