Simone Sebastian
@simonesnews.bsky.social
Truth, above all else. Former Washington Post & Capital B. Proud SMBC. Blaxit 🌍✌🏽
In a year of unrelenting, world-changing news, this story is one of the most critical. An overdue must read:
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
How billionaires took over American politics
The current concentration of wealth is unlike anything in history. So is billionaires’ involvement in politics.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:03 PM
In a year of unrelenting, world-changing news, this story is one of the most critical. An overdue must read:
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Reposted by Simone Sebastian
To understand the Trump administration’s vision for American education, @megomatz.bsky.social and I studied dozens of hours of political appointees’ speeches and podcasts and essays. What emerged is a desire to dismantle the nation’s system of public schools.
These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.
Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of publ...
www.propublica.org
October 9, 2025 at 2:37 AM
To understand the Trump administration’s vision for American education, @megomatz.bsky.social and I studied dozens of hours of political appointees’ speeches and podcasts and essays. What emerged is a desire to dismantle the nation’s system of public schools.
Reposted by Simone Sebastian
A beautiful love letter to independent journalism, and hope.
October 9, 2025 at 2:47 AM
A beautiful love letter to independent journalism, and hope.
Reposted by Simone Sebastian
If you are following the story of The Pentagon's new policy, nicknamed, "you must check with us before you dream of doing any journalism," you may enjoy this update from @status.news
October 2, 2025 at 1:48 AM
If you are following the story of The Pentagon's new policy, nicknamed, "you must check with us before you dream of doing any journalism," you may enjoy this update from @status.news
Reposted by Simone Sebastian
Van Hollen: I will just say that anybody who thinks we're on the way to authoritarianism is wrong. We are there
September 26, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Van Hollen: I will just say that anybody who thinks we're on the way to authoritarianism is wrong. We are there
Stop calling it Christian nationalism. The movement that has consumed that political right bears little resemblance to the teachings of Jesus or the practices of the vast majority of Christians in this country. Call this movement what it is: white nationalism.
September 25, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Stop calling it Christian nationalism. The movement that has consumed that political right bears little resemblance to the teachings of Jesus or the practices of the vast majority of Christians in this country. Call this movement what it is: white nationalism.
FYI, there’s little confusion among experts about our biggest threat:
“The FBI and DHS assessed [racially motivated violent extremism], primarily those advocating for the superiority of white race, likely would continue to be the most lethal [domestic violent extremism] threat to the Homeland."
“The FBI and DHS assessed [racially motivated violent extremism], primarily those advocating for the superiority of white race, likely would continue to be the most lethal [domestic violent extremism] threat to the Homeland."
September 18, 2025 at 3:13 PM
FYI, there’s little confusion among experts about our biggest threat:
“The FBI and DHS assessed [racially motivated violent extremism], primarily those advocating for the superiority of white race, likely would continue to be the most lethal [domestic violent extremism] threat to the Homeland."
“The FBI and DHS assessed [racially motivated violent extremism], primarily those advocating for the superiority of white race, likely would continue to be the most lethal [domestic violent extremism] threat to the Homeland."
We gotta stop saying "this violence has no place in the US." This violence is a defining aspect of life and politics in the US!
September 10, 2025 at 9:57 PM
We gotta stop saying "this violence has no place in the US." This violence is a defining aspect of life and politics in the US!
I was just at my kid's preschool event, what probably would've been called "mommy & me brunch" back in the day -- and I was the ONLY MOM there. A class of 12 kids -- and all dads. So shout out to women of my gen for giving a🖕🏾to the patriarchy. Millennial moms are out here reclaiming their time!
July 31, 2025 at 9:38 PM
I was just at my kid's preschool event, what probably would've been called "mommy & me brunch" back in the day -- and I was the ONLY MOM there. A class of 12 kids -- and all dads. So shout out to women of my gen for giving a🖕🏾to the patriarchy. Millennial moms are out here reclaiming their time!
The problem with this line of thinking is there's only one identity block that's never had to take its specific political disagreement to the streets -- and that's because it's the one identity block that controls the systems that make the decisions.
I don’t care if you’re razing Kenosha, storming the Capitol, or doing whatever this is in LA, no democracy can function when every group and identity block decides it has the right and moral authority to take its specific political disagreements into the streets.
