Andrea Pitzer
@andreapitzer.bsky.social
Books! One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps, Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World, & a Nabokov bio. Now working on Snowblind: Death on the Polar Ice. Former karateka & record store clerk. Newsletter & podcast: andreapitzer.com.
Pinned
Andrea Pitzer
@andreapitzer.bsky.social
· Nov 10
Degenerate Art
Andrea Pitzer on politics and history, the Arctic, and Appalachian exile.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
I currently have a newsletter in which I write regularly about how societies devolve into authoritarianism & what that means right now in the US & around the world. It also features essays about my unsettled childhood in West Virginia. Soon, it will also include art, surprises, & links to resources.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
I loved this. And I want to note the whole “there were no autistic people before …” discourse has an answer here: just the people were sent away in the incarceration (yes “care homes” like this), and if they fled, they were just abandoned by society, usually to die.
December 25, 2025 at 4:56 PM
I loved this. And I want to note the whole “there were no autistic people before …” discourse has an answer here: just the people were sent away in the incarceration (yes “care homes” like this), and if they fled, they were just abandoned by society, usually to die.
Offspring made a nativity scene.
December 24, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Offspring made a nativity scene.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
six months ago Reader’s Digest asked if they could purchase the publishing rights for this elaborate shitpost I wrote a year ago now wherein I pretended to be the elf equivalent of David Brooks at the North Pole. Thought it was maybe a phishing scam but it’s real LMAOO
December 24, 2025 at 9:31 PM
six months ago Reader’s Digest asked if they could purchase the publishing rights for this elaborate shitpost I wrote a year ago now wherein I pretended to be the elf equivalent of David Brooks at the North Pole. Thought it was maybe a phishing scam but it’s real LMAOO
Probably not going to be able to convince anyone in this house to watch The Long Kiss Goodnight or Bad Santa tonight after dinner, so we've settled on the new Knives Out.
December 24, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Probably not going to be able to convince anyone in this house to watch The Long Kiss Goodnight or Bad Santa tonight after dinner, so we've settled on the new Knives Out.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
So I have the cover story in next month's TNR.
I interviewed the heads of police groups; immigration defense attorneys, ex-judges and ex-prosecutors; former DOJ and DHS officials, and the former head of Border Patrol.
They're all horrified at what we've seen, and they all fear what's coming.
I interviewed the heads of police groups; immigration defense attorneys, ex-judges and ex-prosecutors; former DOJ and DHS officials, and the former head of Border Patrol.
They're all horrified at what we've seen, and they all fear what's coming.
Trump’s Immigration Nightmare: It Is Happening Here
With astonishing speed, the administration has toppled the most cherished pillars of a free society. And the experts agree: It’s all going to get much, much worse.
newrepublic.com
December 24, 2025 at 3:08 PM
So I have the cover story in next month's TNR.
I interviewed the heads of police groups; immigration defense attorneys, ex-judges and ex-prosecutors; former DOJ and DHS officials, and the former head of Border Patrol.
They're all horrified at what we've seen, and they all fear what's coming.
I interviewed the heads of police groups; immigration defense attorneys, ex-judges and ex-prosecutors; former DOJ and DHS officials, and the former head of Border Patrol.
They're all horrified at what we've seen, and they all fear what's coming.
The thing I find amusing about Chatterton is that he has these resentments against anyone to the left of him, all of whom he views as embracing lazy groupthink. But what new thought, insight, or research has he ever put forward? Nothing whatsoever. His noggin is empty.
How large a platform can one say “I’ve been canceled” on before people stop taking this stuff seriously
jk there is no platform large enough
jk there is no platform large enough
December 24, 2025 at 8:24 PM
The thing I find amusing about Chatterton is that he has these resentments against anyone to the left of him, all of whom he views as embracing lazy groupthink. But what new thought, insight, or research has he ever put forward? Nothing whatsoever. His noggin is empty.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
OLN is important. One wishes history had unfolded in a different way; on almost each page one wants a hero to throw the concentration camp gears in reverse, but no one does. The bureaucratic/militaristic/industrial fever for a carceral state apparatus transcends borders & eras, & is strong here now.
