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samkbloch.bsky.social
Sam Bloch
@samkbloch.bsky.social
210 followers 56 following 58 posts
journalist, author of SHADE: THE PROMISE OF A FORGOTTEN NATURAL RESOURCE (2025), [email protected] AVAILABLE NOW: https://bookshop.org/p/books/shade-the-promise-of-a-forgotten-natural-resource-samuel-bloch/22014863
bookshop.org
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samkbloch.bsky.social
Sam Bloch @samkbloch.bsky.social · Jun 28
It's another summer scorcher, and people are hiding from the sun behind telephone poles and in the silhouettes of palm trees.

My new book argues that shade can protect human health, enhance urban life, and maybe even save the planet.

Preorder now: bookshop.org/p/books/shad...
Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource
The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource
bookshop.org
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Reposted by Sam Bloch
olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 15h
repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself
blipstress.bsky.social
violent alien @blipstress.bsky.social · 15h
An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.
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Reposted by Sam Bloch
dlknowles.bsky.social
Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 1d
My piece - to be in this week's issue - on the South Shore raid and what it says about Donald Trump's America:

www.economist.com/united-state...

My view is this stuff is as much or more about creating content and fear than it is about actually catching immigrants, though that's a goal too
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samkbloch.bsky.social
Sam Bloch @samkbloch.bsky.social · 2d
"We’re getting older and I guess we’re becoming porch people," she said one night, as a neighbor walked by and said hello. "But since we don’t have a porch, this is the place where friends will drop by for a drink or to maybe watch sports with us when we bring our TV down."
The Garage Is the New Porch
www.nytimes.com
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Reposted by Sam Bloch
awalkerinla.bsky.social
Alissa Walker @awalkerinla.bsky.social · 8d
"The A Line’s purpose is to get us out of our cars. But its stations’ designers can’t imagine a life without cars... Many stations are bordered or surrounded by large, empty parking lots, occupying too much space where new, transit-friendly development should be." @zocalopublicsquare.bsky.social
The World's Longest and Most Frustrating Light Rail Is in L.A. | Connecting California
The A Line Runs Through 60 Miles and Touches Most of My Life. I Hate It Anyway
www.zocalopublicsquare.org
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samkbloch.bsky.social
Sam Bloch @samkbloch.bsky.social · 10d
"West Virginia is so poor, miserable, and misgoverned that it bans abortion and suicide in desperation to make people live here."

westvirginiawatch.com/2025/09/18/w...
West Virginia ways of life: The neo-trailer style, in a time of late capitalism and climate change • West Virginia Watch
If our Legislature were actually awake, maybe they would get the bright idea to populate West Virginia by improving the quality of life here.
westvirginiawatch.com
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Reposted by Sam Bloch
henrygrabar.bsky.social
Henry Grabar @henrygrabar.bsky.social · 10d
masked men snatching a family off the street in Chicago -- your tax dollars at work blockclubchicago.org/2025/09/28/a...
Armed Federal Agents Patrol Downtown, Make Arrest At Millennium Park, Witnesses Say
The federal troops were seen in Millennium Park, on the Magnificent Mile and in the Gold Coast — days after patrolling the Chicago River in a boat. "This is another brazen provocation from the Trump a...
blockclubchicago.org
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samkbloch.bsky.social
Sam Bloch @samkbloch.bsky.social · 13d
“One of the blessings of Bologna, in northern Italy, is that it knows how to ride a heat wave. A tip for anyone designing a metropolis from scratch: start with a portico, and take it from there.”

