Mr. Dan Zak
@mrdanzak.com
Senior editor at The Atlantic.
Bio & work: www.mrdanzak.com
Author of ALMIGHTY, a book on the bomb: http://amzn.to/35PAusZ
Bio & work: www.mrdanzak.com
Author of ALMIGHTY, a book on the bomb: http://amzn.to/35PAusZ
Pinned
Mr. Dan Zak
@mrdanzak.com
· Mar 16
The hero
Rich Fierro fought in America’s war on terror. Then terror found him at home.
wapo.st
I wrote about the life of Rich Fierro, who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan for 10 years, returned home and worked hard to put his life back together — only to have his family caught in a mass shooting, which turned them all into combat veterans. wapo.st/3vjxIsU
Reposted by Mr. Dan Zak
The administration is shooting people and then lying about them www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/u...
When Trump Officials’ Claims About Shootings Unravel in Court
www.nytimes.com
February 10, 2026 at 2:19 PM
The administration is shooting people and then lying about them www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/u...
Tina Brown rightly puts Fred Ryan's name in the mix of what went wrong; the N.Y. Times has omitted him in recent coverage. open.substack.com/pub/tinabrow...
Bafflement with Bezos
The whole debacle of the Washington Post brand hara-kiri last week dispatched the myth that a tech billionaire could save serious journalism.
open.substack.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:35 AM
Tina Brown rightly puts Fred Ryan's name in the mix of what went wrong; the N.Y. Times has omitted him in recent coverage. open.substack.com/pub/tinabrow...
Incredible sentence:
"Elections officials told us they are now getting ready for interference from both foreign adversaries and the White House." www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
"Elections officials told us they are now getting ready for interference from both foreign adversaries and the White House." www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
‘The Trust Has Been Absolutely Destroyed’
Some state election officials say they no longer trust their federal partners.
www.theatlantic.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Incredible sentence:
"Elections officials told us they are now getting ready for interference from both foreign adversaries and the White House." www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
"Elections officials told us they are now getting ready for interference from both foreign adversaries and the White House." www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
"Instead of the 'ICE out' show, this was the joy-as-resistance show ... We need towering mountains, endless fields, bottomless pits of joy to resist the violence our government is doling out right now."
Chris Richards, newly liberated from The Post, on Bad Bunny: open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
Chris Richards, newly liberated from The Post, on Bad Bunny: open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
An end zone dance in the shape of infinity
Notes on Bad Bunny’s halftime show in the middle of a national crisis
open.substack.com
February 9, 2026 at 2:35 PM
"Instead of the 'ICE out' show, this was the joy-as-resistance show ... We need towering mountains, endless fields, bottomless pits of joy to resist the violence our government is doling out right now."
Chris Richards, newly liberated from The Post, on Bad Bunny: open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
Chris Richards, newly liberated from The Post, on Bad Bunny: open.substack.com/pub/thefutur...
Reposted by Mr. Dan Zak
This is 18-mo-old Amalia waving to me when she was detained.
She was hospitalized with a respiratory infection while at ICE’s Dilley facility for immigrant families.
She’s one of dozens of detainees who I spoke to via video and phone calls, letters and an in-person visit. 🧵1/
She was hospitalized with a respiratory infection while at ICE’s Dilley facility for immigrant families.
She’s one of dozens of detainees who I spoke to via video and phone calls, letters and an in-person visit. 🧵1/
February 9, 2026 at 11:21 AM
This is 18-mo-old Amalia waving to me when she was detained.
She was hospitalized with a respiratory infection while at ICE’s Dilley facility for immigrant families.
She’s one of dozens of detainees who I spoke to via video and phone calls, letters and an in-person visit. 🧵1/
She was hospitalized with a respiratory infection while at ICE’s Dilley facility for immigrant families.
She’s one of dozens of detainees who I spoke to via video and phone calls, letters and an in-person visit. 🧵1/
Reposted by Mr. Dan Zak
NEW: ProPublica went inside the detention center for immigrant families in Dilley, Texas.
Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of what comes next.
Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of what comes next.
The Kids Trump Sent to ICE’s Dilley Detention Center
ProPublica went inside the immigrant detention center for families in Dilley, Texas. Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of...
www.propublica.org
February 9, 2026 at 12:00 PM
NEW: ProPublica went inside the detention center for immigrant families in Dilley, Texas.
Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of what comes next.
Children held there told us about the anguish of being ripped from their lives in the United States and the fear of what comes next.
I have you beat. Some dog (or some person??) had a backward explosion on one of my icebergs, and it froze, and now presents as some sort of mystical shroud iconography — until you get closer, of course, and then it becomes all too clear what’s been preserved.
February 8, 2026 at 10:14 PM
I have you beat. Some dog (or some person??) had a backward explosion on one of my icebergs, and it froze, and now presents as some sort of mystical shroud iconography — until you get closer, of course, and then it becomes all too clear what’s been preserved.
Reposted by Mr. Dan Zak
👀 What if I told you there was a hidden art gallery scattered across the country?
What if I told you some of its treasures had vanished?
