Nick Hilden

A Girl's-Eye View of What's Happening in Iran As a national uprising mounts against the Islamic Republic, young women wait for deceptively simple things, like the ability to wear their hair uncovered. For one writer, spending a month with his Ira...

A few years ago I spent the Woman Life Freedom protests with a bunch of Iranians exiled for their opposition to the regime. It feels very relevant again.

www.esquire.com/news-politic...

Writers Talking Writers: Michael Pollan on Henry David Thoreau and Elizabeth Kolbert on Rachel Carson The acclaimed journalists discuss the enduring power of classic works on civil disobedience and the environment.

This month we had a perfect pairing for the Writers Talking Writers series at @publisherswkly.bsky.social!

Michael Pollan on Henry David Thoreau
Elizabeth Kolbert on Rachel Carson

@michaelpollan.bsky.social
www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

Michael Pollan on Psychedelics, Mental Health, and AI: 'Our Consciousness Is Under Siege' In his new book 'A World Appears,' journalist Michael Pollan explores the mysteries of the human brain — and whether computers could ever catch up.

New for @rollingstone.com: I spoke with @michaelpollan.bsky.social about the rising threats to our consciousness.

"I really think we need to defend this space of spontaneous thought, of daydreaming, of mind wandering. This is the fertile soil of creativity."

www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...

11 Books That Will Transform Your Understanding of Art The best books about art expand not only what we know but also how we see, sharpening our awareness of the forces that shape artistic production across time.

New for Observer!
observer.com/list/11-book...

From Ai Weiwei's upcoming book On Censorship. Keep an eye out for my interview with him publishing at In These Times soon.

Destroying Culture So a Few Bad Men Get Clicks Bezos cut Bookworld because his enrichment trumps our cultural poverty.

It's time for artists and reviewers to collaborate on building our own platforms so we can live in happy exile from the oligarchs' digital fiefdom.

open.substack.com/pub/seriousm...

Destroying Culture So a Few Bad Men Get Clicks Bezos cut Bookworld because his enrichment trumps our cultural poverty.

It's time for we book/art folk to break away from these oligarch owned platforms and collaborate on building our own to write in happy exile from their digital fiefdom.

open.substack.com/pub/seriousm...

It's time for artists and reviewers to collaborate on building our own platforms so we can live in happy exile from the oligarchs' digital fiefdom.

2026 needs to be the year of artists and reviewers collaborating to build their own platforms and live in happy exile from the oligarchs' digital fiefdom.

Destroying Culture So a Few Bad Men Get Clicks Bezos cut Bookworld because his enrichment trumps our cultural poverty.

Bad times for critics, artists, and audience alike
open.substack.com/pub/seriousm...

Destroying Culture So a Few Bad Men Get Clicks Bezos cut Bookworld because his enrichment trumps our cultural poverty.

Bad times for all!
open.substack.com/pub/seriousm...

Destroying Culture So a Few Bad Men Get Clicks Bezos cut Bookworld because his enrichment trumps our cultural poverty.

If they're not going to give us space for culture-building, we'll have to do it ourselves.

seriousmoonlightxyz.substack.com/p/destroying...

Galley Stack: 6 Upcoming Books I'm Excited to Read My literary cup runneth over.

I'm bad at social media but good at picking books!
open.substack.com/pub/seriousm...

3 Upcoming Book Releases I'm Currently Reading and Recommend The latest from Álvaro Enrigue, Michel Pollan, and Chanda Prescod-Weinstein.

open.substack.com/pub/seriousm...

Writers Talking Writers: Daniyal Mueenuddin on Ivan Turgenev and Claire Messud on Albert Camus The Pulitzer finalist and the Booker nominee discuss the social and philosophical impact of two classic authors.

New for Writers Talking Writers at @publisherswkly.bsky.social!

Daniyal Mueenuddin on Ivan Turgenev
Claire Messud on Albert Camus

www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

Can Morality Survive Climate Collapse? Can Morality Survive Climate Collapse? Megha Majumdar’s acclaimed novel A Guardian and a Thief explores a near-future where scarcity forces hard choices

New for @nautil.us - a chat with novelist Megha Majumdar about her book and our rapidly approaching climate calamity.

nautil.us/can-morality...

