Ess Writes Things
@esswrites.bsky.social
She/they. Researcher, writer, educator, and other stuff. Gender-hacked dyke, neurodivergent, (invisibly) crip.
Creative stuff:
Body Horror — https://www.acdclit.com/pokornowski-ess
Haunted — https://www.cleavermagazine.com/haunted-by-ess-pokornowski/
Creative stuff:
Body Horror — https://www.acdclit.com/pokornowski-ess
Haunted — https://www.cleavermagazine.com/haunted-by-ess-pokornowski/
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
November 9, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
Now we know where all that Spotify money is going. Not to the artists - perish the thought. No, the CEO has invested it all in AI weaponry designed to kill humans. I wish this were a joke.
www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Spotify boycott: Artists leave 'garbage hole' platform after CEO invests in AI weapons
Daniel Ek's investments in AI dronemaker Helsing have unnerved artists. One called Spotify a "violent armageddon portal."
www.latimes.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Now we know where all that Spotify money is going. Not to the artists - perish the thought. No, the CEO has invested it all in AI weaponry designed to kill humans. I wish this were a joke.
www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
www.latimes.com/entertainmen...
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
thank you for all the support; the statement from our union is now live here with some more reporting.
now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.
now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.
November 3, 2025 at 11:25 PM
thank you for all the support; the statement from our union is now live here with some more reporting.
now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.
now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.
Reading a lot lately even though I don’t post about it.
So here are off the cuff random thoughts about stuff I am reading… I guess? 🧵
So here are off the cuff random thoughts about stuff I am reading… I guess? 🧵
October 29, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Reading a lot lately even though I don’t post about it.
So here are off the cuff random thoughts about stuff I am reading… I guess? 🧵
So here are off the cuff random thoughts about stuff I am reading… I guess? 🧵
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
I wrote about how "Grokipedia" is a new front on the war against reality itself. It's an attempt by the oligarchic class to seize the means of knowledge production itself and create a weaponized unreality.
www.thedissident.news/grokipedia-a...
www.thedissident.news/grokipedia-a...
Grokipedia and the Coup Against Reality Itself
Grokipedia, the copycat of Wikipedia launched by Elon Musk isn’t just a string of AI generated slop, it is a weapon. The launch of "grokipedia" is a calculated, strategic escalation by the billionaire...
www.thedissident.news
October 28, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I wrote about how "Grokipedia" is a new front on the war against reality itself. It's an attempt by the oligarchic class to seize the means of knowledge production itself and create a weaponized unreality.
www.thedissident.news/grokipedia-a...
www.thedissident.news/grokipedia-a...
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
🚨‼️As of yesterday KOSA is at 64 cosponsors with @vanhollen.senate.gov + @kim.senate.gov - who claim to support LGTBQ+ rights but are clearly okay with supporting legislation that’ll censor us off the internet- newly signed on.
You know what to do: www.stopkosa.com
You know what to do: www.stopkosa.com
October 24, 2025 at 5:02 PM
🚨‼️As of yesterday KOSA is at 64 cosponsors with @vanhollen.senate.gov + @kim.senate.gov - who claim to support LGTBQ+ rights but are clearly okay with supporting legislation that’ll censor us off the internet- newly signed on.
You know what to do: www.stopkosa.com
You know what to do: www.stopkosa.com
Me as a slush reader: "Dang, I don't need every short story you ever wrote in here, just give me your best couple right now..."
Me as a submitter: "Annnd why not, let's throw one more in even though its rougher, that will get us to just meet the maximum number [of words/pages/subs]. Nice."
Me as a submitter: "Annnd why not, let's throw one more in even though its rougher, that will get us to just meet the maximum number [of words/pages/subs]. Nice."
October 23, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Me as a slush reader: "Dang, I don't need every short story you ever wrote in here, just give me your best couple right now..."
Me as a submitter: "Annnd why not, let's throw one more in even though its rougher, that will get us to just meet the maximum number [of words/pages/subs]. Nice."
Me as a submitter: "Annnd why not, let's throw one more in even though its rougher, that will get us to just meet the maximum number [of words/pages/subs]. Nice."
Hey. Here is something nice.
Mini story about how I now look forward to a steady stream of zines coming in the mail!
