Jessica McKenzie
@jessimckenzi.bsky.social
editing & reporting climate stories @thebulletin.org // outdoorsy newsletter: http://pinchofdirt.substack.com // tips: jmckenzie@thebulletin.org or jsmckenzie@protonmail.com or jessimckenzi.01 on signal
Pinned
A perfect firestorm: The social, political, and climate forces that keep Athens burning
Athens and its suburbs have lost 37 percent of its forests and grasslands to wildfire since 2017. What will it take to keep the city from burning?
thebulletin.org
A few assorted observations from my latest story about wildfires in Greece: thebulletin.org/2025/08/a-pe...
Reposted by Jessica McKenzie
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
November 21, 2025 at 2:56 PM
We spent a year investigating billionaires for @washingtonpost.com.
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
We found: the wealthiest 100 Americans gave $1.1 billion to influence the 2024 elections — 140x more than they did in 2000. And almost all of that giving boosted Republicans.
washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
this headline strikes a nerve.
why does it make the story about our feelings about the practice instead of the slimy problems with the practice
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/b...
why does it make the story about our feelings about the practice instead of the slimy problems with the practice
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/b...
November 21, 2025 at 11:22 PM
this headline strikes a nerve.
why does it make the story about our feelings about the practice instead of the slimy problems with the practice
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/b...
why does it make the story about our feelings about the practice instead of the slimy problems with the practice
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/21/b...
adobe acrobat keeps forcing ai on me. i've unchecked this box multiple times and every time i relaunch the app, it's rechecked
November 21, 2025 at 5:31 PM
adobe acrobat keeps forcing ai on me. i've unchecked this box multiple times and every time i relaunch the app, it's rechecked
we have GOT to stop calling this techno drivel "artificial intelligence" www.404media.co/elon-musk-co...
Elon Musk Could 'Drink Piss Better Than Any Human in History,' Grok Says
Grok has been reprogrammed to say Musk is better than everyone at everything, including blowjobs, piss drinking, playing quarterback, conquering Europe, etc.
www.404media.co
November 21, 2025 at 5:04 PM
we have GOT to stop calling this techno drivel "artificial intelligence" www.404media.co/elon-musk-co...
Reposted by Jessica McKenzie
Study after study shows that using LLMs is bad for cognition, bad for learning, bad for understanding, bad for mental health. So why are our schools and universities still relentlessly pushing them?
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Study after study shows that using LLMs is bad for cognition, bad for learning, bad for understanding, bad for mental health. So why are our schools and universities still relentlessly pushing them?
Reposted by Jessica McKenzie
Since the invention of the car, somewhere between 54 and 69 million people have died in traffic crashes. And that's not even considering the effects of air pollution and car-related lead exposure.
@jessimckenzi.bsky.social interviews David Obst about his new book, "Saving Ourselves From Big Car."
@jessimckenzi.bsky.social interviews David Obst about his new book, "Saving Ourselves From Big Car."
How 'Big Car' poses an existential threat to humanity
While Big Car kills many of us quickly, it is killing more of us slowly, by polluting the environment, warming the Earth, sowing misinformation and doubt about climate…
thebulletin.org
November 21, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Since the invention of the car, somewhere between 54 and 69 million people have died in traffic crashes. And that's not even considering the effects of air pollution and car-related lead exposure.
@jessimckenzi.bsky.social interviews David Obst about his new book, "Saving Ourselves From Big Car."
@jessimckenzi.bsky.social interviews David Obst about his new book, "Saving Ourselves From Big Car."
Obst confided he's disappointed the book hasn't made Big Car come after him, but as we discuss, Big Car is in a v. strong position rn...
In Sept, the Trump admin canceled federal grants earmarked for street safety measures, pedestrian trails & bike lanes because they are hostile to motor vehicles
In Sept, the Trump admin canceled federal grants earmarked for street safety measures, pedestrian trails & bike lanes because they are hostile to motor vehicles
Had the pleasure of interviewing David Obst—lit agent for Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein, Daniel Ellsberg & promoter of Seymour Hersh—about his new book: Saving Ourselves From Big Car
Even as someone steeped in anti-car discourse, I don't feel like I see many people frame it as an existential threat
Even as someone steeped in anti-car discourse, I don't feel like I see many people frame it as an existential threat
How 'Big Car' poses an existential threat to humanity
While Big Car kills many of us quickly, in deadly collisions, it is killing many more of us slowly, by polluting the environment, warming the Earth, sowing misinformation and doubt about climate scien...
thebulletin.org
November 21, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Obst confided he's disappointed the book hasn't made Big Car come after him, but as we discuss, Big Car is in a v. strong position rn...
