Michael Zapata
@michaelzapata.bsky.social
Author of the novel THE LOST BOOK OF ADANA MOREAU. Faculty at StoryStudio Chicago & Northwestern University. Descended from Andean farmers, poets, and union organizers.
michaelzapata.com
michaelzapata.com
Pinned
I love you Chicago! Stay strong!
Oil, war, theft, all at the behest of capital. An endless and violent American cycle even as America fades into its own imperial past.
January 3, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Oil, war, theft, all at the behest of capital. An endless and violent American cycle even as America fades into its own imperial past.
When I was nine I wanted to be a paleontologist. I think @cbsnews.com should invite me (a regular guy) to talk about oil reserves in Venezuela.
The triumph of the stupid.
CBS: "On too many stories, the press has missed the story. Because we've taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American. Or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elites, and not enough on you."
CBS: "On too many stories, the press has missed the story. Because we've taken into account the perspective of advocates and not the average American. Or we put too much weight in the analysis of academics or elites, and not enough on you."
January 3, 2026 at 12:37 AM
When I was nine I wanted to be a paleontologist. I think @cbsnews.com should invite me (a regular guy) to talk about oil reserves in Venezuela.
We’re gonna sound so stupid trying to tell our grandchildren about social media.
January 3, 2026 at 12:29 AM
We’re gonna sound so stupid trying to tell our grandchildren about social media.
Chicago: Please join us on Sat, January 24th at The Hideout to raise money for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights. A reading & panel with writers, artists, and activists @anandalima.bsky.social Jose-Luis Moctezuma, @cynthiapelayo.bsky.social, Nissa Rhee. Hosted by Michael Zapata.
January 2, 2026 at 9:32 PM
Chicago: Please join us on Sat, January 24th at The Hideout to raise money for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights. A reading & panel with writers, artists, and activists @anandalima.bsky.social Jose-Luis Moctezuma, @cynthiapelayo.bsky.social, Nissa Rhee. Hosted by Michael Zapata.
The older I get the less I understand about writing or reading and the more I just want to experience it in my bones. It's that uncertainty, however difficult, that gives me great joy. I think this is why AI is so appalling. It offers, and still can't even deliver, lifeless, bland certainty.
December 30, 2025 at 8:46 PM
The older I get the less I understand about writing or reading and the more I just want to experience it in my bones. It's that uncertainty, however difficult, that gives me great joy. I think this is why AI is so appalling. It offers, and still can't even deliver, lifeless, bland certainty.
My reading is on fire lately.
December 27, 2025 at 5:44 PM
My reading is on fire lately.
The heart of a ruling class that demands profit for the few over the survival of our planet is nihilism. Nihilists on gold toilet thrones. Capitalism will always lead to meaninglessness.
In 2026, we can end this regime. We can fight fascists by fighting for each other and our humanity.
In 2026, we can end this regime. We can fight fascists by fighting for each other and our humanity.
December 24, 2025 at 6:50 PM
The heart of a ruling class that demands profit for the few over the survival of our planet is nihilism. Nihilists on gold toilet thrones. Capitalism will always lead to meaninglessness.
In 2026, we can end this regime. We can fight fascists by fighting for each other and our humanity.
In 2026, we can end this regime. We can fight fascists by fighting for each other and our humanity.
Reposted by Michael Zapata
"Newsweek asked DHS what evidence it had that Diaz Morales was not a U.S. citizen, and how her citizenship had been checked and verified. The department did not answer these questions."
Homeland Security will burn your life to the ground before admitting they're wrong. Abolish ICE.
Homeland Security will burn your life to the ground before admitting they're wrong. Abolish ICE.
"Her family has now been told she has been deported, despite US District Judge Brendan Hurson ruling Thursday that she could not be deported pending a hearing...attorneys said Monday that they have...confirm[ed] with the hospital she was born in Maryland." https://bit.ly/3MMdJvz
ICE detains woman whose lawyer insists is US citizen. DHS says she isn't
Federal agents arrested Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales on her way home in Baltimore, Maryland.
bit.ly
December 23, 2025 at 2:53 PM
"Newsweek asked DHS what evidence it had that Diaz Morales was not a U.S. citizen, and how her citizenship had been checked and verified. The department did not answer these questions."
Homeland Security will burn your life to the ground before admitting they're wrong. Abolish ICE.
Homeland Security will burn your life to the ground before admitting they're wrong. Abolish ICE.
Long live the death of censorship lol
December 23, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Long live the death of censorship lol
Reposted by Michael Zapata
Shout out to the people who did this and fuck you to everyone who made me feel like shit for saying they should just leak it.
December 23, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Shout out to the people who did this and fuck you to everyone who made me feel like shit for saying they should just leak it.
Lol.
The upcoming celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence is a time to take stock and see if the U.S. is living up to the revolutionary ideals the country was founded upon.
December 22, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Lol.
Also true with making art. AI is a dehumanizing shortcut to the abyss.
the problem with machine that spits out answers is that when you do research to find a fact, you're also learning about the entire context around it as well as the conversations scholars have about it. all that "wasted" time is developing an actual understanding of how the fact fits into the world.
