Kat O’Brien
@lavidagata.bsky.social
Iowa-born, NYC-influenced, Spain living. Former sports journalist working in sustainability. Runner, traveler, pro-democracy, love to read. My own opinions. Signal @Democracy.23
Pinned
Kat O’Brien
@lavidagata.bsky.social
· Oct 12
I’m thrilled to announce - ahead of this week’s World Football Summit - that I am launching a business of sports tourism in Spain: Gata Sports Tours. This combines a few of my great loves: sports, España, travel, storytelling and helping people love España almost as much as I do. 1/
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
on the heels of the "piggy" incident. he's a piece of shit misogynist and sexual predator, and always has been. and people voted for him anyway.
Now we have the president calling a female New York Times reporter ugly because he's mad about a story she wrote.
November 26, 2025 at 2:23 PM
on the heels of the "piggy" incident. he's a piece of shit misogynist and sexual predator, and always has been. and people voted for him anyway.
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
Pretty convincing evidence here that the Trump administration was planning to jailbreak and provide asylum for Bolsonaro -- and that Trump inadvertently revealed the plan.
And this, as the now-cliche goes, would have been a paralyzing scandal for any other administration.
And this, as the now-cliche goes, would have been a paralyzing scandal for any other administration.
Trump appears to blurt out secret plan, not knowing it's already a bust
YouTube video by MS NOW
www.youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Pretty convincing evidence here that the Trump administration was planning to jailbreak and provide asylum for Bolsonaro -- and that Trump inadvertently revealed the plan.
And this, as the now-cliche goes, would have been a paralyzing scandal for any other administration.
And this, as the now-cliche goes, would have been a paralyzing scandal for any other administration.
Hoy, el mismo artículo traducido al español y publicado en @elpais.com. 7 recomendaciones para defender la democracia por Timothy Garton Ash.
elpais.com/opinion/2025...
elpais.com/opinion/2025...
November 26, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Hoy, el mismo artículo traducido al español y publicado en @elpais.com. 7 recomendaciones para defender la democracia por Timothy Garton Ash.
elpais.com/opinion/2025...
elpais.com/opinion/2025...
Un debate en @elpais.com entre Marian Otamendi del World Football Summit y @galderreguera.bsky.social de la Fundación Athletic Club de si la globalización del fútbol y la compra de clubes por extranjeros pervierte su identidad. Surge de la compra del Atlético por Apollo.
elpais.com/opinion/2025...
elpais.com/opinion/2025...
El debate | ¿La globalización del fútbol pervierte la identidad de los equipos?
La compra del Atlético de Madrid por un fondo de inversión estadounidense introduce un nuevo modelo de gestión muy diferente al del origen de los equipos
elpais.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Un debate en @elpais.com entre Marian Otamendi del World Football Summit y @galderreguera.bsky.social de la Fundación Athletic Club de si la globalización del fútbol y la compra de clubes por extranjeros pervierte su identidad. Surge de la compra del Atlético por Apollo.
elpais.com/opinion/2025...
elpais.com/opinion/2025...
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
The story's main findings is that Thiel was connected to Israeli government officials through Jeffrey Epstein in 2014, and dined with some of them.
Interestingly, two years later, Thiel would be dining with white nationalists, as we reported at BuzzFeed News: archive.is/xFJhQ
Interestingly, two years later, Thiel would be dining with white nationalists, as we reported at BuzzFeed News: archive.is/xFJhQ
archive.is
November 26, 2025 at 7:02 AM
The story's main findings is that Thiel was connected to Israeli government officials through Jeffrey Epstein in 2014, and dined with some of them.
Interestingly, two years later, Thiel would be dining with white nationalists, as we reported at BuzzFeed News: archive.is/xFJhQ
Interestingly, two years later, Thiel would be dining with white nationalists, as we reported at BuzzFeed News: archive.is/xFJhQ
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
I confess my imagination fails here. This is sick, depraved shit. Unforgivable shit. Tar and feather, exile, the whole nine yards short of the gallows.
"A woman with a family connection to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts."
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
www.wcvb.com/article/karo...
![REVERE, Mass. —
A woman with a family connection to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere, Massachusetts.
The woman, Bruna Ferreira, has an 11-year-old son with Michael Leavitt, Karoline Leavitt's brother.
