Leah Sottile
@leahsottile.bsky.social
Independent journalist. Books: Blazing Eye Sees All, When The Moon Turns To Blood. Podcasts: Hush, Burn Wild, Two Minutes Past Nine, Bundyville. High Country News correspondent. Subscribe to Substack. www.leahsottile.com
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Leah Sottile
@leahsottile.bsky.social
· Mar 25
Blazing Eye Sees All: Love Has Won, False Prophets, and the Fever Dream of the American New Age
Love Has Won, False Prophets, and the Fever Dream of the American New Age
bookshop.org
Out today: Blazing Eye Sees All, my investigation into the wide spiritual world of the New Age. It is an unintentional story of extremism, feminism, climate change, deception, power, myth and the very nature of believing. I hope you read it.
bookshop.org/p/books/blaz...
bookshop.org/p/books/blaz...
Reposted by Leah Sottile
The pettiest people on earth.
Secretary of The Interior Doug Burgum has cancelled the grazing permits of a large nonprofit bison operation in Montana because it doesn't serve a commercial purpose. By @jordyhansen.bsky.social: dailymontanan.com/2026/01/16/b... #mtnews #mtpol #montana
Burgum yanks American Prairie bison grazing leases
American Prairie permits to graze bison on federal land has been revoked, according to a new decision from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
dailymontanan.com
January 17, 2026 at 2:26 PM
The pettiest people on earth.
Reposted by Leah Sottile
The Oregonian using AI to produce videos instead of paying people to do it.
Cool shit!
www.instagram.com/reel/DTjkIWE...
Cool shit!
www.instagram.com/reel/DTjkIWE...
Login • Instagram
Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.
www.instagram.com
January 17, 2026 at 2:59 PM
The Oregonian using AI to produce videos instead of paying people to do it.
Cool shit!
www.instagram.com/reel/DTjkIWE...
Cool shit!
www.instagram.com/reel/DTjkIWE...
“It’s really important right now to decolonizing settler minds, to decolonizing education, and to decolonizing ourselves.”
A fantastic read from @btoastie.bsky.social
A fantastic read from @btoastie.bsky.social
January 17, 2026 at 4:11 PM
“It’s really important right now to decolonizing settler minds, to decolonizing education, and to decolonizing ourselves.”
A fantastic read from @btoastie.bsky.social
A fantastic read from @btoastie.bsky.social
David Lynch died a year ago today. I wrote this obit - which gets into how Lynch’s work captured our gothic Northwest - on the day he died. What a legacy.
leahsottile.substack.com/p/55-owls-st...
leahsottile.substack.com/p/55-owls-st...
55. Owls, Still Not What They Seem
David Lynch understood our gothic Northwest
leahsottile.substack.com
January 16, 2026 at 5:48 PM
David Lynch died a year ago today. I wrote this obit - which gets into how Lynch’s work captured our gothic Northwest - on the day he died. What a legacy.
leahsottile.substack.com/p/55-owls-st...
leahsottile.substack.com/p/55-owls-st...
The Times went to non urban Minnesota to ask people why they dislike urban Minneapolis. If someone were to ask me to teach a journalism school course on helicopter reporting, this story - so cliche it’s almost hard to believe they really did this - would immediately go on the syllabus.
NYTimes has truly outdone itself with this latest in its "ask white guys in diner" genre. Thank goodness we get a perspective on what's happening in Minneapolis from people in **Nisswa** who probably mean Brainerd when they say they "prefer not to go the city anymore" www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/u...
One State, Two Very Different Views of Minneapolis
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:55 PM
The Times went to non urban Minnesota to ask people why they dislike urban Minneapolis. If someone were to ask me to teach a journalism school course on helicopter reporting, this story - so cliche it’s almost hard to believe they really did this - would immediately go on the syllabus.
Reposted by Leah Sottile
He could have used his time to disavow the comments in the group chats. He could have called or had his staff call to get more insight before giving comment, as was suggested in the Mercury's initial email to his office. Instead he took a page out of the Trump playbook and just attacked our reporter
Portland City Councilor Dan Ryan blamed the press after taking heat for choosing not to address the contents of a story published in the Mercury the day prior.
Here are the receipts 🧾
Here are the receipts 🧾
City Councilor Lashes Out at Press After Mercury Story About Offensive Group Chat
Councilor Dan Ryan said he lacked appropriate context for a statement. Here are the receipts.
www.portlandmercury.com
January 15, 2026 at 5:54 AM
He could have used his time to disavow the comments in the group chats. He could have called or had his staff call to get more insight before giving comment, as was suggested in the Mercury's initial email to his office. Instead he took a page out of the Trump playbook and just attacked our reporter
Reposted by Leah Sottile
me when my friends want to hang out
January 15, 2026 at 4:32 AM
me when my friends want to hang out
Reposted by Leah Sottile
BIG: The case for Tren de Aragua being invading narco-terrorists, key to Trump's attacks on Venezuela and immigrant communities at home, is just another manufactured threat, as revealed in a trove of intel documents we provided to @dell.bsky.social / @wired.com. #FOIA www.wired.com/story/trump-...
