Andrew Leland

This weekend is your last chance to apply to this year's Investigative Reporting Internship and Fellowship! These highly selective programs train students and professional journalists to be investigative journalists.

Apply by 11:59 p.m. ET on January 11: idabwellssociety.org/training/

Snail Shells On doing things the slow, hard way

I have an email newsletter vilejelly.substack.com/p/snail-shells

Judge orders White House to restore sign language interpreters at briefings by Trump, Leavitt U.S. District Judge Amir Ali said the White House’s decision to end ASL interpretation illegally excluded deaf Americans from crucial updates from the government.

hey check it out www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

Manual Labor | Andrew Leland How deaf artists and writers are grappling with a second Trump administration keen on dismantling the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In Baffler no. 81, @quailty.bsky.social examines three works by deaf artists: a memoir from Rachel Kolb, Sara Novic’s novel of deaf-anarchist insurrection, and the film “Deaf President Now!”

"Help Yourself" Trapped inside the podcast

I have an email newsletter open.substack.com/pub/vilejell...

❤️❤️❤️

This made me cry a little. Everything is terrible but I'm so glad to be in this moment with these contemporaries.

no. 81—After Words The history of literacy is a list of complaints. Critics reliably decry each new technological development as an attention-stealing toy. Before recent grousing about ChatGPT…

Baffler no. 81, “After Words,” is online now, with work from Brace Belden, Bruce Robbins, Noah McCormack, @quailty.bsky.social, Sophie Pinkham, @chrislehmann.bsky.social, Mina Tavakoli, Gabriel Winslow-Yost, and more. Click below to start reading.
thebaffler.com/issues/no-81

Manual Labor | Andrew Leland How deaf artists and writers are grappling with a second Trump administration keen on dismantling the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In our new issue, @quailty.bsky.social considers contemporary deaf art and writing, which navigates the contradictions of deaf life in America as the second Trump administration threatens to dismantle the ADA.
thebaffler.com/salvos/manual-labor-leland

Trump's new layoffs hurt disabled kids "This is absolutely a violation of federal law."

“This is absolutely a violation of federal law.”

For @motherjones.com, I reported about how reduction-in-forces in the Office of Special Education Programs will lead to disabled kids' needs not being met, as funding may not be distributed. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Legislative Action Center Take action with CEC's Legislative Action Center.

Template/script for contacting your Reps with respect to the DoEd cuts. I feel as disheartened about it as you, but the least we can do is take a moment to absolutely melt their servers exceptionalchildren.org/lac?vvsrc=/C...

Amid shutdown, Trump administration guts department overseeing special education Multiple sources tell NPR that, as part of the Trump administration's latest reduction-in-force, the U.S. Department of Education has gutted the office that handles special education.

The agency plays a critical role in supporting students with disabilities, guiding families, funding key programs, and ensuring that states meet their obligations under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

ProPublica: "Programs for Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Harmed by Trump’s Anti-Diversity Push" by Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards. "Citing concerns about DEI, the U.S. Department of Education has halted funding for programs that support students with combined hearing and vision loss in eight states. 'How low can you go?' one advocate asked. 'How can you do this to children?'" Photo of the Department of Education building by J. David Ake/Getty Images

From ProPublica: “Programs for Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Harmed by Trump’s Anti-Diversity Push.” Read more at https://f.mtr.cool/ohhwjocfjy

I had the same reaction. Any theories of why this went through?

On/Off Getting deeper into plain text

I wrote a post that opens a tiny window onto the terminally nerdy shit I've been distracting myself with lately
vilejelly.substack.com/p/onoff

Josh has shaped my thinking on blind identity, accessibility, technology, whiskey variety, and on and on: tremendously honored and just straight-up chuffed to be asking him questions about his brilliant new book in NYC next week. It's hybrid virtual and in-person so you better be there:

The Country of the Blind — Multnomah County Library The Country of the Blind — Leland, Andrew, — A witty, winning, and revelatory personal narrative of the author's transition from sightedness to blindness - and his quest to learn all he can about blin...

You might enjoy The Country of the Blind by @quailty.bsky.social if you're looking for "good nonfiction to kick off the summer: multcolib.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S1... #AskALibrarian

If your organization has been affected by DOGE cuts or RFK Jr.’s cuts to the Administration for Community living, message my Signal at emgarcia.85

Insults on the Early Internet “In any other medium, these words would be, literally, unspeakable.”

Stumbled across this ~30-year-old TNY piece about online discourse and it's at once shockingly quaint and entirely prescient www.newyorker.com/magazine/199...

After serving more than 130 million total meals and 26 million loaves of bread over the past 18 months, World Central Kitchen no longer has the supplies to cook meals or bake bread in Gaza. #ChefsForGaza (1/5)

We are devastated to say that our comrade, teacher and friend Joshua Clover passed away last night. He is irreplaceable; We will miss him forever.

“Another recalled taking a planeload of children and their escorts on a domestic transfer from the southern border to an airport in New York. He tried to slip snacks to the kids. “Even the chaperones were like, ‘Don’t give them any food,’” he said. “And I’m like, ‘Where is your humanity?’”

A familiar place Five years of Covid, forced back to work, and curated news from 39 countries

This world tour of disability news includes work from @thesicktimes.bsky.social @quailty.bsky.social @francesryan.bsky.social @disrightsuk.bsky.social @womenenabled.bsky.social @validityfoundation.bsky.social @ianhamiltonbbc.bsky.social and many more.

www.disabilitydebrief.org/debrief/fami...

Hopefully this won’t be the only chance I get to cover these issues and I’ll have a chance to report this out further down the line, will definitely drop you a line when I do. Thanks for reading and responding

Thanks for this feedback.this piece got rushed and I wish I’d gotten a chance to interview more voices as you suggest, including republicans as well.

How MAGA Scrambled Disability Politics And: a feel-bad take on a feel-good blindness doc; reading and listening recommendations; (not much) more!

I have two new stories up: first is on disability politics under Trump 2.0, second is me feeling bad about a new feel-good documentary about blindness . Both linked on my "Substack" here! open.substack.com/pub/vilejell...

Is deletion the new cancellation

A park bench meant for probably three people, but the seat of the middle third is absent and the retained backrest has an accessibility symbol on it (the white on blue wheelchair user icon).

Debra Ruh shares an example of weaponizing performative accessibility against other communities. In this case a bench clearly meant to block homeless people versus help anyone (including wheelchair users).
www.linkedin.com/posts/debrar...

#a11y #accessibility

In a brutal time, what a gift to see intrepid people start something new:

It’s an active crime scene!

(everything’s gone bonkers, sometimes you need to laugh or you’ll cry)