Chrissy Stroop
@thebugbeardispatch.bsky.social
Cofounder of The Flytrap @theflytrapmedia.bsky.social
Senior correspondent for Religion Dispatches
Former weekly columnist for openDemocracy
Ball State (BA) and Stanford (PhD) alum
Pacific Northwest via a long, weird, winding road
Senior correspondent for Religion Dispatches
Former weekly columnist for openDemocracy
Ball State (BA) and Stanford (PhD) alum
Pacific Northwest via a long, weird, winding road
Pinned
Me: I stocked us up on Halloween candy.
Roomie: That’s good, as long as we don’t embezzle it.
Me: Well, um, this one bag “turns out to be” open somehow. I guess we’ll have to inspect every piece
Roomie: By…
Me: Eating them. It’s the only surefire way to protect the children
Roomie: That’s good, as long as we don’t embezzle it.
Me: Well, um, this one bag “turns out to be” open somehow. I guess we’ll have to inspect every piece
Roomie: By…
Me: Eating them. It’s the only surefire way to protect the children
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
The Bugbear Dispatch is back to help us American bugbears navigate 2026!
If you had to describe the first two weeks of this year in one word, which would you pick?
For me, the word is surreal. Here I discuss the situation and my thoughts on how to cope:
www.bugbeardispatch.com/fighting-the...
If you had to describe the first two weeks of this year in one word, which would you pick?
For me, the word is surreal. Here I discuss the situation and my thoughts on how to cope:
www.bugbeardispatch.com/fighting-the...
Fighting the Demoralizing Power of American Surreality
My fellow bugbears, I want to wish you all a happy New Year, but the phrase feels a bit awkward given how off the rails the illegitimate American regime has been since the beginning of the year.
If y...
www.bugbeardispatch.com
January 14, 2026 at 8:31 PM
The Bugbear Dispatch is back to help us American bugbears navigate 2026!
If you had to describe the first two weeks of this year in one word, which would you pick?
For me, the word is surreal. Here I discuss the situation and my thoughts on how to cope:
www.bugbeardispatch.com/fighting-the...
If you had to describe the first two weeks of this year in one word, which would you pick?
For me, the word is surreal. Here I discuss the situation and my thoughts on how to cope:
www.bugbeardispatch.com/fighting-the...
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
Chrissy does great work and The Bugbear is now a huge part of that. Well worth the subscription dollars you can support them with!
2025 was a financially rough year.
If you value my voice and work and can afford to do so, please take out a paid subscription to The Bugbear Dispatch (now on Ghost!).
If you can’t afford it, I get it. I can’t afford all the subscriptions I want either!
Sharing is also a big help. Thanks!
If you value my voice and work and can afford to do so, please take out a paid subscription to The Bugbear Dispatch (now on Ghost!).
If you can’t afford it, I get it. I can’t afford all the subscriptions I want either!
Sharing is also a big help. Thanks!
The Bugbear Dispatch is back to help us American bugbears navigate 2026!
If you had to describe the first two weeks of this year in one word, which would you pick?
For me, the word is surreal. Here I discuss the situation and my thoughts on how to cope:
www.bugbeardispatch.com/fighting-the...
If you had to describe the first two weeks of this year in one word, which would you pick?
For me, the word is surreal. Here I discuss the situation and my thoughts on how to cope:
www.bugbeardispatch.com/fighting-the...
January 15, 2026 at 12:55 AM
Chrissy does great work and The Bugbear is now a huge part of that. Well worth the subscription dollars you can support them with!
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
(Yes with a small tweak: You actually shouldn’t complain to any media creators about paywalls. If you want good journalism, someone has to pay. Every model for that has flaws, and in the US right now there is no functional alternative to consumers paying in some form. Capitalism sucks, friends.)
And yes, this post is paywalled below the free preview. Here’s a good thread on why you shouldn’t complain to indie media creators struggling to make a living about our paywalls. Half my Bugbear Dispatch writing is free fwiw
bsky.app/profile/laur...
bsky.app/profile/laur...
Hi there, I would like to talk about paywalls
Today I had a rather large article drop in Slate and there was a soft paywall. A lot of people commented upset about that paywall
Let's talk about:
a) how to get around paywalls
b) why you shouldn't be mad about them
Today I had a rather large article drop in Slate and there was a soft paywall. A lot of people commented upset about that paywall
Let's talk about:
a) how to get around paywalls
b) why you shouldn't be mad about them
January 14, 2026 at 11:05 PM
(Yes with a small tweak: You actually shouldn’t complain to any media creators about paywalls. If you want good journalism, someone has to pay. Every model for that has flaws, and in the US right now there is no functional alternative to consumers paying in some form. Capitalism sucks, friends.)