December 20, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Also true with making art. AI is a dehumanizing shortcut to the abyss.
The rot of empire.
🚨 "The Justice Department redacted the names and identifiers of victims. Fox News Digital has learned that the same redaction standards were applied to politically exposed individuals and government officials. "
h/t @kleinmatic.bsky.social
h/t @kleinmatic.bsky.social
Epstein files explode open as DOJ details discovery of powerful figures and more than 1,200 victims
EXCLUSIVE: More than a dozen people and government officials' names appear in the hundreds of thousands of pages of Jeffrey Epstein files made public Friday, sources said.
www.foxnews.com
December 20, 2025 at 1:47 AM
The rot of empire.
Reposted by Michael Zapata
Some U.S. churches are reimagining Nativity scenes — surrounding the Holy Family with ICE agents or separating Jesus from Mary and Joseph — to protest the Trump administration's intensifying immigration crackdowns www.axios.com/2025/12/19/n...
Churches turn Nativity scenes into protests as immigration crackdowns intensify
Holy Family becomes symbol in anti-raid protests.
www.axios.com
December 19, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Some U.S. churches are reimagining Nativity scenes — surrounding the Holy Family with ICE agents or separating Jesus from Mary and Joseph — to protest the Trump administration's intensifying immigration crackdowns www.axios.com/2025/12/19/n...
Reposted by Michael Zapata
Yes, please write a literary and cultural history of cyberpunk so I can read it, but I'll also sweeten the deal: I'll publish it!*
* If it's good, passes peer review, etc.
* If it's good, passes peer review, etc.
This is beyond ripe for the taking. Someone please do this. :)
December 18, 2025 at 4:37 AM
Yes, please write a literary and cultural history of cyberpunk so I can read it, but I'll also sweeten the deal: I'll publish it!*
* If it's good, passes peer review, etc.
* If it's good, passes peer review, etc.
Reposted by Michael Zapata
Federal immigration agents in camo chase landscapers, students, and day laborers through U.S. cities in a deportation campaign, treating neighborhoods like war zones.
Ashley Gilbertson for @hammerandhope.bsky.social documents the courage of communities who resist.
Ashley Gilbertson for @hammerandhope.bsky.social documents the courage of communities who resist.
War at Home
A record of ICE’s assault on immigrants and the people’s resistance.
hammerandhope.org
December 18, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Federal immigration agents in camo chase landscapers, students, and day laborers through U.S. cities in a deportation campaign, treating neighborhoods like war zones.
Ashley Gilbertson for @hammerandhope.bsky.social documents the courage of communities who resist.
Ashley Gilbertson for @hammerandhope.bsky.social documents the courage of communities who resist.
It’s probably good the Internet is dying.
The future is digital shit
NEW: A hacker gained control of 1,100 mobile phones powering covert, AI-generated ads on TikTok. Then, he shared details of the operation with 404 Media.
A look inside how startup Doublespeed, which is backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), is creating AI spam pages on TikTok to promote products.
A look inside how startup Doublespeed, which is backed by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), is creating AI spam pages on TikTok to promote products.
December 18, 2025 at 3:09 PM
It’s probably good the Internet is dying.
Sometimes I wonder if Americans are even human.
Please enjoy this warm and intentional message from my doorbell. www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices...
December 18, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Sometimes I wonder if Americans are even human.
Everyone keep it up! ✊🏽
we can kill them all if we just work together and ✨believe💫
December 15, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Everyone keep it up! ✊🏽
They want serious head injuries for all apparently too.
publichealthpolicyjournal.com/mit-study-fi...
publichealthpolicyjournal.com/mit-study-fi...
December 15, 2025 at 5:22 PM
They want serious head injuries for all apparently too.
publichealthpolicyjournal.com/mit-study-fi...
publichealthpolicyjournal.com/mit-study-fi...
I’ll never get over how hilarious and accidentally honest this is.
December 15, 2025 at 5:02 PM
I’ll never get over how hilarious and accidentally honest this is.
Land of the free.
Armed ICE agents trapped US citizens in a restaurant and demanded their papers. Federal agents walked into East African restaurants in Cedar-Riverside, MN. They closed and blocked the doors. Then they demanded to see everyone’s papers. Every person present was a US citizen.
Federal agents use chemical irritant on crowd in Somali neighborhood of Minneapolis amid Trump crackdown
Federal agents have used chemical irritant to disperse a crowd in a heavily Somali neighborhood in Minneapolis. This happened Tuesday during a identification checks amid the Trump administration's cra...
www.mprnews.org
December 14, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Land of the free.
Freedom
WOW. @haleaziz.bsky.social with a new scoop: ICE now gets a running list of every person who is going to be taking a domestic flight inside the United States from the TSA and runs it through their database looking for targets. This explains the Babson College student's arrest.
Immigration Agents Are Using Air Passenger Data for Deportation Effort
www.nytimes.com
December 13, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Freedom
I teach and write fiction for a living and I can’t for the life of me think of any career more built off lies and fabrication than an economist.
December 12, 2025 at 6:37 PM
I teach and write fiction for a living and I can’t for the life of me think of any career more built off lies and fabrication than an economist.