Beth Fertig

I got to record Stephen Sondheim giving a rare class for high school English and theater teachers in 2014, when I worked for WNYC. It was thrilling. He got choked up when he told them teaching is “a sacred profession.” na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

Application deadline is September 30th!

Application deadline is September 30th!

I'm in love.

This from a man who has asked his son to monitor his on-line porn consumption.

“This is a pattern of behavior that dates back to 1980, when he blew up the old Bonwit Teller building on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan so that he could raise Trump Tower. He promised to preserve the treasured limestone friezes atop the old building but destroyed them “ www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/u...

I wrote this for @the74.bsky.social because we feel so strongly that student journalism programs matter now more than ever.

Gloria Steinem died and now this in the same week: Trump Officials Draft Plan to Pay At-Home Parents, Using Funds for Working Ones This is clearly the government favoring stay-at-home moms www.nytimes.com/2026/09/05/u...

Gloria Steinem found power and changed the balance of power through *journalism* before, during, and after she became instrumental in politics. Having found her voice she gave voice to women everywhere. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/b...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Editor of Stars and Stripes says he is being fired for insubordination after saying any censorship is a 'red line.'

Wondering if Mrs. Hegseth votes? Their church is part of the Community of Reformed Evangelical Churches “whose leaders believe the United States should be a Christian nation and that people should vote by casting one vote per household, typically led by a man.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/19/s...

A high school journalism teacher is running for Congress in Western Massachusetts: www.bostonglobe.com/2026/08/19/n...

Teen pregnancies are going UP in NY. But the federal government is still cutting programs that have been effective, in favor of abstinence only education. www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026...

Poll “found that only 35 percent of Canadians now view the United States as a reliable partner, down sharply from 2022, when it was 82 percent. Canadian recreational visits to the United States have shrunk by more than a quarter over the past year.” Excellent read👇 www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/w...

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It's a thrill to see teenagers go from not having ever seen a newspaper before to making one, and then loving journalism!

“In the days since the collapse of a fragile truce, the Pentagon has provided little information about the American military strategy after nearly five months of war. The last major Pentagon briefing on the war was in early May.” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/u...

Note that it seems to be the Brits going after them, not the US. The UK messed up their prosecution in the past. Hopefully they’re making up for it now. Must read from The New Yorker: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Know anyone who could fill this slot on our team? Please spread the word!

Happy 45th birthday to Soft Cell's version of Tainted Love, released on this day in 1981

Yesterday, WIRED learned that Madison Square Garden was suing us for our accurate reporting. We stand by our work. That’s why we’re removing the paywall from two of the MSG stories they don’t want you to read, making them free for everyone.

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Journalistic restraint: “Mr. Hegseth’s focus on testosterone levels at a moment when U.S. forces are ramping up attacks in Iran is unorthodox. Defense secretaries typically focus on larger strategic questions, involving alliances, war and weapons production.” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/u...

It’s outrageous that a government whose Constitution forbids the “establishment of religion” has been hijacked by Christofascists.

“Some people on the mall became angry, with several hundred refusing to leave and arguing with Secret Service personnel, chanting, “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”” Of course they don’t believe in weather! Crowds Evacuated as Storms Menace Washington Ahead of Trump Speech www.nytimes.com/2026/07/04/u...

Looks familiar

11 stars? 11 stripes, near as I can count? What is happening

your appalling must-read for the weekend

‘Nowhere To Go’: T.P.S. Ruling Plunges Many Migrants Into Limbo I think every story should mention this: white South Africans are still welcome www.nytimes.com/2026/06/25/u...

"I do not see how schools and districts can cleanly separate a student’s behavioral needs from their civil rights.” It's hard enough already for parents of kids with special needs to get services, but advocates say it will only get tougher. www.the74million.org/article/spli... @lrj417.bsky.social

Sam Alito: It is the worst kind of discrimination to create majority-minority congressional districts and so we are going to kill the Voting Rights Act. Also Sam Alito: There is nothing we can do if the president cancels legal status because he thinks the United States is a white country.

This story raises some tough questions about how Lander missed a chance to go after some very problematic contractors when he was City Comptroller. It’s especially disappointing because he didn’t answer the questions. www.thecityreporter.nyc/2026/06/19/b...

It’s such a perfect metaphor for everything in DC

New details of the witch hunt: “Officers who had spoken publicly about the importance of diversity in the ranks were removed from lists. So too were those who had strongly urged their troops to get the Covid vaccine.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/19/u...

I want to start a band called The Knixon Five. Opening act is the Brunson Burners.

“I kept thinking, We’re even more like the Kremlin than I could have imagined, in terms of hangers-on, because there’s no discipline. It’s top-down, and nobody has power unless it’s derived from Trump.” Such good reporting on Trump’s fixation with Greenland! www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

We’re now in the Caligula phase of our republic

Now let’s say it all together: the last time the Knicks won the championship the president resigned the following year

Batshit crazy response from administration: “The department will look at our appeal options while we celebrate U.F.C. Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House this weekend in honor of our nation’s 250th with the greatest president in the history of our country — President Donald J. Trump.”

““Not only does this undermine the integrity of the national parks; it sets a dangerous precedent of censorship and sanitization.” Judge Blocks National Parks From Removing ‘Negative’ Signs www.nytimes.com/2026/06/12/u...

Did Trump put a curse on MSG on Monday night?

Knicks fans couldn't have an MSG watch party, but it was worth it so these two could share this one magical evening ⤵️

The last time the Knicks won the championship a president resigned a year later. Just putting it out there.

George Santos called me after my story revealing federal investigations into his suspected market manipulation on Kalshi. And he said: "This story is going to get you a gun in your face." Then he lied about it. www.npr.org/2026/06/04/n...

The last time the Knicks won the championship a president resigned a year later. Just putting it out there.

"The Trump administration is diverting at least $90 million from entry fees to national parks such as Yellowstone and Yosemite to D.C. to fund a $1.6 million fireworks display — more than five times as much as what is usually spent on the Fourth of July pyrotechnics display..." wapo.st/4fn8ezJ

Why is a domestic terrorist responsible for COUNTERTERRORISM?!

This is a fantasy. The Republican Party doesn’t want neutrality - they want to wipe out Dems and Black voters with new maps. But it’s a path forward if sanity & fairness ever prevails. Why Neutral Maps Could Empower Black Voters as Much as the Voting Rights Act www.nytimes.com/2026/05/17/u...

Mayor Mamdani delays state class size limit to save money www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026...

Black people are giving it these Confederates raw and uncut. This is how it’s gonna be now. You wonder what we’re thinking? It’s this. I believe this is activist Gary Chambers again in Louisiana.

The vote just now in TN that removes the state's only majority Black congressional district is a direct consequence of this 👇