Virginia Eubanks
@virginiaeeubanks.bsky.social
Writer working for an abundant, peaceful, and equitable future.
NEW MEMOIR (8/11/26): A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving: Lessons on Love, Care and Survival. Preorder: bit.ly/4hAFUJb https://virginia-eubanks.com/
NEW MEMOIR (8/11/26): A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving: Lessons on Love, Care and Survival. Preorder: bit.ly/4hAFUJb https://virginia-eubanks.com/
Pinned
✨ AGTOWL receives a Kirkus Star! ✨
A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving received a starred review from Kirkus! Out August 11, the memoir is the hardest & best thing I’ve ever made, so the honor touches me deeply.
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving received a starred review from Kirkus! Out August 11, the memoir is the hardest & best thing I’ve ever made, so the honor touches me deeply.
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
Items with question marks are stories we've heard *about* the halftime show that we want to factcheck.
February 9, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Items with question marks are stories we've heard *about* the halftime show that we want to factcheck.
Today, we asked, "Was the halftime show a political story?" based on our reading of Francesca Polletta. Does it have:
1) An identifiable beginning, middle, and end;
2) Setting, character(s) & point(s) of view;
3) A plot;
4) A normative conclusion?
Here's our (admittedly incomplete) plot diagram:
1) An identifiable beginning, middle, and end;
2) Setting, character(s) & point(s) of view;
3) A plot;
4) A normative conclusion?
Here's our (admittedly incomplete) plot diagram:
February 9, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Today, we asked, "Was the halftime show a political story?" based on our reading of Francesca Polletta. Does it have:
1) An identifiable beginning, middle, and end;
2) Setting, character(s) & point(s) of view;
3) A plot;
4) A normative conclusion?
Here's our (admittedly incomplete) plot diagram:
1) An identifiable beginning, middle, and end;
2) Setting, character(s) & point(s) of view;
3) A plot;
4) A normative conclusion?
Here's our (admittedly incomplete) plot diagram:
I'm teaching my Political Storytelling class this semester. Thank you Bad Bunny for dropping this performance right between the classes on political identity and the one on stories of personhood - we'll be talking about it for weeks. #PoliticalStorytelling
February 9, 2026 at 2:37 PM
I'm teaching my Political Storytelling class this semester. Thank you Bad Bunny for dropping this performance right between the classes on political identity and the one on stories of personhood - we'll be talking about it for weeks. #PoliticalStorytelling
Thanks to: @fsgbooks.bsky.social s.bsky.social @goldinagency.bsky.social cy.bsky.social @msjennajohnson.bsky.social on.bsky.social
Bluesky
s.bsky.social
February 2, 2026 at 12:59 PM
✨ AGTOWL receives a Kirkus Star! ✨
A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving received a starred review from Kirkus! Out August 11, the memoir is the hardest & best thing I’ve ever made, so the honor touches me deeply.
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving received a starred review from Kirkus! Out August 11, the memoir is the hardest & best thing I’ve ever made, so the honor touches me deeply.
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
February 2, 2026 at 12:59 PM
✨ AGTOWL receives a Kirkus Star! ✨
A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving received a starred review from Kirkus! Out August 11, the memoir is the hardest & best thing I’ve ever made, so the honor touches me deeply.
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving received a starred review from Kirkus! Out August 11, the memoir is the hardest & best thing I’ve ever made, so the honor touches me deeply.
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews...
Make sure to share what you write! Inquiring minds want to know.
January 19, 2026 at 3:09 PM
Make sure to share what you write! Inquiring minds want to know.
My university media office really should have counted the letters on this newsletter headline...
December 18, 2025 at 8:34 PM
My university media office really should have counted the letters on this newsletter headline...
(3/3): "There’s even evidence that a sense of purpose, strong social connections, and emotional resilience can protect the brain from age-related decline.” www.sciencenewstoday.org/what-is-neur... [I'm thinking about getting a BDNF tattoo.]
What Is Neuroplasticity and Why Does It Matter?
Imagine a symphony of electricity and chemistry playing continuously inside your skull. Billions of neurons exchanging signals, firing in patterns,…
www.sciencenewstoday.org
December 18, 2025 at 4:48 PM
(3/3): "There’s even evidence that a sense of purpose, strong social connections, and emotional resilience can protect the brain from age-related decline.” www.sciencenewstoday.org/what-is-neur... [I'm thinking about getting a BDNF tattoo.]
