John Chu
@johnchu.bsky.social
The writer who won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards. Not the movie director. (He/him/his) Mastodon: @john_chu@wandering.shop
Pinned
John Chu
@johnchu.bsky.social
· May 6
My novel, The Subtle Art of Folding Space, has a cover!
Read about repairing physics, unreasonable parental expectations, and great Taiwanese food! Out on April 7, 2026. Pre-order now: t.co/0nz8JuNhwf
Art credits: Jacket art by Weston Wei, Jacket Design by Katie Klimowicz.
Read about repairing physics, unreasonable parental expectations, and great Taiwanese food! Out on April 7, 2026. Pre-order now: t.co/0nz8JuNhwf
Art credits: Jacket art by Weston Wei, Jacket Design by Katie Klimowicz.
Reposted by John Chu
This NYT column by @polgreen.bsky.social is the truest thing I've ever seen about the REAL reason public trust in the media collapsed
February 14, 2026 at 2:31 PM
This NYT column by @polgreen.bsky.social is the truest thing I've ever seen about the REAL reason public trust in the media collapsed
Reposted by John Chu
these people are sociopaths
February 14, 2026 at 2:41 PM
these people are sociopaths
Reposted by John Chu
People like this frequently - whether intentionally or otherwise — confuse in their addled brains the words “complex” and “complicated.” The two words seem like synonyms but everything is complex. Slavery was complex. So are molecules and the mail system. Slavery isn’t a complicated issue, there’s…
Physically incapable of analyzing politics outside of this insipid frame.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
February 14, 2026 at 2:41 PM
People like this frequently - whether intentionally or otherwise — confuse in their addled brains the words “complex” and “complicated.” The two words seem like synonyms but everything is complex. Slavery was complex. So are molecules and the mail system. Slavery isn’t a complicated issue, there’s…
Reposted by John Chu
Five out of five readers rated my 2025 NEH proposal as "excellent"--the highest grade. I was denied.
DOGE allegedly used ChatGPT to identify 1,400 NEH grants it said were DEI. Grants were terminated April 2025, according to a court filing. E.g.
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
ChatGPT cuts in action
www.politico.com
February 14, 2026 at 4:47 AM
Five out of five readers rated my 2025 NEH proposal as "excellent"--the highest grade. I was denied.
Reposted by John Chu
I love that they pretended these teens were genius hackers and it turns out they were just using ChatGPT
DOGE allegedly used ChatGPT to identify 1,400 NEH grants it said were DEI. Grants were terminated April 2025, according to a court filing. E.g.
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
ChatGPT cuts in action
www.politico.com
February 14, 2026 at 4:54 AM
I love that they pretended these teens were genius hackers and it turns out they were just using ChatGPT
Reposted by John Chu
It’s so funny to think about the fact that there’s people out there deferring every life decision to this
February 14, 2026 at 9:53 AM
It’s so funny to think about the fact that there’s people out there deferring every life decision to this
Reposted by John Chu
I really like this essay because it’s explicit that the neighborhood envisioned by people like Simonoff is truly dystopian. They lack a vision of anything that doesn’t involve racialized anxiety and fear, and that’s what they are trying to sell us.
“It’s an auspicious coincidence that Sunday’s Super Bowl offered a counterargument to Ring’s dystopian vision in the form of Bad Bunny’s halftime spectacle, which featured the ‘La Casita’ concept that made his recent Las Vegas residency so critically acclaimed”
Bad Bunny’s Neighborliness Is the Antidote to Ring’s Dystopian Vision
More and more Americans are turning against the surveillance state—and embracing each other.
newrepublic.com
February 14, 2026 at 12:43 PM
I really like this essay because it’s explicit that the neighborhood envisioned by people like Simonoff is truly dystopian. They lack a vision of anything that doesn’t involve racialized anxiety and fear, and that’s what they are trying to sell us.
Reposted by John Chu
NEW: Hundreds of judges around the country have ruled more than 4,400 times since October that President Donald Trump’s administration is detaining immigrants unlawfully, a Reuters review of court records found.
The government keeps doing it nonetheless.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
The government keeps doing it nonetheless.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
February 14, 2026 at 12:14 PM
NEW: Hundreds of judges around the country have ruled more than 4,400 times since October that President Donald Trump’s administration is detaining immigrants unlawfully, a Reuters review of court records found.
The government keeps doing it nonetheless.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
The government keeps doing it nonetheless.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Reposted by John Chu
Deranged chaos agent RFK Jr recently went on a propaganda podcast and admitted that he’s not scared of germs because he used snort cocaine off of toilet seats.
We went from actual medical professionals leading US Health to this demented repugnant asshole wanting to kill us all.
We went from actual medical professionals leading US Health to this demented repugnant asshole wanting to kill us all.