June 10, 2025 at 4:52 PM
The problem with this line of thinking is there's only one identity block that's never had to take its specific political disagreement to the streets -- and that's because it's the one identity block that controls the systems that make the decisions.
Reposted by Simone Sebastian
Law enforcement is violently targeting press at protests around Los Angeles, from easily recognizable "mainstream" outlets to freelancers and independents. ALL press have explicit legal protections in California. #JournalismIsNotACrime.
This evidence thread may get graphic. 🧵👇
This evidence thread may get graphic. 🧵👇
June 8, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Law enforcement is violently targeting press at protests around Los Angeles, from easily recognizable "mainstream" outlets to freelancers and independents. ALL press have explicit legal protections in California. #JournalismIsNotACrime.
This evidence thread may get graphic. 🧵👇
This evidence thread may get graphic. 🧵👇
"It’s a very human, and in a way very beautiful, desire to normalize, to habituate, to find our footing in any situation, and to keep on living ... except it has a way of normalizing things that we really shouldn’t live with." www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/o...
Opinion | The Beautiful Danger of Normal Life During an Autocratic Rise
www.nytimes.com
June 9, 2025 at 1:53 PM
"It’s a very human, and in a way very beautiful, desire to normalize, to habituate, to find our footing in any situation, and to keep on living ... except it has a way of normalizing things that we really shouldn’t live with." www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/o...
"It's really hard to fathom that the guy making my pizza for 25 years is a gangster and a terrorist, and the person who shows up in an unmarked car wearing a mask and body armor comes to take him away is somehow the good guy."
www.wnep.com/article/news...
www.wnep.com/article/news...
Wayne County community rally amid ICE raid at restaurant
Newswatch 16's Emily Kress spoke with people in the Honesdale community who are shaken after watching three restaurant employees get detained.
www.wnep.com
June 8, 2025 at 2:05 AM
"It's really hard to fathom that the guy making my pizza for 25 years is a gangster and a terrorist, and the person who shows up in an unmarked car wearing a mask and body armor comes to take him away is somehow the good guy."
www.wnep.com/article/news...
www.wnep.com/article/news...
Harvard University will relinquish 175-year-old photographs believed to be the earliest taken of enslaved people to a South Carolina museum devoted to African American history as part of a settlement with one of the subjects’ descendants.
After a 15-year battle, Harvard agrees in settlement to relinquish early photos of slaves
Harvard University will relinquish 175-year-old photographs believed to be the earliest taken of enslaved people.
apnews.com
May 28, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Harvard University will relinquish 175-year-old photographs believed to be the earliest taken of enslaved people to a South Carolina museum devoted to African American history as part of a settlement with one of the subjects’ descendants.
This piece spends a lot of space talking about the income divide. Meanwhile, its starkest finding is actually this:
"In not one of the counties where Mr. Trump steadily increased his share of the vote did a majority of adults have a college degree."
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
"In not one of the counties where Mr. Trump steadily increased his share of the vote did a majority of adults have a college degree."
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How Donald Trump Has Remade America’s Political Landscape
The steady march to the right across a vast number of counties reveals the extent of the nation's transformation in the Trump era, and the seriousness of the Democrats' problems.
www.nytimes.com
May 25, 2025 at 5:50 PM
This piece spends a lot of space talking about the income divide. Meanwhile, its starkest finding is actually this:
"In not one of the counties where Mr. Trump steadily increased his share of the vote did a majority of adults have a college degree."
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
"In not one of the counties where Mr. Trump steadily increased his share of the vote did a majority of adults have a college degree."
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
I've been in NYC for just 2 weeks and have been physically or verbally threatened or intimidated by men on 4 different occasions. Today, a man stalked me as I got off the train and walked through the subway alone with my kid. Is this city scarier than I remember or are my nerves getting weaker?
May 23, 2025 at 3:10 AM
I've been in NYC for just 2 weeks and have been physically or verbally threatened or intimidated by men on 4 different occasions. Today, a man stalked me as I got off the train and walked through the subway alone with my kid. Is this city scarier than I remember or are my nerves getting weaker?
