Mike De Socio

Opinion | Democrats’ election wins showed they don't need to hide their support for trans rights Republicans repeated Trump's anti-trans strategy from 2024 and lost big. This should be instructive for Democrats.

For @msnbc.com I wrote about how Tuesday's election gives Democrats the blueprint for overcoming Republican anti-trans attacks and how thus should settle all the talk about throwing trans people under the bus.

www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

The queer community still needs places for public sex | Xtra Magazine Sex party promoters, kink community leaders and educators refuse to shy away from the more explicit aspects of the queer experience

Bravo, @byadamrhodes.bsky.social, for this excellent piece in @xtramagazine.com about why queer community still needs places for public sex. (Because, well, it’s not just about sex. It’s about so much more).

Miss Major—legendary activist, elder and Stonewall veteran—tells her story  | Xtra Magazine “Miss Major Speaks” is part biography, part interview and full of Miss Major spitting truths and laying it down like it is

Trans trailblazer Miss Major Griffin-Gracy died yesterday. In 'Miss Major Speaks' the elder, organizer, Stonewall veteran and mother discusses her past and the community's and the struggle for Black, trans and queer liberation.

Why Transgender People Are Not Feeling Gavin Newsom We have seen this song and dance before.

1. If you've scrolled social media lately, you've likely seem Democrats cheering for Gov. Gavin Newsom for trolling Trump relentlessly.

You've also likely seen trans people terrified of a Newsom 2028 run.

I explain why trans people are not feeling Newsom.

Subscribe to support our journalism.

Burnout isn’t just a "you" problem - Work Life by Atlassian Systemic factors also play a major role in workplace exhaustion.

From @atlassian.bsky.social and @mikedesocio.com - I'm a great believer in #SystemsThinking and this is a good way of tackling #burnout: www.atlassian.com/blog/product...

Nick’s cheese career 📈

I’m so excited for this!

Thank you to @mikedesocio.com for this delightful recap of our FREE Electric Coach course (which you can also take)!

Mike, you were a wonderful student!

I Care About the Environment, So I Became a Certified Electric Coach I've been reporting on decarbonization and the environmental issues for almost four years. Now I'm choosing to do more than write about it with this free electric coach course.

I’ve been writing about climate for @cnet.com for years, but recently I decided I could do more. So, I became a certified Electric Coach with @rewiringamerica.bsky.social. Wrote about why I did — and why you should too: www.cnet.com/home/energy-...

Inside the history of Boston’s bygone gay bathhouses  | Xtra Magazine From sexual health support to discreet gathering place, bathhouses were once a small but important part of the city’s gay community

To be a journalism nerd for a second: this piece includes a) a source in his 80s—rare, and b) a historian who happened to work at a bathhouse in a past life. Queer journalism/being our own experts FTW. xtramagazine.com/love-sex/bos...

Easily my favorite two things about this story!!!

I wrote a super gay and fun story about Boston and its (tragic!) lack of gay bathhouses for @xtramagazine.com!

Trump orders swathes of US forests to be cut down for timber President’s move to expand tree cutting across 280m acres evades rules to protect endangered species

"Trump has instructed the US Forest Service & Bureau of Land Management to increase logging targets and for officials to circumvent the US’s Endangered Species Act by using unspecified emergency powers to ignore protections placed upon vulnerable creatures’ habitats."

Unspecified emergency powers.

It’s true! I will never stop shouting about this: If you have high heating bills (even as a renter), get yourself a home energy audit!

Contributor Information - Trails Magazine The focus of Trails is on backpacking and other human/naturally-powered means of sleeping outdoors: bikepacking, canoe camping, even things like rafting or mountaineering are fair game. But remember: ...

#Freelance writers! We're holding a "How to Pitch Trails Mag" info session to share about what we're looking for, how we prefer to be pitched, and lots of thoughts on what makes the ideal Trails Mag story. Plus questions!

Feb 18 at 11AM Pacific!

Register at trailsmag.net/contribute!