February 14, 2026 at 6:23 AM
Deranged chaos agent RFK Jr recently went on a propaganda podcast and admitted that he’s not scared of germs because he used snort cocaine off of toilet seats.
We went from actual medical professionals leading US Health to this demented repugnant asshole wanting to kill us all.
We went from actual medical professionals leading US Health to this demented repugnant asshole wanting to kill us all.
Reposted by John Chu
"In any given dynasty," Mu Bai reminds these wannabe political cos-players, "your ancestors would have been too lowly to even haul around the Emperor’s shit-bucket on a shoulder-pole.”
February 14, 2026 at 1:30 AM
"In any given dynasty," Mu Bai reminds these wannabe political cos-players, "your ancestors would have been too lowly to even haul around the Emperor’s shit-bucket on a shoulder-pole.”
Reposted by John Chu
"Blogger Mu Bai mocks the recent wave of 'dynastic nostalgia' among some online Chinese nationalists who identify with the emperors and generals of yore, and engage in heated arguments about whether the Ming or the Qing Dynasty was more badass."
February 14, 2026 at 1:30 AM
"Blogger Mu Bai mocks the recent wave of 'dynastic nostalgia' among some online Chinese nationalists who identify with the emperors and generals of yore, and engage in heated arguments about whether the Ming or the Qing Dynasty was more badass."
Reposted by John Chu
CDT's “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for December 2025, Part Two
Topics include: Ming Dynasty nostalgia, WeChat friend-circle estrangement, cancelled flights to Japan, and Nanjing Museum staff pilfering and reselling donated artworks.
Topics include: Ming Dynasty nostalgia, WeChat friend-circle estrangement, cancelled flights to Japan, and Nanjing Museum staff pilfering and reselling donated artworks.
CDT's “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for December 2025, Part Two
CDT presents a monthly series of censored content that has been added to our “404 Deleted Content Archive.” Each month, we publish a summary of content blocked or deleted (often yielding the message “...
chinadigitaltimes.net
February 14, 2026 at 1:29 AM
CDT's “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for December 2025, Part Two
Topics include: Ming Dynasty nostalgia, WeChat friend-circle estrangement, cancelled flights to Japan, and Nanjing Museum staff pilfering and reselling donated artworks.
Topics include: Ming Dynasty nostalgia, WeChat friend-circle estrangement, cancelled flights to Japan, and Nanjing Museum staff pilfering and reselling donated artworks.
Reposted by John Chu
How dare they presume to know what would dazzle a penguin.
A ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse will dazzle people and penguins in Antarctica
'Ring of fire' solar eclipse visible in Antarctica
The first solar eclipse of the year will grace Antarctica, and only a lucky few will get to bask — or waddle — in its glow.
www.ctvnews.ca
February 13, 2026 at 3:47 PM
How dare they presume to know what would dazzle a penguin.
Reposted by John Chu
Someone must be spiking the drinks of the CEOs in Silicon Valley because the level of openly hostile employee behavior is off the charts.
Asking your foreign workers to stand up at an all-hands then joking that ICE has come to pick them up is nuts.
Asking your foreign workers to stand up at an all-hands then joking that ICE has come to pick them up is nuts.
February 14, 2026 at 1:39 AM
Someone must be spiking the drinks of the CEOs in Silicon Valley because the level of openly hostile employee behavior is off the charts.
Asking your foreign workers to stand up at an all-hands then joking that ICE has come to pick them up is nuts.
Asking your foreign workers to stand up at an all-hands then joking that ICE has come to pick them up is nuts.
Reposted by John Chu
let's stay together
February 14, 2026 at 1:06 AM
let's stay together
Reposted by John Chu
if you're an older person who finds words like mogg and maxxing annoying, just starting using them. people over the age of 30 have the superpower to end trends by simply adopting them
February 14, 2026 at 1:50 AM
if you're an older person who finds words like mogg and maxxing annoying, just starting using them. people over the age of 30 have the superpower to end trends by simply adopting them
Reposted by John Chu
Reposted by John Chu
Also, there's this, on the widespread social media trend of pining for lost historical golden ages when everything was great, if you can imagine anyone doing such a thing:
"In any given dynasty," Mu Bai reminds these wannabe political cos-players, "your ancestors would have been too lowly to even haul around the Emperor’s shit-bucket on a shoulder-pole.”
February 14, 2026 at 1:52 AM
Also, there's this, on the widespread social media trend of pining for lost historical golden ages when everything was great, if you can imagine anyone doing such a thing:
Reposted by John Chu
The Nanjing Museum story featured in several of these censored posts is *nuts*: collector's family gifted 137 artifacts to the museum; museum staff falsely declared that five of them, including a $12.5 million painting, were fake, and then secretly sold them on.
CDT's “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for December 2025, Part Two
Topics include: Ming Dynasty nostalgia, WeChat friend-circle estrangement, cancelled flights to Japan, and Nanjing Museum staff pilfering and reselling donated artworks.
