Sarah Nielsen
@sarahnielsen.bsky.social
Comms strategist with a global lens. Recovering academic analyzing populism in the Americas. Hincha del Albiceleste 🇦🇷 Embarrassingly effusive. Always trying to be better. Might tweet in Spanish 💚
✍️ What Survives the Myth of American Exceptionalism
on the emotional labor of being from a country that always needs explaining. on the hollowness of the dream, the weight of hegemony, and the quieter work of staying engaged.
read here → soft-cuts.ghost.io/american-myth/
on the emotional labor of being from a country that always needs explaining. on the hollowness of the dream, the weight of hegemony, and the quieter work of staying engaged.
read here → soft-cuts.ghost.io/american-myth/
July 4, 2025 at 5:03 PM
✍️ What Survives the Myth of American Exceptionalism
on the emotional labor of being from a country that always needs explaining. on the hollowness of the dream, the weight of hegemony, and the quieter work of staying engaged.
read here → soft-cuts.ghost.io/american-myth/
on the emotional labor of being from a country that always needs explaining. on the hollowness of the dream, the weight of hegemony, and the quieter work of staying engaged.
read here → soft-cuts.ghost.io/american-myth/
🌸 hi bluesky. I’ve been quietly working on something.
It’s called Soft Cuts—a newsletter about attention, memory, style, and the things we keep.
Part writing practice, part moodboard, part cultural dispatch.
First issue’s out. It means a lot to me. Hope you’ll read:
👉 soft-cuts.ghost.io
It’s called Soft Cuts—a newsletter about attention, memory, style, and the things we keep.
Part writing practice, part moodboard, part cultural dispatch.
First issue’s out. It means a lot to me. Hope you’ll read:
👉 soft-cuts.ghost.io
soft cuts
Part essay series, part writing studio — A personal writing project offering essays, curated fragments, and strategic storytelling rooted in clarity, care, and quiet observation.
soft-cuts.ghost.io
June 23, 2025 at 11:09 PM
🌸 hi bluesky. I’ve been quietly working on something.
It’s called Soft Cuts—a newsletter about attention, memory, style, and the things we keep.
Part writing practice, part moodboard, part cultural dispatch.
First issue’s out. It means a lot to me. Hope you’ll read:
👉 soft-cuts.ghost.io
It’s called Soft Cuts—a newsletter about attention, memory, style, and the things we keep.
Part writing practice, part moodboard, part cultural dispatch.
First issue’s out. It means a lot to me. Hope you’ll read:
👉 soft-cuts.ghost.io
Reposted by Sarah Nielsen
NYC dem mayoral campaigns have the easiest comment to make rn. To quote the great Natalie Maines: “Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from New York.”
June 22, 2025 at 1:47 AM
NYC dem mayoral campaigns have the easiest comment to make rn. To quote the great Natalie Maines: “Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from New York.”
Reposted by Sarah Nielsen
I'm gutted and furious that the Iranian people will be injured, harmed and killed as a result of this absolutely depraved act of violence. What a complete travesty on every single level.
June 22, 2025 at 12:43 AM
I'm gutted and furious that the Iranian people will be injured, harmed and killed as a result of this absolutely depraved act of violence. What a complete travesty on every single level.
NYC dem mayoral campaigns have the easiest comment to make rn. To quote the great Natalie Maines: “Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from New York.”
June 22, 2025 at 1:47 AM
NYC dem mayoral campaigns have the easiest comment to make rn. To quote the great Natalie Maines: “Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from New York.”
Reposted by Sarah Nielsen
Just as Iraq had no WMD, Iran has no nuclear weapons.
America has entered another unnecessary war in the Middle East
America has entered another unnecessary war in the Middle East
June 22, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Just as Iraq had no WMD, Iran has no nuclear weapons.
America has entered another unnecessary war in the Middle East
America has entered another unnecessary war in the Middle East
Those who lived through previous U.S. intervention want nothing to do with it. That’s why he gained so much traction among the “No New Wars” crowd. Too old to be involved in Middle East conflict. Too young to be involved in middle conflict. Just the right age to oppose the same fucking mistakes.
June 22, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Those who lived through previous U.S. intervention want nothing to do with it. That’s why he gained so much traction among the “No New Wars” crowd. Too old to be involved in Middle East conflict. Too young to be involved in middle conflict. Just the right age to oppose the same fucking mistakes.
Without removing the U.S. from the Iran deal there would be no strike tonight. A direct through line. We’ve just been biding time since then.
June 22, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Without removing the U.S. from the Iran deal there would be no strike tonight. A direct through line. We’ve just been biding time since then.
