Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
@kleonardphd.bsky.social
Librettist, lyricist, poet, scholar, teacher. Writing operas abt the Jane Collective, ending rape culture, & climate change. Runs the Silent Film Sound & Music Archive (sfsma.org). Autistic. Disabled. kendraprestonleonard.hcommons.org
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Hi writers! I’m looking to assign a couple of features for Slate before the end of the year. If you have anything in mind that you think would be a fit please send me a pitch! Jenée.Desmond- [email protected] or dm me.
RTs are appreciated so this can reach more people. Thanks!
RTs are appreciated so this can reach more people. Thanks!
November 10, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Hi writers! I’m looking to assign a couple of features for Slate before the end of the year. If you have anything in mind that you think would be a fit please send me a pitch! Jenée.Desmond- [email protected] or dm me.
RTs are appreciated so this can reach more people. Thanks!
RTs are appreciated so this can reach more people. Thanks!
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
i think we have to come to terms with the fact that in the kicking-the-football meme, schumer is not charlie brown
he and the other loser Ds in the senate are lucy
he and the other loser Ds in the senate are lucy
November 10, 2025 at 12:33 AM
i think we have to come to terms with the fact that in the kicking-the-football meme, schumer is not charlie brown
he and the other loser Ds in the senate are lucy
he and the other loser Ds in the senate are lucy
I have long thought that the Olympics--founded as, yes, a movement to celebrate humanity, but also on eugenics—has had its moment and it was time to stop. Now, with this additional bigotry, I'm 100% on the side of ending the Games.
I have long thought that the Olympics--founded as, yes, a movement to celebrate humanity, but also on eugenics—has had its moment and it was time to stop. Now, with this additional bigotry, I'm 100% on the side of ending the Games.
Olympics organisers moving towards blanket ban on transgender women from women's sport
Olympics organisers moving towards blanket ban on transgender women from women's sport
The International Olympic Committee is moving towards a blanket ban on transgender women from women's sport, Sky News understands.
news.sky.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:15 PM
I have long thought that the Olympics--founded as, yes, a movement to celebrate humanity, but also on eugenics—has had its moment and it was time to stop. Now, with this additional bigotry, I'm 100% on the side of ending the Games.
I have long thought that the Olympics--founded as, yes, a movement to celebrate humanity, but also on eugenics—has had its moment and it was time to stop. Now, with this additional bigotry, I'm 100% on the side of ending the Games.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
🥲
A Small Town Is Fighting a $1.2 Billion AI Datacenter for America's Nuclear Weapon Scientists
Ypsilanti, Michigan has officially decided to fight against the construction of a 'high-performance computing facility' that would service a nuclear weapons laboratory 1,500 miles away.
www.404media.co
November 10, 2025 at 2:56 PM
🥲
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
It looks to me like the ACA letters going out in some states are only quoting the new, increased plan cost WITHOUT any subsidies at all. So, folks will have to go online to see their actual premium, which is not the same as plan cost. Try not to panic if you have not been online to confirm.
November 10, 2025 at 1:44 PM
It looks to me like the ACA letters going out in some states are only quoting the new, increased plan cost WITHOUT any subsidies at all. So, folks will have to go online to see their actual premium, which is not the same as plan cost. Try not to panic if you have not been online to confirm.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
BREAKING: The Supreme Court denied an attempt to challenge Obergefell v. Hodges, the case affirming marriage equality nationwide.
Our freedom to marry remains the law of the land.
Our freedom to marry remains the law of the land.
November 10, 2025 at 2:46 PM
BREAKING: The Supreme Court denied an attempt to challenge Obergefell v. Hodges, the case affirming marriage equality nationwide.
Our freedom to marry remains the law of the land.
Our freedom to marry remains the law of the land.
"Neurodivergent"=autistic people, AuDHD people, dyslexics, etc. "Neurodiverse"=group of both neurotypical AND neuodivergent people.
Summary: theconversation.com/what-autisti...
Team:
@dramypearson.bsky.social, Jen Leigh, @drmbothapsych.bsky.social, Steve Macdonald, @kat-williams.bsky.social, Gemma Williams, Kieran Rose, @annmemmott.bsky.social
(2 of 2)
Team:
@dramypearson.bsky.social, Jen Leigh, @drmbothapsych.bsky.social, Steve Macdonald, @kat-williams.bsky.social, Gemma Williams, Kieran Rose, @annmemmott.bsky.social
(2 of 2)
What autistic people – and those with ADHD and dyslexia – really think about the word ‘neurodiversity’
A new UK survey of more than 900 neurodivergent adults has revealed strong feelings about the language of neurodiversity.
theconversation.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:54 PM
"Neurodivergent"=autistic people, AuDHD people, dyslexics, etc. "Neurodiverse"=group of both neurotypical AND neuodivergent people.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Supreme Court won't overturn its landmark precedent recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage https://cnn.it/4nGnEiN
November 10, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Supreme Court won't overturn its landmark precedent recognizing a constitutional right to same-sex marriage https://cnn.it/4nGnEiN
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
If you care about other people, please call congress and demand a guarantee on ACA subsidies.
Millions of people depend on the ACA to prevent mountains and mountains of suffering.
202-224-3121
Millions of people depend on the ACA to prevent mountains and mountains of suffering.
202-224-3121
November 9, 2025 at 9:07 PM
If you care about other people, please call congress and demand a guarantee on ACA subsidies.
Millions of people depend on the ACA to prevent mountains and mountains of suffering.
202-224-3121
Millions of people depend on the ACA to prevent mountains and mountains of suffering.
202-224-3121
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Sharing an upcoming publication with the chapter I co-authored with @fergus.oolong.co.uk
Embracing Monotropism and Flow
It Takes All Kinds of Minds: Fostering Neurodivergent Thriving at School
Ed. Rachael Davis @claruineill.bsky.social & @suereviews.bsky.social
www.routledge.com/It-Takes-All...
Embracing Monotropism and Flow
It Takes All Kinds of Minds: Fostering Neurodivergent Thriving at School
Ed. Rachael Davis @claruineill.bsky.social & @suereviews.bsky.social
www.routledge.com/It-Takes-All...
November 9, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Sharing an upcoming publication with the chapter I co-authored with @fergus.oolong.co.uk
Embracing Monotropism and Flow
It Takes All Kinds of Minds: Fostering Neurodivergent Thriving at School
Ed. Rachael Davis @claruineill.bsky.social & @suereviews.bsky.social
www.routledge.com/It-Takes-All...
Embracing Monotropism and Flow
It Takes All Kinds of Minds: Fostering Neurodivergent Thriving at School
Ed. Rachael Davis @claruineill.bsky.social & @suereviews.bsky.social
www.routledge.com/It-Takes-All...
Wisp didn’t approve of me cleaning the sofa
November 9, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Wisp didn’t approve of me cleaning the sofa
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
I will also add:
I can do this for evictions in Illinois too, if SNAP benefits being cut off or the government shutdown means you can't make rent.
I can do this for evictions in Illinois too, if SNAP benefits being cut off or the government shutdown means you can't make rent.
If you're arrested in Illinois for the means by which you acquire food for your family because of the government shutdown or loss of SNAP benefits, I can represent you pro bono. Email me at [email protected]. As always, I will take as many cases as I can.
November 9, 2025 at 4:54 PM
I will also add:
I can do this for evictions in Illinois too, if SNAP benefits being cut off or the government shutdown means you can't make rent.
I can do this for evictions in Illinois too, if SNAP benefits being cut off or the government shutdown means you can't make rent.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
happy Shakespeare Sunday!
Exit Ghost is my debut novel! Published in 2023, it is modern witchy Girl Hamlet at the Jersey Shore (Asbury Park, mostly. fictionalized, a bit) with her very good Doberman named Yorick
(the dog is fine)
books2read.com/ExitGhost
Exit Ghost is my debut novel! Published in 2023, it is modern witchy Girl Hamlet at the Jersey Shore (Asbury Park, mostly. fictionalized, a bit) with her very good Doberman named Yorick
(the dog is fine)
books2read.com/ExitGhost
November 2, 2025 at 10:52 PM
happy Shakespeare Sunday!
Exit Ghost is my debut novel! Published in 2023, it is modern witchy Girl Hamlet at the Jersey Shore (Asbury Park, mostly. fictionalized, a bit) with her very good Doberman named Yorick
(the dog is fine)
books2read.com/ExitGhost
Exit Ghost is my debut novel! Published in 2023, it is modern witchy Girl Hamlet at the Jersey Shore (Asbury Park, mostly. fictionalized, a bit) with her very good Doberman named Yorick
(the dog is fine)
books2read.com/ExitGhost
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux has become an internet sensation after an Associated Press photo captured him outside the Louvre on the day of a crown jewels heist.
apnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Loving today's news that the mysterious "fedora man" outside the Louvre heist was actually a 15-year-old museum visitor who dresses like a 1940s French detective all the time, just because. apnews.com/article/louv...
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 50:
Not all dialogue has to be verbal. What a character does (or not) matters as much as what they say. Rather than fill up your dialogue with descriptions of *how* your characters say their lines, try including some actions too. Looking away; fidgeting; being silent.