Topics include: Ming Dynasty nostalgia, WeChat friend-circle estrangement, cancelled flights to Japan, and Nanjing Museum staff pilfering and reselling donated artworks.
CDT's “404 Deleted Content Archive” Summary for December 2025, Part Two
CDT presents a monthly series of censored content that has been added to our “404 Deleted Content Archive.” Each month, we publish a summary of content blocked or deleted (often yielding the message “...
chinadigitaltimes.net
February 14, 2026 at 1:50 AM
The Nanjing Museum story featured in several of these censored posts is *nuts*: collector's family gifted 137 artifacts to the museum; museum staff falsely declared that five of them, including a $12.5 million painting, were fake, and then secretly sold them on.
Reposted by John Chu
DOGE allegedly used ChatGPT to identify 1,400 NEH grants it said were DEI. Grants were terminated April 2025, according to a court filing. E.g.
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
ChatGPT cuts in action
www.politico.com
February 13, 2026 at 11:49 PM
DOGE allegedly used ChatGPT to identify 1,400 NEH grants it said were DEI. Grants were terminated April 2025, according to a court filing. E.g.
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
Film: 1873 Colfax massacre
Film: first female pilots flying for U.S. military in WWII
Film: “Untold Story of Jewish Women Slave Labor in the Holocaust"
Reposted by John Chu
Nuremberg Trials.
On Thanksgiving, the immigrant children held at the Dilley detention center gathered in the gym for what they thought was a holiday feast.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
The kids salivated over a spread of turkey, sandwiches, pastries and pies, a family told me.
But the food wasn’t for detainees — it was for the staff.
February 14, 2026 at 1:50 AM
Nuremberg Trials.
Reposted by John Chu
Also! In case any of your readers don’t know this, the Lady Business Hugo recommendations spreadsheet has a tab for poems. (docs.google.com/spreadsheets...)
I mention this both to point nominators to the poems already recommended there, and to suggest that people add eligible poems that they like.
I mention this both to point nominators to the poems already recommended there, and to suggest that people add eligible poems that they like.
The Hugo Awards (2026)
docs.google.com
February 13, 2026 at 11:52 PM
Also! In case any of your readers don’t know this, the Lady Business Hugo recommendations spreadsheet has a tab for poems. (docs.google.com/spreadsheets...)
I mention this both to point nominators to the poems already recommended there, and to suggest that people add eligible poems that they like.
I mention this both to point nominators to the poems already recommended there, and to suggest that people add eligible poems that they like.
Reposted by John Chu
If you'd like to read "Phantom View," it's up for free right here: reactormag.com/phantom-view...
February 1, 2026 at 7:04 PM
If you'd like to read "Phantom View," it's up for free right here: reactormag.com/phantom-view...
Reposted by John Chu
In incredible news, the European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly for "The Full Recognition Of Trans Women As Women."
Even the center-right European People's Party voted for the declaration.
It will form a foundation for their position at the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
Our latest.
Even the center-right European People's Party voted for the declaration.
It will form a foundation for their position at the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
Our latest.
European Parliament Votes Overwhelmingly For "The Full Recognition Of Trans Women As Women"
The resolution, though nonbinding, is a significant shot at those who seek to erode transgender rights on the continent.
www.erininthemorning.com
February 13, 2026 at 5:17 PM
In incredible news, the European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly for "The Full Recognition Of Trans Women As Women."
Even the center-right European People's Party voted for the declaration.
It will form a foundation for their position at the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
Our latest.
Even the center-right European People's Party voted for the declaration.
It will form a foundation for their position at the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
Our latest.
Reposted by John Chu
EXCLUSIVE: DHS based its newest refugee attack on a Trump proclamation that stated it would not apply to refugees.
New documents filed in a key refugee case in Minnesota shed light on a broad, aggressive plan to review all refugees admitted since the start of the Biden administration.
Law Dork:
New documents filed in a key refugee case in Minnesota shed light on a broad, aggressive plan to review all refugees admitted since the start of the Biden administration.
Law Dork:
Exclusive: DHS based its newest refugee attack on a Trump proclamation that stated it would not apply to refugees
New documents filed in a key refugee case in Minnesota shed light on a broad, aggressive plan to review all refugees admitted since the start of the Biden administration.
www.lawdork.com
February 13, 2026 at 7:34 AM
EXCLUSIVE: DHS based its newest refugee attack on a Trump proclamation that stated it would not apply to refugees.
New documents filed in a key refugee case in Minnesota shed light on a broad, aggressive plan to review all refugees admitted since the start of the Biden administration.
Law Dork:
New documents filed in a key refugee case in Minnesota shed light on a broad, aggressive plan to review all refugees admitted since the start of the Biden administration.
Law Dork: