The Bad-News Echo Chamber of Pro-Democracy Substack The Bad-News Echo Chamber of Pro-Democracy Substack
How many pro-democracy Substack authors over-focus on gloom and doom and ignore organizing, and who’s bucking that trend.
Mar 27, 2026 / Micah L. Sifry
What Its Like to Serve the Chinese Elite What Its Like to Serve the Chinese Elite
Zhang Yueran’s novel Women, Seated—a take on the upstairs, downstairs drama—examines class conflict among the Chinese upper crust and the people who wait on them.
Mar 27, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Ting Lin
Trump’s TV-Warped Brain Is Putting the World in Danger Trump’s TV-Warped Brain Is Putting the World in Danger
The president is experiencing the Iran War almost entirely through misleading video clips—and that’s very bad news for all of us.
Mar 26, 2026 / Chris Lehmann
Mamdani Asked Tenants to Tell Him Their Problems. Hundreds Did. Mamdani Asked Tenants to Tell Him Their Problems. Hundreds Did.
What it's like at one of the mayor's "Rental Ripoff" hearings.
Mar 26, 2026 / Prajwal Bhat
The Data Center Revolt The Data Center Revolt
Laura Flanders speaks with Faiz Shakir and John Cassidy on the grassroots fight against the AI oligarchs.
Mar 26, 2026 / Q&A / Laura Flanders
Hawaii’s Storm Damage Is Deeply Rooted in the State’s Plantation Past Hawaii’s Storm Damage Is Deeply Rooted in the State’s Plantation Past
The latest wave of storm devastation closely tracks the regional neglect of infrastructure instituted by the state’s first modern agricultural barons
Mar 26, 2026 / Matthew Vickers
Are Plastics Poisoning Us? Are Plastics Poisoning Us?
A Netflix documentary exposes plastic’s health harms but misses its climate connection.
Mar 26, 2026 / Mark Hertsgaard
Mamdani’s Master Class in Impression Management Mamdani’s Master Class in Impression Management
New York’s mayor continues to showcase his command of political symbolism as he prepares to reckon with some difficult real-world choices
Mar 26, 2026 / D.D. Guttenplan
The Affordability Crisis in Midsize Cities Is Not Inevitable The Affordability Crisis in Midsize Cities Is Not Inevitable
A mayoral candidate in Providence argues that unique challenges—and unique responses—must be explored.
Mar 26, 2026 / David Morales