Laura Sell
@laurasell.bsky.social
I promote books at Duke University Press. Reader, cat lover, messy cook and lazy gardener. Will plunge into any nearby body of water.
Reposted by Laura Sell
This @bostonreview.bsky.social piece by @adambonica.bsky.social and @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social is an absolute must-read, as are many of the responses to it.
Spread this one far and wide.
Spread this one far and wide.
How Not to Defeat Authoritarianism
Moderation used to help Democrats win, but its advantages now have been greatly exaggerated.
www.bostonreview.net
February 3, 2026 at 4:31 PM
This @bostonreview.bsky.social piece by @adambonica.bsky.social and @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social is an absolute must-read, as are many of the responses to it.
Spread this one far and wide.
Spread this one far and wide.
Reposted by Laura Sell
Reposted by Laura Sell
NEW: A rupture between DOJ and ICE has emerged in Minnesota, where overwhelmed prosecutors keep dropping the ball — and saying ICE won't return their messages.
The crisis has had real-world consequences for migrants illegally detained
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
The crisis has had real-world consequences for migrants illegally detained
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
February 4, 2026 at 8:27 PM
NEW: A rupture between DOJ and ICE has emerged in Minnesota, where overwhelmed prosecutors keep dropping the ball — and saying ICE won't return their messages.
The crisis has had real-world consequences for migrants illegally detained
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
The crisis has had real-world consequences for migrants illegally detained
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social
www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Reposted by Laura Sell
After 20 years, I've been laid off at The Washington Post.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
I’ve Been Laid Off. I’m Not Done.
After 20 years at The Washington Post, I’m suddenly on my own — and still writing about books.
substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 7:17 PM
After 20 years, I've been laid off at The Washington Post.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Great and relatable essay on the frustration of forgetting words due to perimenopause.
lithub.com/whats-the-wo...
lithub.com/whats-the-wo...
What’s the Word for… Forgetting Words?
Lately I have been losing words. Not poetically, not as a metaphor for grief or heartbreak, shock or awe. I mean I am literally losing them. A name I should know (my own child’s), nouns that once a…
lithub.com
February 4, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Great and relatable essay on the frustration of forgetting words due to perimenopause.
lithub.com/whats-the-wo...
lithub.com/whats-the-wo...
Reposted by Laura Sell
I'll say more before too long, but for now: Thanks to anyone who has ever read and supported the Post's books coverage.
February 4, 2026 at 3:24 PM
I'll say more before too long, but for now: Thanks to anyone who has ever read and supported the Post's books coverage.
Reposted by Laura Sell
Absolutely not trying to make the terrible news of the closure of Washington Post's Books coverage about me or anything, but I cannot stress how bad this is for books. The biggest divide between Big 5 and independent/nonprofit press books is not quality--it's the marketing spend.
February 4, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Absolutely not trying to make the terrible news of the closure of Washington Post's Books coverage about me or anything, but I cannot stress how bad this is for books. The biggest divide between Big 5 and independent/nonprofit press books is not quality--it's the marketing spend.
Reposted by Laura Sell
Jeff Bezos has enough spare change under the seat cushions of his rocket to keep this newspaper afloat. Can't he just pretend that the Washington Post is, like, a $75 million vanity documentary
Breaking News: The Washington Post began sweeping layoffs that were slated to shrink the scope of the publication.
Washington Post Begins Sweeping Layoffs
The layoffs are slated to shrink the newsroom by hundreds of journalists, cutting into The Post’s local, international and sports coverage.
nyti.ms
February 4, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Jeff Bezos has enough spare change under the seat cushions of his rocket to keep this newspaper afloat. Can't he just pretend that the Washington Post is, like, a $75 million vanity documentary
Reposted by Laura Sell
one thing the trump era has made clear, i think, is that the american people themselves are far more committed to the values of our founding documents than our elites
February 4, 2026 at 4:07 AM
one thing the trump era has made clear, i think, is that the american people themselves are far more committed to the values of our founding documents than our elites
Another one of the few book review outlets left bites the dust.
WaPo also closing Books section and downsizing International and Metro sections
February 4, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Another one of the few book review outlets left bites the dust.
I admire Father James Martin so much. An inspiration to live our values.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/m...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/m...
Rev. James Martin on Our Moral Duty in Turbulent Times
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:03 PM
I admire Father James Martin so much. An inspiration to live our values.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/m...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/m...
Reposted by Laura Sell
For The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank responsible for Project 2025, pursuing college means young people delay marriage and a family—and, for women especially, a decrease in fertility.
Women, no longer compelled to stay home and raise children, are a problem. trib.al/58KKIdH
Women, no longer compelled to stay home and raise children, are a problem. trib.al/58KKIdH
February 3, 2026 at 3:23 PM
For The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank responsible for Project 2025, pursuing college means young people delay marriage and a family—and, for women especially, a decrease in fertility.
Women, no longer compelled to stay home and raise children, are a problem. trib.al/58KKIdH
Women, no longer compelled to stay home and raise children, are a problem. trib.al/58KKIdH
Reposted by Laura Sell
The public library is an essential component of a 21st-century left political project as an example of both what is already available to us and what can be improved upon in the future. The library is a public good, and it is free as a public service.
I want more people to make the connections.
I want more people to make the connections.
January 31, 2026 at 10:58 PM
The public library is an essential component of a 21st-century left political project as an example of both what is already available to us and what can be improved upon in the future. The library is a public good, and it is free as a public service.