In Sept, the Trump admin canceled federal grants earmarked for street safety measures, pedestrian trails & bike lanes because they are hostile to motor vehicles
In Sept, the Trump admin canceled federal grants earmarked for street safety measures, pedestrian trails & bike lanes because they are hostile to motor vehicles
Had the pleasure of interviewing David Obst—lit agent for Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein, Daniel Ellsberg & promoter of Seymour Hersh—about his new book: Saving Ourselves From Big Car
Even as someone steeped in anti-car discourse, I don't feel like I see many people frame it as an existential threat
Even as someone steeped in anti-car discourse, I don't feel like I see many people frame it as an existential threat
How 'Big Car' poses an existential threat to humanity
While Big Car kills many of us quickly, in deadly collisions, it is killing many more of us slowly, by polluting the environment, warming the Earth, sowing misinformation and doubt about climate scien...
thebulletin.org
November 21, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Had the pleasure of interviewing David Obst—lit agent for Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein, Daniel Ellsberg & promoter of Seymour Hersh—about his new book: Saving Ourselves From Big Car
Even as someone steeped in anti-car discourse, I don't feel like I see many people frame it as an existential threat
Even as someone steeped in anti-car discourse, I don't feel like I see many people frame it as an existential threat
Reposted by Jessica McKenzie
Not eating animals is a very robust rule of thumb when it comes to reducing your environmental footprint and the amount of suffering your diet may be producing.
FT investigation:
Tuna-fishing has among the worst working conditions of any fishing.
If you buy tuna from a UK supermarket, you may be buying the product of modern slavery. ig.ft.com/supermarket-...
Tuna-fishing has among the worst working conditions of any fishing.
If you buy tuna from a UK supermarket, you may be buying the product of modern slavery. ig.ft.com/supermarket-...
November 21, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Not eating animals is a very robust rule of thumb when it comes to reducing your environmental footprint and the amount of suffering your diet may be producing.
curious if or how other editors are telling or reminding writers not to use generative ai. i drafted some boilerplate to send to authors when i accept a pitch, but i've been inconsistent, to say the least, about actually sending it out...
November 20, 2025 at 5:59 PM
curious if or how other editors are telling or reminding writers not to use generative ai. i drafted some boilerplate to send to authors when i accept a pitch, but i've been inconsistent, to say the least, about actually sending it out...
idk this is super relatable. the first election i was able to vote in was 2008 and i remember being excited about obama! but im not positive i ever got around to mailing my absentee ballot. maybe did maybe didn't
New: Left-wing congressional hopeful Chi Osse has spoken about how voting for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential primary was a formative experience for him.
There's just one problem: Osse wasn't even registered to vote in that presidential primary. www.nydailynews.com/2025/11/19/c...
There's just one problem: Osse wasn't even registered to vote in that presidential primary. www.nydailynews.com/2025/11/19/c...
Congressional hopeful Chi Osse says he backed Bernie Sanders in 2016, but records show he didn’t vote
Osse’s push to challenge Hakim Jeffries, New York’s second highest-ranking Democrat on Capitol Hill, has ruffled feathers among local left-wing powerplayers.
www.nydailynews.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:50 PM
idk this is super relatable. the first election i was able to vote in was 2008 and i remember being excited about obama! but im not positive i ever got around to mailing my absentee ballot. maybe did maybe didn't
Reposted by Jessica McKenzie
Any news organization that doesn't stand up, and very strongly (which the Bloomberg response also does not) against Trump's ridiculous bullying of their employees, had better take a hard look at its mission and duty to the public.