Trump Warned of a Tren de Aragua ‘Invasion.’ US Intel Told a Different Story
Hundreds of records obtained by WIRED show thin intelligence on the Venezuelan gang in the United States, describing fragmented, low-level crime rather than a coordinated terrorist threat.
www.wired.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:53 PM
BIG: The case for Tren de Aragua being invading narco-terrorists, key to Trump's attacks on Venezuela and immigrant communities at home, is just another manufactured threat, as revealed in a trove of intel documents we provided to @dell.bsky.social / @wired.com. #FOIA www.wired.com/story/trump-...
This is some amazing reporting by @jeremiahhayden.bsky.social.
The Mercury has obtained a series of images of group messages that show racist, sexist, and homophobic tropes used by a local developer and other local conservative political activists during a council president election. Readers may find this content offensive.
"Racist, Dehumanizing": Chat Images Show Portland Power Players Disparaging Councilors of Color
Messages obtained by the Mercury contain a slew of offensive tropes sent during a council president election
www.portlandmercury.com
January 14, 2026 at 12:01 AM
This is some amazing reporting by @jeremiahhayden.bsky.social.
Reposted by Leah Sottile
@aprilehrlich.bsky.social shares for our “what our audience doesn’t know” series.
"Many of these managers make 6 figures, a salary that many of us may never reach, and OPB is paying for a negotiator. The more they prolong this process, the more money it costs." -April Ehrlich, OPB Reporter/Producer
"Many of these managers make 6 figures, a salary that many of us may never reach, and OPB is paying for a negotiator. The more they prolong this process, the more money it costs." -April Ehrlich, OPB Reporter/Producer
January 13, 2026 at 8:14 PM
@aprilehrlich.bsky.social shares for our “what our audience doesn’t know” series.
"Many of these managers make 6 figures, a salary that many of us may never reach, and OPB is paying for a negotiator. The more they prolong this process, the more money it costs." -April Ehrlich, OPB Reporter/Producer
"Many of these managers make 6 figures, a salary that many of us may never reach, and OPB is paying for a negotiator. The more they prolong this process, the more money it costs." -April Ehrlich, OPB Reporter/Producer
Up for grabs, Oregonians.
The Custom Oregon Plate CHILIN was previously assigned, but is now available for reservation. https://dmv2u.oregon.gov/eServices/?link=custom #Oregon #LicensePlate #VanityPlate #OregonPlates #CustomPlate #CHILIN
January 13, 2026 at 5:07 AM
Up for grabs, Oregonians.
I noticed the New York Times omitted the “fucking bitch” line from their story on yesterday’s video. Normalized misogyny, as @milleridriss.bsky.social argues in her book Man Up, smooths the path toward violence.
We know just about everything we need to know by the last two words issued by the agent-or by a man nearby- on his cellphone video: “Fucking bitch.”
This is uncontrolled rage from a man who could not handle a woman standing up 1/
The ICE agent’s cellphone video: Five key moments
This is uncontrolled rage from a man who could not handle a woman standing up 1/
The ICE agent’s cellphone video: Five key moments
January 10, 2026 at 4:56 PM
I noticed the New York Times omitted the “fucking bitch” line from their story on yesterday’s video. Normalized misogyny, as @milleridriss.bsky.social argues in her book Man Up, smooths the path toward violence.
"Neighbor, now that you are part of that eternal elsewhere, what do you see ahead of us? How long is it until goodness wins?"
The amazing Danez Smith's "An Elegy for My Neighbor, Renee Nicole Good"
www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/feat...
The amazing Danez Smith's "An Elegy for My Neighbor, Renee Nicole Good"
www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/feat...
An Elegy for My Neighbor, Renee Nicole Good
Fellow poet Danez Smith memorializes the Minneapolis mother's call to witness
www.harpersbazaar.com
January 9, 2026 at 11:09 PM
"Neighbor, now that you are part of that eternal elsewhere, what do you see ahead of us? How long is it until goodness wins?"
The amazing Danez Smith's "An Elegy for My Neighbor, Renee Nicole Good"
www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/feat...
The amazing Danez Smith's "An Elegy for My Neighbor, Renee Nicole Good"
www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/feat...
Reposted by Leah Sottile
Believe it or not, it was once very unusual to see videos of people getting killed. Now we're all going frame by frame. Take care of your brains folks. You can't make this murder right by replaying it.
January 9, 2026 at 10:48 PM
Believe it or not, it was once very unusual to see videos of people getting killed. Now we're all going frame by frame. Take care of your brains folks. You can't make this murder right by replaying it.
Me vs. literally every story I come up with
January 9, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Me vs. literally every story I come up with
I chose a real fuckin weird week to read Fahrenheit 451.
January 9, 2026 at 12:31 AM
I chose a real fuckin weird week to read Fahrenheit 451.
