Aɴᴅʀᴇᴡ Lɪᴘᴛᴀᴋ
@andrewliptak.com
Writer, historian, cosplayer, Vermonter. Author of Cosplay: A History.
Newsletter: https://transfer-orbit.ghost.io
Newsletter: https://transfer-orbit.ghost.io
Reposted by Aɴᴅʀᴇᴡ Lɪᴘᴛᴀᴋ
. @vermontgmg.bsky.social’s The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making & Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb is a deep dive into past that we shouldn’t look away from, and one that we should continue to remember.
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/atomic-bomb-...
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/atomic-bomb-...
Hand to a hot stove
Garrett M. Graff’s The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making & Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb is a deep dive into past that we shouldn’t look away from, and one that we should con...
transfer-orbit.ghost.io
November 10, 2025 at 2:03 PM
. @vermontgmg.bsky.social’s The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making & Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb is a deep dive into past that we shouldn’t look away from, and one that we should continue to remember.
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/atomic-bomb-...
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/atomic-bomb-...
. @vermontgmg.bsky.social’s The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making & Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb is a deep dive into past that we shouldn’t look away from, and one that we should continue to remember.
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/atomic-bomb-...
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/atomic-bomb-...
Hand to a hot stove
Garrett M. Graff’s The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making & Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb is a deep dive into past that we shouldn’t look away from, and one that we should con...
transfer-orbit.ghost.io
November 10, 2025 at 2:03 PM
. @vermontgmg.bsky.social’s The Devil Reached Toward the Sky: An Oral History of the Making & Unleashing of the Atomic Bomb is a deep dive into past that we shouldn’t look away from, and one that we should continue to remember.
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/atomic-bomb-...
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/atomic-bomb-...
👇
Sometimes I wonder if our many years of jokes about writers hating writing and doing anything but writing, etc, have convinced people that the writing part is the hurdle and the goal is just to have a thing in hand. But I am here to tell you: the writing is the best part. The act is the thing.
November 9, 2025 at 6:02 PM
👇
November 7, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Magnificent. No other word for it.
November 7, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Magnificent. No other word for it.
Another thing that I really appreciated was Mamdani's get out the vote efforts. I was reading somewhere that it became something of a social thing for a lot of people, and it got them out into the city and meeting their neighbors in ways they wouldn't have otherwise.
1. Campaign on big issues that are directly relevant to your voters
2. Don't get distracted from point one
3. Present as a decent human with manageable baggage
4. Don't be old as fuck.
Go forth and do likewise
2. Don't get distracted from point one
3. Present as a decent human with manageable baggage
4. Don't be old as fuck.
Go forth and do likewise
Several European left-wing officials said they had been in contact with members of Zohran Mamdani’s campaign in New York in the hope of emulating his success in future local elections.
www.politico.eu/article/zohr...
www.politico.eu/article/zohr...
November 5, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Another thing that I really appreciated was Mamdani's get out the vote efforts. I was reading somewhere that it became something of a social thing for a lot of people, and it got them out into the city and meeting their neighbors in ways they wouldn't have otherwise.
Ugh. Social media really cooked people’s brains. This week is the anniversary of the 1927 flood in Vermont, and there’s been no shortage of these snotty, passive aggressive posts from boomers trying to start an argument online.
November 5, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Ugh. Social media really cooked people’s brains. This week is the anniversary of the 1927 flood in Vermont, and there’s been no shortage of these snotty, passive aggressive posts from boomers trying to start an argument online.
Book 45 of 2025: The Shattering Peace by @scalzi.com. I’ve enjoyed the entire Old Man’s War series and this is a nice installment: I like how we’ve returned to some things from earlier in the series (the Consu) but not retreading over old ground while also playing with some bigger picture stuff.
November 5, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Book 45 of 2025: The Shattering Peace by @scalzi.com. I’ve enjoyed the entire Old Man’s War series and this is a nice installment: I like how we’ve returned to some things from earlier in the series (the Consu) but not retreading over old ground while also playing with some bigger picture stuff.