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
I don't see where we disagree? But yeah, if we want reliable media to exist, we have to fund it somehow. Unfortunately, the Right has plenty of sugar daddies providing wingnut welfare. Rich American liberals, meanwhile, don't fund the Left
January 15, 2026 at 12:54 AM
I don't see where we disagree? But yeah, if we want reliable media to exist, we have to fund it somehow. Unfortunately, the Right has plenty of sugar daddies providing wingnut welfare. Rich American liberals, meanwhile, don't fund the Left
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
2025 was a financially rough year.
If you value my voice and work and can afford to do so, please take out a paid subscription to The Bugbear Dispatch (now on Ghost!).
If you can’t afford it, I get it. I can’t afford all the subscriptions I want either!
Sharing is also a big help. Thanks!
If you value my voice and work and can afford to do so, please take out a paid subscription to The Bugbear Dispatch (now on Ghost!).
If you can’t afford it, I get it. I can’t afford all the subscriptions I want either!
Sharing is also a big help. Thanks!
The Bugbear Dispatch is back to help us American bugbears navigate 2026!
If you had to describe the first two weeks of this year in one word, which would you pick?
For me, the word is surreal. Here I discuss the situation and my thoughts on how to cope:
www.bugbeardispatch.com/fighting-the...
If you had to describe the first two weeks of this year in one word, which would you pick?
For me, the word is surreal. Here I discuss the situation and my thoughts on how to cope:
www.bugbeardispatch.com/fighting-the...
Fighting the Demoralizing Power of American Surreality
My fellow bugbears, I want to wish you all a happy New Year, but the phrase feels a bit awkward given how off the rails the illegitimate American regime has been since the beginning of the year.
If y...
www.bugbeardispatch.com
January 14, 2026 at 8:45 PM
2025 was a financially rough year.
If you value my voice and work and can afford to do so, please take out a paid subscription to The Bugbear Dispatch (now on Ghost!).
If you can’t afford it, I get it. I can’t afford all the subscriptions I want either!
Sharing is also a big help. Thanks!
If you value my voice and work and can afford to do so, please take out a paid subscription to The Bugbear Dispatch (now on Ghost!).
If you can’t afford it, I get it. I can’t afford all the subscriptions I want either!
Sharing is also a big help. Thanks!
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
And yes, this post is paywalled below the free preview. Here’s a good thread on why you shouldn’t complain to indie media creators struggling to make a living about our paywalls. Half my Bugbear Dispatch writing is free fwiw
bsky.app/profile/laur...
bsky.app/profile/laur...
Hi there, I would like to talk about paywalls
Today I had a rather large article drop in Slate and there was a soft paywall. A lot of people commented upset about that paywall
Let's talk about:
a) how to get around paywalls
b) why you shouldn't be mad about them
Today I had a rather large article drop in Slate and there was a soft paywall. A lot of people commented upset about that paywall
Let's talk about:
a) how to get around paywalls
b) why you shouldn't be mad about them
January 14, 2026 at 8:36 PM
And yes, this post is paywalled below the free preview. Here’s a good thread on why you shouldn’t complain to indie media creators struggling to make a living about our paywalls. Half my Bugbear Dispatch writing is free fwiw
bsky.app/profile/laur...
bsky.app/profile/laur...
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
I don’t come from the same religious background (more the opposite) but the internalized pressure to Fix Everything is real. So counterproductive. I really appreciate the reality check and compassion in your advice.
January 14, 2026 at 10:06 PM
I don’t come from the same religious background (more the opposite) but the internalized pressure to Fix Everything is real. So counterproductive. I really appreciate the reality check and compassion in your advice.
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
I agree wholeheartedly with your advice in the linked essay. I think you nailed it.
January 14, 2026 at 9:57 PM
I agree wholeheartedly with your advice in the linked essay. I think you nailed it.
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
Well, the main things I’ve tried are doomscrolling and insomnia, but actually trying to regulate my nervous system is generally more successful. For me that’s calming music and a book or game, exercise and walks, meditation…
January 14, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Well, the main things I’ve tried are doomscrolling and insomnia, but actually trying to regulate my nervous system is generally more successful. For me that’s calming music and a book or game, exercise and walks, meditation…
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
I monitored Nazi terror Telegram channels from 2019 to 2022 or so and it's hard to overstate the degree to which DHS's X account mimics the tone, aesthetic, voice, and language of those cess pits.
Whoever is running socials for them has obviously spent a lot of time in that space.
Whoever is running socials for them has obviously spent a lot of time in that space.
When we say "explicitly neo-Nazi" we mean channels that fly swastikas and praise Hitler. That's the zone of internet where DHS is apparently finding inspiration for their X posts. It's ultra unlikely they would have ever encountered that song if they weren't in that space, imo.
Our researchers found at least 450 posts on Telegram dating back to 2020 that shared the song mentioned in this reporting.
