Kate Fried
@katefried.bsky.social
Long-time D.C. resident. New England native. Proud Oberlin College alum. I write, design, and lament the downfall of democracy. PR manager for the American Society of Landscape Architects. Views are mine and not those of my employer.
Trump may be firing fewer cabinet members this time around, but he did recently hand a pink slip to his architect. Guess he couldn't get the Catholic guy to be the yes person he hoped for. This keeps getting messier and more chaotic!
Trump Switches Architects for White House Ballroom Project
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Trump may be firing fewer cabinet members this time around, but he did recently hand a pink slip to his architect. Guess he couldn't get the Catholic guy to be the yes person he hoped for. This keeps getting messier and more chaotic!
In a year where Mormon women and trad wives dominated pop culture, DEI programs were cut, and there's an actual phenomenon called "Mara Lago face," this seems very...on the nose.
Spoiler alert, it's a fancy word for white!
Spoiler alert, it's a fancy word for white!
December 4, 2025 at 7:15 PM
In a year where Mormon women and trad wives dominated pop culture, DEI programs were cut, and there's an actual phenomenon called "Mara Lago face," this seems very...on the nose.
Spoiler alert, it's a fancy word for white!
Spoiler alert, it's a fancy word for white!
Why I hate TikTok:
1. The people who post really obvious stuff that is news to them, assuming that b/c they didn't know something, everyone else must be equally ignorant.
2. Shit like this.
Your midface is fine. Go touch grass.
1. The people who post really obvious stuff that is news to them, assuming that b/c they didn't know something, everyone else must be equally ignorant.
2. Shit like this.
Your midface is fine. Go touch grass.
Are You Worried About Having a Long Midface?
Women are measuring the length of their faces — with some help from TikTok, of course — and posting hacks to “fix” what they see as a “problem.”
www.thecut.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Why I hate TikTok:
1. The people who post really obvious stuff that is news to them, assuming that b/c they didn't know something, everyone else must be equally ignorant.
2. Shit like this.
Your midface is fine. Go touch grass.
1. The people who post really obvious stuff that is news to them, assuming that b/c they didn't know something, everyone else must be equally ignorant.
2. Shit like this.
Your midface is fine. Go touch grass.
Yesterday, I gleefully canceled my Paramount+ App. I will miss Ghosts but one silly sitcom does not justify supporting a company helmed by Bari Weiss.
We wanted to understand why so many young liberal New Yorkers love Zohran Mamdani. So we talked to three reactionary Free Press contributors at a yoga studio in Los Angeles.
December 3, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Yesterday, I gleefully canceled my Paramount+ App. I will miss Ghosts but one silly sitcom does not justify supporting a company helmed by Bari Weiss.
F*ck RFK Jr and fake "science"!
Other than the occassional migraine and hereditary anxiety, I am one of the healthiest people I know. I have never had COVID and I rarely get colds and flues. My mom was the poster queen for vaccinating her kid. Likely not a coincidence.
Other than the occassional migraine and hereditary anxiety, I am one of the healthiest people I know. I have never had COVID and I rarely get colds and flues. My mom was the poster queen for vaccinating her kid. Likely not a coincidence.
This tragedy was absolutely avoidable.
Fuck RFK and every antivax influencer. They are responsible for these deaths.
Fuck RFK and every antivax influencer. They are responsible for these deaths.
Third unvaccinated Kentucky baby dies of whooping cough.
Pertussis, best prevented with a vaccine, has killed three Kentucky babies in the last 12 months.
kentuckylantern.com/2025/11/25/t...
Pertussis, best prevented with a vaccine, has killed three Kentucky babies in the last 12 months.
kentuckylantern.com/2025/11/25/t...
November 25, 2025 at 11:06 PM
F*ck RFK Jr and fake "science"!
Other than the occassional migraine and hereditary anxiety, I am one of the healthiest people I know. I have never had COVID and I rarely get colds and flues. My mom was the poster queen for vaccinating her kid. Likely not a coincidence.
