Aaron Landsman
@thinaar.bsky.social
Theater person, civic action person, Lecturer at Princeton person, person person. Writing in journals and on stages and in a book (The City We Make Together). Progenitor of Perfect City - toolkit for local power using art.
Reposted by Aaron Landsman
New release! “Life Beyond Line Items”
To get the city we deserve, New Yorkers must be active participants in its governance. In conversation, Celina Su and @thinaar.bsky.social ask: How can we build democratic muscle and demand moral budgets?
urbanomnibus.net/2025/11/life...
To get the city we deserve, New Yorkers must be active participants in its governance. In conversation, Celina Su and @thinaar.bsky.social ask: How can we build democratic muscle and demand moral budgets?
urbanomnibus.net/2025/11/life...
Life Beyond Line Items - Urban Omnibus
To get the city we deserve, New Yorkers must be active participants in its governance. What spaces and methods can help us build democratic muscle and demand moral budgets?
urbanomnibus.net
November 6, 2025 at 8:12 PM
New release! “Life Beyond Line Items”
To get the city we deserve, New Yorkers must be active participants in its governance. In conversation, Celina Su and @thinaar.bsky.social ask: How can we build democratic muscle and demand moral budgets?
urbanomnibus.net/2025/11/life...
To get the city we deserve, New Yorkers must be active participants in its governance. In conversation, Celina Su and @thinaar.bsky.social ask: How can we build democratic muscle and demand moral budgets?
urbanomnibus.net/2025/11/life...
Planning on choreographing a new TikTok performance called "Jump to Recipe", where we play songs whose choruses contain the word "Jump" and we read recipes aloud while people jump up and down and try to make the recipe. Seeing this as a big entrepreneurial adventure.
October 19, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Planning on choreographing a new TikTok performance called "Jump to Recipe", where we play songs whose choruses contain the word "Jump" and we read recipes aloud while people jump up and down and try to make the recipe. Seeing this as a big entrepreneurial adventure.
open.substack.com/pub/thinaar/...
“So much of what comes through the small screens on our devices is reductive and horrifying. Performance and politics are two sites where we can feel and be critical at the same time. Can sense devotion and lament it’s not toward something more freeing."
“So much of what comes through the small screens on our devices is reductive and horrifying. Performance and politics are two sites where we can feel and be critical at the same time. Can sense devotion and lament it’s not toward something more freeing."
Where are we? (Field Notes)
Quick dispatches from the long projects
open.substack.com
October 14, 2025 at 1:29 PM
open.substack.com/pub/thinaar/...
“So much of what comes through the small screens on our devices is reductive and horrifying. Performance and politics are two sites where we can feel and be critical at the same time. Can sense devotion and lament it’s not toward something more freeing."
“So much of what comes through the small screens on our devices is reductive and horrifying. Performance and politics are two sites where we can feel and be critical at the same time. Can sense devotion and lament it’s not toward something more freeing."
Senate democratic leadership voting for the Charlie Kirk memorial holiday whatver-the-fuck are an indicator of how much we can't rely on either party to get us through. We keep us free.
September 21, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Senate democratic leadership voting for the Charlie Kirk memorial holiday whatver-the-fuck are an indicator of how much we can't rely on either party to get us through. We keep us free.
Reposted by Aaron Landsman
We’d be in a much stronger position right now if mainstream Democrats had taken a common sense stand for First Amendment principles instead of piling on undergraduate standing up for Palestine.
September 18, 2025 at 12:29 AM
We’d be in a much stronger position right now if mainstream Democrats had taken a common sense stand for First Amendment principles instead of piling on undergraduate standing up for Palestine.
Two pieces in one single week!
Come see NIGHT KEEPER at Mabou Mines on June 23 (and pick up a record!)
See a draft of my epic game-based thingy, All the Time in the World on June 26 up at @ps21.bsky.social as part of Catch!
open.substack.com/pub/thinaar/...
Come see NIGHT KEEPER at Mabou Mines on June 23 (and pick up a record!)
See a draft of my epic game-based thingy, All the Time in the World on June 26 up at @ps21.bsky.social as part of Catch!
open.substack.com/pub/thinaar/...
