Sandhya Dirks
@audiosand.bsky.social
Journalist, audio documentarian, writer person. Assistant professor of English at Dartmouth. Previously: NPR race and identity correspondent, “alarmingly divisive"
signal: sandhya_.96
Podcasts: On Our Watch, American Suburb.
signal: sandhya_.96
Podcasts: On Our Watch, American Suburb.
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
The removal of displays showing Black U.S. soldiers has sparked shock in the Netherlands, with critics of the removal, including a community that cares for the graves, demanding answers about why the Black American soldiers have all but vanished from displays www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
A Dutch war cemetery added displays showing black US soldiers. Then they were quietly removed
Relatives fear the move is part of ‘the same virus affecting the US’, as historians and politicians say it coincided with Trump’s DEI purge
www.theguardian.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:37 PM
The removal of displays showing Black U.S. soldiers has sparked shock in the Netherlands, with critics of the removal, including a community that cares for the graves, demanding answers about why the Black American soldiers have all but vanished from displays www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
For the first time, the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County has a full-time, paid executive director. Lawrielle West is excited to help usher in a new chapter for the museum at its new permanent location in a renovated 180 yo farmhouse. www.mlive.com/news/ann-arb... ❤️🔥
First full-time director of Black history museum near Ann Arbor wants to uplift local stories
Lawrielle West took the helm at AACHM excited to help usher in a new chapter for the museum at its new permanent location in Pittsfield Township.
www.mlive.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:35 PM
For the first time, the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County has a full-time, paid executive director. Lawrielle West is excited to help usher in a new chapter for the museum at its new permanent location in a renovated 180 yo farmhouse. www.mlive.com/news/ann-arb... ❤️🔥
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
Michigan lawyer says a Halloween terror plot that FBI Director Kash Patel described never existed
apnews.com/article/detr...
apnews.com/article/detr...
Michigan lawyer says a Halloween terror plot that FBI Director Kash Patel described never existed
A Michigan defense lawyer is disputing FBI allegations that his 20-year-old client and four others planned a terror attack on Halloween weekend.
apnews.com
November 2, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Michigan lawyer says a Halloween terror plot that FBI Director Kash Patel described never existed
apnews.com/article/detr...
apnews.com/article/detr...
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
I wrote this last month for @rollingstone.com, seems a good time to re-up.
"We’re going to take care of our people,” Trump said. “There are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.”
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
"We’re going to take care of our people,” Trump said. “There are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.”
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Trump Is Using the Shutdown to Supercharge His War on Equity
Donald Trump's $30 billion in shutdown cuts targeting Democrats will harm the entire economy, hitting women and people of color the hardest.
www.rollingstone.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:07 PM
I wrote this last month for @rollingstone.com, seems a good time to re-up.
"We’re going to take care of our people,” Trump said. “There are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.”
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
"We’re going to take care of our people,” Trump said. “There are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.”
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
November 12, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
"President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement crackdown has hit a disgusting new low, after federal agents reportedly pepper-sprayed a 1-year-old in Chicago and then lied about it."
Damning Video Shows DHS Agents Pepper-Spray a Baby
The Department of Homeland Security has denied it.
newrepublic.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:32 AM
"President Donald Trump’s federal law enforcement crackdown has hit a disgusting new low, after federal agents reportedly pepper-sprayed a 1-year-old in Chicago and then lied about it."
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
High end wealth inequality allows for shit like this
November 12, 2025 at 2:55 AM
High end wealth inequality allows for shit like this
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
What in the fuck
November 11, 2025 at 3:19 AM
What in the fuck
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
A Republican sheriff in a swing county that Trump won by 0.1% signed a contract to help ICE, then lost last week by 11.
New by me in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/sheriff-of-b...
New by me in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/sheriff-of-b...
Voters Ousted This Pennsylvania Sheriff After He Signed Up to Collaborate With ICE - Bolts
A populous, swing county replaced its GOP sheriff on Tuesday after months of controversy over his joining ICE’s 287(g) program. The Democratic winner promises he’ll end the contract.
boltsmag.org
November 10, 2025 at 7:20 PM
A Republican sheriff in a swing county that Trump won by 0.1% signed a contract to help ICE, then lost last week by 11.
New by me in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/sheriff-of-b...
New by me in @boltsmag.org: boltsmag.org/sheriff-of-b...
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
After José's arrest sparked outrage in August, DHS attacked him in a press release, calling him a "criminal illegal alien, not a firefighter." DHS has cited a 12-year-old drug delivery charge while failing to acknowledge the charge was dismissed.