Other than the occassional migraine and hereditary anxiety, I am one of the healthiest people I know. I have never had COVID and I rarely get colds and flues. My mom was the poster queen for vaccinating her kid. Likely not a coincidence.
So far today, I have tried having quick, silly, lighthearted exchanges with two fellow Washingtonians. Both ended awkwardly. D.C, it's fine to be pleasant when a stranger talks to you in person. It doesn't mean you're marrying them or committing to a future selling Amway or something. Lighten up!
November 25, 2025 at 5:41 PM
So far today, I have tried having quick, silly, lighthearted exchanges with two fellow Washingtonians. Both ended awkwardly. D.C, it's fine to be pleasant when a stranger talks to you in person. It doesn't mean you're marrying them or committing to a future selling Amway or something. Lighten up!
Simple life pleasure: Order yourself a fountain soda and fill it with a bunch of different soda flavors. Why settle for Diet Pepsi when you can have Diet Pepsi with Lemonade and Dr Pepper?
October 28, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Simple life pleasure: Order yourself a fountain soda and fill it with a bunch of different soda flavors. Why settle for Diet Pepsi when you can have Diet Pepsi with Lemonade and Dr Pepper?
My hot take of the day is that Taco Bell's "fire" hot sauce is not that hot.
Also, this is my second time ever eating Taco Bell.
Also, this is my second time ever eating Taco Bell.
October 22, 2025 at 4:04 PM
My hot take of the day is that Taco Bell's "fire" hot sauce is not that hot.
Also, this is my second time ever eating Taco Bell.
Also, this is my second time ever eating Taco Bell.
I can: set up a darkroom and process prints and negatives in it; delint a vinyl record; record content over a commercial cassette tape; burn CDs; look stuff up in a card catalog; make eye contact while having a conversation with a person over the age of 30.
Reddit Asks the Question: 'People Born Before 2000, What Trivial Skill Do You Have That No One Uses Now?'
Reddit Asks the Question: 'People Born Before 2000, What Trivial Skill Do You Have That No One Uses Now?'
Over the past year, I've found myself buying both a record player and a CD player. I'd never owned the former, though as a music fanatic I've always wanted one, and integrating it into my routine has been one of...
Read more...
www.pajiba.com
October 21, 2025 at 6:35 PM
I can: set up a darkroom and process prints and negatives in it; delint a vinyl record; record content over a commercial cassette tape; burn CDs; look stuff up in a card catalog; make eye contact while having a conversation with a person over the age of 30.
NPR was such a huge force in our house that my mom would keep the car running in our barn when we got home, just so she could catch the end of their stories after she picked me up from ballet and theatre stuff. Susan, Nina, and Cokie were all reasons why I joined a media-adjacent profession.
Susan Stamberg, an original National Public Radio staffer who went on to become the first U.S. woman to anchor a nightly national news program, has died. n.pr/4qjVMDS
NPR 'founding mother' Susan Stamberg has died
Susan Stamberg, an original National Public Radio staffer who went on to become the first U.S. woman to anchor a nightly national news program, has died.
n.pr
October 16, 2025 at 8:20 PM
NPR was such a huge force in our house that my mom would keep the car running in our barn when we got home, just so she could catch the end of their stories after she picked me up from ballet and theatre stuff. Susan, Nina, and Cokie were all reasons why I joined a media-adjacent profession.
The crows of Petworth, D.C., decided to throw themselves a karaoke party; a certain tortishell cat is not pleased. She also does not care that crows hold grudges even longer than felines, and that glaring at them from the top of the radiator may not be in her best interest.
October 16, 2025 at 6:06 PM
The crows of Petworth, D.C., decided to throw themselves a karaoke party; a certain tortishell cat is not pleased. She also does not care that crows hold grudges even longer than felines, and that glaring at them from the top of the radiator may not be in her best interest.
Rise and brood, my fellow misanthropes! Turn those smiles upside down, furrow your brow, and roll those eyes.
ironically, I also make a mean lemon bar.
ironically, I also make a mean lemon bar.
