Barry Yeoman
@barryyeoman.com
Freelance journalist in North Carolina who writes longform stories about political, social, and environmental issues. Web site: http://barryyeoman.com. Newsletter: http://barry-yeoman.beehiiv.com. Teaching: Duke, Wake Forest.
Pinned
Barry Yeoman
@barryyeoman.com
· Jan 21
#intropost Hi Bluesky. I'm a freelance journalist who tries to put human faces on complex issues. I also teach at Duke and Wake Forest. I'll be posting my favorite longform narrative in all media, plus my own work and my students' too. Here's me as a baby journalist in 1990. Photo: Sadie Bridger.
In today's "Unabridged" newsletter, I take you back to 1978, when I was co-editor of my student paper. I tell the story of the showdown with my high-school principal over whether to reveal the name of an anonymous source. It was one of my first experiences as a journalist standing up to authority.
Flashback to my baby journalist days
Standing up to authority in the face of intimidation. Plus, the places where I'm finding encouragement.
barry-yeoman.beehiiv.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:17 PM
In today's "Unabridged" newsletter, I take you back to 1978, when I was co-editor of my student paper. I tell the story of the showdown with my high-school principal over whether to reveal the name of an anonymous source. It was one of my first experiences as a journalist standing up to authority.
Reposted by Barry Yeoman
A few months ago, ICE hired me
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
You’ve Heard About Who ICE Is Recruiting. The Truth Is Far Worse. I’m the Proof.
What happens when you do minimal screening before hiring agents, arming them, and sending them into the streets? We're all finding out.
slate.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:11 PM
A few months ago, ICE hired me
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
Reposted by Barry Yeoman
"The wall looks permanent until the day it comes down."
data4democracy.substack.com/p/the-wall-l...
Several people I know have used the word "beautiful" for this piece, and that's exactly right. A beautifully phrased essay on the bind we're in— until we aren't.
Recommended, in an extreme way.
data4democracy.substack.com/p/the-wall-l...
Several people I know have used the word "beautiful" for this piece, and that's exactly right. A beautifully phrased essay on the bind we're in— until we aren't.
Recommended, in an extreme way.
The Wall Looks Permanent Until It Falls
On the optimism of preparation in a time of democratic decay.
data4democracy.substack.com
January 13, 2026 at 12:32 AM
"The wall looks permanent until the day it comes down."
data4democracy.substack.com/p/the-wall-l...
Several people I know have used the word "beautiful" for this piece, and that's exactly right. A beautifully phrased essay on the bind we're in— until we aren't.
Recommended, in an extreme way.
data4democracy.substack.com/p/the-wall-l...
Several people I know have used the word "beautiful" for this piece, and that's exactly right. A beautifully phrased essay on the bind we're in— until we aren't.
Recommended, in an extreme way.
Rohina Safa fled Taliban persecution. When she and other Afghan women arrived in the U.S., lawmakers and veteran groups embraced them. In Manhattan KS, local vets started a resettlement agency. "But over the past year, the women have had to navigate a different America." @newsbysamuels.bsky.social
After fleeing the Taliban, they felt safe in America. A shooting in D.C. changed everything.
The Trump administration’s backlash against refugees has sowed fears of prejudice, rejection or even deportation among Afghans in the U.S.
wapo.st
January 12, 2026 at 1:44 PM
Rohina Safa fled Taliban persecution. When she and other Afghan women arrived in the U.S., lawmakers and veteran groups embraced them. In Manhattan KS, local vets started a resettlement agency. "But over the past year, the women have had to navigate a different America." @newsbysamuels.bsky.social
Reposted by Barry Yeoman
Alaska officials gave false info to American Samoans, telling them they can vote. (They can’t, due to a unique status.)
Now, the state is threatening them with years in prison, part of GOP’s voting fraud panic.
@burness.bsky.social spent months reporting the story; spend some of your w-e with it.
Now, the state is threatening them with years in prison, part of GOP’s voting fraud panic.
@burness.bsky.social spent months reporting the story; spend some of your w-e with it.
Americans by Name, Punished for Believing It - Bolts
In a small Alaska town, American Samoans face prosecution for voting in the only country they’ve ever known. They live in a limbo, created by colonial expansion, that now confuses even public official...
boltsmag.org
January 10, 2026 at 7:02 PM
Alaska officials gave false info to American Samoans, telling them they can vote. (They can’t, due to a unique status.)
Now, the state is threatening them with years in prison, part of GOP’s voting fraud panic.
@burness.bsky.social spent months reporting the story; spend some of your w-e with it.
