Erin Kernen
@e-m-kernen.bsky.social
Giver of basilisk stares. Spreadsheet wielder. Muffin maker. Person who likes to work for organizations that make a difference.
The Hater’s Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog never fails to tickle my ever-increasingly-cranky about Christmas soul.
Merry Christmas! It's the Hater's Guide To The Williams-Sonoma Catalog! defector.com/the-2025-hat...
The 2025 Hater’s Guide To The Williams-Sonoma Catalog | Defector
[Opens front door while holding a toy corgi in one arm] Merry Christmas! Oh my God, you made it! I thought you might be stuck at the airport for weeks! Well, because it’s such madness out there. Piper...
defector.com
December 17, 2025 at 8:31 PM
The Hater’s Guide to the Williams-Sonoma Catalog never fails to tickle my ever-increasingly-cranky about Christmas soul.
I say this as someone who loved living in Hoboken and Jersey City was pretty good too: every joke playing on New Jersey stereotypes is hilarious.
Ok imagine Lou Diamond Phillips doesn't leave Meg Ryan for dead at the end of Courage Under Fire and she moves to New Jersey and goes to law school. She's running against a bowl of pasta fazool, who is somehow passing himself off as the ideological heir to Christie Whitman despite being crazy MAGA
November 5, 2025 at 12:17 AM
I say this as someone who loved living in Hoboken and Jersey City was pretty good too: every joke playing on New Jersey stereotypes is hilarious.
God forbid a guy working in law enforcement think fascism is bad. Can’t have that, now, can we . . .
Brian Edwards was hired in 2022 as a detention officer and promoted to corporal earlier this year.
Orange County deputy, self-described ‘antifa’ fired over social media posts
Brian Edwards was hired in 2022 as a detention officer and promoted to corporal earlier this year.
bit.ly
September 23, 2025 at 1:41 AM
God forbid a guy working in law enforcement think fascism is bad. Can’t have that, now, can we . . .
Nothing but admiration for people putting themselves in harm’s way to stand up for principles and protect their communities. It’s scary that there are so many thugs willing to do ICE dirty work among us. People need to see that there are people willing to try to stop them.
ICE continues to assault us.
We are peacefully protesting. They are kidnapping and hurting us.
We are peacefully protesting. They are kidnapping and hurting us.
September 19, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Nothing but admiration for people putting themselves in harm’s way to stand up for principles and protect their communities. It’s scary that there are so many thugs willing to do ICE dirty work among us. People need to see that there are people willing to try to stop them.
The box of tissues in the conference room just about says it all.
September 17, 2025 at 6:36 PM
The box of tissues in the conference room just about says it all.
This read on Chapel Hill as a very mixed up place is highly entertaining to me. The professor’s observation that sports generate all kinds of money, but none of it flows down to the history department is quite the summation.
Paige Williams visits Chapel Hill, where ex-N.F.L. royalty Bill Belichick is working to revamp the University of North Carolina’s football program.
Bill Belichick Goes Back to School
Can the legendary former Patriots coach transform U.N.C. football?
www.newyorker.com
September 2, 2025 at 3:26 AM
This read on Chapel Hill as a very mixed up place is highly entertaining to me. The professor’s observation that sports generate all kinds of money, but none of it flows down to the history department is quite the summation.
The layoff of the American Experience team is such a stomach-dropper of a story. This is really tragic for people who want to understand our country better - the story-telling they do is unparalleled. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/a...
As PBS Stations Confront Cuts, American History Takes a Hit
www.nytimes.com
August 29, 2025 at 11:49 PM
The layoff of the American Experience team is such a stomach-dropper of a story. This is really tragic for people who want to understand our country better - the story-telling they do is unparalleled. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/a...
Listening to this episode of the “This is Love” podcast was such a palate cleanser. Such a wholesome way of looking at travel we should all hold space for.
Do you know that good feeling you get, after you’ve shared a deep yet relaxing conversation that goes places you didn’t expect to go and connects you with memories and experiences that had fallen out of your world, but shouldn’t have? Phoebe Judge had me on her podcast, and she did just that.
Episode 120: The World According to Rick Steves
Never check a bag, always bring a journal, and consider duct tape: a conversation with Rick Steves.
thisislovepodcast.com
August 22, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Listening to this episode of the “This is Love” podcast was such a palate cleanser. Such a wholesome way of looking at travel we should all hold space for.
This is real cultural harm that spineless politicians have perpetrated or allowed to happen to our country, and it will be hard to measure the damage done. “What Happens to Public Media Now?”
