Maggie Astor
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maggieastor.bsky.social
Maggie Astor
@maggieastor.bsky.social
33K followers 660 following 3.9K posts
Reporter at The New York Times writing about the intersection of health and politics, especially in marginalized communities. NYT Guild steward. No, not one of those Astors.
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maggieastor.bsky.social
Me: go to sleep

My brain: did you ever notice how the streetlight coming through the gaps at the top of the curtain makes it look like there are eyes glowing at you from the wall
Pitch blackness with two orange crescents that look very much like eyes
November 13, 2025 at 5:40 AM
maggieastor.bsky.social
How fascinating that they don't say what the *results* of the clinical study of these supplement ingredients were
Formulated with clinically studied REDACTED for cognitive clarity, REDACTED for intimate dryness and REDACTED to help ease hot flashes and night sweats, it's a clean, science-backed formula made to help you feel like yourself again.
November 12, 2025 at 5:19 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
When you have never been to New Jersey
“Most gulls aren’t bold enough to steal food from a person, I think they’ve become quite vilified,” said Dr Boogert.
November 12, 2025 at 3:42 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
Would you believe this blanket was once draped neatly over the back of the sofa
A mostly black cat with a white chest and small white smudge on his lip is lying on a sofa on top of a Barnes & Noble blanket embroidered with words. The blanket was folded over the back of the sofa, but half of it is dangling down to create his lounging spot.
November 9, 2025 at 7:25 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
calm down
A screenshot from a Seamless menu says: "DON'T FORGET DESSERT!! ADD NOW AND SAVE $$$DONT FORGET BEER & WINE TOGO!!"
November 5, 2025 at 11:30 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
I exhausted this in early July lol
Election Amount $3,300.00 Total Spent $3,300.00
November 3, 2025 at 3:19 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
I like Kit Kats. My husband likes Reese's. We had a bag of each left over from Halloween. Guess which of us has more self-restraint
A white mixing bowl containing only Reese's cups
November 3, 2025 at 1:21 AM
maggieastor.bsky.social
It's a four month journey to the other side
A still from "Lord of the Rings" shows Gandalf standing in the pitch-black mines of Moria holding up his staff, which is lit like a torch. Text says "We now have but one choice: We must face the long dark of Standard Time."
November 2, 2025 at 2:27 AM
maggieastor.bsky.social
Today in poorly designed pre-appointment forms

(I'm fine, just getting some mild knee pain checked out)
Have you had an MRI for this problem? Yes/no (no is checked) If MRI: when/where Yes/no (nothing is checked; there's an error message saying "this question was not answered")
November 1, 2025 at 5:42 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
I've started eating the KitKats and M&Ms myself as I sit here
A bowl of Kit Kats, M&Ms and Reese's cups
November 1, 2025 at 12:24 AM
maggieastor.bsky.social
When ProPublica emailed questions to Newby’s daughter, the North Carolina Republican Party’s communications director, Matt Mercer, responded, writing that ProPublica was waging a “jihad” against “NC Republicans,” which would “not be met with dignifying any comments whatsoever.” “I’m sure you’re aware of our connections with the Trump Administration and I’m sure they would be interested in this matter,” Mercer said in his email. “I would strongly suggest dropping this story.”
October 30, 2025 at 2:10 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
Pretty sure that is part of the writing process, Strands
The top of the Strands game page in the NYT games app. Today's theme is "The write stuff" (write spelled as in writing an essay, not as in right and wrong), but "dread" is not one of the words.
October 28, 2025 at 12:44 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
You know how trolls in Discworld count "one, two, three, many"? My personal temperature scale stops distinguishing below 65, anything below 65 is "break out the fleece blankets and turn on the fake fire"
Legs under a fluffy brown fleece blanket on a sofa, with a fake fire/space heater in a fireplace nearby
October 27, 2025 at 10:39 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
love it when the PR pitches are "personalized" with references to articles I absolutely did not write
Hi Maggie, I enjoyed your article about senior marketers facing gaps in their skills and the pressure to stay current is real, especially when new tech keeps changing the rules.
October 27, 2025 at 6:58 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
This is Jade, a bald eagle at the Buffalo Bill Center in Cody!
A bald eagle perched on a cloth-covered wooden log on the ground. Her head is tilted to one side inquisitively and one wing protrudes more than the other.
October 25, 2025 at 1:22 AM
maggieastor.bsky.social
"You called?"
A black cat with a white upper chest, a small white splotch on his lip, and huge white whiskers looks into the camera from a close distance
October 24, 2025 at 1:03 AM
maggieastor.bsky.social
Gemini's popups are the most obnoxious AI popups I've seen on the entire internet because the response buttons are set up as though you have a choice, but in fact both of them prompt further engagement with Gemini, and the X in the upper right means "show me this popup again next time I open Sheets"
A pop-up window in Google Sheets says "Generate text from any cell with Gemini. Generate, summarize, or categorize text for email campaigns, ads, reviews, and more when you type =AI." The two options at the bottom are "Continue" and "Try it now." There is also an X in the upper right corner.
October 23, 2025 at 8:48 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
When you don't know what a "tattoo" is
A black cat with a white chest, white paw and white smudge on his face lies serenely on a couch, on which he has messed up the blankets to create a bed for himself
October 22, 2025 at 7:37 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
Ominous
The "your health" page of the CVS app shows an error message that says "sorry, something went wrong"
October 19, 2025 at 4:32 AM
maggieastor.bsky.social
no
Maggie, Please use the following press release in your upcoming issue of New York Times, The. To access and download photos from our event, please click here: [link redacted] You have full permission to use our images and photography. Please also share on your social media and website.
October 16, 2025 at 8:49 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
Excuse me
Spelling Bee rejecting the word "muon." The center letter is M and the outer letters are N, U, E, T, O and L.
October 11, 2025 at 12:35 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
I honestly find these sorts of patronizing, journalistically illiterate messages more annoying than the ones calling me the c word
Maggie, I understand you were doing your job. You likely received a directive from on high about the narrative to adopt—perhaps even an outline annotated with medical articles that looked rigorous and conclusive, plus a list of key opinion leaders (expert doctors) to validate it. Against the backdrop of anti-Trump and anti-Kennedy noise, it may have seemed coherent. You may even have viewed leading this report as a chance to advance your career. I don’t assume bad faith.
October 10, 2025 at 2:53 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
Fuck offfffffff
A pop-up window in my inbox that says "Draft emails confidently with Gemini. Gemini can help you write your drafts in seconds and quickly refine them." The two options — "continue" and "try it now" — both suggest agreement to use Gemini. You have to go to the X in the upper right corner to say no.
October 10, 2025 at 1:43 AM
maggieastor.bsky.social
The email is three paragraphs
An AI prompt offering to "summarize this email"
October 7, 2025 at 8:53 PM
maggieastor.bsky.social
I need a computer running Windows 95 so I can ask @drewmagary.bsky.social to review this
A CD in a case, titled "Williams-Sonoma Guide to Good Cooking" for Windows 95/Power Macintosh
October 4, 2025 at 7:56 PM