Laila Lalami
@lailalalami.com
Author of five books, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist THE MOOR’S ACCOUNT. Reader. Mutant. https://linktr.ee/lalami
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Laila Lalami
@lailalalami.com
· Oct 24
🚨🚨🚨My new novel, THE DREAM HOTEL, will be released by Pantheon in March 2025. It follows a woman who is under surveillance for a crime she has yet to commit. Cover design by the incomparable Jack Smyth. Find out more & pre-order at the link in bio.
Reposted by Laila Lalami
BREAKING: A federal judge has ordered Trump to restore $500 million in frozen UCLA NIH grants. The same judge, Rita F. Lin, previously ordered all UCLA NSF grants reinstated. Lin has now nearly entirely reversed Trump's July de-funding of UCLA research: www.latimes.com/california/s...
Federal judge orders Trump to restore $500 million in frozen UCLA medical research grants
A San Francisco-based federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to restore all National Institutes of Health grants to UCLA, roughly $500 million, that the government suspended in July.
www.latimes.com
September 23, 2025 at 1:00 AM
BREAKING: A federal judge has ordered Trump to restore $500 million in frozen UCLA NIH grants. The same judge, Rita F. Lin, previously ordered all UCLA NSF grants reinstated. Lin has now nearly entirely reversed Trump's July de-funding of UCLA research: www.latimes.com/california/s...
Wonderful news!
Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi pardoned the country’s most high-profile political prisoner, the British-Egyptian computer programmer and Arab Spring activist Alaa Abdel Fattah.
Egypt’s president pardons jailed Arab Spring activist Alaa Abdel Fattah
Abdel Fattah was a symbol of the 2011 uprising but was arrested two years later. He has since spent almost all of the past 12 years behind bars.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 22, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Wonderful news!
It's a simple equation: it was costlier for the company to lose subscriptions/theme-park/ad revenue than to kowtow to Trump, so it made the decision to bring him back.
Jimmy Kimmel will return to ABC's airwaves on Tuesday night, per parent company Disney. Kimmel was taken off air for "ill-timed and thus insensitive" comments about the aftermath of Charlie Kirk's shooting, the company said. My latest in @washingtonpost.com:
Disney brings back Jimmy Kimmel, sidelined after Charlie Kirk comments
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on ABC was taken off air following backlash from President Donald Trump, FCC Chair Brendan Carr, Nexstar, Sinclair and a bevy of conservative critics.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 22, 2025 at 8:15 PM
It's a simple equation: it was costlier for the company to lose subscriptions/theme-park/ad revenue than to kowtow to Trump, so it made the decision to bring him back.
Reposted by Laila Lalami
Homan would be such a easy target for an actual opposition party—the architect of a deeply unpopular program who is also cartoonishly corrupt.
September 21, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Homan would be such a easy target for an actual opposition party—the architect of a deeply unpopular program who is also cartoonishly corrupt.
And of course the headline downplays what happened. Tom Homan walked into a meeting with undercover FBI agents posing as business executives and accepted $50,000 in exchange for giving them contracts. www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/t...
Tom Homan was investigated for accepting $50,000 from undercover FBI agents. Trump's DOJ shut it down.
The FBI and Justice officials closed the investigation, which a Justice Department appointee had called a “deep state” probe in early 2025.
www.msnbc.com
September 21, 2025 at 1:02 AM
And of course the headline downplays what happened. Tom Homan walked into a meeting with undercover FBI agents posing as business executives and accepted $50,000 in exchange for giving them contracts. www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/t...
You’re telling me that a man whom the FBI has on tape accepting a 50k bribe was not only not prosecuted, but promoted so he could send masked agents to kidnap day laborers on minimum wage. I feel like I’m going insane.
Tom Homan, who was later named President Trump’s border chief, was recorded in September 2024 accepting a bag with $50,000 in cash in an undercover FBI investigation, according to people familiar with the case, which was later closed by Trump administration officials.
Trump Justice Dept. Closed Investigation Into Tom Homan for Accepting Bag of Cash
Mr. Homan came under scrutiny after he was said to be recorded last year taking $50,000 in cash from undercover F.B.I. agents.
nyti.ms
September 21, 2025 at 12:58 AM
You’re telling me that a man whom the FBI has on tape accepting a 50k bribe was not only not prosecuted, but promoted so he could send masked agents to kidnap day laborers on minimum wage. I feel like I’m going insane.
This is exactly it. Too many people in the Democratic Party are invested in earning the respect of the other side, rather than their own.
the best way to earn the respect of political enemies who think you’re irredeemably immoral scum? well, have you to tried sacrificing your allies to them?
