This week on Blocked and Reported, Jesse and Katie discuss AOC's Woke 1.0 revision. Plus, Tyler Austin Harper on being a token black professor, a trans writer's case for decoupling trans rights from gender woo, and the death of Jason Arday.

Jason Arday, Cambridge Professor Accused of Plagiarism, Is Found Dead - The New York Times

Confessions of a Token Black Professor - The Atlantic

The Argument

I don’t need you to believe I’m a woman

Editor’s note: The first essay The Argument ever published asked, “How do we live with each other?” To mark our first anniversary on August 17, we’re returning t…

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8 days ago · 405 likes · 242 comments · Cassie Pritchard

Comedy Cellar - Purchase Event Tickets

Well, I’m sure I’m not the only one who learned more than I ever wanted to know about AOC this week. Here’s the weekly thread, everyone!

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Author/podcaster/documentarian/Welshman Jon Ronson will be joining pod soon to discuss, among other things, his forthcoming book, The Castle: Adventures in a World of Unraveling Men. Jon has graciously agreed to stay on after the free show and answer questions for our Primo subscribers. Questions for Jon? Post them below.

This week on Blocked and Reported: ticks. Where do they come from, and why is Bill Gates releasing them on the American public? Featuring the CIA, Pfizer, tick bombs tick boxes, Plum Island, and more. Plus, the complicated legacy of gay rights pioneer Harry Hay.

Harry Hay, Early Proponent of Gay Rights, Dies at 90 - The New York Times

The Origin of “Two Spirit” and the Cult of Harry Hay — Stone Age Herbalist

What on Earth Is the ‘2SLGBTQQIA+’ Movement? — Andrew Doyle, Spiked

Two-Spirit Tradition Far From Ubiquitous Among Tribes — Mary Annette Pember, Rewire

Harry Hay — Making Gay History

Harry Hay: Founding the Mattachine Society (1974 interview) — OutHistory

New Controversy Over Safe Schools “Czar” — Fox News

The Smear Campaign Continues: Fox Nation, Washington Examiner Manufacture Jennings-NAMBLA Link — Media Matters

Parents of Murdered Child Sue Child-Sex Advocates — CNN

Charles Jaynes: A Murderer by Any Name — Boston Magazine

The BITTEN Files

Interview with Kris Newby

“Unbekoming” recently interviewed me about BITTEN, and I thought I’d share our dialog with my readers…

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2 years ago · 29 likes · 7 comments · Kris Newby

Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) pushes amendment to investigate tickborne Lyme disease conspiracy theory - The Washington Post

Have Missouri farmers reported finding ‘boxes of ticks’ in fields? | Snopes.com

The Tick That Hunts Down Its Hosts—Including Us | The New Yorker

This week on the Primo show, Jesse and Katie discuss the unbelievable life story of Cambridge professor Jason Arday.

A Lot of the Attacks on Higher Ed Are Unfair. Not This One. (Jes…

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Happy August, Primos! The weekly is now open for your comments.

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This week on the Primo show, Jesse and Katie discuss the extremely bizarre story of Neil Hopper, an amputation surgeon who lost his own legs under circumstances far str…

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Join and me (Katie) on Substack Live this Friday, July 31st, at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET for a discussion on the latest controversies plaguing the WNBA: Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and whatever the hell is going on in Seattle.

These live chats are a perk for our Primo subscribers and will be archived later for those who can’t make it. You should receive an email notification shortly before it begins. (Not getting our emails? Check your Substack settings.)

Questions? Comments? Leave them below.

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Happy International Lasagne Day, primos! In an extremely rare example of one of these dumb days actually being observed in real life, my day job served lasagne for lunch. It was terrible - but here’s…

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This week on the Primo show, Jesse and Katie discuss the life and death of The Queery, a Brighton-based radical art gallery, bookshop, café, and community spac…

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The World Cup is over, but today is apparently World Mango Day, so let’s celebrate. Here’s the weekly!

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This week on Blocked and Reported, Katie is joined by Jessica the ‘80s Baby to discuss the latest saga to rock the knitting world when celebrity knitter Stephen West appears on a conservative’s YouTube show. Plus, subliminal swastikas, and for Primos, Jessica the ‘80s Baby answers all your burning questions.

Note: This is our last free episode before summer break. We’ll be back with a new free show on August 10th, but Primo episodes will keep coming, so if you want your fix, join us.

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Ravelry: Designs by Stephen West

MSKL and Westknits should be ashamed. Censorship is the tool of the Nazi. | by VolkColopatrion | Medium

24 free Magazines from BLOCKEDMAGAZINE70982

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Note for free subscribers: This is a preview…

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Forgive me one last World Cup pic please - it’s going to be a long wait until the next one.

Here’s the weekly open thread, you know what to do!

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Authors Ben Westhoff and Emily Dufton will be joining me (Katie) on Substack Live on Thursday July 16th 10 PT / 1 ET for a conversation about books, about drugs, about drug treatments, about why Nixon was good actually, and more.

Ben Westhoff is an award-winning investigative reporter whose books are taught around the country and have been translated around the world. This includes Fentanyl, Inc., the bombshell first book about the fentanyl epidemic. Ben’s new documentary, Antagonist: How a Wonder Drug Got Sidelined, is about the suppression of the opioid treatment drug naltrexone, and he has advised officials at the top levels of government about the opioid crisis. Ben has been interviewed on CNN, NPR, and CSPAN, Fresh Air, and the Joe Rogan Experience, and he publishes a Substack newsletter called Drugs + Hip-Hop. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, and the Guardian.

