Andy Downing
andydowning33.bsky.social
Andy Downing
@andydowning33.bsky.social
director/editor @matternews
“I’m turning 50 in a couple months. My second marriage ended last year. My son’s turning 22, about to graduate from college. And it felt like I needed to face up to the things I was struggling with, and I needed to do the work now.”

matternews.org/culture/musi...
Hayes Carll takes an inward turn with ‘We’re Only Human’ – Matter News
The Texas singer and songwriter visits Columbus for a show at A&R Music Bar on Thursday, Nov. 13.
matternews.org
November 11, 2025 at 5:07 PM
On Veterans Day, columnist Jack Shuler remembers the people like his grandfather, an Army Air Corps pilot who experienced tragedy but still held to joy as he worked to move the world forward.

matternews.org/voices/a-det...
A determined joy – Matter News
On Veterans Day, columnist Jack Shuler remembers the people like his grandfather, an Army Air Corps pilot who experienced tragedy but still held to joy as he worked to move the world forward.
matternews.org
November 11, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Reposted by Andy Downing
A fundraiser for @matternews.bsky.social, a @transitcolumbus.org meeting tomorrow night, tree planting at STAR house, and more in this week’s newsletter:

buttondown.com/goodworkscol...
Good Works Columbus: November 10th, 2025
Hi y’all, welcome back to Good Works Columbus! Things you can do in person Local Brews with Local News Fundraiser Tuesday, November 11th from 6:00pm to...
buttondown.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:00 PM
“in a tasteful way”
November 10, 2025 at 12:27 PM
oh thank god ohio weighed in
November 9, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Reposted by Andy Downing
Matter news and Andy Downing are doing a great job keeping independent journalism going here in Central Ohio. Please consider supporting them, either now during their fundraiser, or on a continuing basis. More links to upcoming fundraising events are in the comments. Thanks! matternews.org/donate/
November 8, 2025 at 1:15 PM
legitimately one of the most pathetic moves I’ve ever seen.
A few months ago Indigo De Souza called Pitchfork “internet bullies” over a 6.6 review of her new album and asked her fans to tell the publication it was “whack”: “why not ONLY write reviews about art you LIKE?”

Last night she wore a shirt featuring the review onstage at Pitchfork Music Festival.
Indigo De Souza Played Pitchfork Fest In A Shirt Featuring Their 6.6 Review Of Her Album
Indigo De Souza released her new latest album Precipice back in July, and some drama ensued shortly thereafter. Stereogum contributor Grace Robins-Somerville reviewed it for Pitchfork and gave it a 6....
www.stereogum.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:39 PM
the 6 year old: “when I grow up I’m going to be a person who helps everyone…

(pause)

…that’s why I’m going to be an assassin.”
November 8, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Reposted by Andy Downing
Every week I read a story that stops me in my tracks and many are from Matter News. This is one.
November 7, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Reposted by Andy Downing
Two Ohio brothers built a sprawling prison telecommunications firm. They were shut down after a year in business.

New from Ellin Youse.

matternews.org/community/po...
The curious case of Needed Networks  – Matter News
Two Ohio brothers built a sprawling prison telecommunications firm. They were shut down after a year in business.
matternews.org
November 5, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Reposted by Andy Downing
This is a sad and remarkable story.
November 5, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Two Ohio brothers built a sprawling prison telecommunications firm. They were shut down after a year in business.

New from Ellin Youse.

matternews.org/community/po...
The curious case of Needed Networks  – Matter News
Two Ohio brothers built a sprawling prison telecommunications firm. They were shut down after a year in business.
matternews.org
November 5, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Two Ohio brothers built a sprawling prison telecommunications firm. They were shut down after a year in business.

