Matt Wheeland
@mattwheeland.bsky.social
Environmental journalist – mostly editing, minimal writing. Operations director @ Civil Eats. Food policy, food systems, climate change, community-building, resilience, and general nerdery. Opinions mine. He / him. East Bay, CA.
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
For @niemanstoryboard.org: Tell me your favorite stories, #longreads, podcasts, nonfiction books, and documentaries of 2025!
And because every journalist loves a deadline... Submit your picks by Friday, Dec. 5.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#podcasts #booksky #documentary
And because every journalist loves a deadline... Submit your picks by Friday, Dec. 5.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#podcasts #booksky #documentary
November 25, 2025 at 7:09 PM
For @niemanstoryboard.org: Tell me your favorite stories, #longreads, podcasts, nonfiction books, and documentaries of 2025!
And because every journalist loves a deadline... Submit your picks by Friday, Dec. 5.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#podcasts #booksky #documentary
And because every journalist loves a deadline... Submit your picks by Friday, Dec. 5.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#podcasts #booksky #documentary
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
Our Latin America bureau @mongabaylatam.bsky.social won the Global Shining Light award last night 🏆 💯
One of the highest honors in investigative journalism, it's given at the annual @gijn.org conference
Their winning project moved Peruvian officials to protect land defenders in the Amazon:
One of the highest honors in investigative journalism, it's given at the annual @gijn.org conference
Their winning project moved Peruvian officials to protect land defenders in the Amazon:
Indigenous leaders killed as narco airstrips cut into their Amazon territories
Mongabay and Earth Genome detected 67 clandestine airstrips used for transporting drugs in the Peruvian regions of Ucayali, Huánuco and Pasco. The analysis used artificial intelligence (AI) and satell...
news.mongabay.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Our Latin America bureau @mongabaylatam.bsky.social won the Global Shining Light award last night 🏆 💯
One of the highest honors in investigative journalism, it's given at the annual @gijn.org conference
Their winning project moved Peruvian officials to protect land defenders in the Amazon:
One of the highest honors in investigative journalism, it's given at the annual @gijn.org conference
Their winning project moved Peruvian officials to protect land defenders in the Amazon:
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
You ever just sit down and realize that the rise of 21st century fascism is capital's answer to climate change?
November 21, 2025 at 9:25 AM
You ever just sit down and realize that the rise of 21st century fascism is capital's answer to climate change?
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
Nearly 350 gleaning operations throughout the U.S. are reducing waste and increasing food security at the community level, supported by the National Gleaning Project, which provides policy and legal support to local efforts.
With Hunger on the Rise, Urban Gleaners Seek to Strengthen Local Food Security
Amid escalating food costs and cuts to food assistance, collecting surplus food offers an age-old solution.
civileats.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Nearly 350 gleaning operations throughout the U.S. are reducing waste and increasing food security at the community level, supported by the National Gleaning Project, which provides policy and legal support to local efforts.
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
Several provisions included in the agriculture funding bill passed Wednesday could make it harder for the USDA to implement plans to reorganize the agency, move employees out of Washington, D.C., cut staff, and close field offices.
Deal to End Government Shutdown May Also Slow USDA Reorganization
The appropriations bill passed Wednesday contains several provisions that could impact the agency’s plans to move staff and close field offices.
buff.ly
November 13, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Several provisions included in the agriculture funding bill passed Wednesday could make it harder for the USDA to implement plans to reorganize the agency, move employees out of Washington, D.C., cut staff, and close field offices.
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
Someone should go there and show them the clips of Trump's Great Gatsby party. I bet they'd be so happy to know he's having fun.
This is the food distribution line at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas 11/7/25. This is what Trump doesn't want you to see.
November 8, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Someone should go there and show them the clips of Trump's Great Gatsby party. I bet they'd be so happy to know he's having fun.
This is an instant pre-order - @sesmith.lol is an amazing writer and thinker. Mostly I'm just mad I have to wait until the end of July 2026 to read this!
So uh.
I've spent the last five years working on a book about grief, mourning, who is allowed to grieve and how, and where we go from here, and...
you can now preorder it!
I've spent the last five years working on a book about grief, mourning, who is allowed to grieve and how, and where we go from here, and...
you can now preorder it!
All My Dead Cats and Other Losses: Practicing Good Grief in a Culture That Fears Mourning
Practicing Good Grief in a Culture That Fears Mourning
bookshop.org
November 5, 2025 at 8:15 PM
This is an instant pre-order - @sesmith.lol is an amazing writer and thinker. Mostly I'm just mad I have to wait until the end of July 2026 to read this!
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
TRANSITION CO-CHAIR LINA KHAN!?!?!??!
