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ericjfrancis.bsky.social
Writer. Editor. Analog nerd. Content strategist by day, wannabe novelist and/or board game designer after hours. Opinions are my own and I endorse exactly zero political parties and candidates (but will dis many).
361 posts 463 followers 2,426 following
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Posts 33 Comments 17

Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/u...

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

I am privileged to have known @jordanphickey.bsky.social as a journalism colleague and a friend. He's a great writer and a great human being, and this @longreads.com story is a shining example of both.

submitted 20 days ago • 0 comments

Rand Paul doesn't come close to being someone I admire, but he is 100% right here: Congress must stop the never-ending "emergency" and the Trump Administration's rule by fiat, and Republicans that refuse to do so are cowards. youtu.be/aOK2NW7Va6E?...

submitted 26 days ago • 0 comments

Good journalism will always be relevant. Here's a reading list. www.pulitzer.org/prize-winner...

submitted 26 days ago • 0 comments

This middle-aged English major word nerd cannot overstate his love for the good works of @ellecordova.bsky.social. youtu.be/ib7jyxfUNMo?...

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

"The woodpecker could not be reached for comment." #NatureIsMetal www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/u...

submitted 39 days ago • 0 comments

An excellent op-ed about #Andor and #resistance www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/o...

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

For $0.00 you can read what Bret Devereaux (of ACOUP fame) called an "absolute banger of a Tolkien essay" and what my mom (of giving birth to me fame) called "very timely and relevant": "What Lies and Threats: Nationalist Myth-Making in The Lord of the Rings" on @speculativeinsight.bsky.social!

submitted 41 days ago • 13 comments

Dr. Josephine Baker fought for milk testing in lower Manhattan over a century ago, where babies were 7 times more likely to die than WWI US soldiers in the trenches. Milk was often adulterated with chalk and germ-y water. Today the FDA stopped testing milk due to lack of staff. Shame on you, Trump.

submitted 40 days ago • 6 comments

Markets seem to be slowly discovering what close Trump watchers have known for years. Better late than never. Today's Morning Shots, from @eggerdc.bsky.social and @cathyyoung63.bsky.social:

submitted 40 days ago • 21 comments

Bravo to Stonemaier Games and all the other #boardgame publishers pushing back with legal action against the #tariffs. stonemaiergames.com/we-are-suing...

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

I cannot overstate how excited I am about this. #Murderbot @marthawells.com #FFSRatthi youtu.be/vEioDeOiqEs?...

submitted 53 days ago • 0 comments

*sigh* www.cnbc.com/2025/04/08/f...

submitted 53 days ago • 0 comments

They are singing my song.... *sigh* www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

submitted 62 days ago • 0 comments

Meet Queen Valerie of Karta Pintingga. For anyone who's lived with a dachshund before, this is hardly a surprise. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/w...

submitted 62 days ago • 0 comments

The Board of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has written a letter explaining its core functions cannot be cut. www.wordsandmoney.com/in-letter-im...

submitted 69 days ago • 1 comment

It me. Between one shoulder still sore from rotator cuff surgery, the other from yesterday's pneumonia injection, and *waves hands at general societal collapse*, sleep is being surprisingly evasive. Also, possums are my spirit animals. Hat tip to @bemusedbehemoth.bsky.social for the great art!

submitted 72 days ago • 0 comments

"Here's Where the Story Ends" by the Sundays is one of my favorite pop songs, and it has one of my favorite lines: "It's that little souvenir of a terrible year...." That souvenir for me is the scar from my cancer surgery during the pandemic. What's yours? youtu.be/FHsip5xOenQ?...

submitted 72 days ago • 0 comments

Oi, @wiswell.bsky.social -- congrats on being a Nebula finalist! :)

submitted 80 days ago • 1 comment

The NYT asked me to write an op-ed on Musk and the Treasury and then took a pass. I hope it will still get read.

submitted 117 days ago • 182 comments

Ignore the media headlines reporting that freezing federal spending or shuttering federal agencies “raise questions” or “push boundaries.” It’s an anticonstitutional lawbreaking spree.

submitted 117 days ago • 54 comments

Elon Musk and his team are: - Unelected. - Unconfirmed. - Unacceptable.

submitted 117 days ago • 0 comments

snyder.substack.com/p/the-logic-...

submitted 118 days ago • 0 comments

Amid the RFK Jr. and Oz hearings, we'll hear a lot of defense about Medicare Advantage. Last week, I published in @statnews.com this piece on the administrative burdens of appealing coverage denials. 99% of MA enrollees have prior auth --> more denials/burden. www.statnews.com/2025/01/23/h...

submitted 123 days ago • 2 comments

Brilliant.

submitted 124 days ago • 0 comments

In other news, we just felt an #earthquake here in my neck of New England. My first! *checks box on bucket list

submitted 125 days ago • 0 comments

80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. LIVE streaming plan (time zone - CET): Morning commemoration with Survivors & President of Poland (9 am): https://youtu.be/rl7yO-yfGsw TV Studio (12 pm): https://youtu.be/peLnOlodxv0 Main event (4 pm): https://youtu.be/180tHqgUW00

submitted 128 days ago • 13 comments

I've long been a fan of @politifact.bsky.social and think we will all regret the outcomes of this decision by Meta. www.politifact.com/article/2025...

submitted 128 days ago • 0 comments

Guidance from The AP, long the adults in the room when it comes to language use in the United States. apnews.com/article/ap-s...

submitted 129 days ago • 0 comments

"You might not care about slow streets, shaded benches, or walkable shops now, but you are one pregnancy, knee operation, or visit from an older relative away from becoming suddenly, even painfully, aware of the location of every bench, elevator, ramp and bathroom on your daily commute."

submitted 136 days ago • 2 comments

Thanks! Plenty on here I haven't read yet (and one I'll always advocate for: Witch King!).

submitted 137 days ago • 0 comments

I'm a fan of a well-written obit and the NYT obit desk is one of the world's best. I'm also a fan of their series "Overlooked No More." Today's is Karen Wynn Fonstad, cartographer of fantasy realms including Middle Earth and Pern. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/o...

submitted 138 days ago • 0 comments

The excellent @byjenamiller.bsky.social sagely advises her readers "Do not write for free" in her latest newsletter (you subscribe, right?) and it's one of the most important truisms of our profession. It's why I started saying, years ago, "Exposure is what you die of when you can't pay the rent."

submitted 139 days ago • 0 comments