July is a heatwave...of performance!
Night Keeper July 23 at Mabou Mines; All the Time in the World July 26 at Catch
open.substack.com
July 11, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Two pieces in one single week!
Come see NIGHT KEEPER at Mabou Mines on June 23 (and pick up a record!)
See a draft of my epic game-based thingy, All the Time in the World on June 26 up at @ps21.bsky.social as part of Catch!
open.substack.com/pub/thinaar/...
Come see NIGHT KEEPER at Mabou Mines on June 23 (and pick up a record!)
See a draft of my epic game-based thingy, All the Time in the World on June 26 up at @ps21.bsky.social as part of Catch!
open.substack.com/pub/thinaar/...
Reposted by Aaron Landsman
Fully on board with dems running for office promising to reinstate fired federal employees and jail this administration’s various criminals, but let’s go ahead and add “we will seize by eminent domain any national parkland sold to developers”
April 26, 2025 at 11:45 PM
Fully on board with dems running for office promising to reinstate fired federal employees and jail this administration’s various criminals, but let’s go ahead and add “we will seize by eminent domain any national parkland sold to developers”
Reposted by Aaron Landsman
urbanomnibus.net/2025/04/this...
New release! “This Is a Rehearsal”
With democratic institutions and processes at a nadir, the playwright Aaron Landsman (@thinaar.bsky.social) considers the public meeting's mise-en-scene. How might artists help perform power when we are out of practice?
New release! “This Is a Rehearsal”
With democratic institutions and processes at a nadir, the playwright Aaron Landsman (@thinaar.bsky.social) considers the public meeting's mise-en-scene. How might artists help perform power when we are out of practice?
This Is a Rehearsal - Urban Omnibus
With democratic institutions and processes at a nadir, a playwright considers the public meeting's mise-en-scene. How might artists help perform power when we are out of practice?
urbanomnibus.net
April 10, 2025 at 6:48 PM
urbanomnibus.net/2025/04/this...
New release! “This Is a Rehearsal”
With democratic institutions and processes at a nadir, the playwright Aaron Landsman (@thinaar.bsky.social) considers the public meeting's mise-en-scene. How might artists help perform power when we are out of practice?
New release! “This Is a Rehearsal”
With democratic institutions and processes at a nadir, the playwright Aaron Landsman (@thinaar.bsky.social) considers the public meeting's mise-en-scene. How might artists help perform power when we are out of practice?
Thanks to Urban Omnibus for the patience to make a long and grappling piece about performance, power, civic meetings and the search for the right tools to meet the moment: urbanomnibus.net/2025/04/this...
Shout outs to Katy Rubin, Antanas Mockus, NYCHA tenants and other civic performers.
Shout outs to Katy Rubin, Antanas Mockus, NYCHA tenants and other civic performers.
This Is a Rehearsal - Urban Omnibus
With democratic institutions and processes at a nadir, a playwright considers the public meeting's mise-en-scene. How might artists help perform power when we are out of practice?
urbanomnibus.net
April 10, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Thanks to Urban Omnibus for the patience to make a long and grappling piece about performance, power, civic meetings and the search for the right tools to meet the moment: urbanomnibus.net/2025/04/this...
Shout outs to Katy Rubin, Antanas Mockus, NYCHA tenants and other civic performers.
Shout outs to Katy Rubin, Antanas Mockus, NYCHA tenants and other civic performers.
Reposted by Aaron Landsman
I asked the one high ranking policeman I saw on 5th Ave why there were so few police. He said “We did not expect anything like this. Don’t tell anyone but I’ve only got 44 officers out here — and it’s a great crowd, great event, no incidents.”
I have never seen anything like this in NYC. 5th Ave covered from 42nd St well to the 20s. Nobody prepared for this volume. Volunteers are holding the traffic on all the side streets. No police in sight. #handsoff
April 5, 2025 at 8:24 PM
I asked the one high ranking policeman I saw on 5th Ave why there were so few police. He said “We did not expect anything like this. Don’t tell anyone but I’ve only got 44 officers out here — and it’s a great crowd, great event, no incidents.”
