samantha riedel
@samanthawrites.net
very tired word girl @them.us | member, @transjournalists.org
pic by @phobia.bsky.social | banner by @jukeboxcomix.bsky.social
Signal (for confidential tips): sriedel.90
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Signal (for confidential tips): sriedel.90
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samantha riedel
@samanthawrites.net
· Apr 10
samantha riedel is typing...
The online home of journalist and essayist Samantha Riedel. If you're reading this, it's already too late.
samanthawrites.net
hi freaks! I'm Samantha Riedel. I write about transgender politics, art, & culture, mostly for @them.us. after a decade I think I almost have the hang of it...!
my website: samanthawrites.net
irregular newsletter: samanthaistyping.beehiiv.com/subscribe
latest Them work: www.them.us/contributor/...
my website: samanthawrites.net
irregular newsletter: samanthaistyping.beehiiv.com/subscribe
latest Them work: www.them.us/contributor/...
not to be a huge downer -- because there are reasons to like this! -- but the TBOR is still a nonbinding resolution. even if it did pass the House, its function is to lay out jayapal's "comprehensive vision" rather than materially change the political reality for trans and intersex people
Too often when discussing trans rights, we’re forced to be on the defensive, as Republicans wage attacks.
Today, we take the opportunity to look forward by introducing my Trans Bill of Rights, a comprehensive vision to provide protections for all trans and nonbinary people.
Today, we take the opportunity to look forward by introducing my Trans Bill of Rights, a comprehensive vision to provide protections for all trans and nonbinary people.
February 12, 2026 at 5:01 PM
not to be a huge downer -- because there are reasons to like this! -- but the TBOR is still a nonbinding resolution. even if it did pass the House, its function is to lay out jayapal's "comprehensive vision" rather than materially change the political reality for trans and intersex people
Reposted by samantha riedel
all I’ll add is Bondi, as Florida AG, used “fighting sex trafficking” to elevate herself—empowering cops at the expense of survivors. long before Trump she was like this
Likely-historic photo by NBC News of all the Epstein victims asked to raise their hands if they've not yet been asked to meet with the DOJ as Bondi testifies in foreground
February 11, 2026 at 6:40 PM
all I’ll add is Bondi, as Florida AG, used “fighting sex trafficking” to elevate herself—empowering cops at the expense of survivors. long before Trump she was like this
Reposted by samantha riedel
Hi folks. We're dropping our paywall on this story about the scourge of AI pitches for the day, so give it a read and share widely. www.coyotemedia.org/how-coyote-a...
Aided by genAI models like ChatGPT, “writers” hoping to get paid for fake stories have become an even bigger problem for publications big and small. One such writer almost pulled one over on COYOTE — until @soleilho.com, who is a nerd, spotted a key idiosyncrasy.
How COYOTE Almost Got Slopped by AI
The sordid tale of the freelancer who never was.
www.coyotemedia.org
February 11, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Hi folks. We're dropping our paywall on this story about the scourge of AI pitches for the day, so give it a read and share widely. www.coyotemedia.org/how-coyote-a...
Reposted by samantha riedel
the Barbara Kruger mural the chase is happening in front of reads:
"WHO IS BEYOND THE LAW? WHO IS BOUGHT AND SOLD? WHO IS FREE TO CHOOSE? WHO DOES THE TIME? WHO FOLLOWS ORDERS? WHO SALUTES LONGEST? WHO PRAYS LOUDEST? WHO DIES FIRST? WHO LAUGHS LAST?"
"WHO IS BEYOND THE LAW? WHO IS BOUGHT AND SOLD? WHO IS FREE TO CHOOSE? WHO DOES THE TIME? WHO FOLLOWS ORDERS? WHO SALUTES LONGEST? WHO PRAYS LOUDEST? WHO DIES FIRST? WHO LAUGHS LAST?"
February 5, 2026 at 4:51 PM
the Barbara Kruger mural the chase is happening in front of reads:
"WHO IS BEYOND THE LAW? WHO IS BOUGHT AND SOLD? WHO IS FREE TO CHOOSE? WHO DOES THE TIME? WHO FOLLOWS ORDERS? WHO SALUTES LONGEST? WHO PRAYS LOUDEST? WHO DIES FIRST? WHO LAUGHS LAST?"
"WHO IS BEYOND THE LAW? WHO IS BOUGHT AND SOLD? WHO IS FREE TO CHOOSE? WHO DOES THE TIME? WHO FOLLOWS ORDERS? WHO SALUTES LONGEST? WHO PRAYS LOUDEST? WHO DIES FIRST? WHO LAUGHS LAST?"
