Haley Byrd Wilt
@byrdinator.bsky.social
Christ-follower, mom, writer. Semi-escaped journalist. Usually reading, outside, making crafts with my kids, or harping on about Søren Kierkegaard.
We just watched another episode of Avatar the Last Airbender. I went to wash my face and get ready for bed afterward, and my almost-three-year-old pushed the door open, bumping into me, and announced: “Everything changed when the Door Nation attacked.” Am in tears at this perfectly constructed joke
I was asked, and offered a poem, ‘Uncaged’, to Eclogue Press a new magazine. They have it without firewall on their Substack as of yesterday, you can also check out the magazine via the link at the bottom. Enjoy. ecloguepress.substack.com/p/uncaged
UNCAGED
A poem by Guy Gavriel Kay.
ecloguepress.substack.com
Delighted to share the first volume of ECLOGUE, a literary SF and fantasy print journal. Along with essays, stories, and excerpts from some forthcoming books, this edition features a new, gorgeous poem by the great @guygavrielkay.bsky.social: shop.ecloguepress.com/products/ecl...
Eclogue (Summer 2026)
It's here! We're proud to announce the inaugural edition of Eclogue, our science fiction & fantasy journal! This edition features 144 pages of essays, poetry, and short stories with wonderful illu...
shop.ecloguepress.com
You aren't ready for the allegory that @byrdinator.bsky.social makes in our new @hothtakes.bsky.social episode about The Mandalorian and Grogu. hothtakes.wordpress.com/2026/05/28/h...
Hoth Takes #70: Din Djesus
Star Wars is back on the big screen for the first time since 2019. But is Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu any good? Eric, Grace, and Haley saw it together on opening weekend and then record…
hothtakes.wordpress.com
New @hothtakes.bsky.social episode alert: After seeing The Mandalorian and Grogu together, @gracesegers.bsky.social, @byrdinator.bsky.social, and I sat down to discuss the movie. We had strong feelings! hothtakes.wordpress.com/2026/05/28/h...
Hoth Takes #70: Din Djesus
Star Wars is back on the big screen for the first time since 2019. But is Jon Favreau’s The Mandalorian and Grogu any good? Eric, Grace, and Haley saw it together on opening weekend and then record…
hothtakes.wordpress.com
The Mandalorian and Grogu sucks as a film but I did like the part with the wound in Mando’s side followed by being in a tomb for several days before rising again.
thinking about Holes, specifically the onions on the mountain in the rain
Few know this but you can simply just launch a science fiction and fantasy publishing house (and!!! print journal) with your friends
one of the biggest arguments against AI dependence is that the strongest proponents of its use have become visibly *dumber* in the last few years.
Faine Greenwood@faineg.bsky.social · 12mo agoIt really does feel like a lot of formerly reasonable people have been infected by some sort of terrifying brain parasite when it comes to unthinking and total acceptance of using AI tools
I talked to Republican lawmakers about deaths since USAID’s withdrawal from the world. Most brushed off the reports, and some insisted that people couldn’t be dying as a result. “I don’t believe that. No.” Read more: www.notus.org/foreign-poli...
I knew I would love the How to Train Your Dragon books because it is clear by the first page that they are so silly and fun compared to the movie (which is already fun). Now that I have finished reading book 9 with my son, I realize I also love this series because it is secretly Christian literature
Had a great time talking with @gracesegers.bsky.social and @byrdinator.bsky.social on @hothtakes.bsky.social about female characters in Star Wars and why the franchise needs more female creators. Listen now: hothtakes.wordpress.com/2025/06/30/h...
Hoth Takes #61: No Bras In Space
Strong women have been part of the Star Wars saga from the very beginning, but the franchise has often struggled with how it portrays them. In this episode, we compare and critique how storytellers…
hothtakes.wordpress.com
Gelato, boat rides, cooking classes and energy policy: Lawmakers keep going to a stunning Italian villa for free
Gelato, Boat Rides, Cooking Classes and Energy Policy: Lawmakers Keep Going to a Stunning Italian Villa for Free
More than four dozen members of Congress and their spouses have taken trips to Lake Como on the Aspen Institute’s dime since 2023. They say the trips are substantive on policy.
notus.org
It was lovely to get to interview @guygavrielkay.bsky.social for this essay about his books and storytelling in the dark: www.christianitytoday.com/2025/06/auth...
