Joshua Benton

@joshuabenton.com

21st-century media and the 19th-c American South. Founded and ran @niemanlab.org at @harvard.edu for 12 yrs; now the senior writer there. Cajun, dad of two, husband of one. Journalist with a history problem. Also: @theatlantic.com, @washingtonpost.com, etc

Another example of the problem with the fixation with Trump’s putative emotions: here a story about the Trump administration’s corruption, incompetence, and venality is framed as one about Trump’s “wrath.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/u...

In Dropping Reflecting Pool Case, Pirro Draws Trump’s Wrath

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney in Washington, blamed shoddy construction, contradicting President Trump’s pet theory. Mr. Trump said he disagreed “100%” with her.

nytimes.com

At the end of his cringy speech to journalists at WH Correspondents Dinner, Trump “pulled out a hat and with a theatrical flourish plopped it on his head. It said, ‘Trump 2028.’” We should take this very seriously. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/25/u...

At Correspondents’ Dinner, a Rambling Trump Hurls Insults (Gift Article)

President Trump gave the keynote speech as relations between his administration and the press continue to deteriorate.

nytimes.com

My favorite part is where she mentions sociology's "obsession with inequality.". Isn't that like criticizing history for its obsession with the past? Sociology does lots of things well but one of the things it does best is decoding inequality, particularly useful in our second Gilded Age

Lisa Wade@lisawade.bsky.social · 2w ago

Sociology is amazing. Our biggest problem is bad-faith actors who maliciously spurn the field because we teach people how societies work and they'd rather we all stay in the dark. Not today, Satan!

In the last week, a GOP nominee for statewide office: -Apparently invoked the conspiracy theory that led to the Holocaust -Called to round up Chinese people -Quoted an obscure white nationalist novel -Called the nonworking "low IQ parasites" We asked GOP leaders to respond. None did. (Gift link).

A GOP Nominee for Texas Office Keeps Peddling Fascist Ideas

Bo French was once criticized by members of his party for his offensive posts. Now that he’s the nominee for the Railroad Commission, they’re silent.

texasmonthly.com

here’s my offer, The Atlantic magazine, I will read the next “reactionary pretends to give honest advice to Democrats” take if you let me write a piece where I, a DSA member, pretend to give honest advice to Republicans

The Atlantic@theatlantic.com · 2w ago

“Democrats appear slow to recognize that ideologues on the left are attempting a hostile takeover of the party,” James Kirchick writes. In looking for a way to reclaim control, he argues, they could find inspiration in British history:

“The government spent hundreds of millions of dollars to purchase equipment needed to train pilots to fly the 747-8 plane so quickly, on top of the approximately $400 million cost of the upgrades that the admin has publicly acknowledged.” No such thing as a free 747 www.nytimes.com/2026/07/25/u...

Inside the Rushed Effort to Get Trump His New Air Force One (Gift Article)

A New York Times investigation found that President Trump’s push to speed delivery of the aircraft led to ballooning costs and trade-offs in safety features.

nytimes.com

Actual Neo-Nazis set out to use Xitter to do this a decade ago. And yea, many people (I suspect more than one SCOTUS Justice) honestly do not know that Xitter has become an alternate reality for them, one created by Nazis.

Jonathan V. Last@jvl.bsky.social · 2w ago

Worst part of the new @status.news report is that the Bari Weiss team appears to get its view of what is actually happening in the world from Twitter. They were asking Vega to include things that *weren't real* b/c they didn't know any better. www.status.news/p/cecilia-ve...

I want to be careful on how I choose my words, but I mean this: These votes for Trump nominees are going to be like the Iraq war votes—Disastrous for future political office. I believe these Senators don’t think that; they think the votes are savvy. This is because they are fools.

Jay Willis@jaywillis.net · 2w ago

It is political malpractice for Democratic senators to be helping Trump fill judicial vacancies four months before the midterms. Completely unserious people.

The US built the greatest talent magnet ever, attracting the smart, skilled, and striving. They’d come to study, then stay and build things here, or leave with positive impressions and fruitful connections. Helped make the US wealthy and powerful. Then America chose to throw it away. And for what?

Ben Allen@evodynamics.bsky.social · 3w ago

Congrats we just made it impossible to come here for a PhD www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/16/m...

The FBI had to create training videos instructing agents on how to “use an Excel spreadsheet to log Trump’s name, the page number, and the document.” Even still, Trump was mentioned more than 38,000 times in the first release of the Epstein files. trib.al/fODNjQo

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