November 5, 2025 at 4:38 PM
TRANSITION CO-CHAIR LINA KHAN!?!?!??!
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
Good things are possible and we don’t have to settle.
November 5, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Good things are possible and we don’t have to settle.
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
I am BEGGING YOU, we are so close, and our 15% off new subscriptions sale ends TODAY so if you've been thinking about it, today is the day to make the plunge.
By my count, we are only 70 away from meeting our goal for this campaign. This campaign that has dominated our lives for the last month. This campaign that we started planning 3 months ago.
All that work, all those meetings. It was hundreds of people hours, and we're so close to the end.
Please!
All that work, all those meetings. It was hundreds of people hours, and we're so close to the end.
Please!
80 SUBSCRIPTIONS LEFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We can do this. It's just within reach. Funding for a worker-owned feminist publication without the oversight of billionaire oligarchs: the-flytrap.ghost.io/chomp
November 3, 2025 at 10:20 PM
I am BEGGING YOU, we are so close, and our 15% off new subscriptions sale ends TODAY so if you've been thinking about it, today is the day to make the plunge.
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
Japan's "Mundane Halloween" costume contest is back!
Each year website DailyPortalZ holds a contest where people dress up as something super duper ordinary.
Here's a thread of some of my favorites from the 2025 contest!
#MundaneHalloween
Each year website DailyPortalZ holds a contest where people dress up as something super duper ordinary.
Here's a thread of some of my favorites from the 2025 contest!
#MundaneHalloween
November 2, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Japan's "Mundane Halloween" costume contest is back!
Each year website DailyPortalZ holds a contest where people dress up as something super duper ordinary.
Here's a thread of some of my favorites from the 2025 contest!
#MundaneHalloween
Each year website DailyPortalZ holds a contest where people dress up as something super duper ordinary.
Here's a thread of some of my favorites from the 2025 contest!
#MundaneHalloween
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
🚨BREAKING: 2 fed courts have issued orders blocking Trump’s attempt to defund SNAP. Congrats to @democracyforward.org, its co counsel and clients, and Dem State AGs.
October 31, 2025 at 6:04 PM
🚨BREAKING: 2 fed courts have issued orders blocking Trump’s attempt to defund SNAP. Congrats to @democracyforward.org, its co counsel and clients, and Dem State AGs.
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
The weaponization of the justice system is escalating - with the DoJ now acting openly and aggressively as the regime’s instrument to go after the political opposition.
It’s not a consolidated autocracy yet. But this most definitely isn’t rule of law either.
It’s not a consolidated autocracy yet. But this most definitely isn’t rule of law either.
NEW: Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social is one of six protestors charged in a newly unsealed indictment for "conspiracy to impede or injure" an ICE officer at Broadview. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
October 29, 2025 at 5:36 PM
The weaponization of the justice system is escalating - with the DoJ now acting openly and aggressively as the regime’s instrument to go after the political opposition.
It’s not a consolidated autocracy yet. But this most definitely isn’t rule of law either.
It’s not a consolidated autocracy yet. But this most definitely isn’t rule of law either.
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
This is terrifying:
New incredible detail here: ICE says a match in its facial recognition app Mobile Fortify is a "definitive" determination of a person's status, and that this overrides birth certificates. This is an app ICE is using in the field to scan people
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
October 29, 2025 at 4:48 PM
This is terrifying:
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
The government of Jamaica has set up a portal for contributing to official relief efforts. I will update this thread if anything analogous opens up for Haiti, Cuba, or the DR
supportjamaica.gov.jm
supportjamaica.gov.jm
Support Jamaica
supportjamaica.gov.jm
October 28, 2025 at 5:08 PM
The government of Jamaica has set up a portal for contributing to official relief efforts. I will update this thread if anything analogous opens up for Haiti, Cuba, or the DR
supportjamaica.gov.jm
supportjamaica.gov.jm
An excellent thread on Greg Bovino's court hearing in Chicago today:
Greetings from the Dirksen federal courthouse, where Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino is set to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis.
What you need to know, for @wttw.bsky.social:
What you need to know, for @wttw.bsky.social:
Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino, Who Fired Tear Gas at Little Village Crowd, Set to Face Federal Judge
U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis ordered Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino to appear in her courtroom at the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
news.wttw.com
October 28, 2025 at 5:06 PM
An excellent thread on Greg Bovino's court hearing in Chicago today:
If you’re a journalist or newsroom leader concerned about safety, join @PENAmerica and @TheCAOV's free webinar, Leading the Way: Building Safer Newsrooms, on Nov. 13th at 12pm ET. pen.org/event/buildi...