Book 44 of 2025: All That We See or Seem by @kyliu99.bsky.social. This was really great: a slick thriller loaded with commentary about social media, AI, and creativity.
November 5, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Book 44 of 2025: All That We See or Seem by @kyliu99.bsky.social. This was really great: a slick thriller loaded with commentary about social media, AI, and creativity.
Reposted by Aɴᴅʀᴇᴡ Lɪᴘᴛᴀᴋ
November is upon us, and that brings a whole new crop of books to check out: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/sci-fi-fanta...
17 new science fiction and fantasy books to check out this November
Lots of sequels, continuations, and fantastical adventures
transfer-orbit.ghost.io
November 3, 2025 at 7:36 PM
November is upon us, and that brings a whole new crop of books to check out: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/sci-fi-fanta...
One of the regular features I run on Transfer Orbit is a roundup of the latest short fiction that's coming out month-to-month. It's updated twice a month: once in the beginning, and at the end, when magazines have published all their stories. Here's the newly-updated TOC for October 2025:
Table of Contents October 2025
A roundup of the short fiction coming out this month
transfer-orbit.ghost.io
November 3, 2025 at 9:10 PM
One of the regular features I run on Transfer Orbit is a roundup of the latest short fiction that's coming out month-to-month. It's updated twice a month: once in the beginning, and at the end, when magazines have published all their stories. Here's the newly-updated TOC for October 2025:
November is upon us, and that brings a whole new crop of books to check out: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/sci-fi-fanta...
17 new science fiction and fantasy books to check out this November
Lots of sequels, continuations, and fantastical adventures
transfer-orbit.ghost.io
November 3, 2025 at 7:36 PM
November is upon us, and that brings a whole new crop of books to check out: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/sci-fi-fanta...
Reposted by Aɴᴅʀᴇᴡ Lɪᴘᴛᴀᴋ
Hey there astronomy community! If anyone has any information or new footage of that impact flash on the Moon, please let me know—I’d love to see it/hear about it.
📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social
📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social
November 1, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Hey there astronomy community! If anyone has any information or new footage of that impact flash on the Moon, please let me know—I’d love to see it/hear about it.
📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social
📸: @dfuji1.bsky.social
Reposted by Aɴᴅʀᴇᴡ Lɪᴘᴛᴀᴋ
Making a move to Ghost and launching with the first newsletter on Monday. If you want to visit:
www.itsthepictures.com
www.itsthepictures.com
October 31, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Making a move to Ghost and launching with the first newsletter on Monday. If you want to visit:
www.itsthepictures.com
www.itsthepictures.com
I moved Transfer Orbit from Substack to Ghost a couple of years ago, for the same reasons that most of these authors have cited: www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/top-...
Top Substack writers depart for Patreon
A platform better known for paid podcasts is poaching top newsletter talent. Patreon has successfully lured some top Substack newsletter writers — including Anne Helen Petersen, Lyz Lenz, and Virginia...
www.niemanlab.org
October 31, 2025 at 5:15 PM
I moved Transfer Orbit from Substack to Ghost a couple of years ago, for the same reasons that most of these authors have cited: www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/top-...
It finally happened!
October 31, 2025 at 2:33 AM
It finally happened!
Reposted by Aɴᴅʀᴇᴡ Lɪᴘᴛᴀᴋ
Susana Morris's Positive Obsession is an intimate and tragic look at the life of Octavia Butler, exploring how she observed the world and imbued her books with her principles and insights, resulting in a stunning body of work that remains relevant, decades after they were written.
Principled prophet
Susana M. Morris's Positive Obsession is an intimate and tragic look at the life of Octavia E. Butler
transfer-orbit.ghost.io
October 30, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Susana Morris's Positive Obsession is an intimate and tragic look at the life of Octavia Butler, exploring how she observed the world and imbued her books with her principles and insights, resulting in a stunning body of work that remains relevant, decades after they were written.