(2/3): "Physical exercise is also a potent stimulant of neuroplasticity. Aerobic activity increases blood flow to the brain, supports neurogenesis in the hippocampus, and boosts levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)—a protein crucial for maintaining plasticity. ..."
December 18, 2025 at 4:48 PM
(2/3): "Physical exercise is also a potent stimulant of neuroplasticity. Aerobic activity increases blood flow to the brain, supports neurogenesis in the hippocampus, and boosts levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)—a protein crucial for maintaining plasticity. ..."
Neuralplasticity for the win, at least for an old gal like me (1/3): "Lifelong learning and novelty-seeking are among the strongest predictors of cognitive longevity. ..."
December 18, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Neuralplasticity for the win, at least for an old gal like me (1/3): "Lifelong learning and novelty-seeking are among the strongest predictors of cognitive longevity. ..."
"Dendritic arborization." Yaaas.
December 18, 2025 at 1:55 PM
"Dendritic arborization." Yaaas.
Read this morning while exploring feedforward & predictive interneural connections: "The NMDA is a glutamate receptor cation channel that is also widely referred to as a 'coincidence detector'."
Down the rabbit hole for sure.
But "coincidence detectors"?! What wonderful worlds brains are.
Down the rabbit hole for sure.
But "coincidence detectors"?! What wonderful worlds brains are.
December 18, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Read this morning while exploring feedforward & predictive interneural connections: "The NMDA is a glutamate receptor cation channel that is also widely referred to as a 'coincidence detector'."
Down the rabbit hole for sure.
But "coincidence detectors"?! What wonderful worlds brains are.
Down the rabbit hole for sure.
But "coincidence detectors"?! What wonderful worlds brains are.
Reading on PTSD and neural plasticity this month. Looks like there is some interesting preliminary research. Anyone have recommendations for me?
December 7, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reading on PTSD and neural plasticity this month. Looks like there is some interesting preliminary research. Anyone have recommendations for me?
"Data centers consume approx 200 billion gallons of water annually in the US alone, w/ cooling systems accounting for 80-90% of demand. ... The WRI classifies 17 U.S. states as experiencing high or extremely high water stress. These states host approximately 40% of U.S. data center capacity."
December 6, 2025 at 6:22 PM
"Data centers consume approx 200 billion gallons of water annually in the US alone, w/ cooling systems accounting for 80-90% of demand. ... The WRI classifies 17 U.S. states as experiencing high or extremely high water stress. These states host approximately 40% of U.S. data center capacity."
Thinking about universities' promotion of AI from a resource- and labor-extraction angle -- something I'm not hearing come up a lot in conversations about AI and education. But I'm part of the Anthropic class action, and data centers themselves are concerned about their water and energy use... e.g.:
December 6, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Thinking about universities' promotion of AI from a resource- and labor-extraction angle -- something I'm not hearing come up a lot in conversations about AI and education. But I'm part of the Anthropic class action, and data centers themselves are concerned about their water and energy use... e.g.:
My understanding of the book is that they are arguing explicitly that democracy is *best* understood as an information system.
December 5, 2025 at 8:34 PM
My understanding of the book is that they are arguing explicitly that democracy is *best* understood as an information system.
Here's my latest, a review of Schneier and Sanders' new boo, Rewiring Democracy (with some big thoughts of my own), in Nature. AI has a democracy problem — here’s why www.nature.com/articles/d41...
AI has a democracy problem — here’s why
A thorough examination of artificial intelligence’s promise in politics rests on a thorny premise: democracy is an information system.
www.nature.com
December 5, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Here's my latest, a review of Schneier and Sanders' new boo, Rewiring Democracy (with some big thoughts of my own), in Nature. AI has a democracy problem — here’s why www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The Kindle version of Automating Inequality as available at a deep discount currently! It's definitely worth $2.99. 🤣
a.co/d/bPaqACH
a.co/d/bPaqACH
Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor
Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor - Kindle edition by Eubanks, Virginia. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor.
a.co
October 31, 2025 at 6:49 PM
The Kindle version of Automating Inequality as available at a deep discount currently! It's definitely worth $2.99. 🤣
a.co/d/bPaqACH
a.co/d/bPaqACH
The skills I learned in the woods and on the water were surprisingly transferable to surviving violence and traumatic care.
What unexpected survival skill do you possess? Comment below, and follow me here on Bluesky, and I’ll DM you an excerpt from the memoir!
What unexpected survival skill do you possess? Comment below, and follow me here on Bluesky, and I’ll DM you an excerpt from the memoir!
