Tom Philpott
@tomphilpott.bsky.social
Research associate at the Center for a Liveable Future at JHU in Baltimore. Author of Perilous Bounty. Former food politics writer for Mother Jones (2011-2022) and Grist (2006-2011)
Reposted by Tom Philpott
Palantir is now working hand in glove with Fox News to produce what is graciously termed “digital journalism” ... www.axios.com/newsletters/...
November 18, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Palantir is now working hand in glove with Fox News to produce what is graciously termed “digital journalism” ... www.axios.com/newsletters/...
Reposted by Tom Philpott
Trump Administration is to propose a massive cut in federal transit funding as part of 2026 transport legislation.
This proposal would decimate the nation's transit systems, while not actually solving the revenue problem federal transportation funding faces.
Evidence @urbaninstitute.bsky.social ⏬
This proposal would decimate the nation's transit systems, while not actually solving the revenue problem federal transportation funding faces.
Evidence @urbaninstitute.bsky.social ⏬
Cutting Federal Transit Funding Won’t Fix Budget Shortfalls. But It Would Make Transportation Less Affordable for Americans.
A proposal to eliminate federal public transit funding would not only fail to address the existing funding gap but would also leave millions of Americans, pa…
www.urban.org
November 18, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Trump Administration is to propose a massive cut in federal transit funding as part of 2026 transport legislation.
This proposal would decimate the nation's transit systems, while not actually solving the revenue problem federal transportation funding faces.
Evidence @urbaninstitute.bsky.social ⏬
This proposal would decimate the nation's transit systems, while not actually solving the revenue problem federal transportation funding faces.
Evidence @urbaninstitute.bsky.social ⏬
How long till Olivia Nuzzi takes her rightful place as national correspondent for @TheFP and CBS News?
November 18, 2025 at 5:59 PM
How long till Olivia Nuzzi takes her rightful place as national correspondent for @TheFP and CBS News?
For the "every accusation from this crew is a confession" files.
Andrew Johnson — a Jan. 6 rioter who went by "Am🇺🇸rican T🇺🇸rrorist” on Elon Musk’s platform — has been arrested on child molestation charges, with police saying he used the promise of a taxpayer-funded payout from Trump's DOJ to try and keep one of the victims silent.
theintercept.com/2025/11/17/p...
theintercept.com/2025/11/17/p...
Pardoned Capitol Rioter Tried to Hush Child Sex Victim With Promise of Jan. 6 Reparation Money, Police Say
Pardoned Capitol rioter Andrew Johnson tried to keep a child sex abuse victim quiet with claimed $10 million Jan. 6 reparations, police say.
theintercept.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:40 PM
For the "every accusation from this crew is a confession" files.
Reposted by Tom Philpott
lmao the comeuppance 👨🍳👌
November 18, 2025 at 1:33 AM
lmao the comeuppance 👨🍳👌
Reposted by Tom Philpott
THIS IS BIG
For non-academics who might not understand why:
1. Sen. Warren is still a Harvard professor so this is a call coming from inside the house
2. As a tenured law prof, Warren knows it is a VERY big deal from a labor standpoint to call on Harvard to ignore tenure. The bar for this is HIGH.
For non-academics who might not understand why:
1. Sen. Warren is still a Harvard professor so this is a call coming from inside the house
2. As a tenured law prof, Warren knows it is a VERY big deal from a labor standpoint to call on Harvard to ignore tenure. The bar for this is HIGH.
Per CNN, Elizabeth Warren is calling on Harvard to cut ties with Larry Summers after Jeffrey Epstein's emails released last week by House Dems featured Summers making sexist comments + asking for Epstein’s romantic advice.
November 18, 2025 at 12:43 AM
THIS IS BIG
For non-academics who might not understand why:
1. Sen. Warren is still a Harvard professor so this is a call coming from inside the house
2. As a tenured law prof, Warren knows it is a VERY big deal from a labor standpoint to call on Harvard to ignore tenure. The bar for this is HIGH.
