Whitney Bauck
@whitneybauck.bsky.social
Award-winning freelance journalist reporting @ the Guardian, Grist, WaPo, Bloomberg, etc
Particularly interested in solutions-focused reporting on climate, grassroots movements and fungi
https://whitneybauck.substack.com/
Particularly interested in solutions-focused reporting on climate, grassroots movements and fungi
https://whitneybauck.substack.com/
Pinned
Whitney Bauck
@whitneybauck.bsky.social
· Sep 18
Such an honor to have my story on the Palestinian Heirloom Seed Library for @theguardian.com win a 2025 @coveringclimatenow.org award.
Such heartbreak that the horrors that prompted me to write the story are still ongoing.
I'm proud of many of my stories, but this one in particular means a lot.
Such heartbreak that the horrors that prompted me to write the story are still ongoing.
I'm proud of many of my stories, but this one in particular means a lot.
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
Abigail Spanberger this afternoon ordered that all state agencies leave ICE's 287(g) program. This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE. boltsmag.org/virginia-spa...
Virginia’s New Governor Ends ICE Program. Local Contracts Remain, For Now. - Bolts
Abigail Spanberger left the 287(g) program, which empowered state law enforcement to detain immigrants. Will Democrats also bar local police and sheriffs from the program?
boltsmag.org
February 4, 2026 at 10:56 PM
Abigail Spanberger this afternoon ordered that all state agencies leave ICE's 287(g) program. This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE. boltsmag.org/virginia-spa...
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
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 Whitney Bauck
Climate reporters are some of the kindest, most selfless, and most hardworking people around.
We need MORE of their work, not less. I'm grateful to everyone who has read and subscribed to support any kind of climate coverage over the years, ours or another newsroom's. Thanks for not turning away.
We need MORE of their work, not less. I'm grateful to everyone who has read and subscribed to support any kind of climate coverage over the years, ours or another newsroom's. Thanks for not turning away.
February 5, 2026 at 2:17 AM
Climate reporters are some of the kindest, most selfless, and most hardworking people around.
We need MORE of their work, not less. I'm grateful to everyone who has read and subscribed to support any kind of climate coverage over the years, ours or another newsroom's. Thanks for not turning away.
We need MORE of their work, not less. I'm grateful to everyone who has read and subscribed to support any kind of climate coverage over the years, ours or another newsroom's. Thanks for not turning away.
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
Hey writers! March 14 I'm bringing back From Research to Draft, where we'll talk strategies for organizing and writing from research that will make you a happier and better writer. Early bird pricing through 2/8! jaimegreen.net/classes
February 3, 2026 at 6:13 PM
Hey writers! March 14 I'm bringing back From Research to Draft, where we'll talk strategies for organizing and writing from research that will make you a happier and better writer. Early bird pricing through 2/8! jaimegreen.net/classes
This is climate action. It’s still happening, even as climate seems to be fading from the national discourse
Today in the Rockaways, I stood with NYCHA residents to announce a $38M investment to bring clean, reliable heat pumps to Beach 41st Street Houses.
February 4, 2026 at 9:36 PM
This is climate action. It’s still happening, even as climate seems to be fading from the national discourse
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
you’ll miss us when we’re gone
February 4, 2026 at 5:22 PM
you’ll miss us when we’re gone
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
journalists are workers who deserve to be paid fairly for our labor and I think that far too few consumers of media recognize or even care about this fact
February 4, 2026 at 5:20 PM
journalists are workers who deserve to be paid fairly for our labor and I think that far too few consumers of media recognize or even care about this fact
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
No, I do not want to be a “creator journalist” or “influencer” or run a newsletter by myself
I want health insurance and a decent editor to work under and a team of comrades to work with, attend union meetings with, do good with
Launch the billionaires into the sun and pass out their wealth
I want health insurance and a decent editor to work under and a team of comrades to work with, attend union meetings with, do good with
Launch the billionaires into the sun and pass out their wealth
February 4, 2026 at 5:24 PM
No, I do not want to be a “creator journalist” or “influencer” or run a newsletter by myself
I want health insurance and a decent editor to work under and a team of comrades to work with, attend union meetings with, do good with
Launch the billionaires into the sun and pass out their wealth
I want health insurance and a decent editor to work under and a team of comrades to work with, attend union meetings with, do good with
Launch the billionaires into the sun and pass out their wealth
The federal gov is calling protestors—and ICE watchers who are killed in the street—"domestic terrorists."
