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Jessica Reed

@iamjess.bsky.social

Head of narrative, The Guardian. I edit US long form and essays. How to pitch me: see below. French. Based in Montana. ‘We can't stop here, this is bat country' - Hunter S Thompson.

5,250 Followers  |  349 Following  |  36 Posts  |  Joined: 05.07.2023  |  1.9938

Latest posts by iamjess.bsky.social on Bluesky

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If you don’t understand Oklahoma, you can’t understand America A Black man like me is not supposed to love Oklahoma. But in studying my home state’s history of violence, theft and wild ambitions, I learned to reckon with its legacy

Fantastic essay

www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

20.07.2025 14:20 — 👍 76    🔁 27    💬 1    📌 4
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Welcome to The End I am starting this newsletter to try to solve some problems. I've been covering right-wing and far-right politics for over a decade, mostly as a freelancer, with hundreds of bylines across publicatio...

Hey all - I finally started a newsletter for investigative reporting and analysis. I explain why in this introductory post. Sign up now so you don't miss the story dropping within hours! Free, supporter, and insider tiers www.the-end.news/coming-soon/

17.07.2025 16:06 — 👍 115    🔁 54    💬 2    📌 6
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‘Detention Alley’: inside the Ice centres in the US south where foreign students and undocumented migrants languish Foreign nationals caught up in Trump’s immigration dragnet are transported sometimes thousands of miles away to an isolated network of lockups and courts

The Trump admin continues to send immigrant students to remote detention centers in Louisiana. So I spent a day in court inside the ICE center holding Mahmoud Khalil.

It has faced consistent allegations of medical neglect & due process issues.

Here’s what I saw:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

29.03.2025 13:58 — 👍 39    🔁 30    💬 0    📌 3
The Guardian :: Search jobs and apply Step up to your new career

We have jobs openings in DC: enterprise editor, enterprise reporter and senior enterprise reporter. Go get it workforus.theguardian.com/search-jobs-...

11.03.2025 16:23 — 👍 75    🔁 42    💬 2    📌 4
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The true cost of the huckleberry industry - High Country News The Ḱamíłpa Band of the Yakama Nation has wanted an end to commercial picking of a critical cultural resource for years. Finally, the Forest Service is expected to make a decision.

If you - like me - like huckleberries, this is a great read. www.hcn.org/issues/57-3/...

25.02.2025 16:34 — 👍 9    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
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Why can’t we remember our lives as babies or toddlers? Memories emerge earlier in some cultures than others, but researchers have long puzzled over our inability to recall events before two or three years of age

This was such a satisfying piece to read www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

21.02.2025 15:55 — 👍 8    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 1

JD Vance miscalculated in that he thinks Europeans are even 1% receptive to being told what to do by Americans - which is pretty lol. Thanks for the push in the opposite direction, JD

14.02.2025 15:58 — 👍 15    🔁 0    💬 3    📌 0
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What happens when a school bans smartphones? A complete transformation Teachers say mobile phones make their lives a living hell – so one Massachusetts school barred them

(This was one of my fav piece of the series: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...) Kids are gonna be OK

13.02.2025 23:57 — 👍 15    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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Our newsletter Reclaim Your Brain is nominated for an ASME award! @maxbenwell.bsky.social is beside himself www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle... There's still time to TRASH YOUR PHONE! (she says writing on her phone)

13.02.2025 23:54 — 👍 11    🔁 2    💬 1    📌 0

0.80-1/w, with a few exceptions below and above

04.02.2025 17:36 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

Freelancers: in case you missed it, my post outlining what I want to commission in 2025 >> substack.com/home/post/p-... 👀

31.01.2025 18:56 — 👍 26    🔁 6    💬 5    📌 2
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Stick nation! Why do 3 million people – including me and my kids – love stick reviews? The internet’s go-to gathering place for those who rate and revere sticks is big and growing fast. The appeal is simple ...

I love this! Everyone appreciates a good stick www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

31.01.2025 16:31 — 👍 4    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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You write, I edit: what I'm commissioning in 2025 substack.com/@frenchjess/...

29.01.2025 17:54 — 👍 30    🔁 6    💬 3    📌 2
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I was shot when I was nine years old. My message to survivors: there’s hope The recovery period was grueling and painful but it gave me the unexpected gifts of resilience and empathy

Look at how beautiful this photography work is :) www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

23.01.2025 14:35 — 👍 12    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

What do Alaskans think about the backtracking on Denali and its name? I’d like to know. Was any polling done?

20.01.2025 19:19 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0
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The landlord and the LA fires: how my friend’s loss revealed a new hierarchy of who gets help GoFundMe is now the backbone of American comeback stories. But the people with better connections get lifted up first

One of my favorite writer on Substack @kelton.bsky.social is in the Guardian! She wrote about ... her landlord. A killer little essay to read (instead of watching TV) www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

20.01.2025 18:00 — 👍 8    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0
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California tribes celebrate historic dam removal: ‘More successful than we ever imagined’ After four dams were blasted from the Klamath River, the work to restore the ecosystem is under way

☺️ www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

03.01.2025 18:36 — 👍 10    🔁 2    💬 0    📌 0

To answer questions about pitching: I only take US-related pieces. So unless your subject is related to the US, it's probably going to be a no (sorry!) (but we have plenty of editors worldwide!)

30.12.2024 16:36 — 👍 11    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0
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The six ‘superdogs’ who save turtles: ‘It’s all powered by love’ John Rucker and his dogs battle extreme weather, snakes and tough terrain to track turtles as their habitat is increasingly under threat

I woke up remembering this super dogs piece 🥰 Life is good www.theguardian.com/world/2021/a...

30.12.2024 16:35 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 1    📌 0
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Opinion | A Message for Girls About Womanhood Girls would be less dispirited if more of them felt their intrinsic power.

Please.... someone call an ambulance .... I agree with Pamela Paul's latest column .... help .... www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/o...

12.12.2024 18:06 — 👍 6    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Do you guys remember with clarity when you found out with Santa wasn’t real? I get the feeling a lot of us don’t (?)

11.12.2024 00:39 — 👍 9    🔁 0    💬 11    📌 0
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Always prepared: why prepping for doomsday is a logical choice for many Americans Over 20 million Americans engage in prepping. Closing the hatch is a logical response to a hollowed-out state

Instead of laughing at preppers, maybe we should think about .... why prepping for doomsday is a logical choice for many Americans
www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

10.12.2024 17:06 — 👍 29    🔁 3    💬 3    📌 1

i liked it a lot. thought it was too short!

05.12.2024 14:32 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

most often a pitch

05.12.2024 14:31 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

yes!

04.12.2024 21:45 — 👍 14    🔁 0    💬 1    📌 0

ooooo intersting.... move beyond to what, ideally?

04.12.2024 21:27 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I just finished HUM by Helen Phillips, in which AI robots interact with humans and pepper their conversation with ads.

('You look pale today. Would you be interested in our new popular new anti-ageing cream, Jessica?').

Can't stop thinking about it: it really is our future 🤑

04.12.2024 21:00 — 👍 14    🔁 0    💬 2    📌 0

that sounds about right

04.12.2024 20:38 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

😑 lol

04.12.2024 20:37 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

we were just saying how hard it must be to have to come up with truly good content every week. Few can pull it off....

04.12.2024 19:42 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

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