Full @us.theguardian.com interview and story here:
Full @us.theguardian.com interview and story here:
US firefighter detained on the job speaks out after deportation: ‘I feel betrayed’
Exclusive: Border patrol arrested José Bertin Cruz-Estrada while he was battling a wildfire in Washington. He is now in Mexico, separated from his family in Oregon
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 11:28 PM
After José's arrest sparked outrage in August, DHS attacked him in a press release, calling him a "criminal illegal alien, not a firefighter." DHS has cited a 12-year-old drug delivery charge while failing to acknowledge the charge was dismissed.
Full @us.theguardian.com interview and story here:
Full @us.theguardian.com interview and story here:
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
Very interesting nugget in this profile of (now former) Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters' quiet relationship with far-right Texas billionaire Tim Dunn who, per sources, changed Walters "from loving schoolteacher to rightwing radical."
Former state superintendent’s legacy filled with politics, turmoil
Southwest Ledger Editor’s Note: This story is the first installment in a multi-part series about the fallout and impact of Ryan Walters’ tenure as Oklahoma’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction...
www.southwestledger.news
November 12, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Very interesting nugget in this profile of (now former) Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters' quiet relationship with far-right Texas billionaire Tim Dunn who, per sources, changed Walters "from loving schoolteacher to rightwing radical."
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
a new genre of photo in the last year is federal agents working for ICE pointing guns directly at photographers
November 11, 2025 at 12:41 AM
a new genre of photo in the last year is federal agents working for ICE pointing guns directly at photographers
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
The IOF: "What's the point of standards?”
⚫️ “None. No Accountability.”
Palestinian human rights lawyer Diana Buttu told Drop Site that not a single Israeli soldier has faced prosecution for killings or torture since October 2023 — “none.”
Sharif Abdel Kouddous noted that Israel’s military advocate general — the same office now under...
Palestinian human rights lawyer Diana Buttu told Drop Site that not a single Israeli soldier has faced prosecution for killings or torture since October 2023 — “none.”
Sharif Abdel Kouddous noted that Israel’s military advocate general — the same office now under...
November 11, 2025 at 7:07 PM
The IOF: "What's the point of standards?”
There is something to this, the way they've captured the rhetoric and the narrative and sent it through the looking glass -- free speech, civil rights, terrorism -- to coalesce authoritarian power. It is at heart, a rebranding project.
Only Donald Trump could assert, in all seriousness, that the most important factor in a superpower's military might is ... branding.
Trump: "We have officially renamed the Dept of Defense back to the original name, Dept of War. And remember we won World War 1, we won World War 2, we won everything in between. We won everything that came before. And then we brilliantly decided to change the name. We became politically correct"
November 11, 2025 at 11:07 PM
There is something to this, the way they've captured the rhetoric and the narrative and sent it through the looking glass -- free speech, civil rights, terrorism -- to coalesce authoritarian power. It is at heart, a rebranding project.
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
Texas A&M panel: Firing violated professor’s academic freedom - @texastribune.org share.google/Q5UVRMb2CCd5...
Texas A&M panel: Firing violated professor’s academic freedom
University officials dispute the faculty council’s conclusion. Melissa McCoul lost her job after a video of a classroom debate went viral.
share.google
November 11, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Texas A&M panel: Firing violated professor’s academic freedom - @texastribune.org share.google/Q5UVRMb2CCd5...
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
As they posed for a group selfie at the Bean in Chicago, Bovino and his goons shouted out the name of the Mexican immigrant neighborhood where they’d spent the last two days roughing up protesters, detaining hardworking immigrants, and teargassing children.
blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/10/b...
blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/10/b...
Border Patrol Agents Pose At The Bean For Apparent Photo Op
The photo op came after agents tear-gassed a Little Village street and were spotted in the area numerous times. At the Bean, one agent shouted, "Everyone say, 'Little Village!'"
blockclubchicago.org
November 11, 2025 at 5:59 PM
As they posed for a group selfie at the Bean in Chicago, Bovino and his goons shouted out the name of the Mexican immigrant neighborhood where they’d spent the last two days roughing up protesters, detaining hardworking immigrants, and teargassing children.
blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/10/b...
blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/10/b...
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
Alderman Sigcho-Lopez was right to call out Pritzker today about the state police arresting protesters. Pritzker responded that the state police are protecting protesters, and that just isn't true. State cops have arrested and brutalized protesters to facilitate ICE operations. That's reality.
