Andrea Pitzer
@andreapitzer.bsky.social
Books! One Long Night: A Global History of Concentration Camps, Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World, & a Nabokov bio. Now working on Snowblind: Death on the Polar Ice. Former karateka & record store clerk. Newsletter & podcast: andreapitzer.com.
Pinned
Andrea Pitzer
@andreapitzer.bsky.social
· Nov 10
Degenerate Art
Andrea Pitzer on politics and history, the Arctic, and Appalachian exile.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
I currently have a newsletter in which I write regularly about how societies devolve into authoritarianism & what that means right now in the US & around the world. It also features essays about my unsettled childhood in West Virginia. Soon, it will also include art, surprises, & links to resources.
Even Thomas Pynchon is rolling his eyes rn.
New WSJ: After flying an FBI jet to see his girlfriend sing at a wrestling match, FBI director Kash Patel took the jet to a private Texas hunting resort called the Boondoggle Ranch. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Kash Patel’s ‘Effin Wild’ Ride as FBI Director
In just one week in October, he ticked off his bosses with premature comments about a terror investigation squeezed in a trip to the ‘Boondoggle Ranch’ on the bureau jet.
www.wsj.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Even Thomas Pynchon is rolling his eyes rn.
To Degenerate Art subscribers: I have hit a small bump in publishing this evening's post! But it should go up tomorrow morning before noon...
November 12, 2025 at 4:14 AM
To Degenerate Art subscribers: I have hit a small bump in publishing this evening's post! But it should go up tomorrow morning before noon...
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Joyce Carol Oates sitting across a desk from Kendrick Lamar:
"So I'm putting a team together..."
Isaac Chotiner knocks on the open door.
"So I'm putting a team together..."
Isaac Chotiner knocks on the open door.
Personally, I will be trying to avoid the notice of Joyce Carol Oates and Kendrick Lamar for the rest of my natural life
I need Joyce Carol Oates to be mean to me online so I can get my life together
November 11, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Joyce Carol Oates sitting across a desk from Kendrick Lamar:
"So I'm putting a team together..."
Isaac Chotiner knocks on the open door.
"So I'm putting a team together..."
Isaac Chotiner knocks on the open door.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
and if you're in d.c., come hear @johnlingan.bsky.social + @andreapitzer.bsky.social in discussion at kramer books tonight: kramers.com/events/36367...
John Lingan: Backbeats | Kramers
kramers.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:41 PM
and if you're in d.c., come hear @johnlingan.bsky.social + @andreapitzer.bsky.social in discussion at kramer books tonight: kramers.com/events/36367...
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Yesterday, when Bovino announced ICE would be returning to Little Village today, some of us donated and fundraised to buy out street vendors in the neighborhood. This morning, volunteers hit the streets at 6:30 am, looking for vendors to buy out. Tamales make an excellent breakfast.
November 11, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Yesterday, when Bovino announced ICE would be returning to Little Village today, some of us donated and fundraised to buy out street vendors in the neighborhood. This morning, volunteers hit the streets at 6:30 am, looking for vendors to buy out. Tamales make an excellent breakfast.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Breaking: Marion County agrees to pay out $3M for newspaper raid, express regret kansasreflector.com/2025/11/11/m...
Marion County agrees to pay out $3M for newspaper raid, express regret • Kansas Reflector
A handful of county-level officials who were involved in a small-town Kansas newspaper raid in 2023 will pay a cumulative $3 million to three journalists and a city councilor.
kansasreflector.com
November 11, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Breaking: Marion County agrees to pay out $3M for newspaper raid, express regret kansasreflector.com/2025/11/11/m...
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Three German universities offering post-docs for researchers "who cannot conduct or continue their work in the USA appropriately because of actual political pressure. "
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
Early Career Rescue Fellowship
www.uni-konstanz.de
November 11, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Three German universities offering post-docs for researchers "who cannot conduct or continue their work in the USA appropriately because of actual political pressure. "
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
www.uni-konstanz.de/zukunftskoll...
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
BACKBEATS is out today!
Come see me & @andreapitzer.bsky.social at Kramers in DC tonight at 7: kramers.com/events/36367...
DM me a receipt if you’d like a signed book plate in the mail.
And read an excerpt in @rollingstone.com: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Come see me & @andreapitzer.bsky.social at Kramers in DC tonight at 7: kramers.com/events/36367...
DM me a receipt if you’d like a signed book plate in the mail.