I want more people to make the connections.
I want more people to make the connections.
So sad. She was still going great work.
Catherine O’Hara, the comedian best known for her roles in “Home Alone,” “Schitt’s Creek” and “Beetlejuice,” and as a member of the influential Canadian sketch comedy series “S.C.T.V.,” has died. She was 71. nyti.ms/4qbsUMS
January 30, 2026 at 7:13 PM
So sad. She was still going great work.
Reposted by Laura Sell
“Independent” is doing too much work in this first wave. They are arresting journalists and just like everything else they’ve done, they’re testing the limits of our resistance by starting wt vulnerable margins.
January 30, 2026 at 3:45 PM
“Independent” is doing too much work in this first wave. They are arresting journalists and just like everything else they’ve done, they’re testing the limits of our resistance by starting wt vulnerable margins.
Reposted by Laura Sell
The Dems showing up to a gunfight with a deck of magic the gathering cards
We've let the party become so filled with rules obsessives (whose strongest conviction is that rules are good without much mind to what they mean or who they should protect) that the only weapons our opposition can possibly imagine using are investigations, citations, and slaps on the wrist
January 30, 2026 at 4:09 PM
The Dems showing up to a gunfight with a deck of magic the gathering cards
A woman in Minneapolis had her TSA Pre-check and Global Entry revoked for legally protesting. How can we go after Palantir the way people did Tesla?
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/t...
How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters Are
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:24 PM
A woman in Minneapolis had her TSA Pre-check and Global Entry revoked for legally protesting. How can we go after Palantir the way people did Tesla?
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/t...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/t...
Reposted by Laura Sell
Finally got around to a bit of research I'd been meaning to explore, and: There is no documented instance of an ICE officer being identified and assaulted while off duty because he wasn't masked. www.pbump.net/o/ices-excus...
ICE’s excuse for wearing masks has never actually manifested
There have been incidents of harassment and threats. But there are no apparent incidents in which identified ICE officers have been assaulted off-duty.
www.pbump.net
January 29, 2026 at 6:05 PM
Finally got around to a bit of research I'd been meaning to explore, and: There is no documented instance of an ICE officer being identified and assaulted while off duty because he wasn't masked. www.pbump.net/o/ices-excus...
Reposted by Laura Sell
The date for the next No Kings Day is set.
But this is a save the date, not a “sit back and wait.” 🧵
But this is a save the date, not a “sit back and wait.” 🧵
January 28, 2026 at 3:04 PM
The date for the next No Kings Day is set.
But this is a save the date, not a “sit back and wait.” 🧵
But this is a save the date, not a “sit back and wait.” 🧵
Reposted by Laura Sell
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 5:02 PM
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Reposted by Laura Sell
A US veteran leaves the country after ICE agents seize her husband at his green card hearing, and then causes him simply to "disappear." "This country is broken," she says.
January 28, 2026 at 1:58 PM
A US veteran leaves the country after ICE agents seize her husband at his green card hearing, and then causes him simply to "disappear." "This country is broken," she says.
Foushee is competent but quiet, she works behind the scenes. But is that right for this moment? I wanted to see her speaking out much more last year on all the federal job cuts in our district. She should have been on the news weekly.
Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam is challenging incumbent Rep. Valerie Foushee in this year’s Democratic primary. The race is a rematch: Foushee defeated Allam in 2022 and cruised to victory in the general. But a lot has changed since their last matchup.
www.theassemblync.com/news/valerie...
www.theassemblync.com/news/valerie...
A House District Divided
Incumbent Valerie Foushee and challenger Nida Allam present starkly different approaches to politics. Could NC-4 be a bellwether for Democrats?
www.theassemblync.com
January 28, 2026 at 2:29 PM
Foushee is competent but quiet, she works behind the scenes. But is that right for this moment? I wanted to see her speaking out much more last year on all the federal job cuts in our district. She should have been on the news weekly.
Reposted by Laura Sell
Abolish DHS. If you can imagine a world before Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, you can imagine a world without the Department of Homeland Security. My latest at @startribune.com. (gift link)
Perry: Abolish ICE? How about DHS altogether.
"We have models for how to structure federal immigration oversight that doesn't rely on an unaccountable masked secret police force running rampant in our streets," David M. Perry writes.
www.startribune.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:08 PM
Abolish DHS. If you can imagine a world before Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, you can imagine a world without the Department of Homeland Security. My latest at @startribune.com. (gift link)
Reposted by Laura Sell
Ian Austin, an Army veteran, was arrested for protesting ICE in Minneapolis. But he’s continued protesting. Senior reporter @julialurie.bsky.social spoke to him.
“When they say, ‘Why would you be out here?’ How the fuck could I not be out here?” he says. “My nation is under attack."
“When they say, ‘Why would you be out here?’ How the fuck could I not be out here?” he says. “My nation is under attack."
January 27, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Ian Austin, an Army veteran, was arrested for protesting ICE in Minneapolis. But he’s continued protesting. Senior reporter @julialurie.bsky.social spoke to him.
“When they say, ‘Why would you be out here?’ How the fuck could I not be out here?” he says. “My nation is under attack."
“When they say, ‘Why would you be out here?’ How the fuck could I not be out here?” he says. “My nation is under attack."
Reposted by Laura Sell
This March 1965 Herblock cartoon about police violence against civil rights activists has added relevance today.
January 26, 2026 at 1:08 PM
This March 1965 Herblock cartoon about police violence against civil rights activists has added relevance today.