Susana Morris's Positive Obsession is an intimate and tragic look at the life of Octavia Butler, exploring how she observed the world and imbued her books with her principles and insights, resulting in a stunning body of work that remains relevant, decades after they were written.
Principled prophet
Susana M. Morris's Positive Obsession is an intimate and tragic look at the life of Octavia E. Butler
transfer-orbit.ghost.io
October 30, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Susana Morris's Positive Obsession is an intimate and tragic look at the life of Octavia Butler, exploring how she observed the world and imbued her books with her principles and insights, resulting in a stunning body of work that remains relevant, decades after they were written.
Reposted by Aɴᴅʀᴇᴡ Lɪᴘᴛᴀᴋ
R.F. Kuang's Katabasis is a gripping quest about the pitfalls of academia and finding one's true self.
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/rf-kuang-kat...
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/rf-kuang-kat...
Finding one's self on the road to hell
R.F. Kuang's Katabasis is a gripping quest about the pitfalls of academia and finding one's true self
transfer-orbit.ghost.io
October 27, 2025 at 1:04 PM
R.F. Kuang's Katabasis is a gripping quest about the pitfalls of academia and finding one's true self.
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/rf-kuang-kat...
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/rf-kuang-kat...
R.F. Kuang's Katabasis is a gripping quest about the pitfalls of academia and finding one's true self.
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/rf-kuang-kat...
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/rf-kuang-kat...
Finding one's self on the road to hell
R.F. Kuang's Katabasis is a gripping quest about the pitfalls of academia and finding one's true self
transfer-orbit.ghost.io
October 27, 2025 at 1:04 PM
R.F. Kuang's Katabasis is a gripping quest about the pitfalls of academia and finding one's true self.
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/rf-kuang-kat...
Here’s my review: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/rf-kuang-kat...
I know for a fact that a whole bunch of people bought Cosplay (or were interested enough to pick it up) because @asavage.bsky.social did the foreword!
October 27, 2025 at 2:43 AM
I know for a fact that a whole bunch of people bought Cosplay (or were interested enough to pick it up) because @asavage.bsky.social did the foreword!
Last week, word broke that Adam Driver and director Steven Soderbergh had put together a new Star Wars film: The Hunt for Ben Solo. It appears to have been pretty far along before Disney canceled it. transfer-orbit.ghost.io/star-wars-hu...
Disney axed a Star Wars film about the redemption of Ben Solo
Star Wars: The Hunt for Ben Solo appears to have been pretty far along before Disney canceled it
transfer-orbit.ghost.io
October 26, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Last week, word broke that Adam Driver and director Steven Soderbergh had put together a new Star Wars film: The Hunt for Ben Solo. It appears to have been pretty far along before Disney canceled it. transfer-orbit.ghost.io/star-wars-hu...
I’m wrapping things up at the museum and will head over in a moment.
wydddd
October 26, 2025 at 4:16 PM
I’m wrapping things up at the museum and will head over in a moment.
I bought this today for an upcoming newsletter thing, and when I showed my daughter, she said with a tone of disgust: “letters??? Why did you get letters?”
October 26, 2025 at 12:09 AM
I bought this today for an upcoming newsletter thing, and when I showed my daughter, she said with a tone of disgust: “letters??? Why did you get letters?”
Netflix’s A House of Dynamite begins streaming today. It’s pretty terrifying, and it reminds me quite a bit of Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario. Here’s my review of it from last year: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/nuclear-war-...
Book review: Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
A scary, flawed warning about the dangers posed by our nuclear arsenal
transfer-orbit.ghost.io
October 25, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Netflix’s A House of Dynamite begins streaming today. It’s pretty terrifying, and it reminds me quite a bit of Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario. Here’s my review of it from last year: transfer-orbit.ghost.io/nuclear-war-...