Nicholas Fortugno

In case you were wondering how the budget cuts and strip mining of government was going to literally kill people, Exhibit A is Texas. Don't miss the local NWS offices were empty in a region known as "flash flood alley" lede.

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A new crop of reviews from NYC and London and a couple of important meetups and conferences

Zohran Mamdani set to defeat Cuomo in stunning NYC mayoral primary upset "He won," Cuomo said about Mamdani, even as the contest headed to a ranked choice count.

If there have been no other sunshine or rainbows in your day today, you can sleep well tonight knowing that a serial liar, sexual harasser, and opponent of ethical oversight will NOT be the person you are forced to swallow as the Democratic nominee for mayor of NYC. gothamist.com/news/nyc-pri...

Trump Administration Will End L.G.B.T.Q. Suicide Prevention Service

Fuck this deliberately cruel and hateful administration forever. May they rot in the hell they pretend to believe in. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/18/w...

There is very interesting atheist research into secular community building. It seems like the benefits of church attendence come from two factors: surety of belief and community, and secular communities can give both of those things. My wife has studied this - I can find literature if you need it

Photos: NYPD Arrests Protesters Blocking ICE Vans Transporting Detained Immigrants The NYPD cleared the path for ICE's vans, despite pledges from the mayor and the police commissioner that the City doesn't assist in civil immigration enforcement.

In case you were wondering what local collaboration with our fascistic federal policy looks like, Mayor Adams NYPD at work: hellgatenyc.com/nypd-arrests...

Don't Stop Believing Reviews and a Truly Mixed Bag of Immersive

A couple of reviews and the spectrum of good and bad of immersive and concerts I (and potentially you) have in store for the coming weeks and months. open.substack.com/pub/nicholas...

Springtime for Immersive A few events coming up soon, including a new Punchdrunk piece for NYC

A quick update on NYC and LA immersive with some heavy hitters. It truly is an immersive flowering this spring. open.substack.com/pub/nicholas...

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.

However rightfully concerned about fascism and misogyny and corruption you are regarding this administration, remember first and foremost that they are unbelievably incompetent. We are being run by idiots. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

A Statement by Teachers College, Columbia University Faculty A Statement by Teachers College, Columbia University Faculty The Attack on American Education, from our Perspective as Teachers College Faculty March 19, 2025 We are a group of Teachers College facult...

A statement from (some of) the faculty at Teachers College Columbia University
docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Every single non-US academic should cancel everything they are doing in or with the US until this policy is permanently rescinded. This is fascism

A round up of some promising and some disappointing immersive work and news about things on the distant horizon. open.substack.com/pub/nicholas...

A bunch of festival reviews from Under the Radar/Exponential/Prototype and a slew of small immersive shows coming up in the next few weeks. open.substack.com/pub/nicholas...

Let's see. WHO exit, Jan 6 pardons, promise of 25% tariffs to Mexico and Canada, end of tests to reduce drug costs for Medicaire. Yup, as bad as we thought. Part of me wishes I understood why people wanted this but more of me wants nothing to do with anyone who didn't vote to stop this, ever again.

Year in review and surprising amount of new immersive stuff in NYC coming in January. open.substack.com/pub/nicholas...

Opinion | Sorry, but This Is the Future of Food Every farm, even the scenic ones with red barns and rolling hills, is a kind of environmental crime scene, an echo of whatever wilderness it once replaced.

Fascinating analysis of industrial agriculture that offers hard facts (that I didn't know) on climate and farming. Tl;dr all farming is a necessary evil. Sorry, but This Is the Future of Food www.nytimes.com/2024/12/13/o...

In case you're curious about the form, my and the No Proscenium team's list of the best work in immersive in 2024.

Six Childhood Scourges We’ve Forgotten About, Thanks to Vaccines Most Americans, including doctors, have no memory of the devastating diseases that routinely threatened children until the 1960s.

Because, as we have just demonstrated, millions of Americans are willful idiots who can't absorb an ounce of public policy complexity, why vaccines are important via NYT. The tl;dr version, Google polio. Six Childhood Scourges We’ve Forgotten About, Thanks to Vaccines www.nytimes.com/2024/12/13/h...

Did you know I have a newsletter of upcoming immersive events and reviews of things I've seen? Well, I do and I just posted my latest after a disappointing-in-so-many-ways month. Several reviews I've been sitting on, and lots of new immersive things to see in NYC. open.substack.com/pub/nicholas...

Spread this as far and as wide as you can. Now that I am deep in the health care machine with my family, it is breathtaking how inefficient and corrupt private insurance is, and you need every tool to fight it until we kill it

The Trump-Trumpist Divide The incoming president wants to do things his voters have not embraced.

Why do I want nothing to do with people who voted for Trump this time? Maybe it's this... www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Washington Is Shocked Just shocked, I tell you.

This is why I have made the decision to not engage with Trump supporters after this election. I don't know what to say to people who deny what they were directly shown. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Congratulations, NYCLU, on ending abuse of peaceful protest. N.Y.P.D. Must Rewrite Rules for Policing Protests After Sweeping Deal www.nytimes.com/2023/09/05/n...

The stories we should watch in red states. These are the small steps that lead to fascism