Emily Nussbaum
@emilynussbaum.bsky.social
Theater critic for The New Yorker, Approval Matrix Creatrix
Pinned
In Tracy Letts’s “Bug,” Crazy Is Contagious
A Broadway revival arrives at a moment when paranoia plots are everywhere.
www.newyorker.com
Recent pieces: "Bug" www.newyorker.com/magazine/202..., "An Ark/Data" www.newyorker.com/magazine/202..., Take on Jane Kramer's 1970 piece The Founding Cadre www.newyorker.com/magazine/tak...; short on URS' Ulysses www.newyorker.com/culture/goin...; Marc Shaiman:: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
The only things I’m regularly watching are Industry and Abbott Elementary, which is a really weird combination
February 10, 2026 at 5:02 AM
The only things I’m regularly watching are Industry and Abbott Elementary, which is a really weird combination
Everything is infuriating me today! Is that good??
February 10, 2026 at 4:44 AM
Everything is infuriating me today! Is that good??
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
When someone tells me how old their child is I say "that's such a fun age" even if it's 37
February 10, 2026 at 1:42 AM
When someone tells me how old their child is I say "that's such a fun age" even if it's 37
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
The last honest advertising slogan was: “Behold…the power of cheese.”
February 10, 2026 at 3:23 AM
The last honest advertising slogan was: “Behold…the power of cheese.”
Mars>
Moon>
Montauk>
Renovate breakfast nook
Moon>
Montauk>
Renovate breakfast nook
February 10, 2026 at 3:58 AM
Mars>
Moon>
Montauk>
Renovate breakfast nook
Moon>
Montauk>
Renovate breakfast nook
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
Okay, I’ve heard all the criticisms. I agree now that my plan to create a Jonestown on Mars was foolish and dangerous. I will instead be building a much more achievable Jonestown on the Moon
February 10, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Okay, I’ve heard all the criticisms. I agree now that my plan to create a Jonestown on Mars was foolish and dangerous. I will instead be building a much more achievable Jonestown on the Moon
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
Super Bowl viewers Sunday speculated that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos appeared in the halftime show. In fact, he has been in hiding with his family.
“He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.
“He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.
‘He’s not the same’: Father of Liam Conejo Ramos says 5-year-old continues to suffer
Some people thought they say the 5-year-old during the Super Bowl halftime show. But Liam is still in hiding with his family, after he and his father were detained and then released from a Texas deten...
www.mprnews.org
February 10, 2026 at 1:11 AM
Super Bowl viewers Sunday speculated that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos appeared in the halftime show. In fact, he has been in hiding with his family.
“He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.
“He can’t sleep well at night. He wakes up three or four times a night screaming, ‘Daddy, Daddy,’” Liam's father Adrian Conejo Arias, said.
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
In one 30-minute stretch, three legal observers were arrested — as Trump’s Border czar Tom Homan calls on locals to “end the resistance.”
“Uptick In Abductions”: ICE Ramps Up Targeting of Minneapolis Legal Observers
In one 30-minute stretch, three Minneapolis legal observers were arrested as ICE ramped up its targeting of community volunteers.
interc.pt
February 9, 2026 at 6:19 PM
In one 30-minute stretch, three legal observers were arrested — as Trump’s Border czar Tom Homan calls on locals to “end the resistance.”
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
“Collection of Handwritten Letters from Children in Detention Center” sounds like an exhibit in the Holocaust Museum.
1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
Hundreds of kids are still detained.
We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵
February 9, 2026 at 6:31 PM
“Collection of Handwritten Letters from Children in Detention Center” sounds like an exhibit in the Holocaust Museum.
Great politics should look like a party you want to join
February 9, 2026 at 2:44 AM
Great politics should look like a party you want to join
Football should be iillegal but nobody listens to me
Halftime shows are great, though!
Halftime shows are great, though!
February 9, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Football should be iillegal but nobody listens to me
Halftime shows are great, though!
Halftime shows are great, though!
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
Pretty sure it wasn’t actually Liam. But it was a clear homage.
February 9, 2026 at 1:50 AM
Pretty sure it wasn’t actually Liam. But it was a clear homage.
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
Simply on a live performance stagecraft-design-camerawork-logistics-direction level, this is ASTOUNDING.
February 9, 2026 at 1:28 AM
Simply on a live performance stagecraft-design-camerawork-logistics-direction level, this is ASTOUNDING.
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
This looks like a fun party I wanna go to
February 9, 2026 at 1:28 AM
This looks like a fun party I wanna go to
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
Many folks are reflecting on Prince’s extraordinary halftime performance, the best ever. What you may not know is that it was a profound, nuanced statement and a powerful reclaiming of a proud musical tradition. Some background: anildash.com/2021/02/05/h...
How Prince won the Super Bowl - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
anildash.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:13 AM
Many folks are reflecting on Prince’s extraordinary halftime performance, the best ever. What you may not know is that it was a profound, nuanced statement and a powerful reclaiming of a proud musical tradition. Some background: anildash.com/2021/02/05/h...
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
Is Wallace Shawn the Only Avant-Garde Artist Who Gets Stopped in Times Square?
www.nytimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 9:11 PM
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
Yes: one of the things that has kept protests peaceful is that the insider/outsider dynamic was so pronounced. The feds were invaders; local and state police were separate and not really against us.
