Rakesh Satyal
rakeshsatyal.bsky.social
Rakesh Satyal
@rakeshsatyal.bsky.social
Author of the novels Blue Boy and No One Can Pronounce My Name. Book Editor.
Pinned
The highlight of my 2024:

Closing night of the Busan International Film Festival, October 11th. I had such a blast walking the red carpet.
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I’ve seen a few folks go for the “if you simply must watch that new Harry Potter show just pirate it” and sorry. No. Just no. Just don’t watch it. At all. Ever. Break free of it. It’s time. You’ll be ok. I promise. I know it mattered to you as a kid. Find new things, it’s healthier. Just move on.
November 12, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Want to see an even more stunning Aurora?
November 12, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Official portraits from our Queen Mary 2 crossing ❤️
November 12, 2025 at 1:46 AM
A reminder that this book is life-changing 💁🏾‍♂️
This glorious work of art is on sale today. It is a guide to life and an artist’s manual all in one. I would be so grateful if you would order or pick up a copy. And please share this with others. Thank you!
November 11, 2025 at 4:49 PM
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Wow, had no idea this existed. A 1948 radio show about A Streetcar Named Desire winning the Drama Critics Circle Award featuring scenes performed by the original Broadway cast including Jessica Tandy as Blanche. Tantalizing and invaluable glimpse at how she played it.
youtu.be/wmpjP-ZKDvg?...
Jessica Tandy & Marlon Brando-A Streetcar Named Desire (Radio Version)
YouTube video by Taylormayes
youtu.be
November 11, 2025 at 5:05 AM
Because these senators don’t care what their constituents think, they think that their legacy will have nothing to do with public opinion. They can’t even conceive—due to ego or stupidity or both—that public opinion IS their legacy. And that it will be duly scathing.
November 11, 2025 at 1:47 AM
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Unfortunately still true bsky.app/profile/adam...
American politics makes a lot more sense when you realize that the GOP is afraid of pissing off the GOP base, and the Dems are afraid of pissing off the GOP base, but neither party is afraid of pissing off the Dem base.
November 10, 2025 at 12:09 PM
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Senators on the brink of retirement who lived full, wealthy lives and never feared the loss of their own healthcare voting for their constituents to die from their inability to afford the same is treasonous
November 10, 2025 at 2:20 AM
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My family has been without half our income for 40 days. It has been.. very hard.

We are willing to feel that pain so people can have health care next year, or to undo these illegal recissions.

We are not willing to have been put through this for NOTHING.
November 10, 2025 at 1:36 AM
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Hey @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social and @schumer.senate.gov: compromising with fascists is compliance. Read the room. Do your jobs. Protect your constituents.
November 9, 2025 at 10:58 PM
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Having to talk about AI as if it’s a serious concern and not a money laundering scheme is taking years off my life
November 9, 2025 at 6:32 PM
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OVER A MILLION USERS

DISCUSS SUICIDE WITH CHATGPT

EVERY *WEEK*

what the fuck are we DOING here
Panera’s moderately caffeinated lemonade was loosely associated with 2 deaths before it was taken off market.

This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
I fully believe in the corporate death penalty and believe we would be a better world if OpenAI lost its corporate charter and was forcibly dissolved.

www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 7, 2025 at 10:59 PM
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A family friend was telling us about what her husband shared about his experience in Broadview before he was deported back to Mexico. She's been sharing to friends and family because she's just in disbelief & horror what her husband told her. She wasn't able to talk to him until he was in Mexico.
November 7, 2025 at 3:08 AM
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No it’s important to listen to this. Because then you understand that many of them will do ANYTHING to keep power. Remember Musk got involved in the 2024 election after saying to Tucker “if she wins” I am definitely going to prison.

So we need to move knowing that nothing is off the table for them.
Steve Bannon: If we lose the midterms and we lose 2028, some in this room are going to prison, myself included.
November 7, 2025 at 12:22 AM
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Well this piece just won an IACP award!
November 6, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Another photo of my Elphaba costume (looks Photoshopped but isn’t Photoshopped)
November 6, 2025 at 4:07 AM
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I write often about how private equity is destroying US healthcare. Lina Khan is a rare person who has used her position in power to fight back against private equity’s hold on the US economy. Very excited to see what she does in New York.
If you don’t know Lina Khan, now is a great time to know about her. She’s now on Zohran Mamdani’s transition team. She’s also the former FTC Chair, only 36, & committed to leveling the playing field for everyday Americans. She is an absolute star. This is what hope feels like.
November 6, 2025 at 2:26 AM
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here is my story about how Zohran's focus on community amid the loneliness epidemic helped young people connect their politics to an organizing infrastructure, that interviewed ZM, and does not use the NYT's framing of "they don't know how to make friends" :-) and also ran 4 days before NYT's lol
Zohran Mamdani's Establishment-Fighting Campaign Built Community for Young People
“What Mamdani has done is not only inspire and mobilize young people, but he has exposed the establishment and some of their calcified views of participation and inclusion.”
www.teenvogue.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:14 PM
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I do think yesterday’s results reinforced the dynamic that while much of the American leadership class is chickenshit, most of the electorate is not
November 5, 2025 at 1:36 PM
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I love that Zohran did not praise Cuomo in his speech. You absolutely do not have to say nice things about bad people. We should normalize that in “polite” politics: Praising bad people is not actually “civility.”
November 5, 2025 at 5:04 AM
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serious note: they're gonna try 5x harder to sabotage the midterms after tonight and we're gonna have to organize on a literally historic scale to stop them
really obvious now why trump and the republican party have been working so hard to prevent fair elections lol they know
November 5, 2025 at 4:41 AM
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Zohran at the rally for trans youth on february 8 ❣️ he was polling single digits.
June 25, 2025 at 4:51 AM
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I’m just a small-town political scientist, & it’s still relatively early, but it appears that The Actual Democrats did not Need To Do any of the Things or Learn any of the Obvious Lessons that Ezra Douthglesias said they Must Do & Learn.
November 5, 2025 at 2:08 AM
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If you were hoping for an even larger margin in the NYC mayoral race, please know it is an absolute miracle Zohran Mamdani pulled this off.

He’s a remarkable talent with an incredible team, and they put INTENSE work into this campaign.

It is NOT easy to win against establishment candidates.
November 5, 2025 at 3:23 AM
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so it turns out that fascism is unpopular
November 5, 2025 at 2:56 AM