For non-academics who might not understand why:
1. Sen. Warren is still a Harvard professor so this is a call coming from inside the house
2. As a tenured law prof, Warren knows it is a VERY big deal from a labor standpoint to call on Harvard to ignore tenure. The bar for this is HIGH.
Reposted by Tom Philpott
So Harvard is keeping this guy, but Claudine Gay had to step down over ginned up plagiarism accusations and bad-faith accusations of anti-Semitism.
Got it.
Got it.
Larry Summers tells @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
he’s stepping back from all public commitments in light of his messages with Epstein, saying he is “deeply ashamed” and hopes “to rebuild trust and repair relationships.”
He will continue teaching.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
he’s stepping back from all public commitments in light of his messages with Epstein, saying he is “deeply ashamed” and hopes “to rebuild trust and repair relationships.”
He will continue teaching.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
November 18, 2025 at 5:10 AM
So Harvard is keeping this guy, but Claudine Gay had to step down over ginned up plagiarism accusations and bad-faith accusations of anti-Semitism.
Got it.
Got it.
Reposted by Tom Philpott
this is genuinely wild
Looks like the Dems will pick up 12 seats in the VA House of Delegates, which will go from 51-49 to 63-37 D-R. That's an honestly shocking result.
November 5, 2025 at 2:17 AM
this is genuinely wild
Reposted by Tom Philpott
"China has offset the decline from America with breathtaking speed. Shipments to other parts of the world have surged this year, demonstrating that China’s manufacturing dominance will not be easily slowed."
Can a dataviz make you laugh?
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Can a dataviz make you laugh?
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
China’s Global Exports Continue to Grow Despite Trump Tariffs (Gift Article)
As Trump has imposed steep tariffs on China, American importers are buying much less. But China has offset the decline from the United States with breathtaking speed.
www.nytimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:18 AM
"China has offset the decline from America with breathtaking speed. Shipments to other parts of the world have surged this year, demonstrating that China’s manufacturing dominance will not be easily slowed."
Can a dataviz make you laugh?
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Can a dataviz make you laugh?
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Tom Philpott
Bad news for science today. Rachel Riley moved from HHS, where she gutted NIH and the largest part of US biomedical research, to the office of Naval Research, where she presumably will gut the science funded by ONR.
How to stop this? Impeach her boss, the Project 2025 co-head Russell Vought.
🧪
How to stop this? Impeach her boss, the Project 2025 co-head Russell Vought.
🧪
SCOOP: Trump Swaps Decorated Admiral With 33-Year-Old DOGEr
The highly unorthodox personnel change affects a critical government research role.
www.thebulwark.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Bad news for science today. Rachel Riley moved from HHS, where she gutted NIH and the largest part of US biomedical research, to the office of Naval Research, where she presumably will gut the science funded by ONR.
How to stop this? Impeach her boss, the Project 2025 co-head Russell Vought.
🧪
How to stop this? Impeach her boss, the Project 2025 co-head Russell Vought.
🧪
Reposted by Tom Philpott
I sincerely know less than nothing about this nba gambling ring dealio. I do know that in a moment when powerful mostly white men are stealing from everybody at scale and with breathtaking gall, it’s odd that these are the faces I’m seeing.
October 24, 2025 at 11:46 PM
I sincerely know less than nothing about this nba gambling ring dealio. I do know that in a moment when powerful mostly white men are stealing from everybody at scale and with breathtaking gall, it’s odd that these are the faces I’m seeing.
Reposted by Tom Philpott
My latest on Mamdani's proposal for a Department of Community Safety in @cityandstateny.bsky.social. www.cityandstateny.com/opinion/2025...
Opinion: Mamdani’s proposed Department of Community Safety would be a win for New Yorkers
The proposal is well-grounded in existing best practices, and there is wide support for it among the public and City Council.
www.cityandstateny.com
October 24, 2025 at 12:47 PM
My latest on Mamdani's proposal for a Department of Community Safety in @cityandstateny.bsky.social. www.cityandstateny.com/opinion/2025...