Reposted by samantha riedel
it's illegal to be queer in nigeria, but queer people still exist there (as they do everywhere). nigerian reporter ebenezer mowete spoke to queer local gamers about how they do and don't express their identities when they play --> www.mothership.blog/queer-nigeri...
We spoke to queer Nigerian gamers about the identities they hide online
Voice chat can mean teamwork, coordination, and banter, but for many of the queer Nigerian gamers we spoke to, the mic is a risk assessment tool.
www.mothership.blog
February 5, 2026 at 7:12 PM
it's illegal to be queer in nigeria, but queer people still exist there (as they do everywhere). nigerian reporter ebenezer mowete spoke to queer local gamers about how they do and don't express their identities when they play --> www.mothership.blog/queer-nigeri...
Reposted by samantha riedel
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that with Britta Curl on the U.S. Hockey Team, J.D. Vance & Marco Rubio are at the game sitting with the Lamoureux twins, who are noted transphobes and aligned with Curl wrt to their anti-trans advocacy in sport. Happy Olympics!
February 5, 2026 at 4:17 PM
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that with Britta Curl on the U.S. Hockey Team, J.D. Vance & Marco Rubio are at the game sitting with the Lamoureux twins, who are noted transphobes and aligned with Curl wrt to their anti-trans advocacy in sport. Happy Olympics!
Reposted by samantha riedel
Please keep donating to my sweet friends; support Black lesbians in need and make this bad world even slightly better ❤️
Two of my dear friends just lost their car in an accident and urgently need a replacement. Please donate if you're able to, I know money is tight for everyone right now, but this is a very straightforward way to help a Black queer couple in need
www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-hel...
www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-hel...
Donate to Urgent: Help Kira and Ki Replace Their Car, organized by Takira Romero
Hi, we're Kira and Ki. We're engaged to be married and just lost our car in a… Takira Romero needs your support for Urgent: Help Kira and Ki Replace Their Car
www.gofundme.com
February 4, 2026 at 10:29 PM
Please keep donating to my sweet friends; support Black lesbians in need and make this bad world even slightly better ❤️
Reposted by samantha riedel
It is so important, now more than ever, to protect and support trans lives. Every year I am in awe of the good work @tolariancommunitycollege.com does for @translifeline.org!
I will be adding this sealed Cloud Colelctor deck to the prize pool.
Pleade donate at give.translifeline.org/tcc
I will be adding this sealed Cloud Colelctor deck to the prize pool.
Pleade donate at give.translifeline.org/tcc
February 4, 2026 at 8:03 PM
It is so important, now more than ever, to protect and support trans lives. Every year I am in awe of the good work @tolariancommunitycollege.com does for @translifeline.org!
I will be adding this sealed Cloud Colelctor deck to the prize pool.
Pleade donate at give.translifeline.org/tcc
I will be adding this sealed Cloud Colelctor deck to the prize pool.
Pleade donate at give.translifeline.org/tcc
Reposted by samantha riedel
From my conversation on the Green Dreamer Podcast. Listen to the whole conversation wherever you get your podcasts.
Solidarity not charity!
You can find much more about this in my book Mutual Aid which is free on the Anarchist Library. I just wrote an updated edition that is coming out March 31.
Solidarity not charity!
You can find much more about this in my book Mutual Aid which is free on the Anarchist Library. I just wrote an updated edition that is coming out March 31.
February 4, 2026 at 7:22 PM
From my conversation on the Green Dreamer Podcast. Listen to the whole conversation wherever you get your podcasts.
Solidarity not charity!
You can find much more about this in my book Mutual Aid which is free on the Anarchist Library. I just wrote an updated edition that is coming out March 31.
Solidarity not charity!
You can find much more about this in my book Mutual Aid which is free on the Anarchist Library. I just wrote an updated edition that is coming out March 31.
love when I get into a band after one of the members comes out as a trans woman, and half the lyrics are about how masculinity feels like waiting to die alone in an inescapable prison
February 4, 2026 at 7:20 PM
love when I get into a band after one of the members comes out as a trans woman, and half the lyrics are about how masculinity feels like waiting to die alone in an inescapable prison
Reposted by samantha riedel
Children's Minnesota will pause providing puberty blockers and hormone therapy to patients under 18 effective Feb. 27.
If your family will be affected, I'd love to speak with you: Jo.Yurcaba@nbcuni.com or @joyurcaba.91 on Signal.
If your family will be affected, I'd love to speak with you: Jo.Yurcaba@nbcuni.com or @joyurcaba.91 on Signal.