Nearly all the posts we found were from explicitly neo-Nazi and white supremacist channels. And a review of our datasets found it hasn't circulated much outside those circles.
Nearly all the posts we found were from explicitly neo-Nazi and white supremacist channels. And a review of our datasets found it hasn't circulated much outside those circles.
January 14, 2026 at 9:01 PM
I monitored Nazi terror Telegram channels from 2019 to 2022 or so and it's hard to overstate the degree to which DHS's X account mimics the tone, aesthetic, voice, and language of those cess pits.
Whoever is running socials for them has obviously spent a lot of time in that space.
Whoever is running socials for them has obviously spent a lot of time in that space.
2025 was a financially rough year.
If you value my voice and work and can afford to do so, please take out a paid subscription to The Bugbear Dispatch (now on Ghost!).
If you can’t afford it, I get it. I can’t afford all the subscriptions I want either!
Sharing is also a big help. Thanks!
If you value my voice and work and can afford to do so, please take out a paid subscription to The Bugbear Dispatch (now on Ghost!).
If you can’t afford it, I get it. I can’t afford all the subscriptions I want either!
Sharing is also a big help. Thanks!
The Bugbear Dispatch is back to help us American bugbears navigate 2026!
If you had to describe the first two weeks of this year in one word, which would you pick?
For me, the word is surreal. Here I discuss the situation and my thoughts on how to cope:
www.bugbeardispatch.com/fighting-the...
If you had to describe the first two weeks of this year in one word, which would you pick?
For me, the word is surreal. Here I discuss the situation and my thoughts on how to cope:
www.bugbeardispatch.com/fighting-the...
Fighting the Demoralizing Power of American Surreality
My fellow bugbears, I want to wish you all a happy New Year, but the phrase feels a bit awkward given how off the rails the illegitimate American regime has been since the beginning of the year.
If y...
www.bugbeardispatch.com
January 14, 2026 at 8:45 PM
2025 was a financially rough year.
If you value my voice and work and can afford to do so, please take out a paid subscription to The Bugbear Dispatch (now on Ghost!).
If you can’t afford it, I get it. I can’t afford all the subscriptions I want either!
Sharing is also a big help. Thanks!
If you value my voice and work and can afford to do so, please take out a paid subscription to The Bugbear Dispatch (now on Ghost!).
If you can’t afford it, I get it. I can’t afford all the subscriptions I want either!
Sharing is also a big help. Thanks!
The Bugbear Dispatch is back to help us American bugbears navigate 2026!
If you had to describe the first two weeks of this year in one word, which would you pick?
For me, the word is surreal. Here I discuss the situation and my thoughts on how to cope:
www.bugbeardispatch.com/fighting-the...
If you had to describe the first two weeks of this year in one word, which would you pick?
For me, the word is surreal. Here I discuss the situation and my thoughts on how to cope:
www.bugbeardispatch.com/fighting-the...
Fighting the Demoralizing Power of American Surreality
My fellow bugbears, I want to wish you all a happy New Year, but the phrase feels a bit awkward given how off the rails the illegitimate American regime has been since the beginning of the year.
If y...
www.bugbeardispatch.com
January 14, 2026 at 8:31 PM
The Bugbear Dispatch is back to help us American bugbears navigate 2026!
If you had to describe the first two weeks of this year in one word, which would you pick?
For me, the word is surreal. Here I discuss the situation and my thoughts on how to cope:
www.bugbeardispatch.com/fighting-the...
If you had to describe the first two weeks of this year in one word, which would you pick?
For me, the word is surreal. Here I discuss the situation and my thoughts on how to cope:
www.bugbeardispatch.com/fighting-the...
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
And last, but not least, @sesmith.lol 's essay on algospeak is an important indictment of how we are letting the tech gods stop us from naming the horrors we are living through!
Algospeak Will Be the Unaliving of Me
Maybe we want to bare our teeth.
f.mtr.cool
January 14, 2026 at 6:03 PM
And last, but not least, @sesmith.lol 's essay on algospeak is an important indictment of how we are letting the tech gods stop us from naming the horrors we are living through!
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
Last week's FlytrapxBitch reprint (NO PAYWALL!!) featured Rebecca Epstein-Levi's essay on her relationship to fanfiction during the pandemic:
To Fandom, With Love
Fanfic lets us imagine a better world together.
f.mtr.cool
January 14, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Last week's FlytrapxBitch reprint (NO PAYWALL!!) featured Rebecca Epstein-Levi's essay on her relationship to fanfiction during the pandemic:
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
Catch up on our latest content! This week, we have the brilliant Justin A. Davis writing about Black interior design and how decor choices speak to Black identity:
What Black Homes Remember
From plastic-covered couches to Black Jesus portraits, Black interior design preserves history amid rampant displacement.