New piece in The New Republic. Catch it in the current print mag or read it here. newrepublic.com/article/2011...
Of Corn and Cancer: Iowa’s Deadly Water Crisis
All that feed corn and all those soybeans—and those nearly 25 million hogs—produce a lot of nitrate. It’s making Iowans sick and causing them to die. And the politicians aren’t doing a thing about it.
newrepublic.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:21 PM
New piece in The New Republic. Catch it in the current print mag or read it here. newrepublic.com/article/2011...
Thanks, Chris! Could not have done it without talking to you at length several times, or access to your archive of work.
The best piece yet about Iowa’s cancer epidemic.
Written by a pro: @tomphilpott.bsky.social
newrepublic.com/article/2011...
Written by a pro: @tomphilpott.bsky.social
newrepublic.com/article/2011...
Of Corn and Cancer: Iowa’s Deadly Water Crisis
All that feed corn and all those soybeans—and those nearly 25 million hogs—produce a lot of nitrate. It’s making Iowans sick and causing them to die. And the politicians aren’t doing a thing about it.
newrepublic.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Thanks, Chris! Could not have done it without talking to you at length several times, or access to your archive of work.
Reposted by Tom Philpott
NPR giving "Hillbilly Elegy" tons of friendly coverage, only for Vance to sign the de-funding of NPR, was one of the most ironic things I've lived through.
And it’s not a coincidence both came to prominence through the liberal media by offering “necessary correctives” to imagined liberal bubbles.
Bari Weiss and JD Vance are very similar figures with very similar skills.
October 3, 2025 at 1:43 PM
NPR giving "Hillbilly Elegy" tons of friendly coverage, only for Vance to sign the de-funding of NPR, was one of the most ironic things I've lived through.
Reposted by Tom Philpott
Apple did something very similar to the people of Hong Kong in 2019, removing an app that allowed protesters to track police movements via crowdsourced information:
gizmodo.com/apple-sells-...
gizmodo.com/apple-sells-...
Apple removes ICE tracking apps after pressure by Trump administration reut.rs/4mIfztt
Apple removes ICE tracking apps after pressure by Trump administration
Apple said on Thursday that it had removed ICEBlock, the most popular ICE-tracking app, and other similar apps from its App Store after it was contacted by President Donald Trump's administration.
reut.rs
October 3, 2025 at 5:30 AM
Apple did something very similar to the people of Hong Kong in 2019, removing an app that allowed protesters to track police movements via crowdsourced information:
gizmodo.com/apple-sells-...
gizmodo.com/apple-sells-...
Bari's CBS News will be like Fox News, but: instead of takes designed to indulge the presumptions of your aggrieved geriatric right-wing uncle, it will be deliver takes tailored to flatter aggrieved right-wing tech oligarchs: Ellison, Musk, Andreessen, David Sacks.
Bari Weiss is set to be named the editor in chief of CBS News, the New York Post reports
October 3, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Bari's CBS News will be like Fox News, but: instead of takes designed to indulge the presumptions of your aggrieved geriatric right-wing uncle, it will be deliver takes tailored to flatter aggrieved right-wing tech oligarchs: Ellison, Musk, Andreessen, David Sacks.
Reposted by Tom Philpott
Bari Weiss and JD Vance are very similar figures with very similar skills.
October 3, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Bari Weiss and JD Vance are very similar figures with very similar skills.
Reposted by Tom Philpott
In case it wasn’t clear, the anti-DEI crusade has never been about merit. Zero news experience. Never been a reporter. Elevated to Editor in Chief of CBS News, one of the most storied news institutions in the nation. www.mediaite.com/media/news/p...
