Jaya Saxena
@jayasaxena.com
James Beard Award-nominated writer and editor // Series Editor at Best American Food and Travel Writing // Queens, NY // she/her // jayasaxena.com
The announcers just said the music for these ice dancers is AI generated and I'd like to personally disqualify them
February 9, 2026 at 7:56 PM
The announcers just said the music for these ice dancers is AI generated and I'd like to personally disqualify them
The other day a woman asked me what I did, and when I said I was a writer she asked "ooh, do you use chatgpt to make it easier?" and at least I got to explain to her no and it's wrong most of the time
most cafe conversations blend into the background for me, but as soon as a man starts the “do you use ChatGPT? I’ve started using it for…” conversation within a 10 table radius, I feel my brain short circuiting
February 9, 2026 at 7:32 PM
The other day a woman asked me what I did, and when I said I was a writer she asked "ooh, do you use chatgpt to make it easier?" and at least I got to explain to her no and it's wrong most of the time
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
In 1943, musician Woody Guthrie placed a message on his guitar: "This machine kills fascists."
I am part of a group that's shipped half a million free 3D-printed whistles to defend against ICE — 200,000 of them in the first week of February alone.
This is the story of the "Whistle Crew."
I am part of a group that's shipped half a million free 3D-printed whistles to defend against ICE — 200,000 of them in the first week of February alone.
This is the story of the "Whistle Crew."
This whistle fights fascists
I print whistles now. You can too.
www.theverge.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:38 PM
In 1943, musician Woody Guthrie placed a message on his guitar: "This machine kills fascists."
I am part of a group that's shipped half a million free 3D-printed whistles to defend against ICE — 200,000 of them in the first week of February alone.
This is the story of the "Whistle Crew."
I am part of a group that's shipped half a million free 3D-printed whistles to defend against ICE — 200,000 of them in the first week of February alone.
This is the story of the "Whistle Crew."
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
why do you need to observe your house if you're not in it. you are giving yourself an opt-in mental illness. no one has to live like this
February 9, 2026 at 6:06 AM
why do you need to observe your house if you're not in it. you are giving yourself an opt-in mental illness. no one has to live like this
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
“why was lady gaga there” shes an italian new yorker this is nyc immigrant solidarity in action
February 9, 2026 at 1:49 AM
“why was lady gaga there” shes an italian new yorker this is nyc immigrant solidarity in action
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
Eagle-eyed watchers of Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show would have spied Toñita, the queen of Los Sures, AKA Williamsburg.
Read all about Maria Antonia “Toñita” Cay here: hellgatenyc.com/williamsburg...
Read all about Maria Antonia “Toñita” Cay here: hellgatenyc.com/williamsburg...
Williamsburg Changes, But Toñita Still Reigns - Hell Gate
For 50 years, Maria Antonia "Toñita" Cay has overseen the Caribbean Social Club in Williamsburg. It's now the last Puerto Rican social club in Brooklyn.
hellgatenyc.com
February 9, 2026 at 1:40 AM
Eagle-eyed watchers of Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show would have spied Toñita, the queen of Los Sures, AKA Williamsburg.
Read all about Maria Antonia “Toñita” Cay here: hellgatenyc.com/williamsburg...
Read all about Maria Antonia “Toñita” Cay here: hellgatenyc.com/williamsburg...
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
WOKE 2 IS HERE
February 9, 2026 at 1:32 AM
WOKE 2 IS HERE
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
i don’t care too much about football anymore but one has to know that a patriots win makes both jesse signal AND benjamin netanyahu happy. so i’ll be carrying that with me today
February 8, 2026 at 7:46 PM
i don’t care too much about football anymore but one has to know that a patriots win makes both jesse signal AND benjamin netanyahu happy. so i’ll be carrying that with me today
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
how do you write this story without noting there was a campaign literally called SUBSTACKERS AGAINST NAZIS in…2023
Revealed: How Substack makes money from hosting Nazi newsletters
Exclusive: Site takes a cut of subscriptions to content that promotes far-right ideology, white supremacy and antisemitism
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 5:14 PM
how do you write this story without noting there was a campaign literally called SUBSTACKERS AGAINST NAZIS in…2023
I saw the ballet the other night and thought a lot about how one of the first things we did was move our bodies for each other, before the idea of training or expertise existed, just to make each other feel. You can’t “gatekeep” that and you certainly can’t capture it with a stolen algorithm.