Not all dialogue has to be verbal. What a character does (or not) matters as much as what they say. Rather than fill up your dialogue with descriptions of *how* your characters say their lines, try including some actions too. Looking away; fidgeting; being silent.
November 9, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 50:
Not all dialogue has to be verbal. What a character does (or not) matters as much as what they say. Rather than fill up your dialogue with descriptions of *how* your characters say their lines, try including some actions too. Looking away; fidgeting; being silent.
Not all dialogue has to be verbal. What a character does (or not) matters as much as what they say. Rather than fill up your dialogue with descriptions of *how* your characters say their lines, try including some actions too. Looking away; fidgeting; being silent.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Human Power and Mechanical Advantage: The Bicycle as Liberatory Technology (1817 to Present)
We sold out 2 tamale vendors, bought out 2 more vendors, and absolutely swarmed a family owned bakery. It was a good day with some the very best of #BikeChi 🥰 for the 4th installment of the Street Vendor Bike Tour. We persist. ✊🏽
November 9, 2025 at 2:11 AM
Human Power and Mechanical Advantage: The Bicycle as Liberatory Technology (1817 to Present)
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Marisa is doing really great work.
SNAP benefits are currently being held hostage by the Trump administration and their fate now lies with the Supreme Court.
Beneath the legal arguments are real people who simply need food—a former federal worker, a single mother of 4, a disabled man. I spoke to them. Here are their stories:
Beneath the legal arguments are real people who simply need food—a former federal worker, a single mother of 4, a disabled man. I spoke to them. Here are their stories:
The voices of SNAP
Recipients have become political pawns. They explained, in their own words, what Trump withholding funds has been like.
www.thehandbasket.co
November 8, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Marisa is doing really great work.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
If you lecture disabled people about shopping at amazon, I hope mice eat your plumbing.
November 8, 2025 at 9:13 AM
If you lecture disabled people about shopping at amazon, I hope mice eat your plumbing.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:55 AM
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
A bit of good news: I think you'd all be pleasantly surprised by how resistant the undergrads are becoming to AI. Institutions have lost their minds on this front, but more and more the students themselves are saying "no" to this horribly corrosive technology.
November 8, 2025 at 7:37 PM
A bit of good news: I think you'd all be pleasantly surprised by how resistant the undergrads are becoming to AI. Institutions have lost their minds on this front, but more and more the students themselves are saying "no" to this horribly corrosive technology.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Panera’s moderately caffeinated lemonade was loosely associated with 2 deaths before it was taken off market.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
I fully believe in the corporate death penalty and believe we would be a better world if OpenAI lost its corporate charter and was forcibly dissolved.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
ChatGPT encouraged college graduate to commit suicide, family claims in lawsuit against OpenAI | CNN
A 23-year-old man killed himself in Texas after ChatGPT ‘goaded’ him to commit suicide, his family says in a lawsuit.
www.cnn.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Panera’s moderately caffeinated lemonade was loosely associated with 2 deaths before it was taken off market.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
This article alone has 4 examples of ChatGPT encouraging young people to commit suicide, and OpenAI’s own public stats estimate over a million users discuss suicide with ChatGPT each week.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
Just need everyone to Google the name "Rosalind Franklin" at this moment.
Hey folks, as news of Watson's demise spreads, please don't set aside his weighty legacy of misogyny and racism. He was truly among the worst of us. www.vox.com/2019/1/15/18...
DNA scientist James Watson has a remarkably long history of sexist, racist public comments
“People say it would be terrible if we made all girls pretty,” he said in 2003. “I think it would be great.”
www.vox.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Just need everyone to Google the name "Rosalind Franklin" at this moment.
Reposted by Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
I recently turned down work for a poetry festival because it involved using generative ai in a workshop with teenagers.
This highly addictive technology is literally causing and contributing to the death by suicide of vulnerable youth.
I'm aghast that anyone is okay with pushing this on teens.
This highly addictive technology is literally causing and contributing to the death by suicide of vulnerable youth.
I'm aghast that anyone is okay with pushing this on teens.
1.This is not the only known example we know of ChatGPT cheering on a vulnerable young person to die by suicide, this time it is a recent Texas A&M grad
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
2. Every single university that has invited OpenAI into our midst should be asked to account for their choices.
www.cnn.com/2025/11/06/u...
November 7, 2025 at 9:14 PM
I recently turned down work for a poetry festival because it involved using generative ai in a workshop with teenagers.
This highly addictive technology is literally causing and contributing to the death by suicide of vulnerable youth.
I'm aghast that anyone is okay with pushing this on teens.
This highly addictive technology is literally causing and contributing to the death by suicide of vulnerable youth.
I'm aghast that anyone is okay with pushing this on teens.