Good Morning BlueSky 👋
Today is National Grouch day, a fact tempered by it also being National Lemon Bar day. Provide me with lemon bars and it will be a happy hump day 😀👍
Enjoy your Wednesday, my lovelies
🐻🤗✌️
Today is National Grouch day, a fact tempered by it also being National Lemon Bar day. Provide me with lemon bars and it will be a happy hump day 😀👍
Enjoy your Wednesday, my lovelies
🐻🤗✌️
oscar the grouch from sesame street is sitting in a trash can with the words morning written on it .
ALT: oscar the grouch from sesame street is sitting in a trash can with the words morning written on it .
media.tenor.com
October 15, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Rise and brood, my fellow misanthropes! Turn those smiles upside down, furrow your brow, and roll those eyes.
ironically, I also make a mean lemon bar.
ironically, I also make a mean lemon bar.
I was able to sign up at the Safeway for a COVID and flu vax in DC without being elderly or having a doctor's note.
if you aren’t super tuned into COVID news it is unlikely you know just how easily the newest variant spreads.
vaccinate. mask. act like it is 2021. or you are probably going to get it. (ask me how i know!)
vaccinate. mask. act like it is 2021. or you are probably going to get it. (ask me how i know!)
October 1, 2025 at 5:53 PM
I was able to sign up at the Safeway for a COVID and flu vax in DC without being elderly or having a doctor's note.
Feel so lucky to live 2 miles from the Smithsonian National Zoo. The fact that I can look at tigers whenever I want is pretty mindblowing. AND I was tickled to learn this weekend that it was designed by the OG badboy of #LandscapeArchitecture Freddie Law Olmsted. One of my favorite places in D.C.
September 30, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Feel so lucky to live 2 miles from the Smithsonian National Zoo. The fact that I can look at tigers whenever I want is pretty mindblowing. AND I was tickled to learn this weekend that it was designed by the OG badboy of #LandscapeArchitecture Freddie Law Olmsted. One of my favorite places in D.C.
Two MAGA-ites interrupted our dinner last night to ask my dad if the Air and Space Museum is "still woke." Kudos to dad for not stabbing them with a fork. "I don't wanna see no information about gay flight attendants," one said as I tried really hard not to scream at him.
September 30, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Two MAGA-ites interrupted our dinner last night to ask my dad if the Air and Space Museum is "still woke." Kudos to dad for not stabbing them with a fork. "I don't wanna see no information about gay flight attendants," one said as I tried really hard not to scream at him.
Reminder that not everyone experiencing unemployment is a federal worker. If you're having "government shut down" parties and happy hours, please invite your comrades from other sectors, who are just as poor, freaked out, and mad as you are. Probably more so bc they've been out of work longer.
September 30, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Reminder that not everyone experiencing unemployment is a federal worker. If you're having "government shut down" parties and happy hours, please invite your comrades from other sectors, who are just as poor, freaked out, and mad as you are. Probably more so bc they've been out of work longer.
So excited to see two of my favorite media figures teaming up in the name of justice and journalistic freedom!
Yes I will be fighting back against the unjust firing by @washingtonpost.com.
I have filed a grievance and will be represented by none other than the amazing @katiephang.bsky.social and an incredible legal team.
Journalistic freedom is a bedrock of a healthy society and is worth battling for.
I have filed a grievance and will be represented by none other than the amazing @katiephang.bsky.social and an incredible legal team.
Journalistic freedom is a bedrock of a healthy society and is worth battling for.
September 24, 2025 at 9:24 PM
So excited to see two of my favorite media figures teaming up in the name of justice and journalistic freedom!
3 weeks ago, I ordered a shirt. It shipped from Wisconsin thru #USPS, bopped around a few facilities in PA, then took a detour south to Puerto Rico. I live in Washington, D.C. Still no shirt.
WTF is up with #USPS?
Props to the lovely Lands End customer service ladies for at least trying to help.
WTF is up with #USPS?
Props to the lovely Lands End customer service ladies for at least trying to help.
September 22, 2025 at 11:20 PM
I've been side-eying EG ever since her journey towards self-actualization and independence ended with her coupling up with a dude she met in Indonesia. This latest chapter just confirms to me that she speaks out of both sides of her mouth a bit too much to be credible.
