Leah Feiger
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leahfeiger.bsky.social
Leah Feiger
@leahfeiger.bsky.social
senior politics editor @wired.com -- signal leahfeiger.86 with tips
Reposted by Leah Feiger
with the end of the shutdown looming, here's my look for @wired.com into what life has been like for EPA employees over the past five weeks: little to no heads up about who was getting furloughed next, important projects getting put on the back burner while deregulation moves forward:
The EPA Is in Chaos
“We learn who is furloughed when we send an email to someone and get the out-of-office message,” one employee tells WIRED.
www.wired.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:39 PM
NEW: Even with the end of the US government shutdown in sight, the EPA is in chaos.

@mollytaft.com spoke with employees at the agency about their instructions over the last 5 weeks (and lack thereof):
The EPA Is in Chaos
“We learn who is furloughed when we send an email to someone and get the out-of-office message,” one employee tells WIRED.
www.wired.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
Super excited that we're hiring a senior writer to join @wired.com's culture team! If you're obsessed with internet culture and like our vibe, apply! condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/CondeC...
Senior Writer, Culture
WIRED is where a better future is imagined. For three decades, we have been the indispensable guide to a world in constant transformation. We cover humanity’s biggest challenges, from climate change t...
condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
NEW: SSA employees are getting extremely worried about how the agency will continue to provide benefits to some 70 million Americans, according to meeting minutes obtained by @wired.com. @zoeschiffer.bsky.social and @leahfeiger.bsky.social w/ the scoop: www.wired.com/story/social...
Social Security Employees Grill Management During Tense Shutdown Meeting
WIRED obtained notes from a Social Security Administration management meeting, where employees pressed leadership on plans for the agency.
www.wired.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
“I think I can speak for most of our employees when we say now more than ever, employees are feeling somewhat betrayed by the federal government as federal employees because of what we're navigating and the length in which we're navigating it.”

www.wired.com/story/social...
Social Security Employees Grill Management During Tense Shutdown Meeting
WIRED obtained notes from a Social Security Administration management meeting, where employees pressed leadership on plans for the agency.
www.wired.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
SSA employees grilled management during a tense meeting about the government shutdown yesterday. “People are coming to me saying they cannot put gas in their car and they cannot afford to come to work anymore," one employee said. Scoop w/ @leahfeiger.bsky.social: www.wired.com/story/social...
Social Security Employees Grill Management During Tense Shutdown Meeting
WIRED obtained notes from a Social Security Administration management meeting, where employees pressed leadership on plans for the agency.
www.wired.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:48 PM
NEW: We obtained notes from a Social Security Administration management meeting, where employees grilled leadership on plans for the agency during the shutdown + shared really upsetting stories from employees unable to get to work bc they can't afford gas.

from me and @zoeschiffer.bsky.social:
Social Security Employees Grill Management During Tense Shutdown Meeting
WIRED obtained notes from a Social Security Administration management meeting, where employees pressed leadership on plans for the agency.
www.wired.com
November 7, 2025 at 6:51 PM
help jake pay rent, please!
November 7, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
AP reporter Regina Garcia Cano looked into a few of the men killed in Trump's extrajudicial strikes on Caribbean boats.

"They were laborers, a fisherman, a taxi driver. Two were low-level career criminals. One was a local crime boss who contracted out smuggling services"

apnews.com/article/trum...
Trump has accused boat crews of being narco-terrorists. The truth, AP found, is more nuanced
One was a fisherman struggling to eke out a living on $100 a month. Another was a career criminal. A third was a former military cadet.
apnews.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
A statement from Wired's Conde Union Members
November 6, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
I PROMISE you, our aggressive, unflinching, investigative reporting isn't going anywhere—ever.
This is a really hard day and I want to just add as WIRED's politics editor -- WIRED's politics reporting isn't going anywhere. We are very much here and won't stop.

Please continue to read and support us - canceling your subscription to WIRED is not standing in solidarity with our journalists.
The key thing to watch here: they fired a Wired political reporter. That’s the title doing the most effective, pointed work. Teen Vogue’s stuff was culturally impactful, but less focused on investigating the administration. Within the Condé portfolio, Wired and the New Yorker are the canaries.
November 6, 2025 at 6:45 PM
This is a really hard day and I want to just add as WIRED's politics editor -- WIRED's politics reporting isn't going anywhere. We are very much here and won't stop.

Please continue to read and support us - canceling your subscription to WIRED is not standing in solidarity with our journalists.
The key thing to watch here: they fired a Wired political reporter. That’s the title doing the most effective, pointed work. Teen Vogue’s stuff was culturally impactful, but less focused on investigating the administration. Within the Condé portfolio, Wired and the New Yorker are the canaries.
New: Conde Nast fired four employees who were among a group that confronted the company's head of human resources on Wednesday over the decision to fold Teen Vogue into Vogue/recent cuts. Employees who were fired included journalists from the New Yorker, Wired, and Bon Appétit.
November 6, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Jake is one of the best and I’ll really miss working with him — whoever gets to work with him next is very lucky!
I was one of the four people who got canned.