November 19, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Any news organization that doesn't stand up, and very strongly (which the Bloomberg response also does not) against Trump's ridiculous bullying of their employees, had better take a hard look at its mission and duty to the public.
stories like this really break my brain. aside from the whole unethical plagiarism thing, this doesn't seem to make an editor's job any easier or faster.
editing/fact checking chatgpt is just like editing/fact checking a reporter, but worse.
assuming you edit/fact check the plagiarism bot at all
editing/fact checking chatgpt is just like editing/fact checking a reporter, but worse.
assuming you edit/fact check the plagiarism bot at all
Florida nonprofit news reporters ask board to investigate their editor’s AI use
Suncoast Searchlight’s four reporters told the board their editor-in-chief was using AI editing tools and inserting hallucinations into drafts. The next day, one of the reporters was fired.
www.niemanlab.org
November 19, 2025 at 8:32 PM
stories like this really break my brain. aside from the whole unethical plagiarism thing, this doesn't seem to make an editor's job any easier or faster.
editing/fact checking chatgpt is just like editing/fact checking a reporter, but worse.
assuming you edit/fact check the plagiarism bot at all
editing/fact checking chatgpt is just like editing/fact checking a reporter, but worse.
assuming you edit/fact check the plagiarism bot at all
abject cowardice www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/b...
November 19, 2025 at 6:18 PM
abject cowardice www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/b...
ok seems like garmin won this round gadgetsandwearables.com/2025/10/11/s...
November 19, 2025 at 5:31 AM
ok seems like garmin won this round gadgetsandwearables.com/2025/10/11/s...
been on a running hiatus and i've only just found my misplaced watch charging cord and am now thinking about getting back out there in a modest fashion (i love waiting for the weather to get really nasty instead of running in the crispy cool fall)
anyway: what happened with the garmin/strava feud?
anyway: what happened with the garmin/strava feud?
November 19, 2025 at 5:17 AM
been on a running hiatus and i've only just found my misplaced watch charging cord and am now thinking about getting back out there in a modest fashion (i love waiting for the weather to get really nasty instead of running in the crispy cool fall)
anyway: what happened with the garmin/strava feud?
anyway: what happened with the garmin/strava feud?
convinced she thought she was channeling joan didion with this, which makes it all the more galling imo
Something for everyone in the Nuzzi excerpts huh. For me it's treating a wildfire affecting tens of thousands of people as if you're the last war correspondent in berlin
November 18, 2025 at 8:10 PM
convinced she thought she was channeling joan didion with this, which makes it all the more galling imo
Reposted by Jessica McKenzie
my 5 year plan is to eventually put my phone down
March 3, 2025 at 5:24 AM
my 5 year plan is to eventually put my phone down
literally one of those moments where i am agog and aghast at the state of things. this is not how you talk to people! this is not how ANYone ANYwhere should talk to people, let alone a politician, let alone a president, and it's a nothingburger!!!
i think 'quiet piggy' is an impeachable offense
November 18, 2025 at 4:40 PM
literally one of those moments where i am agog and aghast at the state of things. this is not how you talk to people! this is not how ANYone ANYwhere should talk to people, let alone a politician, let alone a president, and it's a nothingburger!!!
i think 'quiet piggy' is an impeachable offense
November 18, 2025 at 4:32 PM
i think 'quiet piggy' is an impeachable offense
shot: www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
chaser: "Mr. Summers added that he would continue teaching as an economics professor at Harvard"
chaser: "Mr. Summers added that he would continue teaching as an economics professor at Harvard"
Larry Summers, ‘Ashamed’ Over Epstein Ties, Steps Back From Public Commitments
www.nytimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:48 PM
shot: www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
chaser: "Mr. Summers added that he would continue teaching as an economics professor at Harvard"
chaser: "Mr. Summers added that he would continue teaching as an economics professor at Harvard"
learn to code, they said nymag.com/intelligence...
‘There’s Just No Reason to Deal With Young Employees’
AI is taking entry-level jobs. What happens when Gen-Z-ers can’t start their careers?
nymag.com
November 18, 2025 at 3:29 PM
learn to code, they said nymag.com/intelligence...
Reposted by Jessica McKenzie
idk the purple is part of the appeal
I would love to read an account of this saga that isn’t written in an atrociously purple way but seems like that’s too much to ask of anyone involved
November 18, 2025 at 2:49 AM
idk the purple is part of the appeal
Reposted by Jessica McKenzie
