Liz Futrell
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lizfutrell.bsky.social
Liz Futrell
@lizfutrell.bsky.social
Life in Chicago has changed dramatically over the past month. And if this new collective reality has not yet reached your doorstep, it’s coming. We are in a time when we all must ask ourselves: What is my role in America’s story?
Read my story: lithophytestories.substack.com/p/if-you-com...
October 27, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Need a break from 2025? Spend a few minutes with me in 1985: lithophytestories.substack.com/p/miles-from...
September 23, 2025 at 1:46 PM
When I hear Trump admire authoritarian tactics, it sends a chill down my spine.

Read my latest story: open.substack.com/pub/lithophy...
August 25, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Among American public servants, Titanic metaphors abound lately. Jacques and Lily May Futrelle—distant ancestors by marriage—were writers at the height of their careers when they boarded the Titanic in April 1912. Their tale is worth revisiting. Read it here: open.substack.com/pub/lithophy...
April 2, 2025 at 11:02 AM
I tried to write an op ed about what happened to #USAID, #globalhealthanddevelopment, and America, over the past 6 weeks. What came out was a song. And a sermon, a love letter, a prayer.

Read it here: open.substack.com/pub/lithophy...

And remember: We can write, and sing, any song we want.
March 5, 2025 at 1:53 PM
Reposted by Liz Futrell
NEW: USAID source says staff are scrambling to save archived copies of US regulations before they're gone & are being actively locked out of systems, including a publicly available database of USAID documents.

WIRED has built software to systematically check the status of 1,374 government domains.
US Government Websites Are Disappearing in Real Time
A growing number of US government websites have gone offline as of Saturday, including several related to USAID and others focused on youth programs, Africa, and more.
www.wired.com
February 1, 2025 at 10:32 PM
“Her longing to escape the devastation of the hurricane was overpowered by a deep need to remain in her community.” If that’s not an apt metaphor for the way so many of us are feeling right now, I don’t know what is.
Gathering Water in the Wake of Helene
Part 2 of an occasional series on survivor's guilt
open.substack.com
February 2, 2025 at 1:17 PM