September 20, 2025 at 1:52 PM
This is exactly it. Too many people in the Democratic Party are invested in earning the respect of the other side, rather than their own.
Please stop posting pictures of your kids on Instagram. Just stop.
I don't know, man, I just don't know.
September 20, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Please stop posting pictures of your kids on Instagram. Just stop.
Next weekend!
Next up! If you find yourself in Winston-Salem, come on out to the Bookmarks Festival, where I'll be appearing alongside Deborah Jackson Taffa to discuss 'Dystopian Realities' on Saturday, September 27, 12.15 pm!
September 19, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Next weekend!
While we're on the subject of free speech, note that Israel bombed a newspaper complex in Yemen, killing 31 journalists. The pundits who've spent the last few days commenting on political violence will have nothing to say about the wholesale murder of thirty-one of their colleagues.
September 19, 2025 at 3:31 PM
While we're on the subject of free speech, note that Israel bombed a newspaper complex in Yemen, killing 31 journalists. The pundits who've spent the last few days commenting on political violence will have nothing to say about the wholesale murder of thirty-one of their colleagues.
"But in danger and despair you acquire a faith in miracles; without it you would go under." - Erich Maria Remarque
September 18, 2025 at 9:49 PM
"But in danger and despair you acquire a faith in miracles; without it you would go under." - Erich Maria Remarque
Reposted by Laila Lalami
Texas Man Indicted Over Series of Violent Threats to Mamdani
Jeremy Fistel said Mamdani should "return to Uganda" before someone shoots him in the head. And, wished his wife and kids killed in front of him.
Investigators tracked the calls to his personal cell and messages to his email account.
Jeremy Fistel said Mamdani should "return to Uganda" before someone shoots him in the head. And, wished his wife and kids killed in front of him.
Investigators tracked the calls to his personal cell and messages to his email account.
‘Deserve to die': Texas man indicted over series of violent threats to Mamdani
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani faced threats directly to him and to his campaign in June, according to a senior law enforcement official.
www.nbcnewyork.com
September 18, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Texas Man Indicted Over Series of Violent Threats to Mamdani
Jeremy Fistel said Mamdani should "return to Uganda" before someone shoots him in the head. And, wished his wife and kids killed in front of him.
Investigators tracked the calls to his personal cell and messages to his email account.
Jeremy Fistel said Mamdani should "return to Uganda" before someone shoots him in the head. And, wished his wife and kids killed in front of him.
Investigators tracked the calls to his personal cell and messages to his email account.
Caving in to censorship will only beget more censorship.
September 18, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Caving in to censorship will only beget more censorship.
The right-wing is treating Kirk's murder like it's 9/11, and proceeding with the same censorship and purge that they used to silence war critics.
September 17, 2025 at 11:18 PM
The right-wing is treating Kirk's murder like it's 9/11, and proceeding with the same censorship and purge that they used to silence war critics.
I can’t believe I have to defend Jimmy the Sport Guy. (IYKYK)
September 17, 2025 at 11:08 PM
I can’t believe I have to defend Jimmy the Sport Guy. (IYKYK)
Reposted by Laila Lalami
We don't know what's going to happen so might as well fight for better. That's really my basic political orientation.
September 16, 2025 at 10:39 PM
We don't know what's going to happen so might as well fight for better. That's really my basic political orientation.
Reposted by Laila Lalami
Today, the UN officially designated Israel’s assault on Gaza as a genocide.
As a party to the Genocide Convention, the U.S. has a legal obligation to obey our own laws, stop weapons sales to Israel, and demand a permanent ceasefire.
End the genocide. Ceasefire now.
As a party to the Genocide Convention, the U.S. has a legal obligation to obey our own laws, stop weapons sales to Israel, and demand a permanent ceasefire.
End the genocide. Ceasefire now.
September 16, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Today, the UN officially designated Israel’s assault on Gaza as a genocide.
As a party to the Genocide Convention, the U.S. has a legal obligation to obey our own laws, stop weapons sales to Israel, and demand a permanent ceasefire.
End the genocide. Ceasefire now.
As a party to the Genocide Convention, the U.S. has a legal obligation to obey our own laws, stop weapons sales to Israel, and demand a permanent ceasefire.
End the genocide. Ceasefire now.
“Thirty-one Democrats joined Republicans in voting to restrict judges from having discretion to dole out lighter sentences to young people. Eight voted alongside Republicans to allow 14-year-olds to be charged as adults.”
No 14-year-old should be tried as an adult. None.
