Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · 6d

"They referred to Black people as monkeys and 'the watermelon people' and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery." www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat

Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.

www.politico.com

3

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · 12d

"The rescuers and I watched as these dolphins swam alongside the ship. Their leaps and games in the frothy water made our hearts soar. It reminded me that even in this sometimes cruel world, life and beauty persist." www.npr.org/series/g-s1-...

Far-Flung Postcards

www.npr.org

Reposted by James Doubek

Tom Dreisbach @tomdreisbach.bsky.social · 19d

Today is NPR's first day ever without the support of public funding. Thanks to everyone who has donated to your local stations. It means the world.

Today, the NPR shop also re-launched with a bunch of swag to help support us, too. I've always been partial to the 70s logo, myself.

shopnpr.org

6 59 160

Reposted by James Doubek

Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) @hansilowang.bsky.social · 19d

"The mission of NPR is to work in partnership with Member Stations to create a more informed public — one challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas and cultures."

NPR @npr.org · 19d

Today marks the first day in public media’s history without federal funding. And we’re not going anywhere.

Listeners like you keep our mission alive. Protect one of the last places where America comes together to hear itself.

Stand with us today. Donate at this link: n.pr/46wamAj

2 23 100

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · 19d

For International Coffee Day, I wrote about stuff going on in the coffee world: www.npr.org/2025/09/30/n...

Change is brewing in the coffee industry. What lies ahead?

Coffee growers are facing climate change, labor shortages and incomes below the poverty line. On International Coffee Day, we take stock of the industry behind the beverage.

www.npr.org

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · 26d

Prisoners can now do remote work in Maine: www.mainepublic.org/2025-08-29/i...

In Maine, prisoners are thriving in remote jobs and other states are taking notice

Forty-five Maine prisoners are currently working remote jobs for outside companies. A few are working full-time, earning more than corrections officers. One is making well into the six figures. Here's...

www.mainepublic.org

1 2

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · 27d

The ICE agent's partner "said he suffered a 'knee injury' and 'some lacerations to his hands,' according to police body camera footage obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. But the feds reported he was 'seriously injured' before he fatally shot Silverio Villegas González." www.wbez.org/immigration/...

ICE officer said his injuries were 'nothing major' after deadly shooting near Chicago, video shows

The immigration agent’s partner said he suffered a “knee injury" and "some lacerations to his hands,” according to police body camera footage obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. But the feds reported h...

www.wbez.org

3

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · Sep 19

“I hiked the Appalachian Trail. It fixed my brain.” www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | I hiked the Appalachian Trail. It fixed my brain.

Nature can save us from a world gone mad.

www.washingtonpost.com

5

Reposted by James Doubek

Bobby Allyn @bobbyallyn.bsky.social · Sep 18

Took a look at Kimmel's ouster in light of the longstanding Republican attacks on social media over jawboning, which, the Supreme Court has found, requires a direct causal line.

The Kimmel case "is as direct a line as you could dream up," @alexabdo.bsky.social told me

www.npr.org/2025/09/18/n...

Legal experts say pulling Jimmy Kimmel from air may amount to illegal 'jawboning'

Free speech scholars say ABC's decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show indefinitely represents "jawboning," when government officials pressure private companies to suppress speech.

www.npr.org

3 18 56

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · Sep 18

"The Commanders have committed $2.7 billion, while D.C. is investing about $1 billion. Bowser has called it the largest private investment in D.C.’s history." wtop.com/dc/2025/09/t...

The Washington Commanders are returning to DC as council approves $3.7B deal for stadium at RFK site - WTOP News

The D.C. Council took its final vote Wednesday on the deal to bring the Washington Commanders a new stadium at the old RFK Stadium site.

wtop.com

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · Sep 17

I was on your radio dials today, talking about coffee and zarfs: www.npr.org/2025/09/17/n...

What to know about zarfs, the fanciest way to drink coffee

For NPR's Word of the Week, we're getting hot: During the Ottoman Empire, people used devices called "zarfs" to hold their coffee cups. Here's what to know about this word's history.

www.npr.org

1

Reposted by James Doubek

NPR @npr.org · Sep 17

For NPR's Word of the Week, we're getting hot: During the Ottoman Empire, people used devices called "zarfs" to hold their coffee cups. Here's what to know about this word's history.

What to know about zarfs, the fanciest way to drink coffee

For NPR's Word of the Week, we're getting hot: During the Ottoman Empire, people used devices called "zarfs" to hold their coffee cups. Here's what to know about this word's history.

n.pr

11 29 180

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · Sep 14

A cool interview about Austin punk: www.kut.org/texasstandar...

‘Someday All the Adults Will Die!’ chronicles the birth of Texas punk

In a new oral history, photographer Pat Blashill traces the music, art and culture that shook Austin in the late 1970s through the mid-80s.

www.kut.org

Reposted by James Doubek

Jeff Brady @jeffbradynews.bsky.social · Sep 5

"At a hearing last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said Riley appeared to have been singled out by the police because he was a Black man carrying a satchel that looked heavy.

'It is without a doubt the most illegal search I've even seen in my life,' Faruqui said from the bench."