Paramount Officially Acquiring The Free Press and Making Bari Weiss CBS News Editor in Chief: Report
Paramount Skydance will be officially acquiring The Free Press and hiring its founder Bari Weiss as editor in chief of its CBS News division, with the deal to be announced this coming Monday, accordin...
www.mediaite.com
October 2, 2025 at 8:22 PM
In case it wasn’t clear, the anti-DEI crusade has never been about merit. Zero news experience. Never been a reporter. Elevated to Editor in Chief of CBS News, one of the most storied news institutions in the nation. www.mediaite.com/media/news/p...
Reposted by Tom Philpott
This was revealing. Worth reading. The basic demand is that Coates spend less time thinking/writing his true feelings and more time playing political strategist. Klein asks him over and over him to do Dem strategy; he says no, over and over. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/o...
Opinion | Ta-Nehisi Coates on Bridging Gaps vs. Drawing Lines
www.nytimes.com
September 28, 2025 at 1:31 PM
This was revealing. Worth reading. The basic demand is that Coates spend less time thinking/writing his true feelings and more time playing political strategist. Klein asks him over and over him to do Dem strategy; he says no, over and over. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/o...
Reposted by Tom Philpott
This man is a buffoonish shill for the fossil fuels industry. The stupidity here is staggering.
Zeldin on why renewable energy is bad: "Those battery storage sites cost a whole lot of money, and they then catch on fire and these local municipalities, fire departments, they aren't prepared for those massive fires that end up resulting and those environmental impacts."
September 28, 2025 at 4:00 PM
This man is a buffoonish shill for the fossil fuels industry. The stupidity here is staggering.
Reposted by Tom Philpott
In a statement ICE claimed Arias-Mendoza had a number of previous arrests and entered the country illegally at some point. This journalist is not in the business of taking ICE at their word.
September 27, 2025 at 4:11 AM
In a statement ICE claimed Arias-Mendoza had a number of previous arrests and entered the country illegally at some point. This journalist is not in the business of taking ICE at their word.
Reposted by Tom Philpott
UPDATE: The man ICE violently arrested has been identified as Job Arias-Mendoza. Two weeks ago he published a video to his social media accounts of ICE handcuffing a man in front of a liquor store—it has more than 200,000 views on TikTok. streetcarsuburbs.news/arias-mendoz...
NEW: ICE agents violently arrested a man in a busy Hyattsville, MD intersection this week, at one point brandishing guns and pointing them at bystanders.
I spoke to multiple witnesses—including a local priest whose church is a sanctuary for undocumented people: www.thehandbasket.co/p/ice-agents...
I spoke to multiple witnesses—including a local priest whose church is a sanctuary for undocumented people: www.thehandbasket.co/p/ice-agents...
September 27, 2025 at 4:03 AM
UPDATE: The man ICE violently arrested has been identified as Job Arias-Mendoza. Two weeks ago he published a video to his social media accounts of ICE handcuffing a man in front of a liquor store—it has more than 200,000 views on TikTok. streetcarsuburbs.news/arias-mendoz...
Reposted by Tom Philpott
So, a university president fired a professor because they taught a course that discussed there being more than two genders, and now the university president is being fired for not having fired the professor quickly enough, is where we're at. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/u...
Texas A&M President to Step Down After Controversy Over ‘Gender Ideology’
www.nytimes.com
September 19, 2025 at 1:29 AM
So, a university president fired a professor because they taught a course that discussed there being more than two genders, and now the university president is being fired for not having fired the professor quickly enough, is where we're at. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/u...
Reposted by Tom Philpott
Worth noting that Khalil (and others) who have everything to lose, have shown more bravery and commitment to free speech than elites across academia, corporate America, culture and politics bsky.app/profile/josh...
Ben Smith: "What you saw with Mahmoud Khalil is that in some ways he is *less* vulnerable than Jimmy Kimmel. The people who are most vulnerable are the employees of big consolidated megacorporations—"
Chris Hayes: "Yeah, although he's about to get deported."
Chris Hayes: "Yeah, although he's about to get deported."
September 19, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Worth noting that Khalil (and others) who have everything to lose, have shown more bravery and commitment to free speech than elites across academia, corporate America, culture and politics bsky.app/profile/josh...