Ferreira migrated with her family to the United States from Brazil as a child and is currently in custody at an ICE facility in southern Louisiana.
Michael Leavitt released a statement, saying that his "only concern has always been the safety, well-being, and privacy of [his] son."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:x4qyokjtdzgl7gmqhsw4ajqj/bafkreiacyzixchgacpjse7wyra342opgjsvdxzqdrkxq55zzqah65zyeae@jpeg)
November 26, 2025 at 5:13 AM
I confess my imagination fails here. This is sick, depraved shit. Unforgivable shit. Tar and feather, exile, the whole nine yards short of the gallows.
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
This was eye-opening for me.
Really just fantastic reporting by @matinastevis.bsky.social today: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/w...
She Tried to Leave America. She Entered an Immigration Hall of Mirrors.
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:10 AM
This was eye-opening for me.
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
Please see our report on the extent of Substack’s promotion of antiscience health disinformation.
2/2 open.substack.com/pub/mediaand...
2/2 open.substack.com/pub/mediaand...
Substack has a Nazi problem AND a health disinformation problem
Substack creators and Substack audiences are supporting a platform that profits off of promoting dangerous antiscience content – at the expense of public health.
open.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Please see our report on the extent of Substack’s promotion of antiscience health disinformation.
2/2 open.substack.com/pub/mediaand...
2/2 open.substack.com/pub/mediaand...
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
In addition, foreign visitors without an annual pass will be hit with a new $100 surcharge each time they visit one of the 11 most-visited parks, including Yosemite, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, and the Grand Canyon, on top of the regular entrance fee.
Department of the Interior Announces Modernized, More Affordable National Park Access | U.S. Department of the Interior
The Department of the Interior today announced the most significant modernization of national park access in decades, delivering new digital America the Beautiful passes, updated annual pass artwork, ...
www.doi.gov
November 26, 2025 at 1:47 AM
In addition, foreign visitors without an annual pass will be hit with a new $100 surcharge each time they visit one of the 11 most-visited parks, including Yosemite, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, and the Grand Canyon, on top of the regular entrance fee.
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
We have spent more than 1,000 years trying to separate the awesome prosecutorial powers of the state from the personal whims and vendettas of the head of state.
Trump’s actions and ideology seek to reverse those gains.
Here’s the history he’d like to reverse www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/the-oldest...
Trump’s actions and ideology seek to reverse those gains.
Here’s the history he’d like to reverse www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/the-oldest...
The oldest abuse in human government
Donald Trump and the ‘king’s justice’
www.ifyoucankeepit.org
November 26, 2025 at 1:33 AM
We have spent more than 1,000 years trying to separate the awesome prosecutorial powers of the state from the personal whims and vendettas of the head of state.
Trump’s actions and ideology seek to reverse those gains.
Here’s the history he’d like to reverse www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/the-oldest...
Trump’s actions and ideology seek to reverse those gains.
Here’s the history he’d like to reverse www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/the-oldest...
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
The thing about Trump stories is that they always have that extra layer of stupidity that you’re not expecting. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
November 26, 2025 at 12:59 AM
The thing about Trump stories is that they always have that extra layer of stupidity that you’re not expecting. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
Every day, Trump keeps escalating. He's showing us the power that he believes he has and how he'll wield it against all of us. It's on all of us to remind Trump that in America, we have no tyrants and no kings.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
FBI seeks interviews with six Democrats Trump accused of 'seditious behavior'
The lawmakers, who released a video urging members of the military and the intelligence community not to follow illegal orders, accused Trump of trying to intimidate them.
www.nbcnews.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Every day, Trump keeps escalating. He's showing us the power that he believes he has and how he'll wield it against all of us. It's on all of us to remind Trump that in America, we have no tyrants and no kings.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
Lamine Yamal is going on 60 Minutes, so that’s at least one more week the show is worth watching.
Probably Bari Weiss isn’t getting involved in Spanish fútbol.
Probably Bari Weiss isn’t getting involved in Spanish fútbol.
Next week, Spanish soccer sensation Lamine Yamal speaks with 60 Minutes. He may play in Barcelona, but his appeal rockets around the world. The soccer phenom is only 18.
November 25, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Lamine Yamal is going on 60 Minutes, so that’s at least one more week the show is worth watching.