February 6, 2026 at 8:58 PM
I saw the ballet the other night and thought a lot about how one of the first things we did was move our bodies for each other, before the idea of training or expertise existed, just to make each other feel. You can’t “gatekeep” that and you certainly can’t capture it with a stolen algorithm.
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
Every instance of "AI democratizes the arts, you're classist and ableist and a gatekeeper for trying to stop it" is a slap in the face to the literally centuries of poor, disabled people making art on the margins and a crass lie in service of a machine that strips down and regurgitates dreams
February 6, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Every instance of "AI democratizes the arts, you're classist and ableist and a gatekeeper for trying to stop it" is a slap in the face to the literally centuries of poor, disabled people making art on the margins and a crass lie in service of a machine that strips down and regurgitates dreams
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
I am certain that whenever someone posts about “gatekeeping art” or whatever, they’re talking about posting drawings online for clicks. They never mean arranging rocks in the back yard. They never mean whistling to yourself and finding a tune that makes you happy. They never mean napkin doodles.
February 6, 2026 at 6:47 PM
I am certain that whenever someone posts about “gatekeeping art” or whatever, they’re talking about posting drawings online for clicks. They never mean arranging rocks in the back yard. They never mean whistling to yourself and finding a tune that makes you happy. They never mean napkin doodles.
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
I wrote about how I'm looking forward to the day when cannabis is fully legalized so people can stop trying to sell me on it slate.com/life/2026/02...
Everyone Should Have One Vice That Doesn’t Kill Them. But if These People Don’t Shut Up About Theirs, I Might Turn Homicidal.
It’s a big “pass” from me.
slate.com
February 5, 2026 at 4:07 PM
I wrote about how I'm looking forward to the day when cannabis is fully legalized so people can stop trying to sell me on it slate.com/life/2026/02...
To the guy who told me I was "uptight," like yes guilty but also I promise you weed will not help me specifically with that
I wrote about how I'm looking forward to the day when cannabis is fully legalized so people can stop trying to sell me on it slate.com/life/2026/02...
Everyone Should Have One Vice That Doesn’t Kill Them. But if These People Don’t Shut Up About Theirs, I Might Turn Homicidal.
It’s a big “pass” from me.
slate.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:43 PM
To the guy who told me I was "uptight," like yes guilty but also I promise you weed will not help me specifically with that
I wrote about how I'm looking forward to the day when cannabis is fully legalized so people can stop trying to sell me on it slate.com/life/2026/02...
Everyone Should Have One Vice That Doesn’t Kill Them. But if These People Don’t Shut Up About Theirs, I Might Turn Homicidal.
It’s a big “pass” from me.
slate.com
February 5, 2026 at 4:07 PM
I wrote about how I'm looking forward to the day when cannabis is fully legalized so people can stop trying to sell me on it slate.com/life/2026/02...
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
whoever figures out a way to bundle independent journalism subscriptions will be a hero
i know that this is an unpopular take, but everyone starting their own newsletter as a revenue stream is not a sustainable model for writing and reporting or for people who love and want to pay for media.
A lot of people cannot just start a paid newsletter or become freelancers to sustain their careers. The sports, metro, and international desks did work that requires *team* resources, like legal checks, documents, access to archives, and long-term beat experience.
February 4, 2026 at 8:05 PM
whoever figures out a way to bundle independent journalism subscriptions will be a hero
icymi!
I wrote for the new @gourmetlives.bsky.social about straws and convenience and American myths of productivity gourmetmagazine.net/nation-of-su...
America Runs on Sucking
A brief history of straws and American consumption
gourmetmagazine.net
February 4, 2026 at 7:12 PM
icymi!