New from Ellin Youse.

matternews.org/community/po...
The curious case of Needed Networks  – Matter News
Two Ohio brothers built a sprawling prison telecommunications firm. They were shut down after a year in business.
matternews.org
November 5, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Reposted by Andy Downing
Support this work with a donation today. Through Dec. 31, all donations to Matter are matched by NewsMatch and this year's Local Match partners: Johnstone Fund for New Music, the Wiley Family Foundation, and Rebecca J. Perry and Ben Towle. matternews.org/donate/
Donate – Matter News
Frequently Asked Questions
matternews.org
November 4, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Reposted by Andy Downing
“I was not on [federal benefits] for a long time, but it’s been helpful for me to get food as I work to become self-sufficient,” Saeda said via an interpreter in late October. “But with [SNAP] being discontinued next month, I’m very much afraid of what will happen.”

matternews.org/community/fe...
Federal changes fuel anxieties among Columbus immigrants – Matter News
The Trump administration is stripping refugees of access to federal benefits while drastically increasing fees on those seeking asylum.
matternews.org
November 4, 2025 at 7:15 PM
“I want to tell the people out there, this is not a refugee problem, this is an American issue,” she said, going on to draw attention to the essential lifeline SNAP provides to low-income families across demographic lines, and especially to single parents with children.”
“I was not on [federal benefits] for a long time, but it’s been helpful for me to get food as I work to become self-sufficient,” Saeda said via an interpreter in late October. “But with [SNAP] being discontinued next month, I’m very much afraid of what will happen.”

matternews.org/community/fe...
Federal changes fuel anxieties among Columbus immigrants – Matter News
The Trump administration is stripping refugees of access to federal benefits while drastically increasing fees on those seeking asylum.
matternews.org
November 4, 2025 at 8:03 PM
“I was not on [federal benefits] for a long time, but it’s been helpful for me to get food as I work to become self-sufficient,” Saeda said via an interpreter in late October. “But with [SNAP] being discontinued next month, I’m very much afraid of what will happen.”

matternews.org/community/fe...
Federal changes fuel anxieties among Columbus immigrants – Matter News
The Trump administration is stripping refugees of access to federal benefits while drastically increasing fees on those seeking asylum.
matternews.org
November 4, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Reposted by Andy Downing
“You don’t know the times your movie will meet when you begin to make it. ... And I’m not saying you have to trespass, but I think symbolically we need to encourage a certain amount of creative trespassing. We need to lean into what’s uncomfortable.”

matternews.org/culture/expe...
Experiences of ’90s high schoolers in ‘Teenage Wasteland’ find new resonance in this moment – Matter News
The latest from filmmakers Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss will screen this Thursday as part of the Unorthodocs documentary film festival at the Wexner Center for the Arts.
matternews.org
November 3, 2025 at 8:35 PM
the plan? transform yourself into a right-wing influencer so when the time comes and you need life-saving medical care the president and his team will intervene on your behalf
November 3, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by Andy Downing
Your donations to Matter News are doubled through the end of the year.

Here's a letter from our editor as we kick off our biggest fundraising campaign yet.

matternews.org/community/do...
Donate to our NewsMatch campaign today and support nonprofit news – Matter News
A letter from our editor as we kick off our year-end fundraising campaign, where your donations to Matter News are doubled through the end of December.
matternews.org
November 3, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Your donations to Matter News are doubled through the end of the year.

Here's a letter from me as we kick off our biggest fundraising campaign yet.

matternews.org/community/do...
Donate to our NewsMatch campaign today and support nonprofit news – Matter News
A letter from our editor as we kick off our year-end fundraising campaign, where your donations to Matter News are doubled through the end of December.
matternews.org
November 3, 2025 at 12:26 PM
November 2, 2025 at 8:29 PM
“That whole early time was such a blur, and I don’t remember most of it, but I was working every day, and I was super hungry to make something cool and to just be good at something. … I mean, at the end of the day it’s just rock music. We’re not trying to outsmart it.”
matternews.org/culture/musi...
Liquid Mike emerges from a crossroads with ‘Hell Is an Airport’ – Matter News
The rising Michigan power-pop quartet visits Dirty Dungarees for a sold-out concert alongside Militarie Gun on Saturday, Nov. 1.
matternews.org
October 31, 2025 at 12:19 PM
happy halloween to everyone except the kid who handed me back the starburst.
October 30, 2025 at 10:36 PM