Emily Mirengoff

Are people making jokes about DC right now, besides Trumpists? How could this situation be viewed as anything but a major injustice with foreseeably tragic consequences? For fuck's sake.

This part, from NYT. Just inhuman.

The Smithsonian Changes Its Description of Trump’s Role on Jan. 6

If you still don't think we're living under fascism, I don't know what to tell you. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/a...

Science is effectively dead in the US for at least the next 3½ years, and will then take another several years to even get started again. Canceled research doesn’t just uncancel itself, and scientists who find opportunity elsewhere won’t just come flocking back.

The damage is generational.

Dear god

I can’t say it enough: U.S. culture is scam culture. It pervades everything we do. We don’t notice it because it’s the water we swim in. A party would do well to remind everybody how awful this is and propose to fix it.

This morning is delightful!!!

The amount of human suffering perpetrated by the Trump Administration is hard to compute. mRNA technologies are already on the verge of a cure for HIV, and promise to be breakthroughs for cancer and many other diseases. This is a monstrous decision by conspiracy mongering lunatics.

Really appreciate Aubrey’s comic because while breastfeeding is a fine option for women who choose it, the romanticization of this bodily function and the way we’ve wielded it collectively to shame moms continues to be one of the absolute worst things for women’s autonomy and well-being

Book cover of “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” by Elizabeth Gilbert

This book has me weeping. I needed it so badly—its humor, wisdom, patience, and above all, its extraordinary grace.

I am not sure there is anything funnier in this world than helplessly exhorting “come back!” to your baby’s bare butt as she crawls speedily away mid-diaper change.

Have you read A Sharp Endless Need yet? If not, why the hell not?

😮

A handwritten note in black ink on lined paper reads: A Note to Myself As I Embark on this Long Project: Read this every day before you go to work! When You’re Having A bad Day, Remember: *Yes, you can write. In fact, you’ve already written and published several books. *The day—today—is all that matters. Try not to think about how far you are in the project. *Every part of the process matters equally, including rest, including research. *If you can, try to write at least 500 words today. It may not seem like much, but it always adds up quicker than you think. *When you feel lost or stuck, go for a walk, OR to a museum OR to the beach, OR to yoga. You are most likely anxious. *When nothing else works, read. *Remember—even when you don’t believe in yourself—there are & have been many other writers, friends, teachers, and siblings who do. ❤️❤️❤️

Sometimes a note to yourself from 2 years ago (as you started work on a new novel for real for real) that you’d forgotten about shows up & gives you the feels. A hug from a me who was struggling less than I am today. Thanks, previous me. Let’s do this revision & remember this hug across time.

"The very best scientists are like elite basketball players: They come to America from all over the world so that they can spend their prime years working alongside top talent...That may no longer be the case a generation from now."

Did you know you can get Sunday scaries even if you don’t have a fucking job?! 😭

At the epicenter of collapse and community Signs of grief, belonging and care in the DC area

open.substack.com/pub/deepaiye...

5 Calls Spend 5 minutes. Make 5 calls. Make your voice heard.

I just called my reps with @5calls.org, asking them to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. It's maybe slightly more effective than screaming into the void? Anyway, you should too: 5calls.org

Donations to NPR and PBS Stations Surge After Funding Cuts

scoop: donations to NPR and PBS stations have exploded, with donors across the country giving in unprecedented numbers since Congress cut federal funding

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/b...

I love that book! I wanted to replicate the way I put my first book together, where I didn’t knowingly leave anything rough—but clearly I’m gonna need a different strategy for this book 😭😭 thanks for the suggestions!

The problem with writing my second novel is that...I know too much? With my first novel, I'd write a chapter and think, "This is pretty good." It wasn't, but the false confidence allowed me to move on to the next. Now I'm like, "Oh, here are all the ways this scene sucks," and it's paralyzing. 😳

And donating feels like such a feeble attempt to make it right—sending money halfway across the world and hoping that it somehow reaches the right people, has some modicum of the desired impact, and if it does it will still be a drop in the bucket.

I find myself feeling guilty that my baby is thriving and has everything she needs—even though that has nothing to do with their plight, if she/we were suffering it wouldn’t do them any good. There’s no way to think rationally in the face of these atrocities, I think.

It is beyond horrifying. I keep thinking of the helplessness of the mothers, but the brain shies away from it.

This is monstrous, these are CHILDREN, I’m trying to stretch my comprehension to process reality but this is so far beyond it

*screams in I-probably-wouldn't-have-survived-pregnancy-without-my-SSRIs*

I am laughing out loud. This is fantastic!

I have to do so little to earn my eight-year-old’s love. I truly can do no wrong in her eyes. I’m mommy; I’m the best.

I try to be a mother who deserves this adoration, but I’m human—as are all mothers. I hope as my daughter grows older & learns this she still loves me.

Every time I butter toast I go, “Oh my god, I pierced the toast!!”

DMV area folks: Happening tonight at 7p @kramerbooks . Going to be reading and chatting with @andrewporter01.bsky.social ! Come out.