NPR @npr.org · Sep 5

NPR combed through court records and other data related to Trump's takeover of D.C. police to get a better understanding of who has been swept up in the federal surge and what charges they are facing.

Trump's D.C. takeover has led to more arrests. NPR looks at cases of those swept up

NPR combed through court records and other data related to Trump's takeover of D.C. police to get a better understanding of who has been swept up in the federal surge and what charges they are facing.

n.pr

4 5

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · Sep 4

"A Fox News executive has called a prominent Trump appointee a 'reckless maniac.' ... A third condemned her for the 'tendency to find random conspiracy theories on weird internet sites.' And a Fox corporate board member called a public statement of hers 'insane.'" www.npr.org/2025/09/04/n...

Fox bosses privately called U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro 'reckless maniac' and more

Her colleagues made those remarks after the 2020 presidential election, when Pirro used her platform to amplify baseless claims of election fraud. She is now the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C.

www.npr.org

1

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · Aug 21

Everyone’s going to be using the Club soon

Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · Aug 21

New: inside the underground trade of Flipper Zero tech to steal cars. Right now it's $$$, but people are cracking software to make it free. When this gets out, it will supercharge car thefts. So many modern cars vulnerable.

"Kia Boys will be Flipper Boys by 2026"

www.404media.co/inside-the-u...

Inside the Underground Trade of ‘Flipper Zero’ Tech to Break into Cars

“Kia Boys will be Flipper Boys by 2026,” one person in the reverse engineering community said.

www.404media.co

2

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · Aug 18

"'Give Trump a third term, give him a Peace Prize, and let him run D.C. as long as he wants,' Rep. Andy Ogles, a Tennessee Republican, wrote Friday on social media." www.npr.org/2025/08/18/n...

Trump's D.C. 'crisis' enters 2nd week with more soldiers — and no exit strategy

Leaders in Washington, D.C., say they're striving to maintain calm as growing numbers of National Guard soldiers deploy to the city. President Trump hasn't said how he wants this "crisis" to end.

www.npr.org

2

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · Aug 18

"Friday, hours after the original sign had been torn down, neighbors in the community put up another anti-ICE message written onto bedsheet." www.wusa9.com/article/news...

ICE boasts about ripping Mount Pleasant sign with anti-border patrol message

"We're taking America back, baby," one of the masked men says in the video posted to ICE's official X account.

www.wusa9.com

1 1 3

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · Aug 17

"One strategy, when they get word of an arrest, is to file a habeas corpus petition asking a court to review the legality of the detention, before ICE can transport someone to the nearest overnight detention center, across the state line in Tacoma, Wash." www.npr.org/2025/08/16/n...

Immigration arrests dip in July, and activists hope they're partly responsible

Immigration arrests falter in July after a big push for mass deportations in June. Activists in sanctuary jurisdictions hope their resistance plays a role.

www.npr.org

2 4

Reposted by James Doubek

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · Aug 17

Federal agents violently detained a food delivery driver as he emerged from a D.C. coffee shop Saturday morning.

The incident captured on video showed the officers throwing him to the ground and beating him before sweeping him away in an unmarked vehicle. wapo.st/45Egtkc

2.4K 6.1K 11K

Reposted by James Doubek

Alex Koma @alexkoma.bsky.social · Aug 15

As if this week were not bizarre enough: Mount Pleasant residents tell me a group of federal agents gathered for a photo-op near a pro-immigrant banner, pictured below, then tore it down.

In its place, they left a dildo. A neighbor's Ring camera captured the whole thing...

390 1.6K 3.7K

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · Aug 14

The unit was "accused of dissecting live prisoners, some without anesthesia, infecting them with diseases or conducting germ warfare against Chinese soldiers and civilians." www.npr.org/2025/08/14/n...

New details emerge about Japan's notorious WWII germ warfare program

The release of WWII-era military documents this year has given a boost to researchers digging into Japan's germ warfare program. Japan's government has never apologized for the atrocities.

www.npr.org

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · Aug 2

Photos from above Gaza: www.washingtonpost.com/world/intera...

Rare aerial imagery shows displacement and destruction in Gaza

Airdrop flights offered a vantage over the closed-off Gaza Strip.

www.washingtonpost.com

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · Jul 30

A reporter kept being offered more coffee and tea, a "gently relentless ritual of kindness — offered by people fortunate to survive the war with enough to sustain themselves, and by others left with virtually nothing." www.npr.org/2025/07/30/g...

Greetings from Khartoum, Sudan, where those with the least offer their guests the most

Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.

www.npr.org

1 3

James Doubek @jamesdoubek.bsky.social · Jul 21

"Tariffs don't help the coffee producer. They don't help the small- and medium-sized businesses across the country, and they don't help the consumer. Why are we doing it?" www.npr.org/2025/07/21/n...

U.S. coffee drinkers and businesses will pay the price for Trump's Brazil tariffs

President Trump plans to levy a 50% tariff on all goods from Brazil — the source of about 30% of U.S. coffee imports. This looming tariff threat has sent shock waves through the U.S. coffee industry.

www.npr.org

1 2