Probably Bari Weiss isn’t getting involved in Spanish fútbol.
Probably Bari Weiss isn’t getting involved in Spanish fútbol.
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
“Substack has a Nazi problem AND a health disinformation problem" | Article by Kat O'Brien for @mediaanddemocracy.bsky.social:
mediaanddemocracyproject.substack.com/p/substack-h...
mediaanddemocracyproject.substack.com/p/substack-h...
Substack has a Nazi problem AND a health disinformation problem
Substack creators and Substack audiences are supporting a platform that profits off of promoting dangerous antiscience content – at the expense of public health.
mediaanddemocracyproject.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:58 PM
“Substack has a Nazi problem AND a health disinformation problem" | Article by Kat O'Brien for @mediaanddemocracy.bsky.social:
mediaanddemocracyproject.substack.com/p/substack-h...
mediaanddemocracyproject.substack.com/p/substack-h...
😨
ICE lifted a $180 million cap on a proposed immigrant-tracking program while guaranteeing multimillion-dollar payouts for private surveillance firms, according to new contracting records reviewed by WIRED.
ICE Offers Up to $280 Million to Immigrant-Tracking ‘Bounty Hunter’ Firms
Immigration and Customs Enforcement lifted a $180 million cap on a proposed immigrant-tracking program while guaranteeing multimillion-dollar payouts for private surveillance firms.
wired.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:40 PM
😨
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
This is called “chain refoulment” and it’s illegal under both U.S. and international law. And the State Department and ICE know very well what Ghana is doing and simply don’t care.
ICE deported a woman who owned a home in the US for 30 years. A judge banned ICE from deporting her to Sierra Leone where she had been tortured, so it deported her to Ghana, which kidnapped her and sent her back Sierra Leone anyway. ICE is part of this illegal conspiracy.
November 25, 2025 at 7:30 PM
This is called “chain refoulment” and it’s illegal under both U.S. and international law. And the State Department and ICE know very well what Ghana is doing and simply don’t care.
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
A low-hanging fruit for @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social and the new City Council in their first 100 days would be to approve legislation making outdoor dining year round and have it go into effect immediately. Given all the existing design regulations it should be easy to flip the switch on this.
Thousands of outdoor dining areas might not return to the city's roadways next spring, the result of what activists call a costly approval process created by the Adams administration when the program became seasonal.
Outdoor Dining Has Faded Out — And Not Just Because It's Winter - Streetsblog New York City
From thousands of pandemic-era eateries to perhaps just a few hundred, thanks to a seasonal, not year-round, program.
buff.ly
November 25, 2025 at 7:14 PM
A low-hanging fruit for @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social and the new City Council in their first 100 days would be to approve legislation making outdoor dining year round and have it go into effect immediately. Given all the existing design regulations it should be easy to flip the switch on this.
Since I’m sticking to sports (I am not, this is false), it was a rough night for Spanish teams in Champions League play, but all away games.
Not so bad for Gata Sports Tours, as I sat at bar w/a family from Azerbaijan that came to Barcelona so son could go to game for 10th birthday. Future clients!
Not so bad for Gata Sports Tours, as I sat at bar w/a family from Azerbaijan that came to Barcelona so son could go to game for 10th birthday. Future clients!
I think this is a first in history for a female sports journalist (former sports journalist in my case).
After working with Media and Democracy Project on a piece, a guy wrote me to tell me to “stick with sports.”
Better than being told to go back to the kitchen 😂😂
After working with Media and Democracy Project on a piece, a guy wrote me to tell me to “stick with sports.”
Better than being told to go back to the kitchen 😂😂
November 25, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Since I’m sticking to sports (I am not, this is false), it was a rough night for Spanish teams in Champions League play, but all away games.
Not so bad for Gata Sports Tours, as I sat at bar w/a family from Azerbaijan that came to Barcelona so son could go to game for 10th birthday. Future clients!
Not so bad for Gata Sports Tours, as I sat at bar w/a family from Azerbaijan that came to Barcelona so son could go to game for 10th birthday. Future clients!
I think this is a first in history for a female sports journalist (former sports journalist in my case).
After working with Media and Democracy Project on a piece, a guy wrote me to tell me to “stick with sports.”