It is a rare source of sustained and intermittent joy that I can expect for months! 🧵
Mini story about how I now look forward to a steady stream of zines coming in the mail!
It is a rare source of sustained and intermittent joy that I can expect for months! 🧵
October 7, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Hey. Here is something nice.
Mini story about how I now look forward to a steady stream of zines coming in the mail!
It is a rare source of sustained and intermittent joy that I can expect for months! 🧵
Mini story about how I now look forward to a steady stream of zines coming in the mail!
It is a rare source of sustained and intermittent joy that I can expect for months! 🧵
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
Has your library banned any displays, events, education, talks, or anything else related to Banned Books Week this year? I want to know about it . . . and emphasize you're not alone.
Please take and share this short, anonymous survey.
tinyurl.com/banning-bbw-25
Please take and share this short, anonymous survey.
tinyurl.com/banning-bbw-25
October 6, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Has your library banned any displays, events, education, talks, or anything else related to Banned Books Week this year? I want to know about it . . . and emphasize you're not alone.
Please take and share this short, anonymous survey.
tinyurl.com/banning-bbw-25
Please take and share this short, anonymous survey.
tinyurl.com/banning-bbw-25
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
If you are a supporter and reader of @contingent-mag.bsky.social one of the biggest things you can do to help us at the moment is get this CFP to the NTT folks in your life. The fracturing of social media has made it very difficult to get the word out esp. to adjuncts and VAPs.
CFP: A Time of Monsters
The monster has been here all along. It is a historical constant that manifests in wildly different ways across time, place, and culture. Whatever form it takes, the monster claws at categories; it un...
contingentmagazine.org
October 5, 2025 at 9:41 PM
If you are a supporter and reader of @contingent-mag.bsky.social one of the biggest things you can do to help us at the moment is get this CFP to the NTT folks in your life. The fracturing of social media has made it very difficult to get the word out esp. to adjuncts and VAPs.
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
if the state of journalism and its capture by the right wing also has you in despair, a real, tangible thing you can do to push back is support/subscribe to worker-owned indie news media!!
@coyotemedia.org (bay area)
@51st.news (dc)
@racketmn.com (mn)
@autonomynews.co
@505omatic.bsky.social (nm)
@coyotemedia.org (bay area)
@51st.news (dc)
@racketmn.com (mn)
@autonomynews.co
@505omatic.bsky.social (nm)
October 3, 2025 at 3:14 PM
if the state of journalism and its capture by the right wing also has you in despair, a real, tangible thing you can do to push back is support/subscribe to worker-owned indie news media!!
@coyotemedia.org (bay area)
@51st.news (dc)
@racketmn.com (mn)
@autonomynews.co
@505omatic.bsky.social (nm)
@coyotemedia.org (bay area)
@51st.news (dc)
@racketmn.com (mn)
@autonomynews.co
@505omatic.bsky.social (nm)
Confirmed. I think about it constantly. I also consider: if I stay beyond that point, what good can I still do?
To be clear, I think it is entirely possible we pull back from the brink. It just feels increasingly unlikely. Like watching a car crash in slow motion, whispering we can still turn…
To be clear, I think it is entirely possible we pull back from the brink. It just feels increasingly unlikely. Like watching a car crash in slow motion, whispering we can still turn…
every trans person in the US has a line. it's different for everyone but it exists. it says, "across this line i need to flee the country." a set of conditions where existing here is harder or more dangerous than leaving.
the worst part is that most of us won't be able to when that line is crossed.
the worst part is that most of us won't be able to when that line is crossed.
I cannot express how tired i am of thinking about, worrying about, talking about, and stressing about whether it's time for me to flee the United States while I have the means and opportunity to do so.
September 30, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Confirmed. I think about it constantly. I also consider: if I stay beyond that point, what good can I still do?
To be clear, I think it is entirely possible we pull back from the brink. It just feels increasingly unlikely. Like watching a car crash in slow motion, whispering we can still turn…
To be clear, I think it is entirely possible we pull back from the brink. It just feels increasingly unlikely. Like watching a car crash in slow motion, whispering we can still turn…
Months late, but this is just to say that @torreypeters.bsky.social "Stag Dance" is a damn masterpiece. (I meant the titular novel, but hey, interpret it as the whole book if you like. It's still true.)
