Vauhini Vara
@vauhinivara.bsky.social
author of SEARCHES, THIS IS SALVAGED, & THE IMMORTAL KING RAO. pulitzer finalist. contributing writer at businessweek. mentor at the lighthouse writers workshop's book project. Contact me: DM, Signal (@vauhinivara.82), or my website (vauhinivara.com).
Apply to the CSU MFA program in creative writing and work with this all-star cast: Andrew Altschul, Ramona Ausubel, Dan Beachy-Quick, Harrison Candelaria Fletcher, Matthew Cooperman, Camille Dungy, Nina McConigley, Sarah Perry, and Sasha Steensen! ✨
November 23, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Apply to the CSU MFA program in creative writing and work with this all-star cast: Andrew Altschul, Ramona Ausubel, Dan Beachy-Quick, Harrison Candelaria Fletcher, Matthew Cooperman, Camille Dungy, Nina McConigley, Sarah Perry, and Sasha Steensen! ✨
Reposted by Vauhini Vara
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...
I’m so looking forward to this too! ✨
Really pleased to be added to this panel at this week's NCTE conference alongside @vauhinivara.bsky.social talking about the future of teaching English in a world with AI. s1.goeshow.com/ncte/annual/...
November 17, 2025 at 9:01 PM
I’m so looking forward to this too! ✨
Reposted by Vauhini Vara
Just 5 years ago, tech companies made pledges to increase diversity and inclusion in their workplaces. Now, they seem to be backing down, and we’re losing key transparency into the industry’s workforce.
www.wired.com/story/google...
www.wired.com/story/google...
Google, Microsoft, and Meta Have Stopped Publishing Workforce Diversity Data
Other big tech companies including Amazon, Apple, and Nvidia have continued their annual disclosures this year even as the Trump administration cracks down on DEI.
www.wired.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Just 5 years ago, tech companies made pledges to increase diversity and inclusion in their workplaces. Now, they seem to be backing down, and we’re losing key transparency into the industry’s workforce.
www.wired.com/story/google...
www.wired.com/story/google...
This is a really cool first: My book SEARCHES on Kirkus's list of the best nonfiction books of 2025, along with a book by one of my Book Project mentees: John J. Lennon's THE TRAGEDY OF TRUE CRIME! ✨ (& my old boss @nxthompson.bsky.social's THE RUNNING GROUND!) www.kirkusreviews.com/best-of/2025...
Best of 2025 | Kirkus Reviews
www.kirkusreviews.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:13 PM
This is a really cool first: My book SEARCHES on Kirkus's list of the best nonfiction books of 2025, along with a book by one of my Book Project mentees: John J. Lennon's THE TRAGEDY OF TRUE CRIME! ✨ (& my old boss @nxthompson.bsky.social's THE RUNNING GROUND!) www.kirkusreviews.com/best-of/2025...
Reposted by Vauhini Vara
In case you missed this one:
@vauhinivara.bsky.social looked deeper than the usual at AI in schools.
For sure, AI can do some good things, but I get skeeved when billionaires hope to make more billions pushing anything on children.
@vauhinivara.bsky.social looked deeper than the usual at AI in schools.
For sure, AI can do some good things, but I get skeeved when billionaires hope to make more billions pushing anything on children.
How Chatbots and AI Are Already Transforming Kids’ Classrooms
Educators across the country are bringing chatbots into their lesson plans. Will it help kids learn or is it just another doomed ed-tech fad?
www.bloomberg.com
November 16, 2025 at 2:21 PM
In case you missed this one:
@vauhinivara.bsky.social looked deeper than the usual at AI in schools.
For sure, AI can do some good things, but I get skeeved when billionaires hope to make more billions pushing anything on children.
@vauhinivara.bsky.social looked deeper than the usual at AI in schools.
For sure, AI can do some good things, but I get skeeved when billionaires hope to make more billions pushing anything on children.
My son was trick or treating in Boulder, CO, on Halloween, and at one house got this offer: candy or a mystery coin. He chose the coin. (1/x)
November 15, 2025 at 3:17 AM
My son was trick or treating in Boulder, CO, on Halloween, and at one house got this offer: candy or a mystery coin. He chose the coin. (1/x)
penguin random house authors, meet the new ceo of prh's parent company! 🤪
November 13, 2025 at 4:45 PM
penguin random house authors, meet the new ceo of prh's parent company! 🤪
OMG i made the @nymag.com copy editing newsletter AGAIN AND HE CALLED ME A *REGULAR* 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 i'm famous
November 13, 2025 at 3:42 AM
OMG i made the @nymag.com copy editing newsletter AGAIN AND HE CALLED ME A *REGULAR* 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 i'm famous
SEARCHES has been shortlisted for the Atta Galatta-Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize! 🔥 Congratulations to the other shortlisted authors: Jeyamohan, Srikar Raghavan, Sam Dalrymple, Ameer Shahul, and Manu Joseph.