www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
The Exacting Magic of Film Restoration
Each year, at a festival in Bologna, movies that were once lost or damaged come back to life.
www.newyorker.com
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samkbloch.bsky.social
Sam Bloch @samkbloch.bsky.social · 13d
“Temporary street closures are great. But they miss out a number of quantifiable benefits of permanent pedestrianization.” Terrific Diana Lind column that explains why pilots aren’t good policy:

substack.com/home/post/p-...
Can Pedestrian Pop-Ups Go Permanent in the U.S.?
Scenes from the Philadelphia subscriber event
substack.com
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samkbloch.bsky.social
Sam Bloch @samkbloch.bsky.social · 13d
The sun man @billmckibben.bsky.social glimpses the dark side of a bright future. "As temperatures continue to rise, we have to do what we can to stay cool. Which means, among other things, shade, as a matter of survival and as a matter of justice."

pioneerworks.org/broadcast/pr...
Precious Shadows | Broadcast
On shade's fragile mercy.
pioneerworks.org
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Reposted by Sam Bloch
emmettfitzgerald.bsky.social
emmettfitzgerald.bsky.social @emmettfitzgerald.bsky.social · 14d
Important story on the show this week about the dangerous meatpacking industry turning to refugees for cheap labor
99pi.org
99% Invisible @99pi.org · 15d
A lot has changed in meat packing since Upton Sinclair released The Jungle, but the industry is still dangerous and it still relies on our most vulnerable populations.

Hear those worker’s stories on the latest episode of 99% Invisible 👉 99percentinvisible.org/episode/643-...
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samkbloch.bsky.social
Sam Bloch @samkbloch.bsky.social · 21d
Shteamer on Oneida in the park: "Avant-garde rock is as much homegrown New York folk music as a busker covering “Blowin’ in the Wind,” and it’s nice to see it being treated as such — showcased in a free, public setting, available to anyone who might happen upon it."

substack.com/home/post/p-...
Gig of the Week: 9/22/25
A lovely day in the park with Oneida, a mini fest of ’90s hardcore, a departed Swedish death-metal legend and more
substack.com
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Reposted by Sam Bloch
mariabustillos.com
Maria Bustillos @mariabustillos.com · 21d
Bravo to @davidrussellmoore.bsky.social and @donnydonny.bsky.social at @sludge.bsky.social for exposing Democratic PR firm SKDK's contract with the Israeli gov't to provide social media/propaganda bots.

One day later SKDK says it's cutting ties, ending the contract

readsludge.com/2025/09/17/f...
Following Sludge Report, SKDK Says It’s Dropping Its Israel Contract
The Democratic PR firm was under contract with Israel to build a social media bot program, but says it never worked on such a program.
readsludge.com
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Reposted by Sam Bloch
freddydeknatel.bsky.social
Frederick Deknatel @freddydeknatel.bsky.social · 21d
Good thing Obama is not a Washington Post columnist or talking head on MSNBC, or he’d be fired for saying this.
lawrencehurley.bsky.social
Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 22d
Obama on Charlie Kirk:
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samkbloch.bsky.social
Sam Bloch @samkbloch.bsky.social · 21d
Climate action is hard, and this isn't the first time a political leader has paid the price for courage. (Think of Ada Colau getting booted in Barcelona after the superblocks.) But Engardio is right: "We are on the right side of history."

missionlocal.org/2025/09/sf-j...
Joel Engardio concedes election: ‘We are on the right side of history’
District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio badly lost his recall vote. Mayor Daniel Lurie will appoint a new San Francisco supervisor.
missionlocal.org
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Reposted by Sam Bloch
johnchase.bsky.social
John Chase @johnchase.bsky.social · 22d
Among those handcuffed in a video promoted by DHS Sec’y Kristi Noem on X is Joe Botello, an AMERICAN citizen. @chicagotribune.com photog @staceywescott.bsky.social was there and we spoke to him. He was later released and “blessed that I’m still alive." Story: www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/16/e...
US citizen says he was briefly detained in latest Chicago-area ICE blitz
An Elgin man who was born in Texas said he was handcuffed and placed in a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol vehicle, as part of the latest Chicago-area ICE blitz.
www.chicagotribune.com
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Reposted by Sam Bloch
jamellebouie.net
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 23d
donald trump and the white nationalists that run his government want you to think that slavery was just fine www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
National park to remove photo of enslaved man’s scars
The Trump administration is ordering the removal of information on slavery at multiple national parks in an effort to scrub them of “corrosive ideology.”
www.washingtonpost.com
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samkbloch.bsky.social
Sam Bloch @samkbloch.bsky.social · 23d
Interesting article about the demise of Berkeley's People's Park, basically suggesting that '60s ideals of free expression — made manifest in open spaces and parks — are no longer a progressive priority but a luxury