Better than being told to go back to the kitchen 😂😂
After working with Media and Democracy Project on a piece, a guy wrote me to tell me to “stick with sports.”
Better than being told to go back to the kitchen 😂😂
November 25, 2025 at 7:05 PM
I think this is a first in history for a female sports journalist (former sports journalist in my case).
After working with Media and Democracy Project on a piece, a guy wrote me to tell me to “stick with sports.”
Better than being told to go back to the kitchen 😂😂
After working with Media and Democracy Project on a piece, a guy wrote me to tell me to “stick with sports.”
Better than being told to go back to the kitchen 😂😂
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
Señoros de la FORMULA UNO:
Haced la carrera substituta en Montjuic.
Venga, no hay huevos.
Haced la carrera substituta en Montjuic.
Venga, no hay huevos.
Otro gran éxito del PP de Madrid que va a costarnos un puto riñón a los madrileños.
November 25, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Señoros de la FORMULA UNO:
Haced la carrera substituta en Montjuic.
Venga, no hay huevos.
Haced la carrera substituta en Montjuic.
Venga, no hay huevos.
Reposted by Kat O’Brien
🚨We’re looking for editors to join our team at The International Journal of the History of Sport @ijhs.bsky.social - if you work on sport history in Latin America or Asia (any countries) please apply for these 2 roles by Dec 3 #sporthistory #skystorians 🗃️
think.taylorandfrancis.com/editor_recru...
think.taylorandfrancis.com/editor_recru...
Editor needed for The International Journal of the History of Sport
Editor needed for The International Journal of the History of Sport
think.taylorandfrancis.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:47 PM
🚨We’re looking for editors to join our team at The International Journal of the History of Sport @ijhs.bsky.social - if you work on sport history in Latin America or Asia (any countries) please apply for these 2 roles by Dec 3 #sporthistory #skystorians 🗃️
think.taylorandfrancis.com/editor_recru...
think.taylorandfrancis.com/editor_recru...
Projection. Peter Thiel is obsessed with calling people the Antichrist in the same way right-wing sex abusers are obsessed with accusing LGBTQ people of sex crimes in the same way Donald Trump is obsessed with accusing other people of corruption.
In newly leaked audio, Peter Thiel admits he urged JD Vance to ignore Pope Leo XIV on moral questions — including the ethical development of AI.
He goes even further, branding Leo “the woke American pope” and suggesting he’s a tool of the Antichrist.
He goes even further, branding Leo “the woke American pope” and suggesting he’s a tool of the Antichrist.
NEW: JD Vance’s Top Donor Suggests Pope Leo XIV is Antichrist
In a leaked lecture, Peter Thiel says he’s urged Vance to ignore the pope on moral questions — and simply pray for him.
www.thelettersfromleo.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Projection. Peter Thiel is obsessed with calling people the Antichrist in the same way right-wing sex abusers are obsessed with accusing LGBTQ people of sex crimes in the same way Donald Trump is obsessed with accusing other people of corruption.
I think Barcelona saw sunrise pics from NYC this morning and decided to join the party with a bright pink-orange sunset 😅
November 25, 2025 at 4:45 PM
I think Barcelona saw sunrise pics from NYC this morning and decided to join the party with a bright pink-orange sunset 😅
Craig sums it up.
I worked with @mediaanddemocracy.bsky.social on a piece about why it’s problematic that sooooo many journalists, historians & news creators are making Substack their home. Substack has both health misinformation & Nazi problems that it’s ignoring.
open.substack.com/pub/mediaand...
I worked with @mediaanddemocracy.bsky.social on a piece about why it’s problematic that sooooo many journalists, historians & news creators are making Substack their home. Substack has both health misinformation & Nazi problems that it’s ignoring.
open.substack.com/pub/mediaand...
November 25, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Craig sums it up.
I worked with @mediaanddemocracy.bsky.social on a piece about why it’s problematic that sooooo many journalists, historians & news creators are making Substack their home. Substack has both health misinformation & Nazi problems that it’s ignoring.
open.substack.com/pub/mediaand...
I worked with @mediaanddemocracy.bsky.social on a piece about why it’s problematic that sooooo many journalists, historians & news creators are making Substack their home. Substack has both health misinformation & Nazi problems that it’s ignoring.
open.substack.com/pub/mediaand...