Matt Ribel
@mattribel.bsky.social
longform in @wired.com, @washingtonian.com, @defector.com. matthewribel.com
sure, there has been (rampant and blatant) quid-pro-quo graft throughout this term. but more often, these guys are being allowed to loot public goods for absolutely nothing in return
Matt Ribel@mattribel.bsky.social · 3w agoI don’t think that $4,000 buys meaningful access to a presidential administration, so I don’t think “corruption” really captures what is happening here, which is a far more insidious form of rich-guy solidarity
I don’t think that $4,000 buys meaningful access to a presidential administration, so I don’t think “corruption” really captures what is happening here, which is a far more insidious form of rich-guy solidarity
Trump does not engage in Relations with that aide but he does do that thing where he chases her around a room in pajamas and a sleep hat
A marvelous profile by @lizweil.bsky.social of the most interesting man in biology. Nobody is doing it like Levin. nymag.com/intelligence...
What Is It Like to Be a Cucumber?
Biologist Michael Levin is working to prove that minds are hiding everywhere, from a plant to a scrap of skin to a single cell.
nymag.com
it’s gay to ride a bike! it’s communist to ride a bike! it’s demonic to ride a bike!
REPUBLICAN SENATOR: Democrats want you to believe that sending FIVE MILLION DOLLARS of YOUR tax money to MEXICO to “manage” the “Dick Exploding Spider” population is “normal” SAME SENATOR SIX MONTHS LATER: (walking like a saddle-sore cowboy) This is the greatest public health crisis of our lives,
i believe that the election was rigged against spencer pratt. i am basing this on the fact that every sports bettor i follow on truth social said they voted for him. i live in daytona florida and lost my jet ski rental company in my most recent divorce. i am about to launch my own streetwear brand.
"Direct File was not brought down by runaway costs or technical fiascoes. It was murdered for no good reason at all, a victim of reactionary ideology and corporate self-interest." defector.com/free-easy-de...
Free, Easy, Dead: The Difficult Birth And Predictable Death Of IRS Direct File | Defector
Like the universe itself, the United States tax code is ever-expanding, and no one can claim to know its exact size. There are statutes enacted by Congress; implementing regulations issued by the Trea...
defector.com
a great blog that will make you feel insane, if you are into that sort of thing defector.com/free-easy-de...
Free, Easy, Dead: The Difficult Birth And Predictable Death Of IRS Direct File | Defector
Like the universe itself, the United States tax code is ever-expanding, and no one can claim to know its exact size. There are statutes enacted by Congress; implementing regulations issued by the Trea...
defector.com
Free, Easy, Dead: The difficult birth and predictable death of IRS Direct File defector.com/free-easy-de...
Free, Easy, Dead: The Difficult Birth And Predictable Death Of IRS Direct File | Defector
Like the universe itself, the United States tax code is ever-expanding, and no one can claim to know its exact size. There are statutes enacted by Congress; implementing regulations issued by the…
defector.com
wrote about TurboTax, the IRS, and political choices for @defector.com defector.com/free-easy-de...
Free, Easy, Dead: The Difficult Birth And Predictable Death Of IRS Direct File | Defector
Like the universe itself, the United States tax code is ever-expanding, and no one can claim to know its exact size. There are statutes enacted by Congress; implementing regulations issued by the Trea...
defector.com
It’s a mystery why Musk is still able to raise money on the back of fake announcements. The story of hyperloop is appalling - yet somehow Steve Davis, who oversaw it, was allowed to decimate government capacity as head of DOGE washingtonian.com/2026/02/12/h...
How Elon Musk’s Sci-Fi Hyperloop Failed
Before his misadventures in government efficiency, Musk promised to revolutionize commuting with a subway that would speed passengers between DC and Baltimore in a matter of minutes. The project was a...
washingtonian.com
every single sentence in this piece is completely insane, and also simultaneously truth. washingtonian.com/2026/02/12/h...
How Elon Musk’s Sci-Fi Hyperloop Failed
Before his misadventures in government efficiency, Musk promised to revolutionize commuting with a subway that would speed passengers between DC and Baltimore in a matter of minutes. The project was a...
washingtonian.com
A year long investigation into the Hyperloop found … “The truth was far simpler, far dumber, and far more prescient: Musk and his lieutenants truly had no idea what they were doing.” washingtonian.com/2026/02/12/h...
How Elon Musk’s Sci-Fi Hyperloop Failed
Before his misadventures in government efficiency, Musk promised to revolutionize commuting with a subway that would speed passengers between DC and Baltimore in a matter of minutes. The project was a...
washingtonian.com
Once upon a time, Elon Musk decided he would build a Hyperloop connecting DC and Baltimore. Spoiler alert: it never happened. But what can Nashville learn from that debacle as the Music City Loop gets underway? Washingtonian’s Matt Ribel is here to explain.
What the Hyperloop Can Teach Nashville About Our Tesla Tunnels - City Cast Nashville
In 2017, Elon Musk announced the Hyperloop, a 35 mile tunnel that would connect Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, carrying passengers at speeds up to...
nashville.citycast.fm
I wanted to screenshot and share basically every gaspworthy paragraph in this deep dive by @mattribel.bsky.social It’s an easy read - as easy as being driven along an underground tunnel - because this isn’t a convoluted story. The horror of it is how simple it is. Monorail song as documentary.
Washingtonian@washingtonian.com · 7mo agoBefore his government efficiency crusade, Elon Musk promised a hyperloop that would zip DC to Baltimore in minutes, but it never arrived. The project was a farce, and a preview of what was to come.
Former Maryland governor Larry Hogan comes off as quite the dumbass in this Washingtonian recap by @mattribel.bsky.social of Elon Musk's hyperloop fraud.
How Elon Musk’s Sci-Fi Hyperloop Failed
Before his misadventures in government efficiency, Musk promised to revolutionize commuting with a subway that would speed passengers between DC and Baltimore in a matter of minutes. The project was a...
washingtonian.com
Cheating a bit, but another great harrowing one from a few years ago, by @mattribel.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/sun-st...
Here Comes the Sun—to End Civilization
Every so often, our star fires off a plasma bomb in a random direction. Our best hope the next time Earth is in the crosshairs? Capacitors.
wired.com
I think about this all the time: After the Civil War, they needed to connect the northern and southern railroads, which ran on different-sized tracks. They rounded up 30,000 guys to move every track south of the Mason-Dixon Line by a few inches. National infrastructure project, done in 36 hours.
It's year-end list szn, and a couple of my 2024 features made the best of @washingtonian.bsky.social — one piece on the Undiagnosed Diseases Program at NIH, and another about what we talk about when we talk about vaccine injury. www.washingtonian.com/2024/12/18/t...
The Condo From Hell, NIH Disease Detectives, and the Most Popular Dog in Politics: Washingtonian’s Favorite Longreads of 2023 - Washingtonian
The holiday season is here again, which can only mean one thing: amid the jingling bells and frenzied shopping and way, way too many college football bowl games, you may find yourself wanting to check...
washingtonian.com