I read it with the same joy I ate the plums from the icebox. Or whatever.
I read it with the same joy I ate the plums from the icebox. Or whatever.
September 29, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Months late, but this is just to say that @torreypeters.bsky.social "Stag Dance" is a damn masterpiece. (I meant the titular novel, but hey, interpret it as the whole book if you like. It's still true.)
I read it with the same joy I ate the plums from the icebox. Or whatever.
I read it with the same joy I ate the plums from the icebox. Or whatever.
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
The stopgap measure being voted on today to try to avoid govt shutdown includes a provision that could strip ALL federal funding from any institution/facility providing access to any form of gender-affirming care, for anyone of any age. Call.
We will grow old together.
We will grow old together.
Protect Funding and Access to Gender-Affirming Care ⭑ 5 Calls
Updates Sept 9, 2025: House Republicans are once again attempting to ban funding and access for gender-affirming care. The House appropriations bill …
5calls.org
September 29, 2025 at 6:06 PM
The stopgap measure being voted on today to try to avoid govt shutdown includes a provision that could strip ALL federal funding from any institution/facility providing access to any form of gender-affirming care, for anyone of any age. Call.
We will grow old together.
We will grow old together.
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
Don’t automatically assume that your elected officials will do the right thing because we know that half of them won’t and may try to capitulate under pressure. Call your elected officials and be a constant, unceasing pain in their ass. You elected them to work for you not the other way around.
hey, cis people. we need you to call every single elected official you've got, now.
Trump threatens to shut down US government unless Democrats agree to ban all trans health care
https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/09/29/trans-care-ban-government-shutdown/?utm_content=1759153201&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky
https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/09/29/trans-care-ban-government-shutdown/?utm_content=1759153201&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky
September 29, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Don’t automatically assume that your elected officials will do the right thing because we know that half of them won’t and may try to capitulate under pressure. Call your elected officials and be a constant, unceasing pain in their ass. You elected them to work for you not the other way around.
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
Call your senators and your house rep.
Make a stink by being clear that abandoning trans adults and children is a no-go.
Cis people, call and be loud for us. We are tired.
Make a stink by being clear that abandoning trans adults and children is a no-go.
Cis people, call and be loud for us. We are tired.
1. Trump has dug in on anti-trans provisions in the shutdown fight this morning, cancelling a meeting with Dems unless they cave on trans people.
His post to Truth Social is a clear indication that Republicans are making targeting trans people a priority.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
His post to Truth Social is a clear indication that Republicans are making targeting trans people a priority.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
Trump Digs In On Anti-Trans Provisions In Shutdown Fight Message
The provisions are becoming a key sticking point in the ongoing fight to keep the government open.
www.erininthemorning.com
September 23, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Call your senators and your house rep.
Make a stink by being clear that abandoning trans adults and children is a no-go.
Cis people, call and be loud for us. We are tired.
Make a stink by being clear that abandoning trans adults and children is a no-go.
Cis people, call and be loud for us. We are tired.
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
Hard to express to those not in the weeds just how much the current state of the immigration detention system is just utter chaos.
More than 1800 detainees are missing after the closure of Alligator Alcatraz. Their families and lawyers can’t find them and they’ve vanished from the ICE database. Feels like this should be a much bigger story www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
Hundreds of Alligator Alcatraz detainees drop off the grid after leaving site
As of the end of August, the whereabouts of two-thirds of more than 1,800 men detained at Alligator Alcatraz during the month of July could not be determined by the Miami Herald.
www.miamiherald.com
September 23, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Hard to express to those not in the weeds just how much the current state of the immigration detention system is just utter chaos.
My dog headbutted me in the face so hard it cut me and swelled up. Now I have a dramatic multicolored eyelid/face.
This happened 26 hours before I fly across the country to lead a series of workshops for my day job.
Honestly, feels pretty chill for 2025.
This happened 26 hours before I fly across the country to lead a series of workshops for my day job.
Honestly, feels pretty chill for 2025.
September 23, 2025 at 8:40 PM
My dog headbutted me in the face so hard it cut me and swelled up. Now I have a dramatic multicolored eyelid/face.
This happened 26 hours before I fly across the country to lead a series of workshops for my day job.
Honestly, feels pretty chill for 2025.