The Eat, Pray, Love author discusses her love affair with her best friend, which she says was life-changing but also marked by addiction and heartbreak. Gilbert's memoir is All the Way to the River.
Elizabeth Gilbert opens up about sex, drugs and codependency in a new memoir
The Eat, Pray, Love author discusses her love affair with her best friend, which she says was life-changing but also marked by addiction and heartbreak. Gilbert's memoir is All the Way to the River.
n.pr
September 22, 2025 at 7:31 PM
I've been side-eying EG ever since her journey towards self-actualization and independence ended with her coupling up with a dude she met in Indonesia. This latest chapter just confirms to me that she speaks out of both sides of her mouth a bit too much to be credible.
My takeaway:
-WaPo thinks that Charlie Kirk, a straight white man who espoused hate, was a member of a protected class.
um, which class would that be?
-WaPo thinks that when you encounter a person spewing hatred, you should just ignore it and go about your day.
-WaPo thinks that Charlie Kirk, a straight white man who espoused hate, was a member of a protected class.
um, which class would that be?
-WaPo thinks that when you encounter a person spewing hatred, you should just ignore it and go about your day.
According to WaPo’s termination letter my post referencing Kirk’s views on Black women was not even brought up.
The Post’s stated reasons are *worse*.
Read the termination letter for yourself.
open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...
The Post’s stated reasons are *worse*.
Read the termination letter for yourself.
open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...
September 22, 2025 at 5:24 PM
My takeaway:
-WaPo thinks that Charlie Kirk, a straight white man who espoused hate, was a member of a protected class.
um, which class would that be?
-WaPo thinks that when you encounter a person spewing hatred, you should just ignore it and go about your day.
-WaPo thinks that Charlie Kirk, a straight white man who espoused hate, was a member of a protected class.
um, which class would that be?
-WaPo thinks that when you encounter a person spewing hatred, you should just ignore it and go about your day.
Dear freelancers, I was very recently in the same place as you and understand the pressures of securing business. BUT reaching out to an institution by insulting their communications assets is NOT the way to go. Saying you want to "fix" a logo is unprofessional, particularly when said logo is fine.
September 22, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Dear freelancers, I was very recently in the same place as you and understand the pressures of securing business. BUT reaching out to an institution by insulting their communications assets is NOT the way to go. Saying you want to "fix" a logo is unprofessional, particularly when said logo is fine.
One thing that adds stress to my life is selecting the correct emoji that will convey my okayness with a situation without inadvertently alienating somebody of another generation. I'm gonna need Boomers, X, Millennials, Zoomers, etc., to get together and decide once and for all what they mean.
September 19, 2025 at 3:58 PM
One thing that adds stress to my life is selecting the correct emoji that will convey my okayness with a situation without inadvertently alienating somebody of another generation. I'm gonna need Boomers, X, Millennials, Zoomers, etc., to get together and decide once and for all what they mean.
Not me, a middle-aged woman without kids rushing home to watch the #summeriturnedpretty finale even though I watched it at 6 a.m. I know her Paris bob is likely a wig, but I love it and wish my hair could reliably conform to that style. Stupid natural curls! #sitp
September 17, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Not me, a middle-aged woman without kids rushing home to watch the #summeriturnedpretty finale even though I watched it at 6 a.m. I know her Paris bob is likely a wig, but I love it and wish my hair could reliably conform to that style. Stupid natural curls! #sitp
I had a Pearl's bagel for the first time today, and I liked it almost as much as the cash-only place on P street. Major contender in the DC bagel world and sadly overshadowed by showier chains. It was better than the H&H I had last month, but to be fair, that one was whole wheat. Time 4 a rematch.
September 17, 2025 at 8:36 PM
I had a Pearl's bagel for the first time today, and I liked it almost as much as the cash-only place on P street. Major contender in the DC bagel world and sadly overshadowed by showier chains. It was better than the H&H I had last month, but to be fair, that one was whole wheat. Time 4 a rematch.