But as much as this approach seems to have ramped up under Trump, the criminalization of protest is as American as apple pie. New from me: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
But as much as this approach seems to have ramped up under Trump, the criminalization of protest is as American as apple pie. New from me: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
The criminalizing of protest and dissent has a long history in America
The Trump administration is accusing protesters of ‘domestic terrorism’ but this brazen tactic is as old as the country itself
www.theguardian.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:17 PM
The federal gov is calling protestors—and ICE watchers who are killed in the street—"domestic terrorists."
But as much as this approach seems to have ramped up under Trump, the criminalization of protest is as American as apple pie. New from me: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
But as much as this approach seems to have ramped up under Trump, the criminalization of protest is as American as apple pie. New from me: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
This is about The Washington Post but it is also about the slow death of movie theaters, of book stores—the rapid integration of AI into schools—the Kennedy Center—the way so many people in power are afraid of art (and wow even sports) for the power it has to give people common language and cause.
February 4, 2026 at 2:35 PM
This is about The Washington Post but it is also about the slow death of movie theaters, of book stores—the rapid integration of AI into schools—the Kennedy Center—the way so many people in power are afraid of art (and wow even sports) for the power it has to give people common language and cause.
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
“As an international organization, we know that the treatment of journalists is a leading indicator of the condition of a country’s democracy,” said CPJ CEO @jodieginsberg.bsky.social.
Read more on the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort: cpj.org/2026/01/cpj-...
Read more on the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort: cpj.org/2026/01/cpj-...
January 30, 2026 at 4:50 PM
“As an international organization, we know that the treatment of journalists is a leading indicator of the condition of a country’s democracy,” said CPJ CEO @jodieginsberg.bsky.social.
Read more on the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort: cpj.org/2026/01/cpj-...
Read more on the arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort: cpj.org/2026/01/cpj-...
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
Uber Eats, 2 other food delivery apps to pay $5M settlement over NYC minimum wage rules https://gothamist.com/news/uber-eats-2-other-food-delivery-apps-to-pay-5m-settlement-over-nyc-minimum-wage-rules
Uber Eats, 2 other food delivery apps to pay $5M settlement over NYC minimum wage rules
An Uber Eats worker's electric bike in Manhattan in 2022
The settlement comes as the Mamdani administration boosts enforcement of the city’s protections for gig economy workers. [ more › ]
gothamist.com
January 31, 2026 at 12:10 AM
Uber Eats, 2 other food delivery apps to pay $5M settlement over NYC minimum wage rules https://gothamist.com/news/uber-eats-2-other-food-delivery-apps-to-pay-5m-settlement-over-nyc-minimum-wage-rules
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
X is hiring a creative writing specialist at $40 an hour to make Grok better at writing and a true LOL at the qualifications
January 30, 2026 at 8:14 PM
X is hiring a creative writing specialist at $40 an hour to make Grok better at writing and a true LOL at the qualifications
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
They are all Black journalists and Black politicians. Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are journalists. Trahern Jean Crews ran for Minnesota's House District 66B. Jamael Lydell Lundy is running for Minnesota Senate District 65.
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 2:42 PM
They are all Black journalists and Black politicians. Don Lemon and Georgia Fort are journalists. Trahern Jean Crews ran for Minnesota's House District 66B. Jamael Lydell Lundy is running for Minnesota Senate District 65.
There are so many movies/books/video games (ie The Last of Us) about fungal zombies. No one is talking as thoughtfully about this genre—and tracing the surprisingly somber and racialized history of the zombie—like mycophile Maria Pinto.
I reviewed her debut book: substack.com/home/post/p-...
I reviewed her debut book: substack.com/home/post/p-...
On fungi, zombies, and the Black uncanny
A review of Maria Pinto's book "Fearless, Sleepless, Deathless."
substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 5:13 PM
There are so many movies/books/video games (ie The Last of Us) about fungal zombies. No one is talking as thoughtfully about this genre—and tracing the surprisingly somber and racialized history of the zombie—like mycophile Maria Pinto.
I reviewed her debut book: substack.com/home/post/p-...
I reviewed her debut book: substack.com/home/post/p-...
"The relative fragility of Trump’s assault on bedrock environmental and climate laws could be a product of the president’s prioritization of political dominance over lasting change."
Great and surprisingly encouraging piece by @zteirstein.bsky.social for @grist.org grist.org/politics/how...
Great and surprisingly encouraging piece by @zteirstein.bsky.social for @grist.org grist.org/politics/how...
How permanent is Trump's assault on climate action?
Trump’s attacks on bedrock environmental and climate laws are inherently fragile — and could reflect the president’s preference for political dominance over lasting change.
grist.org
January 26, 2026 at 3:08 PM
"The relative fragility of Trump’s assault on bedrock environmental and climate laws could be a product of the president’s prioritization of political dominance over lasting change."