Reposted by Leah Sottile
Breaking News Update: Two people were shot Thursday by federal officers operating in East Portland, according to the Portland Police Bureau. The victims were transported to a local hospital. It was not immediately clear their condition, police said in a release.
Federal agents shoot 2 people in East Portland
Two people were shot Thursday by federal officers operating in East Portland, according to the Portland Police Bureau. The victims were transported to a local hospital. It was not immediately clear their condition, police said in a release.
www.opb.org
January 8, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Breaking News Update: Two people were shot Thursday by federal officers operating in East Portland, according to the Portland Police Bureau. The victims were transported to a local hospital. It was not immediately clear their condition, police said in a release.
Reposted by Leah Sottile
Weighing evidence is fine but it’s wild how US media never starts from the presumption that cops should never shoot citizens dead
Three videos taken of the scene and reviewed by CNN, however, show nuance. What took place prior to the shooting remains unclear. | Analysis
DHS says woman attempted to run over ICE officers before being shot in Minneapolis. Here’s what the videos show. | CNN
Three videos taken of the scene and reviewed by CNN show nuance. What took place prior to the shooting remains unclear.
www.cnn.com
January 8, 2026 at 8:01 AM
Weighing evidence is fine but it’s wild how US media never starts from the presumption that cops should never shoot citizens dead
To add to this point, after Lavoy Finicum almost plowed his car into an FBI agent and then reached for a gun while yelling “shoot me,” it fueled (and fuels) so much rage in the far right, despite it being captured on video.
When FBI agents killed white separatist Vicki Weaver while trying to take her criming husband into custody, it fueled the anti-government militia movement that formed one tributary into today's MAGA right, which is shrugging off today's state murder of Renee Good.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Ri...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Ri...
Ruby Ridge standoff - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 8, 2026 at 4:27 AM
To add to this point, after Lavoy Finicum almost plowed his car into an FBI agent and then reached for a gun while yelling “shoot me,” it fueled (and fuels) so much rage in the far right, despite it being captured on video.
I’m starting to understand why phone calls I have planned with friends in other countries keep getting postponed. I think they don’t know what to say anymore. “How’s it going over there?” seems inadequate.
January 8, 2026 at 4:20 AM
I’m starting to understand why phone calls I have planned with friends in other countries keep getting postponed. I think they don’t know what to say anymore. “How’s it going over there?” seems inadequate.
Reposted by Leah Sottile
it is so rare to see ‘myriad’ used correctly these days. shoutout to @leahsottile.bsky.social for today’s example in Blazing Eye Sees All (pp 107-108). also, highly recommend this book, it is terrific.
January 4, 2026 at 8:11 PM
it is so rare to see ‘myriad’ used correctly these days. shoutout to @leahsottile.bsky.social for today’s example in Blazing Eye Sees All (pp 107-108). also, highly recommend this book, it is terrific.
Reposted by Leah Sottile
This is not any big insight but it is especially important during wartime to remind ourselves that journalism does not serve the US military, or American interests, but rather "the public good," which includes all of humanity.
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/the-public...
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/the-public...
The Public Good, Not Patriotism
Journalists don't work for the United States of America.
www.hamiltonnolan.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:26 PM
This is not any big insight but it is especially important during wartime to remind ourselves that journalism does not serve the US military, or American interests, but rather "the public good," which includes all of humanity.
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/the-public...
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/the-public...
May I point everyone to #13:
January 3, 2026 at 5:27 PM
May I point everyone to #13:
Reposted by Leah Sottile
And thus began our decade of white men openly, brazenly and vigorously doing crimes and getting away with it.
“The refuge occupation was a rash before a fever, a symptom of our approaching political chaos.”
H/T @leahsottile.bsky.social
“The refuge occupation was a rash before a fever, a symptom of our approaching political chaos.”
H/T @leahsottile.bsky.social
The Takeover of Malheur Kicked Off a Decade of Lawlessness
The wildlife refuge occupation set the stage for Trump, January 6, and so much more.
www.pdxmonthly.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:03 PM
And thus began our decade of white men openly, brazenly and vigorously doing crimes and getting away with it.
“The refuge occupation was a rash before a fever, a symptom of our approaching political chaos.”
H/T @leahsottile.bsky.social
“The refuge occupation was a rash before a fever, a symptom of our approaching political chaos.”
H/T @leahsottile.bsky.social
Reposted by Leah Sottile
"The affair at Malheur was a showcase of American mythology, nostalgia, anxious masculinity, and the movement to “Make America Great Again” that would soon become inescapable."
Malheur is French for misfortune. A term of loss. I can’t think of a better word now for what happened ten years ago.
www.pdxmonthly.com/news-and-cit...
www.pdxmonthly.com/news-and-cit...
The Takeover of Malheur Kicked Off a Decade of Lawlessness
The wildlife refuge occupation set the stage for Trump, January 6, and so much more.
www.pdxmonthly.com
January 2, 2026 at 4:30 PM
"The affair at Malheur was a showcase of American mythology, nostalgia, anxious masculinity, and the movement to “Make America Great Again” that would soon become inescapable."