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
House votes to charge D.C. 14-year-olds as adults
The House also voted to restrict judges from giving lighter sentences to young adults, among 14 D.C. crime-related policy proposals from the GOP.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 17, 2025 at 2:39 AM
“Thirty-one Democrats joined Republicans in voting to restrict judges from having discretion to dole out lighter sentences to young people. Eight voted alongside Republicans to allow 14-year-olds to be charged as adults.”
Reposted by Laila Lalami
"They're politicians, what are they supposed to do? Literally fight in the streets?"
Unashamed to say this made me cry.
Unashamed to say this made me cry.
Karina Villa protecting her constituents by literally running ICE off the streets in West Chicago and yelling to residents to stay inside their homes.
September 16, 2025 at 8:11 PM
"They're politicians, what are they supposed to do? Literally fight in the streets?"
Unashamed to say this made me cry.
Unashamed to say this made me cry.
Congratulations to the winners of this year's American Book Awards! 🎉 🎉 🎉 www.beforecolumbusfoundation.com
![The 2025 American Book Award Winners
Kaveh Akbar
Martyr!: A Novel (Knopf)
Amy M. Alvarez
Makeshift Altar: Poems (The University Press of Kentucky)
Marie-Helene Bertino
Beautyland: A Novel (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Percival Everett
James: A Novel (Doubleday)
Marcela Fuentes
Malas: A Novel (Penguin Books)
Fady Joudah
[...] Poems (Milkweed Editions)
Stacey Levine
Mice 1961 (Verse Chorus Press)
Sarah Lewis
The Unseen Truth: When Race Changed Sight in America (Harvard University Press)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:pmct542tz3grqn6nrpm62hl3/bafkreiaja4khdoqqt56ys4trsnjxwbbstyul3ox6zfa67czvsy3t72odtu@jpeg)
September 16, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Congratulations to the winners of this year's American Book Awards! 🎉 🎉 🎉 www.beforecolumbusfoundation.com
Next up! If you find yourself in Winston-Salem, come on out to the Bookmarks Festival, where I'll be appearing alongside Deborah Jackson Taffa to discuss 'Dystopian Realities' on Saturday, September 27, 12.15 pm!
September 16, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Next up! If you find yourself in Winston-Salem, come on out to the Bookmarks Festival, where I'll be appearing alongside Deborah Jackson Taffa to discuss 'Dystopian Realities' on Saturday, September 27, 12.15 pm!
Here is what the Trump administration has asked of UCLA. None of this has anything to do with combating antisemitism. It is all about control of the campus and capture of its culture. www.kqed.org/news/1205611...
September 16, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Here is what the Trump administration has asked of UCLA. None of this has anything to do with combating antisemitism. It is all about control of the campus and capture of its culture. www.kqed.org/news/1205611...
I've been on the UC faculty for 18 years and can't recall a time when our campuses were under graver threat than now. I'm happy that our faculty associations (across all ten campuses) joined in this suit.
Facing a proposed $1.2-billion fine and severe medical research grant cuts at UCLA, the University of California has not gone head-to-head with Trump in court.
So on Tuesday, groups representing more than 100,000 of its employees did.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
So on Tuesday, groups representing more than 100,000 of its employees did.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
UC employees, not waiting on leaders, sue Trump for 'financial coercion' over UCLA cuts
University of California faculty, students and staff on Tuesday sued President Trump over a $1.2-million penalty against UCLA and federal demands over campus changes. They argued that the actions camp...
www.latimes.com
September 16, 2025 at 8:34 PM
I've been on the UC faculty for 18 years and can't recall a time when our campuses were under graver threat than now. I'm happy that our faculty associations (across all ten campuses) joined in this suit.
Reposted by Laila Lalami
"Big Tech’s ambition is to create an archive of everything we do and everything we are—an aspiration that is unprecedented in human history. The only thing that comes close can be found in religion." I wrote about Vauhini Vara's Searches @thenation.com (free link!) www.thenation.com/article/soci...
The Lost Souls of the Internet
In Searches, Vauhini Vara probes the ways that we rely on the Internet and how we periodically attempt to free ourselves from its grip.
www.thenation.com
September 10, 2025 at 3:29 PM
"Big Tech’s ambition is to create an archive of everything we do and everything we are—an aspiration that is unprecedented in human history. The only thing that comes close can be found in religion." I wrote about Vauhini Vara's Searches @thenation.com (free link!) www.thenation.com/article/soci...
If you find yourself in Twentynine Palms this Saturday (9/13), come listen to me talk about The Dream Hotel at Desert General. Details here: www.29pbf.com/events/event...
September 12, 2025 at 11:56 PM
If you find yourself in Twentynine Palms this Saturday (9/13), come listen to me talk about The Dream Hotel at Desert General. Details here: www.29pbf.com/events/event...