October 30, 2025 at 4:10 PM
The skills I learned in the woods and on the water were surprisingly transferable to surviving violence and traumatic care.
What unexpected survival skill do you possess? Comment below, and follow me here on Bluesky, and I’ll DM you an excerpt from the memoir!
What unexpected survival skill do you possess? Comment below, and follow me here on Bluesky, and I’ll DM you an excerpt from the memoir!
The happiest surprise of writing the book was how much I learned about staying alive in the wilderness: I studied kayak self-rescue, winter survival, map and compass navigation, bushwhacking, monastic discernment, lifeguarding, wilderness first aid.
October 30, 2025 at 4:10 PM
The happiest surprise of writing the book was how much I learned about staying alive in the wilderness: I studied kayak self-rescue, winter survival, map and compass navigation, bushwhacking, monastic discernment, lifeguarding, wilderness first aid.
The lesson: Nobody survives the wilderness alone. In love with hazard orange and tranquil blue, the humor and danger all caught up together. Thanks @corraldesign.bsky.social (design) and Giacomo Girardi (art), and everyone at @fsgbooks.bsky.social, for promoting beautiful, true caregiver stories.
COVER REVEAL! 🌊 A GUIDE TO OPEN WATER LIFESAVING by @virginiaeeubanks.bsky.social is a spirited, wise, often hilarious, profoundly moving story of one woman's efforts to survive caregiving, trauma, love, and the systems seemingly set up to fail us. Available on August 11, 2026. bit.ly/4hAFUJb
October 30, 2025 at 3:11 PM
The lesson: Nobody survives the wilderness alone. In love with hazard orange and tranquil blue, the humor and danger all caught up together. Thanks @corraldesign.bsky.social (design) and Giacomo Girardi (art), and everyone at @fsgbooks.bsky.social, for promoting beautiful, true caregiver stories.
Hi Brian! Amazing to see you. Invite me back to Idaho!!
October 29, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Hi Brian! Amazing to see you. Invite me back to Idaho!!
I’m excited to share that I have a reported memoir, *A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving: Lessons on Love and Survival,* arriving in the world on August 11, 2026.
Tomorrow, Oct 30, @fsgbooks.bsky.social will reveal the book’s extraordinary cover. Follow FSG (or me) to get the first glimpse.
Tomorrow, Oct 30, @fsgbooks.bsky.social will reveal the book’s extraordinary cover. Follow FSG (or me) to get the first glimpse.
October 29, 2025 at 6:17 PM
I’m excited to share that I have a reported memoir, *A Guide to Open Water Lifesaving: Lessons on Love and Survival,* arriving in the world on August 11, 2026.
Tomorrow, Oct 30, @fsgbooks.bsky.social will reveal the book’s extraordinary cover. Follow FSG (or me) to get the first glimpse.
Tomorrow, Oct 30, @fsgbooks.bsky.social will reveal the book’s extraordinary cover. Follow FSG (or me) to get the first glimpse.
@brianmannadk.bsky.social explains why this series? Why now? (Hint: It's not to encourage women to have a bunch more babies) www.instagram.com/reel/DQZfk-k...
October 29, 2025 at 3:59 PM
@brianmannadk.bsky.social explains why this series? Why now? (Hint: It's not to encourage women to have a bunch more babies) www.instagram.com/reel/DQZfk-k...
Excited to be digging into this fascinating new series on worldwide population shifts.
www.npr.org/series/g-s1-...
Even, meticulous, ambitious reporting has me rethinking so many things that I thought I knew.
Kudos to @brianmannadk.bsky.social @sarahmccammon.bsky.social & everyone at @npr.org
www.npr.org/series/g-s1-...
Even, meticulous, ambitious reporting has me rethinking so many things that I thought I knew.
Kudos to @brianmannadk.bsky.social @sarahmccammon.bsky.social & everyone at @npr.org
Population Shift
Examining what happens when families have fewer kids
www.npr.org
October 27, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Excited to be digging into this fascinating new series on worldwide population shifts.
www.npr.org/series/g-s1-...
Even, meticulous, ambitious reporting has me rethinking so many things that I thought I knew.
Kudos to @brianmannadk.bsky.social @sarahmccammon.bsky.social & everyone at @npr.org
www.npr.org/series/g-s1-...
Even, meticulous, ambitious reporting has me rethinking so many things that I thought I knew.
Kudos to @brianmannadk.bsky.social @sarahmccammon.bsky.social & everyone at @npr.org