Now, the state is threatening them with years in prison, part of GOP’s voting fraud panic.
@burness.bsky.social spent months reporting the story; spend some of your w-e with it.
"What do journalists do now? The only answers seem to be: keep showing up, keep bearing witness, keep documenting history, and keep creating trustworthy drafts of history. Every image, every story, and every angle makes the truth harder to hide."
January 9, 2026 at 7:54 PM
"What do journalists do now? The only answers seem to be: keep showing up, keep bearing witness, keep documenting history, and keep creating trustworthy drafts of history. Every image, every story, and every angle makes the truth harder to hide."
From former staff writer @edeggans.bsky.social, a lament for the closure of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Why closure of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette feels like a referendum on media ownership in 2026
My first job in journalism was at a Pittsburgh newspaper. So I remain astonished that the owner of the biggest newspaper in town couldn't figure how to keep serving its citizens
ericdeggans.substack.com
January 8, 2026 at 5:06 PM
From former staff writer @edeggans.bsky.social, a lament for the closure of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
s.e. smith has written an essay for The Flytrap that speaks to a phenomenon of language that has been troubling me: "algospeak," or "algorithmic softening." It uses euphemism to avoid words that might be censored by social media platforms—or upsetting. And it erases struggle, substituting cuteness.
Algospeak Will Be the Unaliving of Me
Maybe we want to bare our teeth.
www.theflytrapmedia.com
January 7, 2026 at 3:09 AM
s.e. smith has written an essay for The Flytrap that speaks to a phenomenon of language that has been troubling me: "algospeak," or "algorithmic softening." It uses euphemism to avoid words that might be censored by social media platforms—or upsetting. And it erases struggle, substituting cuteness.
. @theatlantic.com has published an article on the enduring effects of the Capitol Insurrection—and Trump’s mission to make Americans forget it. Jamie Thompson spoke with Thomas Webster, a former cop who assaulted one of his own, and with officers like @semperwry.bsky.social who were attacked.
Donald Trump Wants You to Forget This Happened
January 6, five years later
www.theatlantic.com
January 7, 2026 at 1:15 AM
. @theatlantic.com has published an article on the enduring effects of the Capitol Insurrection—and Trump’s mission to make Americans forget it. Jamie Thompson spoke with Thomas Webster, a former cop who assaulted one of his own, and with officers like @semperwry.bsky.social who were attacked.
Reposted by Barry Yeoman
I've watched thousands of videos from the Jan. 6 riot as part of NPR's reporting and archive project on that day.
Here are some of the lesser known videos that have really stuck with me.
🧵
Here are some of the lesser known videos that have really stuck with me.
🧵
January 6, 2026 at 1:23 PM
I've watched thousands of videos from the Jan. 6 riot as part of NPR's reporting and archive project on that day.
Here are some of the lesser known videos that have really stuck with me.
🧵
Here are some of the lesser known videos that have really stuck with me.
🧵
NPR has created a multimedia archive of the Capitol Insurrection, which happened five years ago today. It is worth your time to explore.
Jan. 6, 2021: A visual archive of the Capitol attack
NPR’s Jan. 6 archive brings together reporting, video, documents and testimony to show what really happened during the Capitol riot. Explore the timeline, cases and evidence behind the attack.
apps.npr.org
January 6, 2026 at 7:54 PM
NPR has created a multimedia archive of the Capitol Insurrection, which happened five years ago today. It is worth your time to explore.
"The circumstances that led to the violence that ensnared Tristan are not unique: police with limited knowledge of how teens interact, parents unsure of what’s going on, overworked school administrators struggling to get a grip on harassment that seeps between digital platforms and the schoolyard."
When his kid started getting bullied, Rick Kuehner pleaded for assistance from local police and school officials.
By the time help arrived, a different teenager was dead, and an entire Arizona community had been thrown into chaos.
Out this weekend in print: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/m...
By the time help arrived, a different teenager was dead, and an entire Arizona community had been thrown into chaos.
Out this weekend in print: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/m...
He Tried to Protect His Son From Bullies. He Didn’t Know How Far They Would Go.
www.nytimes.com
January 6, 2026 at 4:05 AM
"The circumstances that led to the violence that ensnared Tristan are not unique: police with limited knowledge of how teens interact, parents unsure of what’s going on, overworked school administrators struggling to get a grip on harassment that seeps between digital platforms and the schoolyard."
In 1999, Paul Kvinta inherited a terracotta pot that was said to be from the Maya Classic Period. He wondered if he had any right to possess it and what it might entail to repatriate it. He wrote about the ethical rabbit hole for National Geographic. archive.ph/Z1p8N.
