Hal Espen
@halsf.bsky.social
Formerly at The New Yorker and Outside, currently in Santa Fe, presently in Seattle and environs. Now listening to on vinyl.
Reposted by Hal Espen
One of the chief virtues of the book is that it’s nearly the only remaining form of media that isn’t constantly being interrupted by ads. Between the covers is the last place on earth where no one is trying to sell you shit, a place where you can still be a human being rather than a mark.
January 2, 2026 at 10:16 PM
One of the chief virtues of the book is that it’s nearly the only remaining form of media that isn’t constantly being interrupted by ads. Between the covers is the last place on earth where no one is trying to sell you shit, a place where you can still be a human being rather than a mark.
Reposted by Hal Espen
It's absolutely true this is horrifying.
It's also true that the NEED to spend this $$ (beyond whatever incentive arises from graft ProPublica already described) arises from the way ICE goons have become toxic.
Plus now we can attack the waste fraud and abuse.
It's also true that the NEED to spend this $$ (beyond whatever incentive arises from graft ProPublica already described) arises from the way ICE goons have become toxic.
Plus now we can attack the waste fraud and abuse.
December 31, 2025 at 2:14 PM
It's absolutely true this is horrifying.
It's also true that the NEED to spend this $$ (beyond whatever incentive arises from graft ProPublica already described) arises from the way ICE goons have become toxic.
Plus now we can attack the waste fraud and abuse.
It's also true that the NEED to spend this $$ (beyond whatever incentive arises from graft ProPublica already described) arises from the way ICE goons have become toxic.
Plus now we can attack the waste fraud and abuse.
Reposted by Hal Espen
"Trump will live forever, but only as a cautionary tale, one we tell successive generations to demonstrate that sustaining a democracy against the corrupt and the malevolent requires vigilance and determination." — @paulwaldman.bsky.social
Why every vestige of Trump must be torn down
He's trying to create a physical legacy. The moment he's out of power, it has to be smashed to bits.
www.publicnotice.co
December 29, 2025 at 4:52 PM
"Trump will live forever, but only as a cautionary tale, one we tell successive generations to demonstrate that sustaining a democracy against the corrupt and the malevolent requires vigilance and determination." — @paulwaldman.bsky.social
Merry Christmas everybody!
December 23, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Merry Christmas everybody!
“So if you’re sick of slop, pick up a book, my friends.”📕
and
“Best book of the year” — Murderland ✔️
www.welcometohellworld.com/20-books-you...
and
“Best book of the year” — Murderland ✔️
www.welcometohellworld.com/20-books-you...
20 books you should read
I hate to say it but it's been a rather short December all things considered.
Then again we still have the week between Christmas and New Year's to contend with. That's where they get you. That's whe...
www.welcometohellworld.com
December 22, 2025 at 5:26 PM
“So if you’re sick of slop, pick up a book, my friends.”📕
and
“Best book of the year” — Murderland ✔️
www.welcometohellworld.com/20-books-you...
and
“Best book of the year” — Murderland ✔️
www.welcometohellworld.com/20-books-you...
You wake up in the morning and suddenly are reading a Willie Nelson profile with an astounding Bob Dylan paragraph and discovering a brilliant writer named Alex Abramovich. Perfection (and “the awful truth of how sweet life can be”).
Bob Dylan writes about Willie Nelson in a new New Yorker profile
(Bob also says before this, "It’s hard to talk about Willie without saying something stupid or irrelevant, he is so much of everything")
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
(Bob also says before this, "It’s hard to talk about Willie without saying something stupid or irrelevant, he is so much of everything")
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
December 22, 2025 at 4:24 PM
You wake up in the morning and suddenly are reading a Willie Nelson profile with an astounding Bob Dylan paragraph and discovering a brilliant writer named Alex Abramovich. Perfection (and “the awful truth of how sweet life can be”).
Reposted by Hal Espen
It looks like it's been scrubbed from every official 60 Minutes page now.
It's only a 30-second promo but here it is if you didn't get a chance to see it.
It's only a 30-second promo but here it is if you didn't get a chance to see it.
December 22, 2025 at 1:33 AM
It looks like it's been scrubbed from every official 60 Minutes page now.
It's only a 30-second promo but here it is if you didn't get a chance to see it.
It's only a 30-second promo but here it is if you didn't get a chance to see it.