What we’ve seen in the last couple days feels like the sheriff and state patrol switching sides.
What we’ve seen in the last couple days feels like the sheriff and state patrol switching sides.
Friends in Minneapolis are very worried about this development. Both in terms of state police's role in arresting protestors and the worry that this could set off the kind of spiral of distrust and destruction that followed George Floyd's murder.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/u...
At Least 50 Arrested After Protests Escalate Outside Minnesota Federal Building
www.nytimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Yes: one of the things that has kept protests peaceful is that the insider/outsider dynamic was so pronounced. The feds were invaders; local and state police were separate and not really against us.
What we’ve seen in the last couple days feels like the sheriff and state patrol switching sides.
What we’ve seen in the last couple days feels like the sheriff and state patrol switching sides.
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
Good point. I forgot the 47th amendment, "one in, one out"--if you let in ONE five-year-old, you'd have to kick another out. I mean, how many five-year-olds can fit in this thing? (America, that is.)
Gonzales on Liam Ramos and his family: "They're not gonna qualify for asylum. So what do you do with all the people that go through the process and do not qualify for asylum? You deport them. I understand that 5-year-old and it breaks my heart. I also think, what about that 5-year-old US citizen?"
February 8, 2026 at 7:47 PM
Good point. I forgot the 47th amendment, "one in, one out"--if you let in ONE five-year-old, you'd have to kick another out. I mean, how many five-year-olds can fit in this thing? (America, that is.)
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
This deserves to be spread as far and wide as what happened to Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
apnews.com/article/immi...
apnews.com/article/immi...
February 7, 2026 at 6:07 PM
This deserves to be spread as far and wide as what happened to Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
apnews.com/article/immi...
apnews.com/article/immi...
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
"Trump is not profound. He has been the same person this whole time. The question is why so many others have refused to see what he has never bothered to hide."
"For years, a cottage industry of political observers has contorted itself to obscure and occlude the obvious. That regardless of what others see in him, Trump’s entire political career...cannot be understood outside the context of his bitter, deep-seated racism." (gift link)
Opinion | This Is Just Who Trump Is
www.nytimes.com
February 7, 2026 at 7:36 PM
"Trump is not profound. He has been the same person this whole time. The question is why so many others have refused to see what he has never bothered to hide."
It is silly and petty and valuable and 100% necessary to always call it The Epstein Ballroom, in every context
February 7, 2026 at 6:23 PM
It is silly and petty and valuable and 100% necessary to always call it The Epstein Ballroom, in every context
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
Oh he doesn't want to do that. He has captured and bludgeoned the Post precisely because it's in his interest
same with musk and Twitter
the money and prestige it will continue to bleed as it seeps credibility and trust is but an investment in Bezos Inc.
same with musk and Twitter
the money and prestige it will continue to bleed as it seeps credibility and trust is but an investment in Bezos Inc.
Before The Washington Post layoffs came down, a group of wealthy D.C. locals approached CEO Will Lewis with a proposal.
@passantino.bsky.social has the details in his Saturday @status.news column: www.status.news/p/washington...
@passantino.bsky.social has the details in his Saturday @status.news column: www.status.news/p/washington...
February 7, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Oh he doesn't want to do that. He has captured and bludgeoned the Post precisely because it's in his interest
same with musk and Twitter
the money and prestige it will continue to bleed as it seeps credibility and trust is but an investment in Bezos Inc.
same with musk and Twitter
the money and prestige it will continue to bleed as it seeps credibility and trust is but an investment in Bezos Inc.
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
GM: Charisma check.
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
February 7, 2026 at 5:01 AM
GM: Charisma check.
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
Mamdani: [rolls natural 20]
GM: that’s a d6 how did you
Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
"Job listings rarely explain what the work actually involves. 'People are hired under ambiguous labels, but only after contracts are signed and training begins do they realise what the actual work is.'"
‘In the end, you feel blank’: India’s female workers watching hours of abusive content to train AI
‘In the end, you feel blank’: India’s female workers watching hours of abusive content to train AI
Women in rural communities describe trauma of moderating violent and pornographic content for global tech companies
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 2:46 AM
"Job listings rarely explain what the work actually involves. 'People are hired under ambiguous labels, but only after contracts are signed and training begins do they realise what the actual work is.'"
Reposted by Emily Nussbaum
Nick Davis has directed a FANTASTIC documentary about Godspell and the evolution of Canadian Comedy.
You Had To Be There includes remarkable archival material provided by Martin Short and input from all cast members.
EXTREMELY entertaining. Soon to have a theatrical run - don’t miss it!
You Had To Be There includes remarkable archival material provided by Martin Short and input from all cast members.
EXTREMELY entertaining. Soon to have a theatrical run - don’t miss it!
February 7, 2026 at 5:55 AM
Nick Davis has directed a FANTASTIC documentary about Godspell and the evolution of Canadian Comedy.
You Had To Be There includes remarkable archival material provided by Martin Short and input from all cast members.
EXTREMELY entertaining. Soon to have a theatrical run - don’t miss it!
You Had To Be There includes remarkable archival material provided by Martin Short and input from all cast members.
EXTREMELY entertaining. Soon to have a theatrical run - don’t miss it!