Truly ecstatic to be named among this group of exceptionally talented journalists
Welcome our ✨ 2025-2026 Knight-Wallace Fellows ✨ — 18 journalists from eight countries and across the U.S. are headed to Ann Arbor! 📰
Get to know the newest cohort of the Knight-Wallace family 👉 loom.ly/3I1EsSM
Get to know the newest cohort of the Knight-Wallace family 👉 loom.ly/3I1EsSM
May 13, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Truly ecstatic to be named among this group of exceptionally talented journalists
Reposted by Simone Sebastian
1/2 Just-dismissed Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, has a PhD from U Chicago, is in numerous scholarly societies, has wide acclaim. She is also first African-American to lead LoC.
The dismissal note did not say "Dear Dr. Hayden" or "Dear Madame Librarian" or even "Dear Carla."
The dismissal note did not say "Dear Dr. Hayden" or "Dear Madame Librarian" or even "Dear Carla."
May 11, 2025 at 4:43 PM
1/2 Just-dismissed Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, has a PhD from U Chicago, is in numerous scholarly societies, has wide acclaim. She is also first African-American to lead LoC.
The dismissal note did not say "Dear Dr. Hayden" or "Dear Madame Librarian" or even "Dear Carla."
The dismissal note did not say "Dear Dr. Hayden" or "Dear Madame Librarian" or even "Dear Carla."
Reposted by Simone Sebastian
The difference between journalism and being a propaganda mouthpiece. That's the difference between so much "news" and real journalism like marketplace. We don't need dozens of platforms repeating the lies. We need context and facts.
May 11, 2025 at 9:38 PM
The difference between journalism and being a propaganda mouthpiece. That's the difference between so much "news" and real journalism like marketplace. We don't need dozens of platforms repeating the lies. We need context and facts.
Reposted by Simone Sebastian
You can’t credibly or responsibly just restate what administration officials say about trade deals and then try to cya by saying “officials provided no evidence”.
May 11, 2025 at 9:35 PM
You can’t credibly or responsibly just restate what administration officials say about trade deals and then try to cya by saying “officials provided no evidence”.
Reposted by Simone Sebastian
@simonesnews.bsky.social Yes!! So excited for you! wallacehouse.umich.edu/announcing-t...
Meet 2025-2026 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellows
This cohort of 18 journalists will join us in the fall and spend an academic year tackling individual journalism projects and pursuing solutions to help newsrooms respond to today's challenges. Meet t...
wallacehouse.umich.edu
May 9, 2025 at 3:19 PM
@simonesnews.bsky.social Yes!! So excited for you! wallacehouse.umich.edu/announcing-t...
Nearly half of US adults no longer believe in a Constitutional American value that's been viewed as foundational to our democracy and the perception of American exceptionalism. We're fixated on one man's mindset, but I'm far more interested in understanding how tens of millions of Americans got here
April 25, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Nearly half of US adults no longer believe in a Constitutional American value that's been viewed as foundational to our democracy and the perception of American exceptionalism. We're fixated on one man's mindset, but I'm far more interested in understanding how tens of millions of Americans got here
You know your parents are Boomers when .... their response to the monthly cost of your 2 bed/2 bath rental is "Wow! That's almost as much as my mortgage!" and they live in a 5 bed/4 bath mansion in a gated community that's also a protected arboretum 🫠
April 17, 2025 at 4:44 AM
You know your parents are Boomers when .... their response to the monthly cost of your 2 bed/2 bath rental is "Wow! That's almost as much as my mortgage!" and they live in a 5 bed/4 bath mansion in a gated community that's also a protected arboretum 🫠
I appreciate the unflinchingly honesty of Lena Sun's reporting on measles and vaccines. My only Q: Why can't we cover all subjects (climate change, systemic racism, democracy) with the same unflinching, euphemism-free honesty? podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...
Measles is spreading. Here’s how to stay safe.
Podcast Episode · Post Reports · 04/14/2025 · 24m
podcasts.apple.com
April 15, 2025 at 5:15 PM
I appreciate the unflinchingly honesty of Lena Sun's reporting on measles and vaccines. My only Q: Why can't we cover all subjects (climate change, systemic racism, democracy) with the same unflinching, euphemism-free honesty? podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p...
Reposted by Simone Sebastian
Trump: "Joe Biden handed us over a country that was in very serious trouble economically." (This is a lie.)
April 9, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Trump: "Joe Biden handed us over a country that was in very serious trouble economically." (This is a lie.)