What if I told you that I found them?
A project three years in the making (🎁 gift link):
What if I told you some of its treasures had vanished?
What if I told you that I found them?
A project three years in the making (🎁 gift link):
The disappearing art gallery in your post office
The U.S. Postal Service is home to thousands of historic works of art in post offices nationwide. Hundreds have been lost, sold or destroyed.
wapo.st
February 8, 2026 at 2:08 PM
👀 What if I told you there was a hidden art gallery scattered across the country?
What if I told you some of its treasures had vanished?
What if I told you that I found them?
A project three years in the making (🎁 gift link):
What if I told you some of its treasures had vanished?
What if I told you that I found them?
A project three years in the making (🎁 gift link):
Wide Boy’s Options Narrow
February 8, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Wide Boy’s Options Narrow
Reposted by Mr. Dan Zak
Please take the time to read this superb @jamellebouie.net column. It establishes a baseline of truth for anyone who wants to think, talk, and write honestly about Trump. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/o...
February 7, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Please take the time to read this superb @jamellebouie.net column. It establishes a baseline of truth for anyone who wants to think, talk, and write honestly about Trump. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/07/o...
Fundraiser for The Post’s brave international staff: www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...
February 7, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Fundraiser for The Post’s brave international staff: www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...
This man deserves as much heat as Bezos.
February 6, 2026 at 3:59 PM
This man deserves as much heat as Bezos.
At a rally outside The Post today, two signs referencing Post publishers.
On left: Eugene Meyer, publisher from 1933 to 1946, and one of his “seven principles for the conduct of a newspaper.”
On right: perhaps a dig at current publisher Will Lewis (2023-?).
On left: Eugene Meyer, publisher from 1933 to 1946, and one of his “seven principles for the conduct of a newspaper.”
On right: perhaps a dig at current publisher Will Lewis (2023-?).
February 5, 2026 at 7:15 PM
At a rally outside The Post today, two signs referencing Post publishers.
On left: Eugene Meyer, publisher from 1933 to 1946, and one of his “seven principles for the conduct of a newspaper.”
On right: perhaps a dig at current publisher Will Lewis (2023-?).
On left: Eugene Meyer, publisher from 1933 to 1946, and one of his “seven principles for the conduct of a newspaper.”
On right: perhaps a dig at current publisher Will Lewis (2023-?).
And here's a fundraiser for the hundreds who've been laid off. www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t...
Donate to Washington Post 2026 layoff fund, organized by Rachel Siegel
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, The Washington Post laid off hundreds of journalists. We ar… Rachel Siegel needs your support for Washington Post 2026 layoff fund
www.gofundme.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:05 PM
And here's a fundraiser for the hundreds who've been laid off. www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t...
.@jackshafer.bsky.social is keeping a doc of Post journalists who have newsletters or Substacks: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Posties who have started a Substack or other newsletter
Posties who have started a Substack or other newsletter @geoffreyfowler: https://geoffreyafowler.substack.com @roncharles: https://roncharles.substack.com @Azi: https://azipaybarah.substack.com Ch...
docs.google.com
February 5, 2026 at 7:03 PM
.@jackshafer.bsky.social is keeping a doc of Post journalists who have newsletters or Substacks: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
I cannot believe every Post photojournalist was laid off. I wrote this, in 2011, about how I love working with photographers. This passage is about the legendary Carol Guzy, who took a Style-section assignment as seriously as a war-zone trip. wapo.st/4kfOYEq
February 5, 2026 at 3:34 PM
I cannot believe every Post photojournalist was laid off. I wrote this, in 2011, about how I love working with photographers. This passage is about the legendary Carol Guzy, who took a Style-section assignment as seriously as a war-zone trip. wapo.st/4kfOYEq
A few Sports reporters are in Italy covering this Olympics.
At 3 p.m. in Milan yesterday, Les Carpenter opened his email. “I’m out,” he said.
Rick Maese was told shortly after that he had been kept.
“Congratulations,” Carpenter said to his friend. www.cbc.ca/sports/olymp...
At 3 p.m. in Milan yesterday, Les Carpenter opened his email. “I’m out,” he said.
Rick Maese was told shortly after that he had been kept.
“Congratulations,” Carpenter said to his friend. www.cbc.ca/sports/olymp...
Washington Post staff laid off while in Milan still hope to find beauty in the Olympics | CBC
In the last hours before these Olympics begin, and the flame is lit, and the cheering starts, a smaller, sad drama played out in a little white box of an office in the Main Media Centre in Milan. A si...
www.cbc.ca
February 5, 2026 at 3:08 PM
A few Sports reporters are in Italy covering this Olympics.
At 3 p.m. in Milan yesterday, Les Carpenter opened his email. “I’m out,” he said.
Rick Maese was told shortly after that he had been kept.
“Congratulations,” Carpenter said to his friend. www.cbc.ca/sports/olymp...
At 3 p.m. in Milan yesterday, Les Carpenter opened his email. “I’m out,” he said.
Rick Maese was told shortly after that he had been kept.