And read an excerpt in @rollingstone.com: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
![PRAISE FOR
BACKBEATS
"[Exhibits] passion and deep knowledge... The only moments I put this book down were to pause and listen to the perfect examples that Lingan, a drummer himself, cites as crucial.... Here we see and hear the music of our lives."
-BILL JANOVITZ, author of Leon Russell: The Master of Space
and Time's Journey Through Rock & Roll History
"A thrilling ride... In exquisite detail and deft prose, John Lingan relates the creative insights and technical mastery of fifteen of rock's most influential groove merchants-many still unsung. In doing so, he reclaims the rock narrative from all those frontmen and guitarists, showing how the wizards at the back of the stage were moving the music all along."
-IAN S. PORT, author of The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll
"An intelligent, heartfelt, and long-overdue tribute to the unsung heroes of modern music. Because, let's face it—if it ain't got that swing, it don't mean a thing."
-BRAD TOLINSKI, coauthor of Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound, and Revolution of the Electric Guitar
"Backbeats glows with enthusiasm and delivers an insightful glimpse into the sultans of swing who create fire by rubbing two sticks together."
—BOB SPITZ, author of The Beatles:
The Biography and Led Zeppelin: The Biography
"Sitting ten feet from stardom, drummers have had a central but slightly removed view of rock 'n' roll. A drummer himself, John Lingan captures that unique perspective.... Backbeats delivers to the reader something fresh and different. It's a hit."
-PRESTON LAUTERBACH, author of The Chitlin' Circuit and the Road to Rock](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vqnmqsaa3izkhob7bopcxus2/bafkreifwmo4y4cy7rnpvycg35dhm654zd4bze7fuuul2ndyrt2zmpqzurm@jpeg)
November 11, 2025 at 1:56 PM
BACKBEATS is out today!
Come see me & @andreapitzer.bsky.social at Kramers in DC tonight at 7: kramers.com/events/36367...
DM me a receipt if you’d like a signed book plate in the mail.
And read an excerpt in @rollingstone.com: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Come see me & @andreapitzer.bsky.social at Kramers in DC tonight at 7: kramers.com/events/36367...
DM me a receipt if you’d like a signed book plate in the mail.
And read an excerpt in @rollingstone.com: www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Imagine looking at the US free market health provision disaster and going ‘what this needs is more of the market side’.
Trump: "I want the money to go into an account for people where they buy their own health insurance. It's so good. The insurance will be better. It'll cost less. Everybody is gonna be happy. They're gonna feel like entrepreneurs. They're actually able to go out & negotiate their own insurance"
November 11, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Imagine looking at the US free market health provision disaster and going ‘what this needs is more of the market side’.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
instead of saying this was good strategy, maybe senate dems should say: "the republicans were going to kill people by starving them to death, and because we aren't monsters, we decided to let this fight go. We'll keep fighting. Stop electing monsters."
November 11, 2025 at 1:42 PM
instead of saying this was good strategy, maybe senate dems should say: "the republicans were going to kill people by starving them to death, and because we aren't monsters, we decided to let this fight go. We'll keep fighting. Stop electing monsters."
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Enjoy yourself this evening, DC!
No throwing sandwiches!
Or, hey, do that, if you want, it’s your party.
No throwing sandwiches!
Or, hey, do that, if you want, it’s your party.
A reminder that I'll be at Kramers (aka, Kramerbooks) in Dupont Circle with @johnlingan.bsky.social on Tuesday 11/11 at 7pm to talk about his very fun book BACKBEATS: A HISTORY OF ROCK AND ROLL IN FIFTEEN DRUMMERS, on its publication day. Come hang out with us!
November 11, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Enjoy yourself this evening, DC!
No throwing sandwiches!
Or, hey, do that, if you want, it’s your party.
No throwing sandwiches!
Or, hey, do that, if you want, it’s your party.
For those who donated to the work my friend, Kharkiv native Olga Shpak, is doing there and on the front lines: this photo is from the charity home for elderly city residents. A Shahed drone explosion nearby damaged the roof and cut the power. She’s using some of the money you gave for repairs. [1/2]
November 11, 2025 at 1:37 AM
For those who donated to the work my friend, Kharkiv native Olga Shpak, is doing there and on the front lines: this photo is from the charity home for elderly city residents. A Shahed drone explosion nearby damaged the roof and cut the power. She’s using some of the money you gave for repairs. [1/2]
Come out to Kramers tomorrow (Tuesday, 11/11) at 7pm, when @johnlingan.bsky.social and I will talk about his wonderful new book BACKBEATS, which traces the arc of pop music through the lives and work of 15 drummers. Free, but please RSVP in the link, so they can brace themselves for our onslaught.