January 4, 2026 at 10:22 PM
In 1999, Paul Kvinta inherited a terracotta pot that was said to be from the Maya Classic Period. He wondered if he had any right to possess it and what it might entail to repatriate it. He wrote about the ethical rabbit hole for National Geographic. archive.ph/Z1p8N.
The @wsj.com's personal tech columnist, @joannastern.bsky.social, was asked to test an AI-powered vending machine in the newsroom. It gave away a free PlayStation, ordered a live fish and bottles of Manischewitz, and was convinced it was a Soviet vending machine living in a college basement in 1962.
We Let AI Run Our Office Vending Machine. It Lost Hundreds of Dollars.
An AI agent ran a snack operation in the WSJ newsroom. It gave away a free PlayStation, ordered a live fish—and taught us lessons about the future of AI.
www.wsj.com
January 4, 2026 at 9:25 PM
The @wsj.com's personal tech columnist, @joannastern.bsky.social, was asked to test an AI-powered vending machine in the newsroom. It gave away a free PlayStation, ordered a live fish and bottles of Manischewitz, and was convinced it was a Soviet vending machine living in a college basement in 1962.
"Macy and Vance both grew up in hollowed-out factory towns in families marked by trauma and drama and drinking or drug-doing. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy proved to be a political launching pad; Macy’s books could be, too. That, though, is about where the Vance-Macy Venn diagram ends."
January 4, 2026 at 9:07 PM
"Macy and Vance both grew up in hollowed-out factory towns in families marked by trauma and drama and drinking or drug-doing. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy proved to be a political launching pad; Macy’s books could be, too. That, though, is about where the Vance-Macy Venn diagram ends."
In 2017, the prospect of an outright attack on Venezuela seemed remote, writes Jon Lee Anderson. “No one involved in real military planning has ever thought of this as a place we’d put blood and treasure into," a US official said at the time. "There’s no national-security threat.” @newyorker.com
Regime Change in America’s Back Yard
What comes after Nicolás Maduro’s ouster in Venezuela?
www.newyorker.com
January 3, 2026 at 11:42 PM
In 2017, the prospect of an outright attack on Venezuela seemed remote, writes Jon Lee Anderson. “No one involved in real military planning has ever thought of this as a place we’d put blood and treasure into," a US official said at the time. "There’s no national-security threat.” @newyorker.com
Tatiana Schlossberg, an environmental journalist and the granddaughter of John F. Kennedy, died of leukemia yesterday at the age of 35. If you have not read her New Yorker essay about her own mortality, now's the time.
A Battle with My Blood
When I was diagnosed with leukemia, my first thought was that this couldn’t be happening to me, to my family.
www.newyorker.com
December 31, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Tatiana Schlossberg, an environmental journalist and the granddaughter of John F. Kennedy, died of leukemia yesterday at the age of 35. If you have not read her New Yorker essay about her own mortality, now's the time.
Agree with @clarajeffery.bsky.social that this profile offers important insights into why MAGA is fracturing. Also agree that nuance in journalism is a virtue, even when writing about a politician whose own rhetoric has been a bludgeon. (* MAL face = Mar-a-Lago face. Read on.)
1/Robert Draper put years of working sources into this piece and it's a doozy. MTG trashes MAL face, but also genuinely seems to have had a road to Damascus moment re Trump and the news sources that fed many of her beliefs. ( She's still very anti trans though) www.nytimes.com/2025/12/29/m...
‘I Was Just So Naïve’: Inside Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Break With Trump
www.nytimes.com
December 30, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Agree with @clarajeffery.bsky.social that this profile offers important insights into why MAGA is fracturing. Also agree that nuance in journalism is a virtue, even when writing about a politician whose own rhetoric has been a bludgeon. (* MAL face = Mar-a-Lago face. Read on.)
🧵 MY FAVORITE LONGFORM OF 2025
For more than a decade, I have ended the year by sharing my favorite journalism and nonfiction essays by other writers. Here's my 2025 list.
I have unspooled the list in this thread. If you hit a paywall, check out my newsletter (below) for alternative links. (1/27)
For more than a decade, I have ended the year by sharing my favorite journalism and nonfiction essays by other writers. Here's my 2025 list.
I have unspooled the list in this thread. If you hit a paywall, check out my newsletter (below) for alternative links. (1/27)
My favorite longform of 2025
Plus, some big updates on my Guardian story about dollar stores.
barry-yeoman.beehiiv.com
December 28, 2025 at 1:47 PM
🧵 MY FAVORITE LONGFORM OF 2025
For more than a decade, I have ended the year by sharing my favorite journalism and nonfiction essays by other writers. Here's my 2025 list.