November 10, 2025 at 4:47 PM
SEARCHES has been shortlisted for the Atta Galatta-Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize! 🔥 Congratulations to the other shortlisted authors: Jeyamohan, Srikar Raghavan, Sam Dalrymple, Ameer Shahul, and Manu Joseph.
omg i made the @nymag.com copy editing newsletter from copy chief carl rosen!!!!!! (in addition to being a spelling bee kid i am a lifelong grammar stan 😎)
November 6, 2025 at 4:00 AM
omg i made the @nymag.com copy editing newsletter from copy chief carl rosen!!!!!! (in addition to being a spelling bee kid i am a lifelong grammar stan 😎)
This whole recent @cdt.org report on the risks of AI in schools is worth a read, but this is the bit that surprised me most (maybe partly because I've reported on AI in schools but not on ICE in schools). cdt.org/insights/han...
November 4, 2025 at 5:03 PM
This whole recent @cdt.org report on the risks of AI in schools is worth a read, but this is the bit that surprised me most (maybe partly because I've reported on AI in schools but not on ICE in schools). cdt.org/insights/han...
my fifth grader and his friends have started a writing group that i'm helping with and the combo of genres is so excellent: nature poetry, realist fiction, essays, stephen king fan fiction, and fan fiction based on a book series about feral cats 😎✨
November 3, 2025 at 5:07 PM
my fifth grader and his friends have started a writing group that i'm helping with and the combo of genres is so excellent: nature poetry, realist fiction, essays, stephen king fan fiction, and fan fiction based on a book series about feral cats 😎✨
Reposted by Vauhini Vara
"Big Tech’s ambition is to create an archive of everything we do and everything we are—an aspiration that is unprecedented in human history. The only thing that comes close can be found in religion." I wrote about Vauhini Vara's Searches @thenation.com (free link!) www.thenation.com/article/soci...
The Lost Souls of the Internet
In Searches, Vauhini Vara probes the ways that we rely on the Internet and how we periodically attempt to free ourselves from its grip.
www.thenation.com
September 10, 2025 at 3:29 PM
"Big Tech’s ambition is to create an archive of everything we do and everything we are—an aspiration that is unprecedented in human history. The only thing that comes close can be found in religion." I wrote about Vauhini Vara's Searches @thenation.com (free link!) www.thenation.com/article/soci...
The book from which this extraordinarily open-hearted and moving essay is excerpted in @theatlantic.com is out this week from @nxthompson.bsky.social. Buy it here: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/678434...
October 30, 2025 at 10:58 PM
The book from which this extraordinarily open-hearted and moving essay is excerpted in @theatlantic.com is out this week from @nxthompson.bsky.social. Buy it here: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/678434...
I have such good taste! Or @thefrontlist.org does! or both of us. I blurbed and highly recommend two excellent books on this list — @thelincoln.bsky.social‘s METALLIC REALMS and @annanorth.bsky.social’s BOG QUEEN. and my SEARCHES is on there too! 🎉
For Esquire, I updated my best books of the year list to include 7 new titles that have dropped since May. www.esquire.com/entertainmen...
The 27 Best Books of 2025 (So Far)
Whether you’re looking for a compelling nonfiction mystery, a charming fantasy escape, or a suspenseful science fiction thriller, this year's literary slate has something for everyone.
www.esquire.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:47 PM
I have such good taste! Or @thefrontlist.org does! or both of us. I blurbed and highly recommend two excellent books on this list — @thelincoln.bsky.social‘s METALLIC REALMS and @annanorth.bsky.social’s BOG QUEEN. and my SEARCHES is on there too! 🎉
In January, Sam Altman gave Donald Trump credit for OpenAI's success: "We wouldn't be able to do this without you, Mr. President." I keep thinking of this profile I wrote in 2017, when Trump was first elected. Here are some excerpts and a link. (1/x) story.californiasunday.com/silicon-vall...
October 29, 2025 at 5:45 PM
In January, Sam Altman gave Donald Trump credit for OpenAI's success: "We wouldn't be able to do this without you, Mr. President." I keep thinking of this profile I wrote in 2017, when Trump was first elected. Here are some excerpts and a link. (1/x) story.californiasunday.com/silicon-vall...
Reposted by Vauhini Vara
Did your TV set interrupt you to hit the remote's AI sparkle button?
Did (ahem) The Washington Post site nudge you to use an AI browser to get FREE ARTICLES?
Have you noticed chatbots paying for phone pre-installs?
Welcome to the PAY FOR OR NAG FOR DISTRIBUTION phase of AI. wapo.st/4hv3Eyp
Did (ahem) The Washington Post site nudge you to use an AI browser to get FREE ARTICLES?
Have you noticed chatbots paying for phone pre-installs?
Welcome to the PAY FOR OR NAG FOR DISTRIBUTION phase of AI. wapo.st/4hv3Eyp
Analysis | Why companies will just keep nudging you to try AI
The prodding to try AI products as you watch TV, surf the web or stare at your phone is a classic tactic in technology. It’s annoying, but it works.
wapo.st
October 28, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Did your TV set interrupt you to hit the remote's AI sparkle button?