But I hope ONE LONG NIGHT clarifies just what is happening today. If we understand that what Congress has funded and the government is building are concentration camps, the stakes are obvious. The majority of Americans are, by and large, free to act and can undo this. It is more than possible. [2/2]
December 24, 2025 at 5:10 PM
OLN is important. One wishes history had unfolded in a different way; on almost each page one wants a hero to throw the concentration camp gears in reverse, but no one does. The bureaucratic/militaristic/industrial fever for a carceral state apparatus transcends borders & eras, & is strong here now.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
As Stephen Miller prepares his very own "Gulag Archipelago" – this time with warehouses holding 5-10K people each – sharing this conversation I did in June with @andreapitzer.bsky.social and @chenoweth.bsky.social.
We answer: what happens when countries start building camps, and how do to stop it?
We answer: what happens when countries start building camps, and how do to stop it?
December 24, 2025 at 5:25 PM
As Stephen Miller prepares his very own "Gulag Archipelago" – this time with warehouses holding 5-10K people each – sharing this conversation I did in June with @andreapitzer.bsky.social and @chenoweth.bsky.social.
We answer: what happens when countries start building camps, and how do to stop it?
We answer: what happens when countries start building camps, and how do to stop it?
My agent sent my proposal for a book on the global history of concentration camps to publishers in 2014. I wrote it because I felt like the US was careening toward a police state in which concentration camps would play a major role. The book wasn't effective at stopping any of it. [1/2]
December 24, 2025 at 4:55 PM
My agent sent my proposal for a book on the global history of concentration camps to publishers in 2014. I wrote it because I felt like the US was careening toward a police state in which concentration camps would play a major role. The book wasn't effective at stopping any of it. [1/2]
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Reminds me of a great old Trumpcast episode w/ @jamellebouie.net and @andreapitzer.bsky.social
Trump’s Continuation of the “Us vs. Them” Battle
To listen to this episode of Trumpcast, use the player below:
slate.com
December 24, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Reminds me of a great old Trumpcast episode w/ @jamellebouie.net and @andreapitzer.bsky.social
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
"People get activated by hate. It's a very, very, very strong force."
One of the most powerful things I heard this year.
Obvious, I know. But Ta-Nehisi Coates put so much into context with this simple truth: hate is why the right has thrived by feeding on the loathing of Trump & the Charlie Kirks.
One of the most powerful things I heard this year.
Obvious, I know. But Ta-Nehisi Coates put so much into context with this simple truth: hate is why the right has thrived by feeding on the loathing of Trump & the Charlie Kirks.
You don't have to swallow frogs
YouTube video by Degenerate Art by Andrea Pitzer
www.youtube.com
December 24, 2025 at 10:35 AM
"People get activated by hate. It's a very, very, very strong force."
One of the most powerful things I heard this year.
Obvious, I know. But Ta-Nehisi Coates put so much into context with this simple truth: hate is why the right has thrived by feeding on the loathing of Trump & the Charlie Kirks.
One of the most powerful things I heard this year.
Obvious, I know. But Ta-Nehisi Coates put so much into context with this simple truth: hate is why the right has thrived by feeding on the loathing of Trump & the Charlie Kirks.
I wrote about the ways propaganda takes root, how attacks against trans people in the US and UK reflect different mythologies of protection, and why combating disinformation at the local level might be a more effective way to dismantle these frameworks than abstract online arguments with strangers.
You're soaking in it
Propaganda, transphobia, and an end to manufacturing hate.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
December 24, 2025 at 1:52 AM
I wrote about the ways propaganda takes root, how attacks against trans people in the US and UK reflect different mythologies of protection, and why combating disinformation at the local level might be a more effective way to dismantle these frameworks than abstract online arguments with strangers.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
🗣️TODAY ONLY: 50% OFF L.A. TACO MEMBERSHIP!!
We had a big year in 2025, and have big plans for 2026! Come with us on our journey as a paid member by taking advantage of today's biggest discount ever on a Local membership.
Join L.A. TACO: lataco.com/products
We had a big year in 2025, and have big plans for 2026! Come with us on our journey as a paid member by taking advantage of today's biggest discount ever on a Local membership.
Join L.A. TACO: lataco.com/products
L.A. TACO | Products
lataco.com
December 23, 2025 at 10:10 PM
🗣️TODAY ONLY: 50% OFF L.A. TACO MEMBERSHIP!!
We had a big year in 2025, and have big plans for 2026! Come with us on our journey as a paid member by taking advantage of today's biggest discount ever on a Local membership.
