Michael Balter, investigations and commentary
@mbalter.bsky.social
Publisher “Words for the Wise” and “The Croton Chronicle.” Former Paris Correspondent for Science. Journalism prof. Hudson Valley.
Reposted by Michael Balter, investigations and commentary
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.
The names of the children.
Washington Post publishes names of many of the 18,500 children killed in Gaza.
Experts say the data is reliable and probably an undercount of the true death toll.
open.substack.com
July 30, 2025 at 10:24 PM
The names of the children.
Jayne Mansfield and me
Jayne Mansfield and me.
I met her when I was about ten years old. It was an unforgettable moment, but not for the reasons you might think.
open.substack.com
July 30, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Jayne Mansfield and me
Israeli leaders say clearly that they are committing genocide in Gaza. We should take them at their word.
Israel is committing the sin of chillul hashem, the desecration of God's name.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Israel is committing the sin of chillul hashem, the desecration of God's name.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Israeli leaders say clearly that they are committing genocide in Gaza. We should take them at their word.
Israel is committing the sin of chillul hashem, the desecration of God's name.
open.substack.com
July 25, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Israeli leaders say clearly that they are committing genocide in Gaza. We should take them at their word.
Israel is committing the sin of chillul hashem, the desecration of God's name.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Israel is committing the sin of chillul hashem, the desecration of God's name.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Even the right-wing press knows genocide when it sees it. So should we all.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Even the right-wing press knows genocide when it sees it. So should we all.
Those who use the Holocaust to throw smoke over a genocide deserve condemnation.
open.substack.com
July 23, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Even the right-wing press knows genocide when it sees it. So should we all.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
When the bodies of starving children in Gaza reach a ‘point of no return’ mondoweiss.net/2025/07/when...
When the bodies of starving children in Gaza reach a ‘point of no return’
Children in Gaza have begun to die of severe malnutrition in increasing numbers as Israel continues to starve the people of Gaza. Infants are the most severely affected, as hunger devours their bodies...
mondoweiss.net
July 22, 2025 at 12:35 PM
When the bodies of starving children in Gaza reach a ‘point of no return’ mondoweiss.net/2025/07/when...
On the Revolutionary Road: Our local #archaeology chapter takes a field trip to Fort Montgomery on the Hudson.
The American revolutionaries lost this battle of October 6, 1777 badly, but the writing was already on the wall for the British colonial army.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
The American revolutionaries lost this battle of October 6, 1777 badly, but the writing was already on the wall for the British colonial army.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
On the Revolutionary Road: Our local archaeology chapter takes a field trip to Fort Montgomery on the Hudson.
The American revolutionaries lost this battle of October 6, 1777 badly, but the writing was already on the wall for the British colonial army.
open.substack.com
July 15, 2025 at 4:19 PM
On the Revolutionary Road: Our local #archaeology chapter takes a field trip to Fort Montgomery on the Hudson.
The American revolutionaries lost this battle of October 6, 1777 badly, but the writing was already on the wall for the British colonial army.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
The American revolutionaries lost this battle of October 6, 1777 badly, but the writing was already on the wall for the British colonial army.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Why Zohran Mamdani won -- from people who actually helped make it happen.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Why Zohran Mamdani won -- from people who actually helped make it happen.
Recommended: An episode of Jacobin's podcast "The Dig" that spends two hours talking to DSA organizers about this and other campaigns.
open.substack.com
July 11, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Why Zohran Mamdani won -- from people who actually helped make it happen.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Musical Moment: "The Joke" by Brandi Carlile. Still a song for the times.
Then the dust settles, will the joke be on them, or on us?
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Then the dust settles, will the joke be on them, or on us?
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Musical Moment: "The Joke" by Brandi Carlile. Still a song for the times.
When the dust settles, will the joke be on them, or on us?
open.substack.com
July 7, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Musical Moment: "The Joke" by Brandi Carlile. Still a song for the times.
Then the dust settles, will the joke be on them, or on us?
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Then the dust settles, will the joke be on them, or on us?
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Blanche Yurka: The actress who learned to knit so she could play Madame Defarge.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Blanche Yurka: The actress who learned to knit so she could play Madame Defarge.
From covering dental decay to the history of Hollywood film, your faithful correspondent follows the trail wherever it leads.
open.substack.com
July 4, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Blanche Yurka: The actress who learned to knit so she could play Madame Defarge.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Deadly Israeli attack on Iran's Evin Prison kills 71 but mainstream media bury the lede.
Prisoners, prisoner families, prison staff are reportedly among the dead. New York Times puts the story on page 11. Washington Post does a bit better.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Prisoners, prisoner families, prison staff are reportedly among the dead. New York Times puts the story on page 11. Washington Post does a bit better.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Deadly Israeli attack on Iran's Evin Prison kills 71 but mainstream media bury the lede.
Prisoners, prisoner families, prison staff are reportedly among the dead. New York Times puts the story on page 11. Washington Post does a bit better.
open.substack.com
June 30, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Deadly Israeli attack on Iran's Evin Prison kills 71 but mainstream media bury the lede.
Prisoners, prisoner families, prison staff are reportedly among the dead. New York Times puts the story on page 11. Washington Post does a bit better.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Prisoners, prisoner families, prison staff are reportedly among the dead. New York Times puts the story on page 11. Washington Post does a bit better.
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Reposted by Michael Balter, investigations and commentary
Musical Moment: "Slave Driver" by Bob Marley and the Wailers. (Live studio recording)
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
Musical Moment: "Slave Driver" by Bob Marley and the Wailers.
In honor of Juneteenth, and in artistic remembrance of the horrors of slavery.
open.substack.com
June 19, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Musical Moment: "Slave Driver" by Bob Marley and the Wailers. (Live studio recording)
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
open.substack.com/pub/michaelb...
“Witnessing genocide in Gaza has been uniquely life-disrupting for many in the US and Europe because alongside constant images of cruelty, many have also realized for the first time that their own friends, families, teachers, mentors, and coworkers condone unbearable atrocity.”
— Eric Reinhart
— Eric Reinhart
June 8, 2025 at 11:06 PM
“Witnessing genocide in Gaza has been uniquely life-disrupting for many in the US and Europe because alongside constant images of cruelty, many have also realized for the first time that their own friends, families, teachers, mentors, and coworkers condone unbearable atrocity.”
— Eric Reinhart
— Eric Reinhart
I think BlueSky is a bit timid about discussing the war in Gaza and the plight of the Palestinians, but some of us are trying to redress that.
A Palestinian American Memoir of Motherhood, War and Exile
www.nytimes.com
June 5, 2025 at 1:59 PM
I think BlueSky is a bit timid about discussing the war in Gaza and the plight of the Palestinians, but some of us are trying to redress that.