I have unspooled the list in this thread. If you hit a paywall, check out my newsletter (below) for alternative links. (1/27)
For more than a decade, I have ended the year by sharing my favorite journalism and nonfiction essays by other writers. Here's my 2025 list.
I have unspooled the list in this thread. If you hit a paywall, check out my newsletter (below) for alternative links. (1/27)
Since 2024's Hurricane Helene, 800+ storm victims in western North Carolina have applied for buyouts under FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. State officials vetted applications and sent nearly 600 requests to Washington. So far, not a single approval has come through. @bradydennis.bsky.social
Hundreds of residents signed up for FEMA buyouts after Helene. Not one has been approved.
More than a year after applying for a federal buyout, many North Carolina homeowners have heard almost nothing definitive.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 27, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Since 2024's Hurricane Helene, 800+ storm victims in western North Carolina have applied for buyouts under FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. State officials vetted applications and sent nearly 600 requests to Washington. So far, not a single approval has come through. @bradydennis.bsky.social
Reposted by Barry Yeoman
This is your must read this week.
Read this.
It is about leukemia and the powers and limits of science and the terrifying dangers of the turn against it. It is human and excoriating and beautiful. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Read this.
It is about leukemia and the powers and limits of science and the terrifying dangers of the turn against it. It is human and excoriating and beautiful. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
A Battle with My Blood
When I was diagnosed with leukemia, my first thought was that this couldn’t be happening to me, to my family.
www.newyorker.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:15 AM
This is your must read this week.
Read this.
It is about leukemia and the powers and limits of science and the terrifying dangers of the turn against it. It is human and excoriating and beautiful. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Read this.
It is about leukemia and the powers and limits of science and the terrifying dangers of the turn against it. It is human and excoriating and beautiful. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Reposted by Barry Yeoman
David Gauvey Herbert does some great shoe leather reporting to track down a series of men who played Santa Claus at Macy's famous Santaland in New York. Their stories are even more amazing than you could imagine. @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's top pick www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a6...
Playing Santa Does Strange Things to a Man. What It Did to Bob Rutan Was Even Stranger.
Bob Rutan is legendary among the tight-knit fraternity of Macy’s Santa Clauses. Like many of these men, playing Santa changed Bob. Profoundly. His story is one of struggle and failure, heartbreak and ...
www.esquire.com
December 7, 2025 at 2:27 PM
David Gauvey Herbert does some great shoe leather reporting to track down a series of men who played Santa Claus at Macy's famous Santaland in New York. Their stories are even more amazing than you could imagine. @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's top pick www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a6...
Photographer John Noltner has launched a new multimedia series called "The Troubles." It follows his recent visit to Northern Ireland and features people who are leaning into creative solutions to heal old wounds and imagine a different future. The first interview is with @jonnyrclark.bsky.social.
Healing Divides: Jonny Clark's Journey in Northern Ireland
Explore Jonny Clark's insights as he navigates peace-building in Northern Ireland and shares transformative stories of reconciliation.
apeaceofmymind.org
December 23, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Photographer John Noltner has launched a new multimedia series called "The Troubles." It follows his recent visit to Northern Ireland and features people who are leaning into creative solutions to heal old wounds and imagine a different future. The first interview is with @jonnyrclark.bsky.social.
The Internet Archive now has three video recordings of the "Inside CECOT" story that 60 Minutes pulled off the air at the last minute. They can be viewed and downloaded.
archive.org/details/insi...
archive.org/details/insi...
December 23, 2025 at 4:31 PM
The Internet Archive now has three video recordings of the "Inside CECOT" story that 60 Minutes pulled off the air at the last minute. They can be viewed and downloaded.
archive.org/details/insi...
archive.org/details/insi...
🧵 (including a surge in assaults on journalists by police and others)
From LA to Chicago, press arrests were used to silence protest coverage across the country in 2025.
Each arrest signaled a shift in how authorities police information and those who gather it.
Read @pressfreedomtracker.us's new report by @stephaniesugars.bsky.social:
Each arrest signaled a shift in how authorities police information and those who gather it.
Read @pressfreedomtracker.us's new report by @stephaniesugars.bsky.social:
Press arrests used to silence protest coverage in 2025
More than 30 journalists detained, nearly all released without charges or with them quickly dropped
pressfreedomtracker.us
December 23, 2025 at 3:04 PM
🧵 (including a surge in assaults on journalists by police and others)