Leading the Way: Building Safer Newsrooms for Journalists
Join us for a conversation about how news organizations can protect and support journalists facing harassment and other safety challenges.
pen.org
October 28, 2025 at 4:41 PM
If you’re a journalist or newsroom leader concerned about safety, join @PENAmerica and @TheCAOV's free webinar, Leading the Way: Building Safer Newsrooms, on Nov. 13th at 12pm ET. pen.org/event/buildi...
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
June 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
SF, Oakland, Alameda: Alameda reports that DHS is starting to arrive in Alameda tomorrow.
Join the planning tonight: prod.cdn.everyaction.com/emails/van/T...
@indivisibleeb.bsky.social #nokings
Join the planning tonight: prod.cdn.everyaction.com/emails/van/T...
@indivisibleeb.bsky.social #nokings
We were 20,000+ strong at NO KINGS Oakland on Saturday. Let's take our collective power and use it to stand up for the Bay Area.
prod.cdn.everyaction.com
October 22, 2025 at 9:30 PM
SF, Oakland, Alameda: Alameda reports that DHS is starting to arrive in Alameda tomorrow.
Join the planning tonight: prod.cdn.everyaction.com/emails/van/T...
@indivisibleeb.bsky.social #nokings
Join the planning tonight: prod.cdn.everyaction.com/emails/van/T...
@indivisibleeb.bsky.social #nokings
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
Fascinating proposal from @rewiringamerica.bsky.social: cost- effectively meeting the energy needs for data centers by replacing inefficient electric resistance heaters with heat pumps. 1/
www.rewiringamerica.org/research/hom...
www.rewiringamerica.org/research/hom...
New report: Household upgrades could offset all new projected data center energy demand | Rewiring America
Our report, Homegrown Energy, finds household upgrades are the best, fastest solution for increasing energy demand.
www.rewiringamerica.org
October 22, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Fascinating proposal from @rewiringamerica.bsky.social: cost- effectively meeting the energy needs for data centers by replacing inefficient electric resistance heaters with heat pumps. 1/
www.rewiringamerica.org/research/hom...
www.rewiringamerica.org/research/hom...
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
“The question of who gets to live as long as they should isn’t moral but systemic.
We often say that death is the great unifier as it’s the one thing that we all have in common. But sometimes, I look around and wonder if even the after-life is segregated.”
We often say that death is the great unifier as it’s the one thing that we all have in common. But sometimes, I look around and wonder if even the after-life is segregated.”
Diane Keaton, Miss Major, D'Angelo...
Who gets to live a "long" life in America?
open.substack.com
October 16, 2025 at 10:17 PM
“The question of who gets to live as long as they should isn’t moral but systemic.
We often say that death is the great unifier as it’s the one thing that we all have in common. But sometimes, I look around and wonder if even the after-life is segregated.”
We often say that death is the great unifier as it’s the one thing that we all have in common. But sometimes, I look around and wonder if even the after-life is segregated.”
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
So many of you say you love indie & feminist media, but why then are so few of you subscribing to @theflytrapmedia.com, the worker-owned publication co-founded by longtime feminist writers (including me & some of your faves: @andreagrimes.com, @sesmith.lol, @nicolefroio.bsky.social, etc)?
October 16, 2025 at 3:09 PM
So many of you say you love indie & feminist media, but why then are so few of you subscribing to @theflytrapmedia.com, the worker-owned publication co-founded by longtime feminist writers (including me & some of your faves: @andreagrimes.com, @sesmith.lol, @nicolefroio.bsky.social, etc)?
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
Genuinely: Paywalling content is not a thing I love doing. I'd rather create in a world where writers & artists could share our stuff literally freely. The Flytrap is cooperatively owned by its founders, who put in a ton of as-yet unpaid work to produce ALL our content—including one free post/month.
We do have a paywall, and that's because journalism has a cost. We pay all our contributors 0.50c a word & the founders haven't been compensated for the year, so we do ask for people to pay for our content. We still haven't made a profit this year, so we are unapologetic about that.
paywalled
October 14, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Genuinely: Paywalling content is not a thing I love doing. I'd rather create in a world where writers & artists could share our stuff literally freely. The Flytrap is cooperatively owned by its founders, who put in a ton of as-yet unpaid work to produce ALL our content—including one free post/month.
Reposted by Matt Wheeland
Despite their standing as Republican strongholds, rural areas may now represent new opportunity for Democratic candidates as Trump administration policies continue to hit the heartland.
Democratic Food and Ag Candidates Enter the Political Fray
Amid Trump’s tariffs, funding freezes, and food assistance cuts, newcomers from food and farming backgrounds are entering congressional races.
buff.ly
October 8, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Despite their standing as Republican strongholds, rural areas may now represent new opportunity for Democratic candidates as Trump administration policies continue to hit the heartland.