Fantastic F#cking View: the Edgewater Hotel, Seattle Nestle in for the coziest of panoramas.

After years of reviewing hotels, gear, bikes, and random tech for Afar, Populars Science and Mechanics, Runner's World, and so on, I'm starting my own review Substack! Say yes to reviews written by humans!

First up: this romantic Seattle hotel.
realcoolstuff.substack.com/p/fantastic-...

Don’t Overlook Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King condemned the brutality of the Vietnam War and criticized how it drained money from housing, health care, and jobs.

Thanks to @nickhilden.bsky.social for talking with me about "Until the Last Gun Is Silent" and Coretta Scott King's important antiwar activism for @jacobinmag.bsky.social
jacobin.com/2026/01/core...

Don’t Overlook Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King condemned the brutality of the Vietnam War and criticized how it drained money from housing, health care, and jobs.

I chatted with historian Matthew Delmont about his excellent book Until the Last Gun Is Silent @jacobinmag.bsky.social

jacobin.com/2026/01/core...

11 Essential Books Overlooked by the Literary Canon Let’s give these landmark texts the recognition they deserve.

observer.com/list/11-esse...

Taksi Rides in Istanbul. Prices Are High Everywhere. Reframing the Global Community. Bombing Syria. If we are serious about addressing the omni-crisis, we must admit to our own role in creating it -- and seek global solutions.

“Trump, Erdogan, Netanyahu, Putin,” the driver—who according to the app is named Adem but introduced himself as Dominic Toretto—declares with a decisive hand gesture. “All are shit. They fuck everything up.”

It is the beginning of two weeks in Istanbul...

New on my substack!

tinyurl.com/bdctzk4t

Jafar Panahi Will Not Be Stopped Imprisoned and censored by his home country of Iran, the legendary director discusses his furtive filmmaking.

www.thenation.com/article/cult...

I had the same thing happen at Big Magazine and when I finally called the editor was shocked that I would dare to want communication let alone payment. Bridge burned with that specific editor but I ended up writing for the same mag later. At a certain point it's a matter of professional dignity.

Seattle is a city best explored via bike The Emerald City is home to a passionate pedaling culture and rife with well-protected, beautiful routes. Here’s your guide to Seattle’s best bike paths, shops, and other cycling essentials.

My latest!

Anti-Food Stamp Crusaders Reveal the American Lack-of-Imagination Crisis One of the biggest problems facing the United States is that too many of its people reside in imagination deserts.

open.substack.com/pub/seriousm...

Bernie Sanders on Trump’s AI Slop Storm and Why You Should Run for Office “This is a guy who puts up an AI image of him in an airplane defecating on American cities—not quite the image of the president of the United States that I was educated to respect,” the senator and au...

I had an inspiring talk with @sanders.senate.gov for @vanityfair.com about oligarchy, authoritarianism, and the need for everyday people to run for office.

www.vanityfair.com/news/story/b...

David Cross Doesn’t Care If He Offends You The candid comic still thinks those who performed at the Riyadh Comedy Festival participated in “a very dangerous, upsetting thing,” he tells ‘VF’—but he also thinks rape kit jokes and the r-word can ...

New for @vanityfair.com - David Cross doesn't hold back.

www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/st...

To Understand the Present, Read These 10 Political Novels from the Past These powerful political novels from the past century—spanning countries and contexts—offer fresh insights into the urgent issues shaping our world today.

New for @theobserveruk.bsky.social

Can Embracing the Unknown Save Us From Dystopia? Can Embracing the Unknown Save Us From Dystopia? An interview with Daniel Wilson, author of shamanic techno-thriller Hole in the Sky.

New for @nautil.us - I chat with techno-thriller author Daniel H Wilson about his new novel and humanity's venture into the unknown.

Time for an antifa-Thin White Duke phase: no to nazis, yes to weird art excess.