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.
June 22, 2025 at 1:39 AM
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.
I feel sick to my stomach. I think back to a lecture in my master’s degree where our professor speaks about the nuance between preventative and preemptive and how in Spanish there isn’t that differentiation in language.
June 22, 2025 at 1:39 AM
I feel sick to my stomach. I think back to a lecture in my master’s degree where our professor speaks about the nuance between preventative and preemptive and how in Spanish there isn’t that differentiation in language.
Reposted by Sarah Nielsen
The neighborhood is getting ready for tomorrow
June 13, 2025 at 4:56 PM
The neighborhood is getting ready for tomorrow
Really struck by a casual interjection in this article about EVs "In Brazil, where Ford has stopped making cars altogether, [...]"
U.S. audiences won't know the extent of the impact... There was a literal company-town in Brazil called "Fordlândia."
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
U.S. audiences won't know the extent of the impact... There was a literal company-town in Brazil called "Fordlândia."
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
Trump is trashing electric vehicles. China is building cars the world wants.
As the U.S. spurns EVs, the rest of the world is eagerly buying Chinese models. That’s left U.S. auto firms behind, with Trump’s policies adding to the peril.
www.washingtonpost.com
April 26, 2025 at 4:57 AM
Really struck by a casual interjection in this article about EVs "In Brazil, where Ford has stopped making cars altogether, [...]"
U.S. audiences won't know the extent of the impact... There was a literal company-town in Brazil called "Fordlândia."
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
U.S. audiences won't know the extent of the impact... There was a literal company-town in Brazil called "Fordlândia."
www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
One of the most peculiar facts about Pope Francis that hasn’t gotten a lot of international press (until now) — despite several trips to Latin America, he never returned home to Argentina as pope.
www.reuters.com/world/pope-f...
www.reuters.com/world/pope-f...
Pope Francis, the Argentine pontiff, never returned home
Argentines long waited for Pope Francis to visit the homeland he left in 2013 to become the head of the Roman Catholic Church. With his death on Monday at the age of 88 after a long illness, those hopes for his return end unrealized.
www.reuters.com
April 21, 2025 at 12:49 PM
One of the most peculiar facts about Pope Francis that hasn’t gotten a lot of international press (until now) — despite several trips to Latin America, he never returned home to Argentina as pope.
www.reuters.com/world/pope-f...
www.reuters.com/world/pope-f...
12 years ago I was in Buenos Aires when they announced Jorge Bergoglio was to be the next pope — the energy was palpable. He was a man with many flaws running a religious institution that has struggled with scandal and identity in the 21st century but he was who the Catholic Church needed. QDEP
April 21, 2025 at 12:47 PM
12 years ago I was in Buenos Aires when they announced Jorge Bergoglio was to be the next pope — the energy was palpable. He was a man with many flaws running a religious institution that has struggled with scandal and identity in the 21st century but he was who the Catholic Church needed. QDEP
Reposted by Sarah Nielsen
For the FT, I wrote an essay about why the daily experience of the Internet keeps getting worse, tipping us into madness and conflict. I gather ideas about slop, enshittification, and dead internet theory under what I call "the hostile Internet."
www.ft.com/content/5d06...
www.ft.com/content/5d06...
Welcome to slop world: how the hostile internet is driving us crazy
The last bits of fellowship and ingenuity on the web are being swept away by a tide of so-called artificial intelligence
www.ft.com
April 19, 2025 at 12:03 PM
For the FT, I wrote an essay about why the daily experience of the Internet keeps getting worse, tipping us into madness and conflict. I gather ideas about slop, enshittification, and dead internet theory under what I call "the hostile Internet."
www.ft.com/content/5d06...
www.ft.com/content/5d06...
Feels like Argentina 2001 in the air
April 7, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Feels like Argentina 2001 in the air
Argentine President Javier Milei during his inaugural address: " There is no alternative to shock treatment. We know that in the short term the situation will worsen. But then we will see the fruits of our efforts."
Not Trump paraphrasing his own sycophants.
www.bbc.com/news/world-l...
Not Trump paraphrasing his own sycophants.
www.bbc.com/news/world-l...
April 7, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Argentine President Javier Milei during his inaugural address: " There is no alternative to shock treatment. We know that in the short term the situation will worsen. But then we will see the fruits of our efforts."
Not Trump paraphrasing his own sycophants.
www.bbc.com/news/world-l...
Not Trump paraphrasing his own sycophants.
www.bbc.com/news/world-l...