ThinAar Studio
thinaar.substack.com?r=1dt9p&utm_...
thinaar.substack.com?r=1dt9p&utm_...
ThinAar Studio | Aaron Landsman | Substack
Mailing list and newsletter replacement for Aaron Landsman, NYC-based multidisciplinary artist and civic action fulminator. Click to read ThinAar Studio, by Aaron Landsman, a Substack publication with...
thinaar.substack.com
April 5, 2025 at 9:15 PM
ThinAar Studio
thinaar.substack.com?r=1dt9p&utm_...
thinaar.substack.com?r=1dt9p&utm_...
Reposted by Aaron Landsman
US liberals kept promoting ethnonationalism in Israel and then got ousted from power by ethnonationalists at home. maybe they need to examine that
March 17, 2025 at 1:48 AM
US liberals kept promoting ethnonationalism in Israel and then got ousted from power by ethnonationalists at home. maybe they need to examine that
Reposted by Aaron Landsman
For decades, the Democratic party has traded away its credibility as a stronghold for working-class people nation-wide. To recover, we need to rapidly – and entirely – divorce our party from the ultra-rich and their corporations.
March 13, 2025 at 7:16 PM
For decades, the Democratic party has traded away its credibility as a stronghold for working-class people nation-wide. To recover, we need to rapidly – and entirely – divorce our party from the ultra-rich and their corporations.
The beauty of "Night Keeper" lies in its ability to capture the feeling of sleeplessness without forcing it...it’s a perfect soundtrack for those late-night hours when the world outside feels distant, and all you have is your thoughts, the shadows, and the sound.
www.chaindlk.com/reviews/12472
www.chaindlk.com/reviews/12472
Aaron Landsman / Norman Westberg - Night Keeper | Chain D.L.K.
www.chaindlk.com
March 16, 2025 at 2:09 PM
The beauty of "Night Keeper" lies in its ability to capture the feeling of sleeplessness without forcing it...it’s a perfect soundtrack for those late-night hours when the world outside feels distant, and all you have is your thoughts, the shadows, and the sound.
www.chaindlk.com/reviews/12472
www.chaindlk.com/reviews/12472
Reposted by Aaron Landsman
New Yorkers: Call Sen. Gillibrand’s office to vote NO on cloture and NO on the Republican Spending Bill.
They vote in the morning.
☎️: (202) 224-4451
They vote in the morning.
☎️: (202) 224-4451
March 14, 2025 at 12:56 AM
New Yorkers: Call Sen. Gillibrand’s office to vote NO on cloture and NO on the Republican Spending Bill.
They vote in the morning.
☎️: (202) 224-4451
They vote in the morning.
☎️: (202) 224-4451
Reposted by Aaron Landsman
A federal court in California has ordered the reinstatement of thousands of fired probationary federal workers
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Judge orders Trump administration to reinstate most fired probationary staff
Ruling by California judge applies to thousands of employees dismissed from six federal agencies
www.theguardian.com
March 13, 2025 at 4:53 PM
A federal court in California has ordered the reinstatement of thousands of fired probationary federal workers
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Curious how the ADL is going to spin Grump calling Schumer Palestinian.
March 13, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Curious how the ADL is going to spin Grump calling Schumer Palestinian.
You can now pre-order Night Keeper (the LP and digital download) from @hallowground.bsky.social.
In collaboration with Norman Westberg, a studio reinterpretation of my show about insomnia as a communion in the city.
hallowground.bandcamp.com/album/aaron-...
Click the link to listen to a taste.
In collaboration with Norman Westberg, a studio reinterpretation of my show about insomnia as a communion in the city.
hallowground.bandcamp.com/album/aaron-...
Click the link to listen to a taste.
AARON LANDSMAN / NORMAN WESTBERG - Night Keeper, by Aaron Landsman / Norman Westberg
4 track album
hallowground.bandcamp.com
March 11, 2025 at 2:09 PM
You can now pre-order Night Keeper (the LP and digital download) from @hallowground.bsky.social.