Reposted by Hal Espen
🇧🇷Arapapá
🌎Cochlearius cochlearius
Conservação: Pouco Preocupante
O arapapá (Cochlearius cochlearius) é uma ave pelecaniforme da família Ardeidae
📷 Francisco Falcon
🌎Cochlearius cochlearius
Conservação: Pouco Preocupante
O arapapá (Cochlearius cochlearius) é uma ave pelecaniforme da família Ardeidae
📷 Francisco Falcon
December 17, 2025 at 9:09 PM
🇧🇷Arapapá
🌎Cochlearius cochlearius
Conservação: Pouco Preocupante
O arapapá (Cochlearius cochlearius) é uma ave pelecaniforme da família Ardeidae
📷 Francisco Falcon
🌎Cochlearius cochlearius
Conservação: Pouco Preocupante
O arapapá (Cochlearius cochlearius) é uma ave pelecaniforme da família Ardeidae
📷 Francisco Falcon
Reposted by Hal Espen
I generally read about 30 books a year and Murderland, by @calfraser.bsky.social is my number one this year. It’s a mix of crime, industrial and environmental history, and memoir. In lesser hands it would make no sense. It’s brilliant.
December 17, 2025 at 1:10 PM
I generally read about 30 books a year and Murderland, by @calfraser.bsky.social is my number one this year. It’s a mix of crime, industrial and environmental history, and memoir. In lesser hands it would make no sense. It’s brilliant.
Reposted by Hal Espen
The New Yorker has digitized all their back issues, which is great, but I am dying from the thoroughly cringe AI summaries they've put on my articles
December 18, 2025 at 4:38 PM
The New Yorker has digitized all their back issues, which is great, but I am dying from the thoroughly cringe AI summaries they've put on my articles
Reposted by Hal Espen
Awesome, more of this!
December 18, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Awesome, more of this!
Reposted by Hal Espen
Steve isn’t here anymore, but he always posted this picture on Hanukkah so I thought we could carry on his tradition and remember him.
Happy Hanukkah to our friends who celebrate. Rachel Posner, a rabbi’s wife in Kiel, Germany, took this photograph in 1931 -- a potent reminder that fascism must be fought in every generation, even if it's wrapped in an American flag and a red hat.
December 14, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Steve isn’t here anymore, but he always posted this picture on Hanukkah so I thought we could carry on his tradition and remember him.
Reposted by Hal Espen
Get ready for my most niche, least popular post ever
get ready
here it comes
Jorie Graham is name-checked in this Elsbeth episode from several weeks ago!!
get ready
here it comes
Jorie Graham is name-checked in this Elsbeth episode from several weeks ago!!
December 14, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Get ready for my most niche, least popular post ever
get ready
here it comes
Jorie Graham is name-checked in this Elsbeth episode from several weeks ago!!
get ready
here it comes
Jorie Graham is name-checked in this Elsbeth episode from several weeks ago!!
Reposted by Hal Espen
Damnit this is good writing, @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social.
December 13, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Damnit this is good writing, @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social.
Reposted by Hal Espen
It is important to promise, now, that whatever Trump builds at the White House will be torn down as soon as he leaves.
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/if-he-buil...
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/if-he-buil...
If He Builds It, Tear It Down
Pendulums must swing.
www.hamiltonnolan.com
December 13, 2025 at 3:16 PM
It is important to promise, now, that whatever Trump builds at the White House will be torn down as soon as he leaves.
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/if-he-buil...
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/if-he-buil...
Reposted by Hal Espen
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is free. every bit of cruelty, boasting, slander, and persecution was for absolutely fucking nothing.
December 12, 2025 at 5:34 AM
Kilmar Abrego Garcia is free. every bit of cruelty, boasting, slander, and persecution was for absolutely fucking nothing.
Reposted by Hal Espen
I would like the phrase and concept of "common decency" to make a comeback
December 10, 2025 at 3:30 PM
I would like the phrase and concept of "common decency" to make a comeback
Reposted by Hal Espen
This is devastating. Raul Malo had one of the most gorgeous voices I've ever heard. RIP. deadline.com/2025/12/raul...
Raul Malo Dies: The Mavericks Singer-Songwriter Who Played With Los Super Seven Was 60
Raul Malo, frontman for Tex-Mex band The Mavericks who later played with Latin supergroup Los Super Seven, died Dec. 8 of cancer. He was 60.
deadline.com
December 9, 2025 at 6:34 PM
This is devastating. Raul Malo had one of the most gorgeous voices I've ever heard. RIP. deadline.com/2025/12/raul...