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
worth noting that the second rich people stopped being afraid of mobs tearing them limb from limb, they stopped building libraries and opera houses and stuff and started ripping the copper wiring out of the walls of society instead
February 4, 2026 at 4:44 PM
worth noting that the second rich people stopped being afraid of mobs tearing them limb from limb, they stopped building libraries and opera houses and stuff and started ripping the copper wiring out of the walls of society instead
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
I still think the best idea for progressive donors is to just revive every alt-weekly in the country and staff them with 10 reporters each.
I wrote a bit about the misguided effort by Democrats to replicate Joe Rogan the right-wing podcast ecosystem.
May 27, 2025 at 8:57 PM
I still think the best idea for progressive donors is to just revive every alt-weekly in the country and staff them with 10 reporters each.
Team resources is why worker-owned media collectives are so important. It's not gonna fix everything, especially the problem of readers only having so much cash, but everyone can't go it alone.
A lot of people cannot just start a paid newsletter or become freelancers to sustain their careers. The sports, metro, and international desks did work that requires *team* resources, like legal checks, documents, access to archives, and long-term beat experience.
February 4, 2026 at 3:32 PM
Team resources is why worker-owned media collectives are so important. It's not gonna fix everything, especially the problem of readers only having so much cash, but everyone can't go it alone.
"Ideally, by drinking a coffee while you drive to work, you are saving it so that you can have more enjoyment in your life elsewhere, but in all likelihood you’re saving time so you can clock in earlier and clock out later." gourmetmagazine.net/nation-of-su...
America Runs on Sucking
A brief history of straws and American consumption
gourmetmagazine.net
February 4, 2026 at 2:46 PM
"Ideally, by drinking a coffee while you drive to work, you are saving it so that you can have more enjoyment in your life elsewhere, but in all likelihood you’re saving time so you can clock in earlier and clock out later." gourmetmagazine.net/nation-of-su...
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
February 3, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
had a really lovely time chatting about TCW, star trek: enterprise and how a culture only does That if it's very, very sick
Video Interview: Mattie Lubchansky and Clayton Ashley on the STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE podcast TEMPORAL CULTURE WAR
Comics Beat Star Trek team members Avery Kaplan and Ollie Kaplan interview Mattie Lubchansky and Clayton Ashley on Temporal Culture War.
Comics Beat Star Trek team members Avery Kaplan and Ollie Kaplan interview Mattie Lubchansky and Clayton Ashley on Temporal Culture War.
Video Interview: Mattie Lubchansky and Clayton Ashley on the STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE podcast TEMPORAL CULTURE WAR
Comics Beat Star Trek team members Avery Kaplan and Ollie Kaplan interview Mattie Lubchansky and Clayton Ashley on Temporal Culture War.
www.comicsbeat.com
February 3, 2026 at 4:18 PM
had a really lovely time chatting about TCW, star trek: enterprise and how a culture only does That if it's very, very sick
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
I wrote for the new @gourmetlives.bsky.social about straws and convenience and American myths of productivity gourmetmagazine.net/nation-of-su...
America Runs on Sucking
A brief history of straws and American consumption
gourmetmagazine.net
February 3, 2026 at 2:36 PM
I wrote for the new @gourmetlives.bsky.social about straws and convenience and American myths of productivity gourmetmagazine.net/nation-of-su...
Reposted by Jaya Saxena
whistles are loud on purpose and do not have a language barrier. they tell people who need to hide to hide and people who can get there to observe to do so, all at the same time, across languages. not a lot of other ways to do all that simultaneously!
Ugh. The main anti-ICE group in Washington which has 44k followers on Facebook and has been going around to communities promoting classes is now promoting this anti-whistle nonsense for "harm reduction" reasons as well.
February 3, 2026 at 3:38 PM
whistles are loud on purpose and do not have a language barrier. they tell people who need to hide to hide and people who can get there to observe to do so, all at the same time, across languages. not a lot of other ways to do all that simultaneously!