f.mtr.cool
January 14, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Catch up on our latest content! This week, we have the brilliant Justin A. Davis writing about Black interior design and how decor choices speak to Black identity:
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
So please. Quietly use removepaywall.com or archive.org if you're not in a position to pay. Don't get mad in the comments because we're trying to make a living
Life's tough all over
Life's tough all over
January 14, 2026 at 1:40 AM
So please. Quietly use removepaywall.com or archive.org if you're not in a position to pay. Don't get mad in the comments because we're trying to make a living
Life's tough all over
Life's tough all over
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
If you can't afford to pay, I get it. I can't afford to pay! But the reason I can't is because there's no goddamn money in journalism anymore
These paywalls are attempts to make this dying field viable. When you get personally offended by paywalls, you're essentially saying we should work for free
These paywalls are attempts to make this dying field viable. When you get personally offended by paywalls, you're essentially saying we should work for free
January 14, 2026 at 1:40 AM
If you can't afford to pay, I get it. I can't afford to pay! But the reason I can't is because there's no goddamn money in journalism anymore
These paywalls are attempts to make this dying field viable. When you get personally offended by paywalls, you're essentially saying we should work for free
These paywalls are attempts to make this dying field viable. When you get personally offended by paywalls, you're essentially saying we should work for free
Finally writing the first Bugbear Dispatch of 2026; it’ll be out either tonight or tomorrow.
I’ve been slow getting back to work due to feeling overwhelmed. It’s not that I have nothing to say; it’s that I have a lot to say but feel powerless/like it doesn’t matter.
I’m learning to fight that
I’ve been slow getting back to work due to feeling overwhelmed. It’s not that I have nothing to say; it’s that I have a lot to say but feel powerless/like it doesn’t matter.
I’m learning to fight that
January 13, 2026 at 8:23 PM
Finally writing the first Bugbear Dispatch of 2026; it’ll be out either tonight or tomorrow.
I’ve been slow getting back to work due to feeling overwhelmed. It’s not that I have nothing to say; it’s that I have a lot to say but feel powerless/like it doesn’t matter.
I’m learning to fight that
I’ve been slow getting back to work due to feeling overwhelmed. It’s not that I have nothing to say; it’s that I have a lot to say but feel powerless/like it doesn’t matter.
I’m learning to fight that
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
I was really glad to do this book interview, and you all should check out Nia’s book, I Hardly Knew Me: Following Love, Faith, and Skittles to a Transgender Awakening
www.lakedrivebooks.com/books/i-hard...
www.lakedrivebooks.com/books/i-hard...
January 9, 2026 at 6:31 PM
I was really glad to do this book interview, and you all should check out Nia’s book, I Hardly Knew Me: Following Love, Faith, and Skittles to a Transgender Awakening
www.lakedrivebooks.com/books/i-hard...
www.lakedrivebooks.com/books/i-hard...
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
Thinking about that time the My Little Pony comics, of all things, absolutely bodied Scott Adams.
March 26, 2024 at 9:35 AM
Thinking about that time the My Little Pony comics, of all things, absolutely bodied Scott Adams.
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
second, the belief underlying the anti-trans athlete legislation is that girls are terrible at sports, period. The idea is that ANY person assigned male at birth will ALWAYS defeat ANY person assigned female. Obviously untrue and deeply sexist! Talk about overinclusive...
January 13, 2026 at 3:09 PM
second, the belief underlying the anti-trans athlete legislation is that girls are terrible at sports, period. The idea is that ANY person assigned male at birth will ALWAYS defeat ANY person assigned female. Obviously untrue and deeply sexist! Talk about overinclusive...
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
Just go ahead and block them
January 13, 2026 at 3:33 AM
Just go ahead and block them
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
I have another #journorequest, this time for @theflytrapmedia.com -- I am writing about Lily Allen's latest album in the context of how satisfying break up albums are to listen to and I'd love to hear from people who love this album and why they love it. email me at [email protected]!!
January 12, 2026 at 9:26 PM
I have another #journorequest, this time for @theflytrapmedia.com -- I am writing about Lily Allen's latest album in the context of how satisfying break up albums are to listen to and I'd love to hear from people who love this album and why they love it. email me at [email protected]!!
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
Get in touch with Nicole if you have strong feelings about breakup albums!! especially Lily Allen's "West End Girl"!
I have another #journorequest, this time for @theflytrapmedia.com -- I am writing about Lily Allen's latest album in the context of how satisfying break up albums are to listen to and I'd love to hear from people who love this album and why they love it. email me at [email protected]!!
January 12, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Get in touch with Nicole if you have strong feelings about breakup albums!! especially Lily Allen's "West End Girl"!
Reposted by Chrissy Stroop
LOS ANGELES: ICE is in Atwater Village today
January 12, 2026 at 8:50 PM
LOS ANGELES: ICE is in Atwater Village today