Reposted by Hal Espen
The new National Security Strategy is a propaganda document, designed to be widely read. It is also a performative suicide. Hard to think of another great power ever abdicating its influence so quickly and so publicly. It will be worth following the reactions around the world, not just in Europe.
Trump's national security strategy is out and some of the Europe sections are shocking. "...the growing influence of patriotic European parties indeed
gives cause for great optimism."
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
gives cause for great optimism."
www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...
December 5, 2025 at 12:17 PM
The new National Security Strategy is a propaganda document, designed to be widely read. It is also a performative suicide. Hard to think of another great power ever abdicating its influence so quickly and so publicly. It will be worth following the reactions around the world, not just in Europe.
Reposted by Hal Espen
The US is close to an institutional collapse across multiple public health agencies. Trump/RFK have purged anyone with expertise, many have fled and they’ve been replaced w functionaries who are either incompetent or malicious. I don’t think many understand how close to the edge we are right now.
a night time view of a city with a few buildings lit up
ALT: a night time view of a city with a few buildings lit up
media.tenor.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:06 PM
The US is close to an institutional collapse across multiple public health agencies. Trump/RFK have purged anyone with expertise, many have fled and they’ve been replaced w functionaries who are either incompetent or malicious. I don’t think many understand how close to the edge we are right now.
Reposted by Hal Espen
#Murderland on LitHub’s list of year-end faves!
@literaryhub.bsky.social's best books of the year include MURDERLAND (@calfraser.bsky.social), BUG HOLLOW (Michelle Huneven), and SHADOW TICKET (Thomas Pynchon). Congratulations! lithub.com/lit-hubs-43-...
Lit Hub’s 43 Favorite Books of 2025
It’s been another hard year for so many people, and in so many ways, but best-of lists are for remembering the good times, and reading is always good (at least the way we do it). Here are the…
lithub.com
December 2, 2025 at 3:41 PM
#Murderland on LitHub’s list of year-end faves!
Reposted by Hal Espen
i spent a little while going through the AIDS quilt and picked out a few panels that stuck out to me for one reason or another. may the memories of all these beautiful, far too young souls be a blessing.
December 2, 2025 at 12:23 AM
i spent a little while going through the AIDS quilt and picked out a few panels that stuck out to me for one reason or another. may the memories of all these beautiful, far too young souls be a blessing.
Tom Stoppard’s traveling bookcase (includes Gravity's Rainbow).
November 29, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Tom Stoppard’s traveling bookcase (includes Gravity's Rainbow).
Reposted by Hal Espen
A🧵
This is profoundly irresponsible by AGSulzberger’s NYT, @by-cjewett.bsky.social +eds.
The normalization, “view-from-nowhere”, “born-yesterday”, stenography, “both-sides”, irresponsible headline are disgraceful.
THE story is the CDC&FDA are being destroyed by antiscience & Americans will die.
1/n
This is profoundly irresponsible by AGSulzberger’s NYT, @by-cjewett.bsky.social +eds.
The normalization, “view-from-nowhere”, “born-yesterday”, stenography, “both-sides”, irresponsible headline are disgraceful.
THE story is the CDC&FDA are being destroyed by antiscience & Americans will die.
1/n
November 29, 2025 at 5:40 PM
A🧵
This is profoundly irresponsible by AGSulzberger’s NYT, @by-cjewett.bsky.social +eds.
The normalization, “view-from-nowhere”, “born-yesterday”, stenography, “both-sides”, irresponsible headline are disgraceful.
THE story is the CDC&FDA are being destroyed by antiscience & Americans will die.
1/n
This is profoundly irresponsible by AGSulzberger’s NYT, @by-cjewett.bsky.social +eds.
The normalization, “view-from-nowhere”, “born-yesterday”, stenography, “both-sides”, irresponsible headline are disgraceful.
THE story is the CDC&FDA are being destroyed by antiscience & Americans will die.
1/n
Reposted by Hal Espen
Everyone is currently acting like it’s his normal gibberish, but also maybe American planes are in the air right now shooting down Venezuelan aircraft, and there’s literally no basis to believe either because the president is insane.
November 29, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Everyone is currently acting like it’s his normal gibberish, but also maybe American planes are in the air right now shooting down Venezuelan aircraft, and there’s literally no basis to believe either because the president is insane.