Join L.A. TACO: lataco.com/products
We had a big year in 2025, and have big plans for 2026! Come with us on our journey as a paid member by taking advantage of today's biggest discount ever on a Local membership.
Join L.A. TACO: lataco.com/products
"Treachery" is such a strange word to use when attacking an ally our government has already abandoned.
From the Atlantic attempt to justify Bari Weiss' decision. What's Canadian for "perfidious Albion?"
December 23, 2025 at 10:10 PM
"Treachery" is such a strange word to use when attacking an ally our government has already abandoned.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Really hard to imagine this opinion coming down the way it did if Illinoisans hadn't rallied to protect their neighbors and Pritzker hadn't publicly and forcefully resisted the administration.
December 23, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Really hard to imagine this opinion coming down the way it did if Illinoisans hadn't rallied to protect their neighbors and Pritzker hadn't publicly and forcefully resisted the administration.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Just released on the Guantanamo war court website: A 904-page filing with 899 pages entirely redacted, following a nearly four-year security review. It was filed on Dec. 29, 2021 as exhibits by one of the defendants in the long-running Sept. 11 case.
December 23, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Just released on the Guantanamo war court website: A 904-page filing with 899 pages entirely redacted, following a nearly four-year security review. It was filed on Dec. 29, 2021 as exhibits by one of the defendants in the long-running Sept. 11 case.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Trump's obsession with birth certificates being "fake" was not a one-off
"Her family has now been told she has been deported, despite US District Judge Brendan Hurson ruling Thursday that she could not be deported pending a hearing...attorneys said Monday that they have...confirm[ed] with the hospital she was born in Maryland." https://bit.ly/3MMdJvz
ICE detains woman whose lawyer insists is US citizen. DHS says she isn't
Federal agents arrested Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales on her way home in Baltimore, Maryland.
bit.ly
December 23, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Trump's obsession with birth certificates being "fake" was not a one-off
Made a cake from scratch for the offspring’s birthday, and now we are all full of too much cake.
December 23, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Made a cake from scratch for the offspring’s birthday, and now we are all full of too much cake.
What's the opposite of coattails? Concrete shoes?
these are the kind of numbers that, *at the end of a president's term*, herald a total wipeout for his party in the next election.
we are in december of year one.
we are in december of year one.
woof
December 23, 2025 at 3:26 AM
What's the opposite of coattails? Concrete shoes?
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
December 23, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Heard a weird interview on the car radio with an Axios reporter who reassured listeners that in no way was Bari Weiss spiking anything, it was all just bumps in the road as a part of a new review process still in development.
December 23, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Heard a weird interview on the car radio with an Axios reporter who reassured listeners that in no way was Bari Weiss spiking anything, it was all just bumps in the road as a part of a new review process still in development.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
"The defining characteristic of any concentration camp is one that detains civilians en masse without due process on the basis of race, ethnicity, or supposed affiliation, rather than for any crime an individual has committed. Governments use them for political ends, to gather and keep power."
I wrote for New York magazine about deportations to CECOT in El Salvador, which are bound up with a tradition of US extrajudicial actions in the Americas and further the long arc of concentration camps.
Trump and Bukele’s Concentration Camp
CECOT is no regular prison. It is also a warning.
nymag.com
April 30, 2025 at 3:22 PM
"The defining characteristic of any concentration camp is one that detains civilians en masse without due process on the basis of race, ethnicity, or supposed affiliation, rather than for any crime an individual has committed. Governments use them for political ends, to gather and keep power."
Oh, I think she's gotten her principles on the record just fine.
NEW: Bari Weiss addresses her decision to hold last night's CECOT story on the CBS News morning editorial call: "Our viewers come first, not a listing schedule or anything else..."
December 22, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Oh, I think she's gotten her principles on the record just fine.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Via @liamjscott.bsky.social at the other site here’s the full email from 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi. She’s putting her career on the line by fighting here. And she’s fighting for all of us.
December 22, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Via @liamjscott.bsky.social at the other site here’s the full email from 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi. She’s putting her career on the line by fighting here. And she’s fighting for all of us.
Has any reactionary centrist ever apologized for praising Bari Weiss?
December 22, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Has any reactionary centrist ever apologized for praising Bari Weiss?