The Author Who Pulled Me out of the Doomscroll - Christianity Today
Fantasy novelist Guy Gavriel Kay, who helped compile Tolkien’s Silmarillion, grapples with the juxtaposition of love and suffering in Written on the Dark.
christianitytoday.com
🎙️ @gracesegers.bsky.social, @byrdinator.bsky.social, and I are back with a @hothtakes.bsky.social episode about #Andor season 2. It may surprise you to learn that we disagreed about a lot of things! hothtakes.wordpress.com/2025/05/23/h...
Hoth Takes #60: Girlbossing Too Close to the Sun
Andor season 2 is over, and we have strong feelings about it! Join us as we debate and disagree about Cassian’s destiny, Bix’s trauma, Luthen’s amorality, and Mon’s eye-opening escape, plus two oth…
hothtakes.wordpress.com
finished the star war last night and had to blog about it open.substack.com/pub/haleybyr...
'Andor' and Moral Compromises
The dark side can’t drive out the dark side. (Spoilers for Andor season two are in here!)
open.substack.com
Rand Paul describes a meeting w/ Trump trade rep Jamieson Greer: "It reminded me of a meeting on industrial policy in the Soviet Union, where you have to be nice to the czar because if you're nice to the czar, they'll bequeath upon you exceptions to the iron fist." (via @byrdinator.bsky.social )
Lawmakers Are Growing More Skeptical Trump’s Tariffs Will Spark an Industrial Renaissance in the U.S.
“Even the machines that are going to make something in the United States, the machine itself is from another country,” said Sen. Rand Paul.
notus.org
Only on @hothtakes.bsky.social are you going to get a Søren Kierkegaard reference in a conversation about #Andor's depiction of the moral compromises of Rebel Alliance leaders. 🤓 hothtakes.wordpress.com/2025/04/18/h...
Hoth Takes #59: OnlyHoths
With the premiere of Andor season 2 just a few days away, we’re sharing our hopes and predictions for the long-awaited return of Cassian Andor and company. We discuss the show’s increasing politica…
hothtakes.wordpress.com
One of the topics in our new #Andor season 2 preview episode is the arranged marriage of Mon Mothma's daughter. It's hinted at in the trailer. But @byrdinator doesn't buy it. Her alternative explanation has to be heard to be believed. 😂 hothtakes.wordpress.com/2025/04/18/h...
Hoth Takes #59: OnlyHoths
With the premiere of Andor season 2 just a few days away, we’re sharing our hopes and predictions for the long-awaited return of Cassian Andor and company. We discuss the show’s increasing politica…
hothtakes.wordpress.com
It’s hard to choose a favorite song on the new John Mark McMillan album but … I think it’s this one open.spotify.com/track/6h3seg...
Holy Powers
John Mark McMillan · Cosmic Supreme · Song · 2025
open.spotify.com
Lawmakers are asking the Trump admin for more clarity on a research program that had been tracking Ukrainian children abducted by Russia during the war — until the Trump team abruptly halted funding for the work: www.notus.org/foreign-poli...
Lawmakers Are Pressing the Trump Team for Answers on Abducted Ukrainian Children
“It looks like we’re playing into the hands of Putin again, and it’s not good,” Rep. Don Bacon told NOTUS.
notus.org
I’ve listened to this probably fifty times since the album came out and the sound mixing on it blows my mind even more each spin, just masterful open.spotify.com/track/1jHX6N...
Temptation
open.spotify.com
America’s influence in Southeast Asia — with a U.S. ally — was put to the test. China came out on top. On the State Department’s efforts to protect Uyghur refugees in Thailand, who were repatriated against their will to Xinjiang last week: www.notus.org/foreign-poli...
Marco Rubio’s State Department Failed an Early Test of Its Influence
Thailand’s deportation of dozens of Uyghurs to China despite American opposition raises questions about the diplomatic power of the U.S. in Asia.
notus.org
Elon Musk said DOGE made a mistake by cutting USAID’s Ebola prevention but it had been “restored.” That’s not true, current and former officials told me and @johnphudson.bsky.social. “There have been no efforts to ‘turn on’” Ebola prevention, said Nidhi Bouri, who oversaw team until January.
Musk claims DOGE ‘restored’ Ebola prevention effort. Officials disagree.
USAID’s initiatives to fight Ebola and other diseases have been gutted, current and former agency officials said.
washingtonpost.com
Southern Baptists have abandoned a proposed online database that would list the names of abusive pastors. Instead, leaders say they will focus on helping churches access other databases of abusers and training churches to do better background checks.
Southern Baptists Abandon Abuse Database - Christianity Today
The Executive Committee’s major focus is now recouping $3 million in legal fees related to the crisis.
christianitytoday.com