In collaboration with Norman Westberg, a studio reinterpretation of my show about insomnia as a communion in the city.
hallowground.bandcamp.com/album/aaron-...
Click the link to listen to a taste.
In collaboration with Norman Westberg, a studio reinterpretation of my show about insomnia as a communion in the city.
hallowground.bandcamp.com/album/aaron-...
Click the link to listen to a taste.
Reposted by Aaron Landsman
if you find yourself reluctant to support the guy at Columbia because you find some of the politics he espoused distasteful or even abhorrent, you should know that this is exactly the reaction that they hoped for in choosing him as a target for unlawful detention based on political speech.
March 10, 2025 at 7:33 PM
if you find yourself reluctant to support the guy at Columbia because you find some of the politics he espoused distasteful or even abhorrent, you should know that this is exactly the reaction that they hoped for in choosing him as a target for unlawful detention based on political speech.
Reposted by Aaron Landsman
Mahmoud Khalil's rights should be defended for their own sake, and for his unborn child's sake, but they should also be defended on principle and for all of our sakes. The slope is slippery; the rights are crucial.
if you as an American Jew do not want to be used as the excuse for Trump's destruction of civil liberties and basic democratic protections, the time to speak out is right now
March 10, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Mahmoud Khalil's rights should be defended for their own sake, and for his unborn child's sake, but they should also be defended on principle and for all of our sakes. The slope is slippery; the rights are crucial.
Reposted by Aaron Landsman
Let's be really really clear. The Trump admin chose a Palestinian activist as the target of its first lawless political detention precisely BECAUSE they believe that will split the opposition.
If you shrug at the abduction of Mahmoud Khalil, or worse, cheer it on, you're following Trump's script.
If you shrug at the abduction of Mahmoud Khalil, or worse, cheer it on, you're following Trump's script.
March 10, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Let's be really really clear. The Trump admin chose a Palestinian activist as the target of its first lawless political detention precisely BECAUSE they believe that will split the opposition.
If you shrug at the abduction of Mahmoud Khalil, or worse, cheer it on, you're following Trump's script.
If you shrug at the abduction of Mahmoud Khalil, or worse, cheer it on, you're following Trump's script.
Reposted by Aaron Landsman
Here we go!❤️🔥
Full of gratitude for the theater and performance organizations who are taking this to the courts as a First Amendment issue with the @aclu.org. 👏👏👏
Full of gratitude for the theater and performance organizations who are taking this to the courts as a First Amendment issue with the @aclu.org. 👏👏👏
Theaters Sue the N.E.A. Over Trump’s ‘Gender Ideology’ Order
The lawsuit seeks to block a new rule that requires groups applying for grants from the National Endowment for the Arts to agree not to promote “gender ideology.”
www.nytimes.com
March 6, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Here we go!❤️🔥
Full of gratitude for the theater and performance organizations who are taking this to the courts as a First Amendment issue with the @aclu.org. 👏👏👏
Full of gratitude for the theater and performance organizations who are taking this to the courts as a First Amendment issue with the @aclu.org. 👏👏👏
“If you wanted to make us safe, pass gun reforms,” Boston mayor Michelle Wu said. “Stop cutting Medicaid. Stop cutting cancer research. Stop cutting funds for veterans. That is what will make our cities safe.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Plan to skewer US sanctuary city mayors backfires on Republicans
New York, Chicago, Boston and Denver mayors use platform at Capitol hearing to reject claims about crime and gangs
www.theguardian.com
March 6, 2025 at 3:27 AM
“If you wanted to make us safe, pass gun reforms,” Boston mayor Michelle Wu said. “Stop cutting Medicaid. Stop cutting cancer research. Stop cutting funds for veterans. That is what will make our cities safe.”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Re: the don't buy stuff thing: what has already proven effective is countering technofacist capitalism by participating in civil society, civic life and creativity. When we all call our no-good reps and they do something. When we go to community board meetings. When we sign our kids up for SYEP.
February 28, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Re: the don't buy stuff thing: what has already proven effective is countering technofacist capitalism by participating in civil society, civic life and creativity. When we all call our no-good reps and they do something. When we go to community board meetings. When we sign our kids up for SYEP.