Did (ahem) The Washington Post site nudge you to use an AI browser to get FREE ARTICLES?
Have you noticed chatbots paying for phone pre-installs?
Welcome to the PAY FOR OR NAG FOR DISTRIBUTION phase of AI. wapo.st/4hv3Eyp
Did (ahem) The Washington Post site nudge you to use an AI browser to get FREE ARTICLES?
Have you noticed chatbots paying for phone pre-installs?
Welcome to the PAY FOR OR NAG FOR DISTRIBUTION phase of AI. wapo.st/4hv3Eyp
Reposted by Vauhini Vara
"I know fictional characters when I see them. ChatGPT is one. The problem is that it has no author,” writes novelist @vauhinivara.bsky.social. If OpenAI has only tenuous control over the narrator it has unleashed, she asks, who is responsible for its output? www.theatlantic.com/books/2025/1...
Why So Many People Are Seduced by ChatGPT
What makes OpenAI’s chatbot so dangerous? It’s a fictional character without an author.
www.theatlantic.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:28 PM
"I know fictional characters when I see them. ChatGPT is one. The problem is that it has no author,” writes novelist @vauhinivara.bsky.social. If OpenAI has only tenuous control over the narrator it has unleashed, she asks, who is responsible for its output? www.theatlantic.com/books/2025/1...
Last month, I discovered — and wrote in Businessweek — about how the buzzy AI private school Alpha has quietly
been operating as part of a giant tech company with a surveillance-based business model. Now @toddfeathers.bsky.social has a great deep dive on the harms for some students. (1/2)
been operating as part of a giant tech company with a surveillance-based business model. Now @toddfeathers.bsky.social has a great deep dive on the harms for some students. (1/2)
Parents Fell in Love With Alpha School’s Promise. Then They Wanted Out
In Brownsville, Texas, some families found a buzzy new school’s methods—surveillance of kids, software in lieu of teachers—to be an education in and of itself.
www.wired.com
October 27, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Last month, I discovered — and wrote in Businessweek — about how the buzzy AI private school Alpha has quietly
been operating as part of a giant tech company with a surveillance-based business model. Now @toddfeathers.bsky.social has a great deep dive on the harms for some students. (1/2)
been operating as part of a giant tech company with a surveillance-based business model. Now @toddfeathers.bsky.social has a great deep dive on the harms for some students. (1/2)
My 10-year-old is obsessed too! And I think it’s really good myself.
if you have kids between like 6 - 12 you should get them a subscription to The Week Junior. yes pricey but it's actually so impressive and informative, my son's obsessed with it. (this is not sponsored [obviously] i've never interacted w/ them i just think its a great magazine!) theweekjunior.com
The Week Junior
theweekjunior.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:22 AM
My 10-year-old is obsessed too! And I think it’s really good myself.
Arundhati Roy on John Berger —
October 26, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Arundhati Roy on John Berger —
oh my god i was reading people's recs for great magazine profiles and clicked on this new yorker profile of marlon brando by truman capote and have never read anything worse than this lede PLEASE SEND ME GENUINELY GREAT PROFILES TO CLEANSE MY SOUL OF THIS ☠️
October 24, 2025 at 5:50 PM
oh my god i was reading people's recs for great magazine profiles and clicked on this new yorker profile of marlon brando by truman capote and have never read anything worse than this lede PLEASE SEND ME GENUINELY GREAT PROFILES TO CLEANSE MY SOUL OF THIS ☠️
nbd just me & SEARCHES on the @publisherswkly.bsky.social's cover for the best books of 2025: "Vara’s most inventive work yet is a soulful, perceptive take on humanity’s relationship with technology." (also: @annanorth.bsky.social's new BOG QUEEN!) ✨ best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-book...
October 24, 2025 at 4:08 PM
nbd just me & SEARCHES on the @publisherswkly.bsky.social's cover for the best books of 2025: "Vara’s most inventive work yet is a soulful, perceptive take on humanity’s relationship with technology." (also: @annanorth.bsky.social's new BOG QUEEN!) ✨ best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-book...
Last time I did this talk, I was on Twitter with 15k followers, and right after I posted it, more than 100 people signed up. Now @bsky.app is my only social media, but I have just 600ish followers, and 1 person has signed up so far, I think because people don't know about it? Help me out by sharing?
I'm running a daylong retreat — How to Write a Novel — with Hedgebrook on December 6th! There are only 20 spots, and registration just opened, so snap up your spot! ✨ hedgebrook.wildapricot.org/event-6352549
October 22, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Last time I did this talk, I was on Twitter with 15k followers, and right after I posted it, more than 100 people signed up. Now @bsky.app is my only social media, but I have just 600ish followers, and 1 person has signed up so far, I think because people don't know about it? Help me out by sharing?