“Congratulations,” Carpenter said to his friend. www.cbc.ca/sports/olymp...
I'm glad @erikwemple.bsky.social wrote about Marty, who represents something that is now being bulldozed all across Washington: institutional knowledge.
February 5, 2026 at 2:57 PM
I'm glad @erikwemple.bsky.social wrote about Marty, who represents something that is now being bulldozed all across Washington: institutional knowledge.
On the Metro desk, I learned how to be a reporter. Marty Weil, laid off yesterday after 60 years, was its patron saint. At the start of his night shift, he would walk the entire newsroom, saying an individual hello to every colleague. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...
He Was Laid Off at The Washington Post After Working There 60 Years
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:53 PM
On the Metro desk, I learned how to be a reporter. Marty Weil, laid off yesterday after 60 years, was its patron saint. At the start of his night shift, he would walk the entire newsroom, saying an individual hello to every colleague. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...
Then there's the Style section, halved yesterday. "The gentleman poets on the staff. The science geeks, the weirdos." A patient, small group of writers & editors who saw a "world beyond white, status-quo Beltway narratives." @hankstuever.bsky.social in 2019: www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/st...
Perspective | The Style section at 50: Still sharp, snarky and soulful — and always a work in progress
Ben Bradlee’s splashy idea for a features section launched in January 1969. The love-hate relationship continues.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Then there's the Style section, halved yesterday. "The gentleman poets on the staff. The science geeks, the weirdos." A patient, small group of writers & editors who saw a "world beyond white, status-quo Beltway narratives." @hankstuever.bsky.social in 2019: www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/st...
An excerpt from Sally's piece. The Sports dept was a newsroom unto itself. I was thrilled to be part of their posse for Paris 2024. Collegial, intrepid, FUN. And I treasure this chat I had with @avarwallace.bsky.social about the race walk: www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/the...
February 5, 2026 at 2:31 PM
An excerpt from Sally's piece. The Sports dept was a newsroom unto itself. I was thrilled to be part of their posse for Paris 2024. Collegial, intrepid, FUN. And I treasure this chat I had with @avarwallace.bsky.social about the race walk: www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/the...
Yesterday, hundreds of those people were swept out, because of the charlatans in charge. Hundreds remain, carrying on the work.
I wish Americans could really see & feel what it's like in a newsroom. The care. The effort. @sallyjenx.bsky.social captures it here: www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
I wish Americans could really see & feel what it's like in a newsroom. The care. The effort. @sallyjenx.bsky.social captures it here: www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
You Can’t Kill Swagger
My old corner of The Washington Post raised some of the best journalists in the business.
www.theatlantic.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Yesterday, hundreds of those people were swept out, because of the charlatans in charge. Hundreds remain, carrying on the work.
I wish Americans could really see & feel what it's like in a newsroom. The care. The effort. @sallyjenx.bsky.social captures it here: www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
I wish Americans could really see & feel what it's like in a newsroom. The care. The effort. @sallyjenx.bsky.social captures it here: www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
I left The Washington Post last year, but wrote my love letter in the middle of my time there, in 2015.
Everything changed, over my 1st decade there. Then everything changed again, in the decade after this was written. But there were 2 constants: the work & the people. www.mrdanzak.com/blog/10years
Everything changed, over my 1st decade there. Then everything changed again, in the decade after this was written. But there were 2 constants: the work & the people. www.mrdanzak.com/blog/10years
A good shot at the facts — Mr. Dan Zak
Ten years ago today I first reported for work at The Washington Post. Deep Throat had come out a couple days earlier. I might have been wearing a tie. My pants sure as shit didn't fit.
www.mrdanzak.com
February 5, 2026 at 1:56 PM
I left The Washington Post last year, but wrote my love letter in the middle of my time there, in 2015.
Everything changed, over my 1st decade there. Then everything changed again, in the decade after this was written. But there were 2 constants: the work & the people. www.mrdanzak.com/blog/10years
Everything changed, over my 1st decade there. Then everything changed again, in the decade after this was written. But there were 2 constants: the work & the people. www.mrdanzak.com/blog/10years
Reposted by Mr. Dan Zak
Here's who the Washington Post just laid off.
February 4, 2026 at 9:10 PM
Here's who the Washington Post just laid off.
Chris Richards is of the greatest Post writers of all time, & the best music critic in the country.
You want Chris’s words in your life, & I am going to keep them in mine.
I have never before recommended a Substack. His brand new one has my immense endorsement: thefutureisourstomake.substack.com
You want Chris’s words in your life, & I am going to keep them in mine.
I have never before recommended a Substack. His brand new one has my immense endorsement: thefutureisourstomake.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Chris Richards is of the greatest Post writers of all time, & the best music critic in the country.
You want Chris’s words in your life, & I am going to keep them in mine.
I have never before recommended a Substack. His brand new one has my immense endorsement: thefutureisourstomake.substack.com
You want Chris’s words in your life, & I am going to keep them in mine.
I have never before recommended a Substack. His brand new one has my immense endorsement: thefutureisourstomake.substack.com