John Lingan: Backbeats | Kramers
kramers.com
November 11, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Come out to Kramers tomorrow (Tuesday, 11/11) at 7pm, when @johnlingan.bsky.social and I will talk about his wonderful new book BACKBEATS, which traces the arc of pop music through the lives and work of 15 drummers. Free, but please RSVP in the link, so they can brace themselves for our onslaught.
A friend just got back from Chicago and gave me this.
November 11, 2025 at 12:27 AM
A friend just got back from Chicago and gave me this.
Tried calling Kaine's office (DC and three local ones) and can't get a human being on the line anywhere. Even the "leave a message" option isn't working in some office voice mail systems.
November 10, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Tried calling Kaine's office (DC and three local ones) and can't get a human being on the line anywhere. Even the "leave a message" option isn't working in some office voice mail systems.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
And again, we're not guaranteed to win, and we're not going to sit around hoping for a win. We need to be out there working—out doing the anti-authoritarian work in the streets that needs doing, pushing candidates and electeds to do more, building grassroots infrastructure. Working. Fighting.
November 10, 2025 at 3:24 PM
And again, we're not guaranteed to win, and we're not going to sit around hoping for a win. We need to be out there working—out doing the anti-authoritarian work in the streets that needs doing, pushing candidates and electeds to do more, building grassroots infrastructure. Working. Fighting.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
yea the problem with poverty and food scarcity is that once people experience extended food scarcity that shit is carved in there forever. this was a major observable thing after the great leap forward and its resulting famine
November 9, 2025 at 7:58 PM
yea the problem with poverty and food scarcity is that once people experience extended food scarcity that shit is carved in there forever. this was a major observable thing after the great leap forward and its resulting famine
Body my house
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen
Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt
Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
when Body my good
bright dog is dead
—from "Question," by May Swenson
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen
Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt
Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
when Body my good
bright dog is dead
—from "Question," by May Swenson
November 9, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Body my house
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen
Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt
Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
when Body my good
bright dog is dead
—from "Question," by May Swenson
my horse my hound
what will I do
when you are fallen
Where will I sleep
How will I ride
What will I hunt
Where can I go
without my mount
all eager and quick
How will I know
in thicket ahead
is danger or treasure
when Body my good
bright dog is dead
—from "Question," by May Swenson
The "free lunches are bad" and "down with empathy" sloganeers never, ever want their words applied to them.
November 9, 2025 at 5:40 PM
The "free lunches are bad" and "down with empathy" sloganeers never, ever want their words applied to them.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
"No good part of our existing system can be safe as long as civilians can be beaten on the streets by masked men, whether they’re citizens or not."
Winning Elections Is Only The First Step
YouTube video by Degenerate Art by Andrea Pitzer
www.youtube.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:09 PM
"No good part of our existing system can be safe as long as civilians can be beaten on the streets by masked men, whether they’re citizens or not."
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Whistle up Baltimore.
I have been actively watching contracts and surge funding over the last few days and what I would say to my friends in Baltimore is “be absolutely ready, right now.”
ICE poised to ramp up raids in Baltimore by Thanksgiving
The Trump administration has rush-ordered infrastructure to conduct raids, abduct residents, and detain people for months.
open.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Whistle up Baltimore.
Area Dog just stood at the bottom of the steps and barked once to remind us that only stupid motherfuckers don't understand it's time to go to bed.
November 9, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Area Dog just stood at the bottom of the steps and barked once to remind us that only stupid motherfuckers don't understand it's time to go to bed.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
It's not even noon yet and feds (specifically Border Patrol and BOP officers in this caravan with Bovino) have fired tear gas, pepper balls, and bean bag rounds at people in Little Village and Cicero.
November 8, 2025 at 5:55 PM
It's not even noon yet and feds (specifically Border Patrol and BOP officers in this caravan with Bovino) have fired tear gas, pepper balls, and bean bag rounds at people in Little Village and Cicero.
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
Coming back as cuomo considers a run for a house seat
November 8, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Coming back as cuomo considers a run for a house seat
Reposted by Andrea Pitzer
I needed this today.
My latest is a love letter to Chicago. "I see you stumbling through the stubborn, awkward rhythm of showing up, again and again. I see you fighting alongside people who sometimes frustrate and confuse you, and defending neighbors you may have never met, because you know they’re all your people."
In Chicago, We Run Toward Danger Together
"Faced with unrelenting state violence, Chicagoans have refused to be cowed," says Mariame Kaba.
organizingmythoughts.org
November 8, 2025 at 4:09 PM
I needed this today.