February 3, 2026 at 9:06 PM
Children's Minnesota will pause providing puberty blockers and hormone therapy to patients under 18 effective Feb. 27.
If your family will be affected, I'd love to speak with you: Jo.Yurcaba@nbcuni.com or @joyurcaba.91 on Signal.
If your family will be affected, I'd love to speak with you: Jo.Yurcaba@nbcuni.com or @joyurcaba.91 on Signal.
Reposted by samantha riedel
Asymptomatic infection is occurring in up to 49% of cases of COVID. Asymptomatic does not necessarily equate to mild outcomes. This is why testing was important and because you can transmit via airborne route to a lot of folks in a shared air space. Many of whom might go into suffer serious outcomes
I see so many posts with folks saying they don’t get COVID. Sadly the risks of asymptomatic infections have been forgotten. This is why we had testing. Please read about asymptomatic COVID. Infections still carry post infection risks and can infect others. ada.com/covid/asympt...
Asymptomatic COVID: What is it? | Ada Health
Explore Asymptomatic COVID-19 with Ada Health's guide. Can you have COVID-19 with no symptoms? Learn about the implications and their impact on public health.
ada.com
February 1, 2026 at 11:03 AM
Asymptomatic infection is occurring in up to 49% of cases of COVID. Asymptomatic does not necessarily equate to mild outcomes. This is why testing was important and because you can transmit via airborne route to a lot of folks in a shared air space. Many of whom might go into suffer serious outcomes
Reposted by samantha riedel
“We either want to protect and defend the conditions under which truth-telling and accountability are firmly-held and enforced values, which necessarily requires the humanity of trans people to be properly regarded, or we don't.”
www.transjournalists.org/donate/
www.transjournalists.org/donate/
Support the TJA
Together, we can promote more accurate, nuanced coverage of trans issues and communities in the media while also supporting gender-expansive journalists in their workplaces and careers.
Join the TJA'...
www.transjournalists.org
January 31, 2026 at 12:21 AM
“We either want to protect and defend the conditions under which truth-telling and accountability are firmly-held and enforced values, which necessarily requires the humanity of trans people to be properly regarded, or we don't.”
www.transjournalists.org/donate/
www.transjournalists.org/donate/
Reposted by samantha riedel
From TJA Executive Director Tre'vell Anderson:
“The recent arrests of Black journalists for documenting threats to immigrant communities are an absolute threat to press freedom. We stand in solidarity with our sibling journalism organizations in condemning such actions…
“The recent arrests of Black journalists for documenting threats to immigrant communities are an absolute threat to press freedom. We stand in solidarity with our sibling journalism organizations in condemning such actions…
January 31, 2026 at 12:21 AM
From TJA Executive Director Tre'vell Anderson:
“The recent arrests of Black journalists for documenting threats to immigrant communities are an absolute threat to press freedom. We stand in solidarity with our sibling journalism organizations in condemning such actions…
“The recent arrests of Black journalists for documenting threats to immigrant communities are an absolute threat to press freedom. We stand in solidarity with our sibling journalism organizations in condemning such actions…
Reposted by samantha riedel
Arresting Black journalists is also vice signaling. Their base is racist and hates journalists and they want to get them excited again. The mainstream media industry has never protected Black journalists or journalists of color the way it should.
January 30, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Arresting Black journalists is also vice signaling. Their base is racist and hates journalists and they want to get them excited again. The mainstream media industry has never protected Black journalists or journalists of color the way it should.
Reposted by samantha riedel
These are all Black people. The regime is betting that you wont care Jamael & Trahern the way you care about Alex & Renée
feds have arrested jamael lundy alongside journalists georgia fort and don lemon for the protest at a st. paul church led by an ICE agent
lundy is currently running for state senate district 65 in minnesota. his wife is anika bowie, a st. paul city councilmember
www.jlundyforsd65.com
lundy is currently running for state senate district 65 in minnesota. his wife is anika bowie, a st. paul city councilmember
www.jlundyforsd65.com
January 30, 2026 at 3:08 PM
These are all Black people. The regime is betting that you wont care Jamael & Trahern the way you care about Alex & Renée
Reposted by samantha riedel
Just a reminder that at least 242 journalists were killed by Israel since October 7.
Palestine was the test to see what they could do. Not standing in solidarity with Palestinians was not only a major moral and ethical failing it was a strategic mistake that everyone will pay for.
January 30, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Just a reminder that at least 242 journalists were killed by Israel since October 7.