August 15, 2025 at 6:36 AM
This is real cultural harm that spineless politicians have perpetrated or allowed to happen to our country, and it will be hard to measure the damage done. “What Happens to Public Media Now?”
Hell yes, it’s so good to see that people in Yancey County are fighting the absurd decision by county officials to separate their library from its consortium out of idiotic objections to a pride display. Library systems are for resource sharing; the separation would only hurt the library users.
Organizers in Yancey County, North Carolina, are fighting to prevent anti-gay pro-censorship extremists from taking over their library system. Read more about the case and donate to the legal fund!
www.ourlibraryourvoice.org
www.ourlibraryourvoice.org
Home | Our Library Our Voice
www.ourlibraryourvoice.org
June 17, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Hell yes, it’s so good to see that people in Yancey County are fighting the absurd decision by county officials to separate their library from its consortium out of idiotic objections to a pride display. Library systems are for resource sharing; the separation would only hurt the library users.
What?! What?! These things were essential to the holiday dessert for New Years Day my entire childhood. I didn’t even know they had been discontinued. Last straw. I’m done with this reality.
Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers (1924-2023): Thin, crispy chocolate wafer cookies, most commonly used to make icebox pies, cookie crusts, and various frozen/chilled desserts. A rep from Nabisco stated that they were discontinued "to make room for new innovations"
May 24, 2025 at 12:25 AM
What?! What?! These things were essential to the holiday dessert for New Years Day my entire childhood. I didn’t even know they had been discontinued. Last straw. I’m done with this reality.
I’m not Catholic but I’m 100% Midwestern and this Brother of Pope interview really is delightful.
News Alert: The Chicago Pope and his brother play Wordle and Words with Friends together.
This interview by local chicago news station @nbcchicago.com is delightful. Watch:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=tbnZ...
This interview by local chicago news station @nbcchicago.com is delightful. Watch:
m.youtube.com/watch?v=tbnZ...
Brother of NEW POPE shares reaction in one-on-one interview
YouTube video by NBC Chicago
m.youtube.com
May 9, 2025 at 1:10 PM
I’m not Catholic but I’m 100% Midwestern and this Brother of Pope interview really is delightful.
If someone cross-stitched this and sold it on Etsy I would buy it.
i don’t believe in the great man of history theory, but i do kind of believe in a stupid asshole theory of history where one dumb motherfucker ruins things for everyone
May 8, 2025 at 3:35 PM
If someone cross-stitched this and sold it on Etsy I would buy it.
This termination of the Ready to Learn grant has thrown everyone in my workplace into an absolute scramble. The projects that our subgrant and contracts would have funded were carefully planned by our teams. It’s so sad to see people unable to proceed with their good work.
CPB Statement on U.S. Department of Education Terminating Ready To Learn Grant
CPB informed PBS and 44 public media stations in 28 states and the District of Columbia that receive Ready To Learn grants to stop work immediately
cpb.org
May 6, 2025 at 10:56 PM
This termination of the Ready to Learn grant has thrown everyone in my workplace into an absolute scramble. The projects that our subgrant and contracts would have funded were carefully planned by our teams. It’s so sad to see people unable to proceed with their good work.
Reposted by Erin Kernen
“I don’t want to fight,” the child said.
A man sitting in front of them turned around. “It’s a different kind of fight, sweetheart,” he said. “It’s not a physical fight. It’s a fight where you use your eyes and your mind.”
A man sitting in front of them turned around. “It’s a different kind of fight, sweetheart,” he said. “It’s not a physical fight. It’s a fight where you use your eyes and your mind.”
“I’ve Seen Tears in the Hallway”: Federal Workers Decry Human Toll of Funding Cuts at AFL-CIO Event
At the Durham gathering this week, workers directed their ire over federal funding cuts at U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, who is up for reelection.
indyweek.com
May 1, 2025 at 3:57 PM
“I don’t want to fight,” the child said.
A man sitting in front of them turned around. “It’s a different kind of fight, sweetheart,” he said. “It’s not a physical fight. It’s a fight where you use your eyes and your mind.”
A man sitting in front of them turned around. “It’s a different kind of fight, sweetheart,” he said. “It’s not a physical fight. It’s a fight where you use your eyes and your mind.”
Of all the fundraisers that wouldn’t need to exist if we lived in a just world, this one should blow way past the fundraising goal.
There is a GoFundMe for Kilmar Abrego Garcia's family. He has three children with special needs, and his wife now can't afford to take time off work to help their kids adjust to the disappearance of their father.