Emily Dufton is a writer and drug historian based near Washington, DC. Her first book, Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America, is considered the foundational text on marijuana's history in the US. Her newest book, Addiction, Inc.: Medication-Assisted Treatment and America's Forgotten War on Drugs, tells the story of the federal development of methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone as public health projects, and their subsequent abandonment to privatization and profiteering. The recipient of a Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant, her work has been featured in the Washington Post, CNN, and Smithsonian magazine.

This live video chat will be open to all subscribers but archived for Primos only. You should receive an email notification shortly before it begins. (Not getting our emails? Check your Substack settings.)

Questions? Comments? Leave them below.

This week on Blocked and Reported, Jesse and Katie discuss the fast rise and faster fall of humble oyster man/alleged rapist Graham Platner. Plus, the trans sports issue divides Tahoe.

The Wrong Side of the Mountain - Jesse Singal - The Dispatch

Exclusive: Woman who dated Graham Platner says he sexually assaulted her - POLITICO

Several Women Who Dated Graham Platner Recall ‘Unsettling’ Behavior - The New York Times

The Fifth Column (A Podcast)

Are We the Baddies? The Graham Platner Reckoning (w/ Kat Rosenfield) - #565

The great Kat Rosenfield joins us to discuss the ongoing fallout from rape allegations against Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner published Monday by Politico…

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a month ago · 117 likes · 141 comments · The Fifth Column and Kat Rosenfield

Armie Hammer’s First Interview Since Cannibalism Scandal - Air Mail

Why Didn’t Graham Platner’s Many Red Flags Matter?

The ‘Mad Scientist’ Behind Graham Platner’s Scandal-Plagued Rise - WSJ

Platner’s Daniel Moraff Barred from Summer Lee’s Campaign Over Sexual Misconduct Complaints

I Might Be Wrong

The Simplest Explanation for Platner Is That the Far Left Has Awful Judgement

In shocking news, Graham Platner — the Senate candidate widely known to have 50 skeletons in his closet — actually has 51 skeletons in his closet. And that 51 number is as of press time; there honestly seems to be something of a Skeleton Pride Parade going on in there. People who previously defended Platner took to social media to express shock — shock! — at this totally unforeseeable development. Here’s an example from…

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a month ago · 154 likes · 83 comments · Jeff Maurer

Inside the Implosion of Graham Platner’s Maine Senate Campaign: ‘A Slow-Rolling Disaster’ - The New York Times

Cross-Tabs: June 2026 Times/Press Herald/Siena Poll of the Likely Electorate in Maine - The New York Times

Happy Wednesday, primos! Sorry this is a little late - figuring out a new timezone here

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This week on Blocked and Reported, Jesse and Katie discuss the milkshake-ducking of a New York coffee shop after the owner’s failed shaming of a congressman deemed insufficiently anti-Israel. Plus, crazy lady/future Rep. Darializa Avila Chevalier and what the DSA revolution in New York City means for the Dems, and the Supreme Court weighs in on trans athletes.

The Supreme Court’s Utterly Mainstream Ruling on Women’s Sports - The Atlantic

DOJ opens investigation into Brooklyn coffee shop after banning Rep Goldman | Fox News

Rep. Dan Goldman addresses Brooklyn coffee shop banning him over his views on Israel | CNN Politics

Angry Coffee Shop Owner Who Smeared Jewish Rep Dan Goldman as a ‘Fascist’ Sipping ‘Genocide Juice’ Is a Graham Platner Donor Cited for ‘Filth and Flies’

NYC coffee shop tells Rep. Dan Goldman he’s not welcome over his pro-Israel views

Inside the 2025 NYC Mayoral Primary: Strong Support for Economic Justice and Palestinian Rights

The New York Editorial Board

Darializa Avila Chevalier on Housing, Immigration, & Her Run for Congress in New York's 13th District

The New York Editorial Board spoke with Darializa Avila Chevalier about her campaign in the Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District (parts of Manhattan and the Bronx) on the morning of June 17, 2026. Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist endorsed by NYC-DSA and Mayor Mamdani, is challenging Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the primary e…

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2 months ago · 64 likes · 87 comments · New York Editorial Board

I Might Be Wrong

How Crazy Is Darializa Avila Chevalier on a Scale From “Yowza!” to “Ay Caramba!!!”?

How crazy is Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Zohran Mamdani-backed socialist trying to unseat incumbent Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th congressional district in the Democratic primary today? Well…how much time do you have? My challenge in this article is not to establish…

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2 months ago · 314 likes · 175 comments · Jeff Maurer

I Might Be Wrong

Capitalism Has a Brand Problem

Let’s get the blood pumping today with a deep-fried, smothered-and-covered moron: Italian economist Clara Mattei…

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2 months ago · 98 likes · 123 comments · Jeff Maurer

Mamdani-backed House candidate’s deleted posts called for abolishing police, borders

Israelis No Longer Ahead in Americans’ Middle East Sympathies

Happy birthday America! I’m sure there will be absolutely no online lunacy this weekend.

Whatever you’re celebrating - the 4th, Taylor Swift’s wedding, Mexico winning their first World Cup knockout ma…

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