How Trump's Executive Order Can Change American Energy Policy The order to "unleash" American energy is creating uncertainty for the country's energy markets and consumers.

And another one!

Hah, totally fair!

What Trump's Executive Order Means for Electric Vehicles An executive order can't change the most significant EV policies: tax credits.

My first (of many) @cnet.com pieces about the impacts of Trump on all things EVs and energy. ⚡️⬇️

Oh, I have a canned response I send to most PR emails that basically says, “Hi, I don’t ever develop stories out off press releases, please take me off your list.” 🤷

How I wrote and published my first nonfiction book It took five years, countless rejections and more than a few mistakes before I saw my book on a shelf.

Hey, did you know I have a newsletter? It’s true!

The Prologue helps writers learn the skills they need to become (published) narrative nonfiction authors.

Today I sent out the first edition, about my own book publication journey. ✍🏻 Give it a read!

Fire Weather was probably my favorite book I read last year, truly haunting.

Same. 'Fire Weather' still haunts me. I think it about it often.

2025 Trans Girl Scouts To Order Cookies From! This year, consider ordering your Girl Scout cookies from a trans girl scout to make their day!

1. Did you know that Girl Scouts has, for a long time, accepted trans girls and nonbinary scouts?

Trans kids are under attack. Every year, I make a thread of trans and nonbinary girl scouts you can get your cookies from.

Lets get our cookies from them this year in solidarity!

Wow, @sam.upstate.blog, I love that I contributed to your "radicalization" as an urbanist lol 🤠

How to Buy a Secondhand Gift Someone Might Actually Want In search of uniqueness and affordable quality, shoppers are increasingly open to buying and receiving secondhand gifts — and it’s better for the planet.

A nice zag from Bloomberg Green: How to shop for vintage and secondhand holiday gifts www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Exclusive: Trump transition team plans sweeping rollback of Biden EV, emissions policies Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump’s transition team is recommending sweeping changes to cut off support for electric vehicles and charging stations and to strengthen measures blocking cars, components and battery materials from China, according to a document seen by Reuters.

Trump transition team wants to kneecap EVs:
🔹 Eliminate $7,500 tax credit
🔹 End public charging expansion
🔹 Place tariffs on imported battery materials

Also, relax car fuel economy rules by 15% and emissions by 25%.

Carmakers don't want this. It's all Trump.

www.reuters.com/business/aut...

Riders had lost hope in the T. Then came ‘Train Daddy Eng.’ - The Boston Globe Public perception of the transit agency has noticeably shifted as the system has steadily improved, and Phil Eng has become a rather unlikely local celebrity in the process.

"Elizabeth Payne ... said she used to sprint to catch a Blue Line train pulling in ... once tripping and falling on her face so hard she needed a Dunkin’ iced coffee to ease the swelling." (h/t @bostonglobe.com)

Icing your T-induced injury with a Dunkin is peak Boston behavior.

Amy Coney Barrett Surprised By History Of Cross-Dressing Laws Targeting Trans People The justice is a potential wild card in the recent Skrimetti case around transgender rights.

Excellent reporting by @erininthemorning.com, as always.

Opinion | The Supreme Court’s Trans Health Care Case Is About Normal Things That Make a Big Difference (Gift Article) Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents has personal implications.

From my colleague Chase Strangio:

"My presence at the Court as a transgender lawyer will have been possible because I have had access to the very medical treatment at the center of the case. Though some doubt the lifesaving properties of this care, I know them personally. And so do my clients."

A former director called the Boston Children’s transgender clinic ‘reckless.’ Families say that couldn’t be further from the truth. - The Boston Globe The families shared their experiences — described in dozens of hours of interviews and substantiated by records shared with the Globe — as a counterweight to what they regard as unfounded concerns abo...

Anti trans activist Benjamin Ryan previously reported on spurious accusations that Boston Children's rushed trans youth through assessment. The Boston Globe spoke with actual families and they completely contradict those blatant distortions. www.bostonglobe.com/2024/12/03/m...