Reposted by samantha riedel
important reporting from my colleagues @rachelleingang.bsky.social @maanvisingh.bsky.social
at an ICE raid, observer RM's car was gassed and windows smashed; they were taken to Whipple and forced to the ground by agents:
"Agents yelled at RM, who is trans, saying 'Do you like the dirt, queer?'"
at an ICE raid, observer RM's car was gassed and windows smashed; they were taken to Whipple and forced to the ground by agents:
"Agents yelled at RM, who is trans, saying 'Do you like the dirt, queer?'"
Minnesotans following and documenting ICE activity here have been detained, pulled out of their cars, hit with chemicals, had agents route them to their homes and take photos. Even after the killings of two observers, they aren't stopping. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Minneapolis ICE observers keep showing up despite risk of arrest and violence
Bystanders say they are determined to keep recording federal agents’ actions: ‘There will be absolutely no accountability unless people are documenting’
www.theguardian.com
January 29, 2026 at 8:45 PM
important reporting from my colleagues @rachelleingang.bsky.social @maanvisingh.bsky.social
at an ICE raid, observer RM's car was gassed and windows smashed; they were taken to Whipple and forced to the ground by agents:
"Agents yelled at RM, who is trans, saying 'Do you like the dirt, queer?'"
at an ICE raid, observer RM's car was gassed and windows smashed; they were taken to Whipple and forced to the ground by agents:
"Agents yelled at RM, who is trans, saying 'Do you like the dirt, queer?'"
gotta say it's pretty rich for these douchebags to make such a big stink about "low quality evidence" for gender-affirming care to then turn around and be like "hey, your kid should try some of these pills we just found out about. our friend says he has a really good feeling about em"
Quick glance at the first name on the list: Sylvia Fogel is a psychiatrist and member of the "Autism Discovery Coalition," a group which recently convinced Trump to tout leucovorin as an autism "treatment" based on zero evidence www.pbs.org/newshour/hea...
What to know about leucovorin, unproven autism drug touted by Trump
When President Donald Trump’s administration announced it would repurpose an old, generic drug as a new treatment for autism, it came as a surprise to many experts — including the physician who sugges...
www.pbs.org
January 28, 2026 at 10:20 PM
gotta say it's pretty rich for these douchebags to make such a big stink about "low quality evidence" for gender-affirming care to then turn around and be like "hey, your kid should try some of these pills we just found out about. our friend says he has a really good feeling about em"
i'm sure you'll all be shocked to learn that RFK Jr. is packing the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee with quack doctors, many of whom are also aggrieved professional "autism parents"
www.hhs.gov/press-room/h...
www.hhs.gov/press-room/h...
www.hhs.gov
January 28, 2026 at 10:06 PM
i'm sure you'll all be shocked to learn that RFK Jr. is packing the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee with quack doctors, many of whom are also aggrieved professional "autism parents"
www.hhs.gov/press-room/h...
www.hhs.gov/press-room/h...
Reposted by samantha riedel
The fascism is expanding … not new.
January 23, 2026 at 1:31 PM
The fascism is expanding … not new.
Reposted by samantha riedel
meticulously labelling every bad thing the United States has ever done 'un-American' then bolting the gates of my Mind Palace with a gentle smile, secure in the knowledge that I live in the Good Country
January 22, 2026 at 2:01 PM
meticulously labelling every bad thing the United States has ever done 'un-American' then bolting the gates of my Mind Palace with a gentle smile, secure in the knowledge that I live in the Good Country
Reposted by samantha riedel
The three journalists worked for a committee supervising Egyptian aid in Gaza and were documenting a newly set-up camp.
Three journalists among 11 Palestinians killed in Israel's attacks on Gaza
The three journalists worked for a committee supervising Egyptian aid in Gaza and were documenting a newly set-up camp.
www.aljazeera.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:30 PM
The three journalists worked for a committee supervising Egyptian aid in Gaza and were documenting a newly set-up camp.
Reposted by samantha riedel
Please donate! This is personally important to me ❤️
Two of my dear friends just lost their car in an accident and urgently need a replacement. Please donate if you're able to, I know money is tight for everyone right now, but this is a very straightforward way to help a Black queer couple in need
www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-hel...
www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-hel...
Donate to Urgent: Help Kira and Ki Replace Their Car, organized by Takira Romero
Hi, we're Kira and Ki. We're engaged to be married and just lost our car in a… Takira Romero needs your support for Urgent: Help Kira and Ki Replace Their Car
www.gofundme.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Please donate! This is personally important to me ❤️
Reposted by samantha riedel
a quick comic about jesus
January 21, 2026 at 11:02 PM
a quick comic about jesus