This happened 26 hours before I fly across the country to lead a series of workshops for my day job.
Honestly, feels pretty chill for 2025.
My god, a workout I might actually enjoy.
September 22, 2025 at 4:53 PM
My god, a workout I might actually enjoy.
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
Heritage Foundation has released an absolutely insane policy proposal to label all trans people as domestic terrorists. It uses completely made up instances of terrorism and made up statistics but facts don't matter to them.
They want us all eradicated.
They want us all eradicated.
September 19, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Heritage Foundation has released an absolutely insane policy proposal to label all trans people as domestic terrorists. It uses completely made up instances of terrorism and made up statistics but facts don't matter to them.
They want us all eradicated.
They want us all eradicated.
Not that anyone needs me to spell this out (again) but hell, just in case you do, here is explicit evidence that the goal is to isolate, silence, and eradicate trans folks.
As folks in the replies below note: trans rights are also YOUR rights. If some lose, we all lose.
As folks in the replies below note: trans rights are also YOUR rights. If some lose, we all lose.
Rep. Ronny Jackson calls to forcefully mass institutionalize trans people and calls them a cancer.
www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/r...
www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/r...
September 17, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Not that anyone needs me to spell this out (again) but hell, just in case you do, here is explicit evidence that the goal is to isolate, silence, and eradicate trans folks.
As folks in the replies below note: trans rights are also YOUR rights. If some lose, we all lose.
As folks in the replies below note: trans rights are also YOUR rights. If some lose, we all lose.
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
I wrote about the firing of Alan Sepinwall, which is awful. And I tied it into what's happening all over in the media, why it's scary & what we can do to help. I used my words, but it's definitely Hulk Mo dialed up to 11, if that's a thing you would like to experience: www.moryan.com/on-the-firin...
September 16, 2025 at 4:12 PM
I wrote about the firing of Alan Sepinwall, which is awful. And I tied it into what's happening all over in the media, why it's scary & what we can do to help. I used my words, but it's definitely Hulk Mo dialed up to 11, if that's a thing you would like to experience: www.moryan.com/on-the-firin...
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
Hey, I know books are expensive and money is tight right now.
But if there's a brand new book you really wanna read — including my own Lessons in Magic and Disaster — you can help get the book into way more hands by requesting it from your local library!
It's easy! Check your library's website.
But if there's a brand new book you really wanna read — including my own Lessons in Magic and Disaster — you can help get the book into way more hands by requesting it from your local library!
It's easy! Check your library's website.
September 16, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Hey, I know books are expensive and money is tight right now.
But if there's a brand new book you really wanna read — including my own Lessons in Magic and Disaster — you can help get the book into way more hands by requesting it from your local library!
It's easy! Check your library's website.
But if there's a brand new book you really wanna read — including my own Lessons in Magic and Disaster — you can help get the book into way more hands by requesting it from your local library!
It's easy! Check your library's website.
Reposted by Ess Writes Things
1. UCLA is in negotiations with Trump. Now we know the demands.
Trump wants a statement that UCLA does not recognize trans student identities, a ban on youth care at UCLA clinics, bathroom bans, and more.
Students are fighting back.
The latest from S. Baum.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
Trump wants a statement that UCLA does not recognize trans student identities, a ban on youth care at UCLA clinics, bathroom bans, and more.
Students are fighting back.
The latest from S. Baum.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
Trump's UCLA Settlement Proposal Reveals Massive Anti-Trans Attacks: Students And Faculty Fight Back
It’s not only students and faculty who have something to lose—countless doctors, trans youth, and families could see health care vanish.
www.erininthemorning.com
September 16, 2025 at 5:36 PM
1. UCLA is in negotiations with Trump. Now we know the demands.
Trump wants a statement that UCLA does not recognize trans student identities, a ban on youth care at UCLA clinics, bathroom bans, and more.
Students are fighting back.
The latest from S. Baum.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
Trump wants a statement that UCLA does not recognize trans student identities, a ban on youth care at UCLA clinics, bathroom bans, and more.
Students are fighting back.
The latest from S. Baum.
Subscribe to support our journalism.
Having an anxiety attack about work just doesn’t hit the same when you are fully remote.
September 16, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Having an anxiety attack about work just doesn’t hit the same when you are fully remote.