alex nguyen

and here's David Mamet revealing that getting snubbed by Terry Gross is what radicalized him into conservatism

The Money Is In All The Wrong Places | Defector You can always tell who in Hollywood has family money by their Instagrams. People like Dakota Johnson, who have a Hollywood lineage deeper than the Mariana Trench, post only rarely. They post about so...

BTW, if you want to read an actually good story about Sydney Sweeney I really liked this from 3 years ago defector.com/the-money-is...

How our history became "divisive" Inside the modern quest to enforce American unity

I wrote about the recent use of "divisive" as a tool for sanitizing history and laundering patriotism

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

This $50 billion band-aid won’t save rural health care It is just a fraction of the money these facilities will lose thanks to massive Medicaid cuts.

When the nearest major hospital is 80+ miles away, rural hospitals (with as few as 2 ER beds) play a critical role in stabilizing trauma patients. The OBBA's $50B rural health fund won't nearly make up for the losses hospitals like these face from Medicaid cuts.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

How a Young Thug “meme page” helped expose Georgia's broken court system To understand Fulton County’s other RICO trial, lawyers, music journalists, and fans turn to ThuggerDaily.

And finally, the piece I had the most fun with. It's about Young Thug's RICO trial, Fulton County's criminal justice system, the history of legal cases against rap lyrics, and the X account that gave it the mainstream media attention it deserves—@ThuggerDaily.

How a top House race became a fight over communism, immigration, and Asian American identity “Red-baiting is race-baiting.”

On the 2024 US House race in California's 45th district. I had the chance to speak with many Vietnamese communities in Orange County—each with distinct life experiences that shaped their political perspectives.

As LA Burns, community organizers race to prevent a wave of evictions "It's a total failure of our local government."

How an organizer with the Los Angeles Tenants Union felt about the failure in government response but creation of mutual aid and care networks during the wildfires in LA earlier this year.

Trump's new Labor Secretary is a fig leaf for his war on workers Some Democrats have high hopes for Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Good luck with that.

On the Trump administration's work against workers.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

What DOGE is getting wrong about privatizing USPS "There's nothing like getting a letter in the mail -- a real letter from somebody that you love."

At the American Postal Workers Union's Day of Action. From someone I talked to: "The Postal Service is American. It’s a public good. It’s not here to make a profit and we all depend on it...There’s nothing like getting a letter in the mail—a real letter from somebody that you love."

This is from my last story as a fellow at Mother Jones. As someone who arrived at journalism via career switch, I've used it as a vehicle to reflect on questions in my own life—namely, what family, community, and solidarity mean to me. A little on the ones I’m most proud of below:

Screenshot of Lily Tang Williams’ X post on March 10, 2025, that shows her sitting in the driver’s seat of her Tesla: “It’s Tesla, baby! I bought it to support ⁦@elonmusk⁩ ⁦@DOGE⁩. We, the free people must defeat the leftists/Marxists/communist mobs or they will destroy America!”

Screenshot of Lily Tang Williams’ X post on July 8, 2025, of her standing next to her brother in a Walmart: “My brother waited 13 yr to come here with my sponsorship after background check, health screening, in person interviews & paying the fees. He has worked nonstop to support his family. If we need workers, let legal immigrants come in quicker & work. No amnesty! No free handouts!”

She told me that Democrats and “communists” punish legal immigrants by prioritizing those who are undocumented and creating a “victim mentality” through providing people economic “handouts.” She has become increasingly popular as a far-right influencer on X, where she asserts this rhetoric.

She survived the Cultural Revolution. Now she’s fighting “communists” in New Hampshire. GOP candidate Lily Tang Williams battles critical race theory and the Democratic elites.

For @motherjones.com: I spoke with Lily Tang Williams—a 2024 GOP nominee for the US House who attacks critics of Trump and ICE—about growing up during the Cultural Revolution in China, her struggles coming to the US, and her thoughts on why Democrats are failing immigrants and the working class.

What's frustrating about "male loneliness" discussions is there is almost never mainstream conversations into how men from marginalized groups experience loneliness in different and unique ways.

A revolutionary way to end the incarceration of girls A new criminal justice wave has formed in Hawaii and California. Where will it go next?

Some good news: Hawaii, parts of California, NYC, and other places are starting to prove that it's possible to stop incarcerating girls.

I wrote about some of the strategies they're using to do it. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Interest on student loans for low-income borrowers is about to skyrocket As Trump guts the SAVE program, "I feel like we're holding our breath while watching a train crash."

For my last story as a fellow at @motherjones.com, I got to do what I love most: Talk to regular people about the impacts federal policy has on their day-to-day lives. I'm so grateful to the people who shared their worries and stories of student debt with me. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Bloodied Faces, Sobbing Children: Immigration Officers Smash Car Windows to Speed Up Arrests We’ve documented nearly 50 incidents of immigration officers shattering car windows to make arrests — a tactic experts say was rarely used before Trump took office. ICE claims its officers use a “mini...