Donate to Aid for Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia's Family, organized by National Day Laborer Organizing Network
----En Español Abajo----
Kilmar is a loving father, husba… National Day Laborer Organizing Network needs your support for Aid for Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia's Family
www.gofundme.com
April 15, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Of all the fundraisers that wouldn’t need to exist if we lived in a just world, this one should blow way past the fundraising goal.
My undergrad institution is on this list of signatories! I’m going to throw them some sweet alumni cash.
Brief from the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and more than 80 universities says arrests and deportations of student protesters create a “climate of fear” at universities across the country. This is a big deal—the first time universities have weighed in. knightcolumbia.org/documents/eh...
April 10, 2025 at 5:14 PM
My undergrad institution is on this list of signatories! I’m going to throw them some sweet alumni cash.
Reposted by Erin Kernen
If you are an NC resident and voted in November, please check if your name or the names of any family areone of the 60K votes being challenged. If so, confirm ASAP with your Board of Elections. You only have two weeks.
The website to check linked in the reply.
www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...
The website to check linked in the reply.
www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...
NC Court of Appeals gives over 60,000 challenged voters 15 days to prove eligibility
The majority wrote that, even though they have the authority to completely throw out the contested ballots, they decided to instead mandate a cure period for most of the challenged voters.
www.newsobserver.com
April 4, 2025 at 5:15 PM
If you are an NC resident and voted in November, please check if your name or the names of any family areone of the 60K votes being challenged. If so, confirm ASAP with your Board of Elections. You only have two weeks.
The website to check linked in the reply.
www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...
The website to check linked in the reply.
www.newsobserver.com/news/politic...
If I was expecting to need the old IRA anytime soon, I might be well and truly freaking out today.
April 3, 2025 at 10:37 PM
If I was expecting to need the old IRA anytime soon, I might be well and truly freaking out today.
A Chapel Hill local needs help with bills after an accident, and there’s a match right now making contributions go even farther.
Y'all may remember I'd planned on doing a Philanthropy Friday event this month for a library endowment I was putting together. But turns out it's now too "woke" and is temporarily shelved 🤪
So instead I'm re-upping Chris's GFM to help with his medical bills:
www.gofundme.com/f/assist-chr...
So instead I'm re-upping Chris's GFM to help with his medical bills:
www.gofundme.com/f/assist-chr...
Donate to Assist Chris Suttle's Journey to Recovery, organized by Shantel Richardson
Due to an accident on December 17th, my partner, Chris Suttle was injured… Shantel Richardson needs your support for Assist Chris Suttle's Journey to Recovery
www.gofundme.com
March 29, 2025 at 4:39 PM
A Chapel Hill local needs help with bills after an accident, and there’s a match right now making contributions go even farther.
There are people who still go around saying “defund the police” was too extreme while in the reality we all live in, the police are committing atrocities like this.
Is this just our new normal? Women being arrested if a cop doesn’t like how they miscarried, and lawmakers debating whether to put us to death before breaking for fucking lunch? Has everyone lost their minds?
They're Arresting Us for Miscarriages Now
What the hell happened to the Overton Window?
jessica.substack.com
March 29, 2025 at 1:17 PM
There are people who still go around saying “defund the police” was too extreme while in the reality we all live in, the police are committing atrocities like this.
College student swim instructors are so freaking adorable. I want to hug them for helping my kid have such a good time learning.
March 26, 2025 at 10:32 PM
College student swim instructors are so freaking adorable. I want to hug them for helping my kid have such a good time learning.
My god, what a beautiful accent. Love her.
Best imagined read in one of the finest Boston accents in existence, cf:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzfo...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzfo...
March 10, 2025 at 7:06 PM
My god, what a beautiful accent. Love her.
Sherrod Brown is a real one. I wish my state’s senators had a fraction of the sincerity and care he does. If we had more politicians who actually understand how people live, maybe we would have a different politics.
"If the results of this election have taught us one thing, it should be that the class of people who have been running the country have much to learn about their fellow citizens." —Sherrod Brown
Democrats Must Become the Workers’ Party Again
Reconnecting the Democratic Party to the working class is an electoral and a moral imperative, and it will be my mission for the rest of my life.
newrepublic.com
March 6, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Sherrod Brown is a real one. I wish my state’s senators had a fraction of the sincerity and care he does. If we had more politicians who actually understand how people live, maybe we would have a different politics.
Haven’t looked at or posted on Twitter (still not calling it the new name) in several weeks. Finally just deactivated. I won’t miss it.
February 21, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Haven’t looked at or posted on Twitter (still not calling it the new name) in several weeks. Finally just deactivated. I won’t miss it.