Great and surprisingly encouraging piece by @zteirstein.bsky.social for @grist.org grist.org/politics/how...
Great and surprisingly encouraging piece by @zteirstein.bsky.social for @grist.org grist.org/politics/how...
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
If you came to me and asked me to teach you American history and how to engage with it while standing on one leg, I guess I would say this: "Powerful Americans have plundered, oppressed and terrorized. At every step, other Americans fought them. You can, too. The rest is commentary: go and do."
January 22, 2026 at 6:52 PM
If you came to me and asked me to teach you American history and how to engage with it while standing on one leg, I guess I would say this: "Powerful Americans have plundered, oppressed and terrorized. At every step, other Americans fought them. You can, too. The rest is commentary: go and do."
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
This photo will be everywhere for the next week. Pls credit prominently.
Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Minnesota Star Tribune
Every journalist covering ICE risks their lives.
Tsong-Taatarii has been an NPPA Photographer of the Year, rec'd a World Press Photo award, and was on a team that won a Pulitzer.
Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Minnesota Star Tribune
Every journalist covering ICE risks their lives.
Tsong-Taatarii has been an NPPA Photographer of the Year, rec'd a World Press Photo award, and was on a team that won a Pulitzer.
Minneapolis, today.
Note how three agents holding the civilian down.
Why spray?
www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...
Note how three agents holding the civilian down.
Why spray?
www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...
January 21, 2026 at 9:35 PM
This photo will be everywhere for the next week. Pls credit prominently.
Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Minnesota Star Tribune
Every journalist covering ICE risks their lives.
Tsong-Taatarii has been an NPPA Photographer of the Year, rec'd a World Press Photo award, and was on a team that won a Pulitzer.
Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Minnesota Star Tribune
Every journalist covering ICE risks their lives.
Tsong-Taatarii has been an NPPA Photographer of the Year, rec'd a World Press Photo award, and was on a team that won a Pulitzer.
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
Shout out to mushrooms for being so weird
October 29, 2023 at 1:53 PM
Shout out to mushrooms for being so weird
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
People who were actually enslaved believed that chattel slavery would end one day.
I'm sorry but to me that suggests that you [who are not enslaved in 2026] can also imagine an end to the current horrors.
I'm sorry but to me that suggests that you [who are not enslaved in 2026] can also imagine an end to the current horrors.
January 17, 2026 at 6:02 PM
People who were actually enslaved believed that chattel slavery would end one day.
I'm sorry but to me that suggests that you [who are not enslaved in 2026] can also imagine an end to the current horrors.
I'm sorry but to me that suggests that you [who are not enslaved in 2026] can also imagine an end to the current horrors.
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.
January 17, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Photo by Pierre Lavie. Yes this is me. And I threw my Leica. It landed on the bass plate with hardly a scratch. Another Photographer grabbed it along with my phone and I was able to track him later. I was held face down tear gas deployed right in front of me and pepper sprayed directly into the eye.
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
big things happening
every single successful general strike in US history has had union backing through the local AFL-CIO
this is the first time it’s been called for since the 1940s
this is the first time it’s been called for since the 1940s
January 16, 2026 at 10:03 PM
big things happening
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
Ahead of time, you first have to turn on full encryption on your devices, it’s not that cumbersome—a good guide here:
January 15, 2026 at 5:44 PM
Ahead of time, you first have to turn on full encryption on your devices, it’s not that cumbersome—a good guide here:
Social media is so deeply broken and the implications for climate (hate speech, misinfo) and democracy (troll farms, election interference) are horrendous.
We need to fix it. What if we did that by treating social media as a public good—managing it like we do libraries or the post office? 1/
We need to fix it. What if we did that by treating social media as a public good—managing it like we do libraries or the post office? 1/
January 16, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Social media is so deeply broken and the implications for climate (hate speech, misinfo) and democracy (troll farms, election interference) are horrendous.
We need to fix it. What if we did that by treating social media as a public good—managing it like we do libraries or the post office? 1/
We need to fix it. What if we did that by treating social media as a public good—managing it like we do libraries or the post office? 1/
Reposted by Whitney Bauck
just talked to a cousin who lives in minnesota. he's undocumented. he's scared and not going to work. this isn't sustainable for folks. he's got rent to pay. he's gotta buy food. sigh. i walk around with my passport b/c i'm scared. i'm a US citizen. born here. this is a nightmare.
January 15, 2026 at 5:25 PM
just talked to a cousin who lives in minnesota. he's undocumented. he's scared and not going to work. this isn't sustainable for folks. he's got rent to pay. he's gotta buy food. sigh. i walk around with my passport b/c i'm scared. i'm a US citizen. born here. this is a nightmare.