November 11, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Alderman Sigcho-Lopez was right to call out Pritzker today about the state police arresting protesters. Pritzker responded that the state police are protecting protesters, and that just isn't true. State cops have arrested and brutalized protesters to facilitate ICE operations. That's reality.
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
The thing to understand about this is that this catastrophe in the UK has redounded to the political benefit of the very same people and political movement that pushed for it! Extremely perverse.
I wonder if the United States can learn anything from the last time a major industrialized country decided to isolate itself from the rest of the world?
Almost a decade after the Brexit vote, GDP in the UK is around 6-8% lower relative to peer countries. (Source: www.nber.org/papers/w34459)
Almost a decade after the Brexit vote, GDP in the UK is around 6-8% lower relative to peer countries. (Source: www.nber.org/papers/w34459)
November 11, 2025 at 5:23 PM
The thing to understand about this is that this catastrophe in the UK has redounded to the political benefit of the very same people and political movement that pushed for it! Extremely perverse.
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
The far right is obsessed with Lord of the Rings and Musk keeps posting about "hobbits" because modern scientific racism owes more to fantasy worlds and gaming systems than genetic science, and they see both as effective mediums for right-wing propaganda www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Why Elon Musk Needs Dungeons and Dragons to Be Racist
The fantastical roots of “scientific racism”
www.theatlantic.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:42 PM
The far right is obsessed with Lord of the Rings and Musk keeps posting about "hobbits" because modern scientific racism owes more to fantasy worlds and gaming systems than genetic science, and they see both as effective mediums for right-wing propaganda www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
"what's the point of standards" is a hilarious thing to say out loud where people can hear you
“I’ve been hearing that standards will be eliminated or severely cut back. Bari has told people that she wants to get rid of standards and is shocked that they have so much power. She also asked openly, ‘What’s the point of standards?’” one CBS source said.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Bari Weiss wants to take down ‘too much power’ CBS News Standards unit: sources
EXCLUSIVE: Internal rumblings within the newsroom come after the S&P head resigned and the network disbanded its vaunted Race and Culture unit.
www.independent.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 4:40 PM
"what's the point of standards" is a hilarious thing to say out loud where people can hear you
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
It is hard to come up with a better analogy for whiteness than preferring the AI simulacra of your supposed authentic art form to whatever a Black woman from your art form’s cultural geography might make.
As long as it's not Beyonce country music fans are fine with this development
November 11, 2025 at 7:53 PM
It is hard to come up with a better analogy for whiteness than preferring the AI simulacra of your supposed authentic art form to whatever a Black woman from your art form’s cultural geography might make.
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
A Fullerton police officer intervened when he saw a man in plain clothes pointing a gun at a female driver on a busy street in Santa Ana. The man later identified himself as an immigration agent and accused the driver of "following him" during an "operation"
Fullerton police stop man pointing gun at female driver, only to learn he is ICE agent
A Fullerton police officer told the agent he couldn't help 'with someone following or recording him if no crime had occurred.' Under state law, local police cannot enforce federal immigration law.
www.latimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:53 PM
A Fullerton police officer intervened when he saw a man in plain clothes pointing a gun at a female driver on a busy street in Santa Ana. The man later identified himself as an immigration agent and accused the driver of "following him" during an "operation"
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
Rhodes: Trump should “call us up as a militia, order us all to come together in our counties under his command, which gives you complete legal sanction to do what you're doing”
On The Gateway Pundit podcast, Stewart Rhodes announces he is relaunching the Oath Keepers
www.mediamatters.org
November 10, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Rhodes: Trump should “call us up as a militia, order us all to come together in our counties under his command, which gives you complete legal sanction to do what you're doing”
Reposted by Sandhya Dirks
The Neo-Nazi Groyper War to capture the Republican Party is a good example of "network war." A group existing mostly online ("in the cloud) takes power in the real world. When it becomes powerful enough to also take land, the victor of a network war can become a network state. That's the 101 theory.
In 2022, Peter Thiel protégé Balaji Srinivasan—formerly of Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase—envisioned a Second American Civil War.
He predicted it would be triggered by Bitcoin.
This is how it would work:
He predicted it would be triggered by Bitcoin.
This is how it would work:
November 11, 2025 at 8:38 PM
The Neo-Nazi Groyper War to capture the Republican Party is a good example of "network war." A group existing mostly online ("in the cloud) takes power in the real world. When it becomes powerful enough to also take land, the victor of a network war can become a network state. That's the 101 theory.