In the interim, you can subscribe to my newsletter, Straight From The Hut. No paywall, but feel free to choose the pay to support model. I'm not going anywhere — the show goes on, and I'll be back on MSNBC Saturday night. straightfromthehut.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
Incredible reporting from @carolinehaskins.bsky.social about a school Mark Zuckerberg opened on his Palo Alto compound and operated for years with no permits, permissions, anything at all
Mark Zuckerberg Opened an Illegal School at His Palo Alto Compound. His Neighbors Revolted
Neighbors complained about noise, security guards, and hordes of traffic. An unlicensed school named after the Zuckerbergs’ pet chicken tipped them over the edge.
www.wired.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
Zohran Mamdani's Campaign Figured Out How to Channel Fandom

The Zohran Mamdani campaign ran a competent social media program, yes. But it's the fandom it fostered that transformed Mamdani into a digital (and IRL!) phenomenon.

More here:

www.wired.com/story/zohran...
Zohran Mamdani's Campaign Figured Out How to Channel Fandom
Much of the content about Mamdani online hasn't come from his campaign, or the dozens of political influencers invited to cover it. It's also come from fans.
www.wired.com
November 5, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
New: We've got an exclu with none other than Steve Kornacki to break down last night's results, including what surprised him coming out of New Jersey, where Zohran's best & worst turf was, and why Dems should be optimistic.

Also, he's not a khaki guy? Come nerd out www.wired.com/story/democr...
Democrats Did Much Better Than Expected
WIRED talked to NBC’s Steve Kornacki about Tuesday's election results. He thinks Trump didn't do Republicans any favors.
www.wired.com
November 5, 2025 at 4:41 PM
here to report that the right wing is having a real normal one
‘New York City Has Fallen’: MAGA Responds To Zohran Mamdani’s Victory With a Racist Freak Out
Republican lawmakers, right-wing influencers, far-right extremists, and conspiracy theorists pushed anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim rhetoric after Zohran Mamdani’s victory.
www.wired.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
A Border Patrol agent was caught on video telling another to throw tear gas “for fun,” according to a court filing. They also mocked protesters and residents who were getting gassed.
November 4, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
New: The FBI is quietly urging ICE agents to properly ID themselves in the field.

In a bulletin to law enforcement last month, it warned of criminals posing as ICE to rob, rape, kidnap—a problem it says now demands national coordination to confront.

By me & @carolinehaskins.bsky.social:
FBI Warns of Criminals Posing as ICE, Urges Agents to ID Themselves
In a bulletin to law enforcement agencies, the FBI said criminal impersonators are exploiting ICE’s image and urged nationwide coordination to distinguish real operations from fakes.
www.wired.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
SCOOP :

I got hold of the death threats, doxes and attacks teachers in Arizona are facing after a TPUSA spokesperson inaccurately claimed they mocked Charlie Kirk during Halloween.

"We’re coming for you. Literally driving to Tucson as we speak You fucking wait.”

www.wired.com/story/arizon...
Teachers Get Death Threats After MAGA Claims Their Halloween Costumes Mocked Charlie Kirk
A Turning Point USA official inaccurately claimed a high school's math department wore Halloween costumes that mocked Charlie Kirk. Those teachers are now facing a flood of online attacks and death th...
www.wired.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:37 PM
alt hed: How Much Antisemitism Is Too Much AntiSemitism? Nick Fuentes Has Thoughts

read @davidgilbert.bsky.social on a really interesting schism happening in the GOP right now:
The GOP Civil War Over Nick Fuentes Has Just Begun
Tucker Carlson’s friendly interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes has led to a major reckoning in the Republican party.
www.wired.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:06 PM
It's been a year since Trump was elected. Have Democrats figured out the internet yet?

“I can't, for the life of me, figure out why we are still so rigid and moderating everything when we have nothing to lose for the first time,” a Democratic digital strategist tells @makenakelly.bsky.social:
It's Been a Year Since Trump Was Elected. Democrats Still Don't Get the Internet
“I can't, for the life of me, figure out why we are still so rigid and moderating everything when we have nothing to lose for the first time,” a Democratic digital strategist tells WIRED.
www.wired.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
NEW:

As the GOP tears itself apart over claims of antisemitism, the person who triggered it all, Nick Fuentes, is celebrating.

“I am no longer the radical on the outside; I’m actually the leader on the inside."

www.wired.com/story/gop-ci...
The GOP Civil War Over Nick Fuentes Has Just Begun
Tucker Carlson’s friendly interview with white nationalist Nick Fuentes has led to a major reckoning in the Republican party.
www.wired.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
The revolution started on social media. It ended with protests, violence, and an online poll to pick the new prime minister. www.wired.com/story/nepal-...
The Inside Story of How Gen Z Toppled Nepal’s Leader and Chose a New One on Discord
The revolution started on social media. It ended with protests, violence, and an online poll to pick the new prime minister.
www.wired.com
November 4, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Reposted by Leah Feiger
NEWS: Federal agents crashed with woman’s car, pointed guns at her, dragged her out by legs, tossed her in a minivan, held her and (eventually) let her go without charges. This as Chicagoans say the immigration blitz is out of control. (DHS blames her.)
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/03/c...
Chicago woman dragged out of her car after colliding with ICE demands accountability
The arrest of Dayanne Figueroa highlights growing concerns about the use of force against U.S. citizens and due process. She was released after a few hours without charges.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:26 PM