NEW: We’ve documented nearly 50 incidents of immigration officers shattering car windows to make arrests — a tactic experts say was rarely used before Trump took office.

ICE claims officers use a “minimum amount of force.”

You can judge for yourself.

By @nicolefoy.bsky.social @mckenziefunk.com

I'm a @motherjones.com reporter looking to speak with federal workers (past and present) at SAMHSA, particularly those whose portfolios included substance use disorder/fentanyl/opioids. My signal is abbyvesoulis.09. As always, you can remain anonymous. 🙏

NEW: I spoke with a woman named Andrea about her experience being detained by ICE after calling the cops for help during a domestic violence incident.

She was recently postpartum, breastfeeding & put in an all-male facility. She was detained for 2.5 months.

Not a Distraction: Epstein, Elite Impunity, and the Rot at the Core To wave off every horror as a distraction is to participate in the very obfuscation that protects the powerful.

I wrote about Epstein and the rot that's killing us. "To wave off every horror as a distraction is to participate in the very obfuscation that protects the powerful."

Special thanks to @sarahkendzior.bsky.social for talking with me for this piece.

Trump is making thousands of rule-abiding immigrants undocumented Inside the largest delegalization campaign in modern US history.

“You enter legally, and suddenly, because of someone else’s whim, you’re illegal. It doesn’t make sense.”

I wrote about the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan TPS holders losing legal status overnight as a result of the Trump administration's mass deportation push.

Oh I forgot to post the baseball cards of the striking workers they were handing out. Genius.

How MAGA's favorite military podcaster is fighting to "take the Rogan spot" Inside Shawn Ryan's forever wars.

From the most recent @motherjones.com issue: Meet Shawn Ryan—a former Blackwater employee, current famous podcaster, and a man perfectly suited to our slightly paranoid times

As one former SEAL told us: “I cannot believe that fucking idiot is a shot caller now.”

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Rachel Getting Married: Yesterday Is Gone & Tomorrow Is Not Here So much of Jonathan Demme's 2008 film Rachel Getting Married is about needle-fine moments of grace and clemency.

for @bwdr.bsky.social’s jonathan demme issue i wrote about rachel getting married, a movie that is very special to me for reasons vulnerable to admit but that i put into words anyway.

thank you to @ohhhaeee.bsky.social for the gorgeous art and @carriecourogen.bsky.social for her brilliant edits!

Massive Attack announce alliance of musicians speaking out over Gaza Brian Eno, Fontaines DC and Kneecap say group will support those subject to ‘aggressive, vexatious campaigns’ by pro-Israel advocates Massive Attack, Brian Eno, Fontaines DC and Kneecap have announced the formation of a syndicate for artists speaking out about Israel’s military assault on Gaza who they say have been subjected to “aggressive, vexatious campaigns” by pro-Israel advocates. Posting on Instagram, the musicians said their aim is to protect other artists, particularly those at earlier stages of their careers from being “threatened into silence or career cancellation” by organisations such as UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI). Continue reading...

Massive Attack announce alliance of musicians speaking out over Gaza

NYPD Bypassed Facial Recognition Ban to ID Pro-Palestinian Student Protester Barred from using Clearview AI, NYC police relied on a marshal in the fire department to run a search that turned up photos of the student at his high school graduation.

"Barred from using Clearview AI, NYC police relied on a marshal in the fire department to run a search that turned up photos of the student at his high school graduation."

www.thecity.nyc/2025/07/18/n...

The shocking rise of one of the tech-right’s favorite posters After he leaked Zohran Mamdani's Columbia application data to the New York Times, critics called Jordan Lasker a "eugenicist." A Mother Jones report shows there's much more to his backstory.

New: After he leaked Zohran Mamdani’s Columbia application data to the New York Times, critics called Jordan Lasker a “eugenicist.” A Mother Jones report shows there’s much more to his backstory.

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

How ICE’s arrest of a high school student activated a Massachusetts town “We’re trying to find ways the community can defend itself.”

“It was a perfect storm.”

In Milford, MA, a town where 30 percent of the population is foreign-born, the arrest of 18-year-old Marcelo Gomes da Silva set off a chain reaction unlike anything the community had seen before. My latest for @motherjones.com:

How ICE’s arrest of a high school student activated a Massachusetts town “We’re trying to find ways the community can defend itself.”

A beautiful story from @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

YouTube video by clipseVEVO Clipse, Kendrick Lamar, Pusha T, Malice - Chains & Whips (Official Music Video)

Clipse just dropped a powerful music video for “Chains & Whips.” You can read about the alleged attempts to censor Kendrick Lamar’s verse that led them to leave their label in my @motherjones.com piece linked below.
youtu.be/ecIH-4RbbOk?...

Louisiana is the latest state to greenwash gas A new state law that redefines natural gas as a ‘“green” energy source was adapted from language written by a right-wing think tank.

Imagine, if you will, corporate state capture grist.org/language/lou...