link.latimes.com/view/6520704...
Los Angeles Times
link.latimes.com
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Reposted by Sam Bloch
brianstelter.bsky.social
Brian Stelter @brianstelter.bsky.social · 23d
New PEN America statement: “The firing and suspension of multiple journalists after the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk should alarm anyone who cares about free speech and a free press. Taken together, these measures risk creating a chilling effect that extends beyond those directly targeted..."
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Reposted by Sam Bloch
placesjournal.bsky.social
Places Journal @placesjournal.bsky.social · 26d
@samkbloch.bsky.social has two events coming up, featuring his new book on shade!

SUN. 9/14: MIAMI, FL, in conversation w/ Germane Barnes

MON. 9/15: AUSTIN, TX, in conversation w/ Charles L. Davis II

Here’s more about the book, and how it emerged from an article Bloch wrote for Places in 2019:
A New Book on Shade by Sam Bloch
This week marks the release of Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource, a new book by Sam Bloch that expands on an article published in Places in 2019.
placesjournal.org
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samkbloch.bsky.social
Sam Bloch @samkbloch.bsky.social · 27d
"She and others repeatedly mentioned echoes of the pandemic: parents seeking virtual learning, restaurant staff needing car rides to avoid mass transit, would-be diners choosing instead to stay home."

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...
How Trump’s Crime Crackdown Muted Other Parts of D.C. Life
www.nytimes.com
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Reposted by Sam Bloch
emmbadger.bsky.social
Emily Badger @emmbadger.bsky.social · 27d
If the federal show of force in Washington has had a deterrent effect on crime, it appears to have deterred entirely normal aspects of city life, too.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...
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samkbloch.bsky.social
Sam Bloch @samkbloch.bsky.social · 27d
Thanks for this context!
samkbloch.bsky.social
Sam Bloch @samkbloch.bsky.social · 27d
Delicious story about jerks who (allegedly) kill their neighbors' trees to score better views. Come for the shade hate, stay for the zingers

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/u...
Did a Brooklyn Couple Kill a Neighbor’s Trees for a Better View in Maine?
www.nytimes.com
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samkbloch.bsky.social
Sam Bloch @samkbloch.bsky.social · 27d
And she got it done with only "limited/shared" control over the streets!

bsky.app/profile/sluc...
slucy.bsky.social
Steven Lucy @slucy.bsky.social · 27d
Thought this was an interesting chart in @economist.com highlighting how mayors have such different roles in different cities.

www.economist.com/united-state...
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Reposted by Sam Bloch
placesjournal.bsky.social
Places Journal @placesjournal.bsky.social · 28d
Happening this Sunday! For folks in the Miami area interested in the key role that shade plays in protecting human health, enhancing urban life, and protecting the planet — don’t miss this evening w/ @samkbloch.bsky.social and Germane Barnes. RSVP is free!
placesjournal.bsky.social
Places Journal @placesjournal.bsky.social · 29d
In MIAMI, FL, this SUN 9/14: Environmental journalist @samkbloch.bsky.social in conversation with architect/designer Germane Barnes @booksandbooks.bsky.social.

They’re talking Bloch’s new book, “Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource,” and the key role of shade in public space.

RSVP! ⬇️
An Evening with Sam Bloch and Germane Barnes
Climate journalist Sam Bloch joins us for SHADE: THE PROMISE OF A FORGOTTEN NATURAL RESOURCE with Germane Barnes!
www.eventbrite.com
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