Ruth Michaelson

"Five days later, the same doctor came back online long enough to describe a nightmare scenario: the first thing he told Qorashi was he could still see “blood in the streets”, during his journey to work at the hospital." How Iran's brutal crackdown unfolded, my piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social

THREAD 1: The Air Toxics Rollback Cast of Characters Let’s start with the rules themselves. The EPA in 2024 had updated at least nine air toxics rules that are part of the Clean Air Act. The agency ordered upgrades to curb cancer or excessive air pollution.

The crux of Israel’s first election since October 7: what Netanyahu knew and when A former Shin Bet security chief sues the PM, saying he warned him about an imminent attack as grieving families demand accountability ✍️ @ruthmichaelson.com https://bit.ly/4jFti6y

"People want to see someone who gets results": when Israelis go to the polls on Tuesday, their choices will largely be an array of rightwing and far-right candidates. My piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social on how Netanyahu and his allies could ride a wave of far-right support back to power.

My review of "The Cauldron: the Making of the Modern Middle East," which I will sum up here as a book that I read so you don't have to.

The other day I talked to an aunt who has truly seen everything, and she couldn’t overstate how much more racist England now feels. When a working-class black woman in her mid-seventies tells you it’s bad, then it’s really bad.

A week after the state botches a brutal execution via lethal injection of Christa Pike, Pete Hegseth declares they will execute a man via firing squad, livestreamed for the world to see the cruelty.

Shuttle runs through Hormuz, despite Iran’s attacks, have increasingly succeeded in getting oil out through the southern corridor. Risks and costs are significant, but runs account for most oil moving out and have eroded Iranian claims/leverage. Battle over corridor may be the trigger for escalation

For a long time I've wanted a sense of how trump has or hasn't interacted with chatbots (we know he posts a lot of slop sure). And this TIME anecdote about Grok arguably leading Trump into war is just extremely bracing

Incredible stuff.

NEWS: #Israel’s Netanyahu secret visit to UAE has been in works for weeks. He pushed Abu Dhabi to host him ~ 2 weeks ago, Emiratis pushed back…then had to do Sunday’s visit. Details @almonitor.bsky.social www.al-monitor.com/originals/20...

This is the master key to deciphering contemporary debates about free speech. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/se...

New by me —> David Ellison is gonna have control of CNN, and don't pretend any "independent editorial board" will mean otherwise. (With an extended tour of the Rupert Murdoch Cinematic Universe) www.niemanlab.org/2026/09/davi...

U.S. forces expended 60-70 Patriot interceptors and more than a dozen THAAD munitions last week during an Iranian ballistic missile attack on Jordan. Lockheed Martin produced a record 620 Patriot interceptors in all of 2025. Our story: www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Heinous behaviour and a system encouraging cruelty somehow justified by…there being cameras filming it all? Unfortunately checks out.

I've been checking the source of quotes for my forthcoming book, and the performance of Gemini is extraordinary. I paste the quote into Google, and Gemini will barge in with the wrong answer over and over again. It's not an occasional thing - it's reliably wrong. Very odd.

‘Like an earthquake’: Israeli fury at news Netanyahu was warned of October 7 attacks Families of former hostages are outraged by reports the UAE president alerted Israel’s prime minister to Hamas plans 10 days before massacre ✍️ @ruthmichaelson.com https://bit.ly/4xOhvab

This is...deeply unsettling at a minimum. It also makes no sense, that an AI won't reveal who or what compelled it to send out pitches other than repeating "your book reached Spain" and "I read your newsletter".

Apple launches a new way to prove a photo was shot with an iPhone (not generated by AI) www.niemanlab.org/2026/09/appl...

Here's some of what I saw at the Reform conference: www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

New: Even police and law enforcement are worried they might be secretly recorded by people using Meta’s smart glasses, according to about a dozen memos the Guardian reviewed www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

NPR’s @quillawrence.bsky.social reporting Driscoll resigned after telling President Trump that the U.S. was losing the Iran war one.npr.org/i/nx-s1-5955...

"Currently, The Onion has around 85,000 subscribers, making it one of the five largest newspapers in the country by circulation."

Vital context about climate chaos that should be in every piece about the flooding on the border between Nepal and Tibet.

If you missed it the first time around, I highly recommend listening Jad Abumrad's podcast series "Dolly Parton's America." www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/dol...

TURN 'JOLENE' UP RIGHT NOW www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

Seconding this. What a gift to the world Dolly Parton was.

Six months into Iran war, almost half of global oil flows from war zones reut.rs/4wPVCGj

Breaking News: An arbitrator ordered The Washington Post to rehire Karen Attiah, a columnist who was fired over her social media posts about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

EXCLUSIVE: 404 Media placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books. @evystadium.bsky.social has more. Investigation by @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social here: www.404media.co/we-tracked-a...

It's believed Assad left £40 million of his money in an HSBC London branch before he left to become President in 1994 and that millions accrued in interest in the years since. Can it be recovered and used to compensate his victims? From @ruthmichaelson.com: observer.co.uk/news/interna...

DW asked me about the Octagon, Egypt's new defense HQ, & the New Aministrative Capital. We discussed what they say about Egypt & President Sisi's approach to governing. They symbolize his power but also his fear of a people that sunk deeper into poverty under his rule www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSn4...

The prospect of Nigel Farage fighting a people vs the establishment by-election in which the only other candidate is Count Binface - is too hilarious for words.

Khamenei funeral draws out Iran’s top brass, but son’s fate remains a mystery. The nation’s political heads and military chiefs emerge to attend the week-long tribute to the supreme leader, but his son and successor is still absent. ✍️ @ruthmichaelson.com https://bit.ly/4vIBRk7

The Trump administration claims they will oversee Iran "destroying" or removing its entire supply of enriched uranium –after letting IAEA inspectors in– but finding it all means searching in facilities the US bombed last June. My piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social