Is Alex Ovechkin the most popular Russian in the world? If he weren't Putin's best friend, would Putin consider him a threat? Or is he a successor? 🧐
April 6, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Is Alex Ovechkin the most popular Russian in the world? If he weren't Putin's best friend, would Putin consider him a threat? Or is he a successor? 🧐
The “low birth rate” panic reminds me of how we talk about old manufacturing towns: we blame young people for leaving, but never hold governments accountable for failing to make those places (or futures) viable.
“The real issue,” she said, “lies in how societies respond to demographic changes — whether through policies that enhance social welfare, gender equality and labor rights or through coercive pronatalist measures that restrict reproductive autonomy.”
“The framing of low birth rates as a ‘crisis’ is a political and ideological choice rather than an objective description,” said Sunhye Kim, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul who studies the politics of reproduction.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
April 5, 2025 at 1:36 AM
The “low birth rate” panic reminds me of how we talk about old manufacturing towns: we blame young people for leaving, but never hold governments accountable for failing to make those places (or futures) viable.
“The real issue,” she said, “lies in how societies respond to demographic changes — whether through policies that enhance social welfare, gender equality and labor rights or through coercive pronatalist measures that restrict reproductive autonomy.”
“The framing of low birth rates as a ‘crisis’ is a political and ideological choice rather than an objective description,” said Sunhye Kim, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul who studies the politics of reproduction.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
Governments want more babies. Are reproductive freedoms at risk?
Low fertility rates have sparked panic and pronatalist initiatives around the world. But some experts are more concerned about the ethics of pushing for more births.
www.washingtonpost.com
April 5, 2025 at 1:32 AM
“The real issue,” she said, “lies in how societies respond to demographic changes — whether through policies that enhance social welfare, gender equality and labor rights or through coercive pronatalist measures that restrict reproductive autonomy.”
“The framing of low birth rates as a ‘crisis’ is a political and ideological choice rather than an objective description,” said Sunhye Kim, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul who studies the politics of reproduction.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
Governments want more babies. Are reproductive freedoms at risk?
Low fertility rates have sparked panic and pronatalist initiatives around the world. But some experts are more concerned about the ethics of pushing for more births.
www.washingtonpost.com
April 5, 2025 at 1:31 AM
“The framing of low birth rates as a ‘crisis’ is a political and ideological choice rather than an objective description,” said Sunhye Kim, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul who studies the politics of reproduction.
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
For those of us who had the privilege to be a part of it, the Center was a dream job. The smartest, kindest, most thoughtful people who are dedicated to the kind of work that rarely gets attention but often shapes the world in quiet, meaningful ways. I'm devastated.
For nearly 60 years, the #WilsonCenter created room for rigorous non-partisan inquiry into the most pressing global issues. It fostered dialogue across disciplines and political lines, informed by history, and drive by a belief in the value of shared knowledge.
April 4, 2025 at 9:52 PM
For those of us who had the privilege to be a part of it, the Center was a dream job. The smartest, kindest, most thoughtful people who are dedicated to the kind of work that rarely gets attention but often shapes the world in quiet, meaningful ways. I'm devastated.
For nearly 60 years, the #WilsonCenter created room for rigorous non-partisan inquiry into the most pressing global issues. It fostered dialogue across disciplines and political lines, informed by history, and drive by a belief in the value of shared knowledge.
April 4, 2025 at 9:48 PM
For nearly 60 years, the #WilsonCenter created room for rigorous non-partisan inquiry into the most pressing global issues. It fostered dialogue across disciplines and political lines, informed by history, and drive by a belief in the value of shared knowledge.
Reposted by Sarah Nielsen
Ohh "America First" was a hit list
April 3, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Ohh "America First" was a hit list
Mind you that the Wilson Center only receives about 30 percent of its funding from Congress; the rest comes from private donations.
I am beyond disgusted.
I am beyond disgusted.
DOGE has "shut down centers that receive federal funding but that have done independent research with the goal of giving nonideological expert assessments to policymakers, lawmakers and people outside government."
Between this + AI, we're doomed to enshittification
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/u...
Between this + AI, we're doomed to enshittification
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/u...
Workers at Wilson Center Put on Leave as Trump Seeks Shutdown
About 130 employees of the Wilson Center were told they were being put on leave, just four days after workers for Elon Musk’s team entered the center.
www.nytimes.com
April 4, 2025 at 1:17 AM
Mind you that the Wilson Center only receives about 30 percent of its funding from Congress; the rest comes from private donations.
I am beyond disgusted.
I am beyond disgusted.