monika bielskyte
@monikabielskyte.bsky.social
Founder @protopiafutures. Futurist in Residence @Nike. From SciFi to reality, prototyping science-informed, life-centric, joyful visions of tomorrow.
www.monikafutures.design
www.monikafutures.design
Reposted by monika bielskyte
Thinking abt this again today:
One of the top news stories dominating the cultural conversation and social imagination for years has been the world’s most elite child sex trafficking ring. How much of the so-called creative minds behind Hollywood can’t envision getting off on anything else?
One of the top news stories dominating the cultural conversation and social imagination for years has been the world’s most elite child sex trafficking ring. How much of the so-called creative minds behind Hollywood can’t envision getting off on anything else?
Heated Rivalry and the Art of Anti-Dystopia
Joy in the present makes joy in the future seem plausible.
open.substack.com
January 31, 2026 at 1:16 AM
Thinking abt this again today:
One of the top news stories dominating the cultural conversation and social imagination for years has been the world’s most elite child sex trafficking ring. How much of the so-called creative minds behind Hollywood can’t envision getting off on anything else?
One of the top news stories dominating the cultural conversation and social imagination for years has been the world’s most elite child sex trafficking ring. How much of the so-called creative minds behind Hollywood can’t envision getting off on anything else?
Reposted by monika bielskyte
Venn diagram of had friendly email correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein and argued that wokeness is a dire threat to civilization that must be stopped before it finishes destroying freedom.
January 31, 2026 at 9:57 PM
Venn diagram of had friendly email correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein and argued that wokeness is a dire threat to civilization that must be stopped before it finishes destroying freedom.
Reposted by monika bielskyte
People with bad ideas attract one another.
February 1, 2026 at 1:17 AM
People with bad ideas attract one another.
Reposted by monika bielskyte
Just thinking about the time Melinda Gates talked to Gayle King about meeting Epstein once just so she could see for herself who he was, and walked away calling him "evil personified." Said she had nightmares afterwards.
But I guess not having an intuition is also an option.
But I guess not having an intuition is also an option.
I feel like someone’s gotta say something, so I guess it’s going to be me. I’m 100% certain that I either know, have met, or have sought meetings with people who have done horrible things in their lives, too. How about y’all? Association is not causation, and it's not guilt — of anything. (1/8)
January 31, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Just thinking about the time Melinda Gates talked to Gayle King about meeting Epstein once just so she could see for herself who he was, and walked away calling him "evil personified." Said she had nightmares afterwards.
But I guess not having an intuition is also an option.
But I guess not having an intuition is also an option.
Reposted by monika bielskyte
Reposted by monika bielskyte
So important. What they say is not the story. That is never the story. What happened is the story. Write what happened.
Media: do not lead with the false government framing of what happened
January 25, 2026 at 12:05 AM
So important. What they say is not the story. That is never the story. What happened is the story. Write what happened.
Reposted by monika bielskyte
The Rodney King video is one of the most important moments in American history because it showed people, particularly comfortable white people, irrefutable evidence that marginalized people’s stories of how police behaved - which were never believed - were in fact true.
Imagine how much they’d be lying about what happened without all the videos showing it from multiple angles.
January 24, 2026 at 11:37 PM
The Rodney King video is one of the most important moments in American history because it showed people, particularly comfortable white people, irrefutable evidence that marginalized people’s stories of how police behaved - which were never believed - were in fact true.
Reposted by monika bielskyte
The Soviet-Polish non-aggression pact was a treaty singed on July 25, 1932
Stalin denounced the pact unilaterally by invading Poland on 19 September 1939, after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.
Stalin denounced the pact unilaterally by invading Poland on 19 September 1939, after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.
The German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact was a 10-year treaty signed on January 26, 1934.
Hitler denounced the declaration unilaterally on 28 April 1939, after the signing of the Anglo-Polish alliance.
Hitler denounced the declaration unilaterally on 28 April 1939, after the signing of the Anglo-Polish alliance.
January 25, 2026 at 12:31 PM
The Soviet-Polish non-aggression pact was a treaty singed on July 25, 1932
Stalin denounced the pact unilaterally by invading Poland on 19 September 1939, after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.
Stalin denounced the pact unilaterally by invading Poland on 19 September 1939, after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.
Reposted by monika bielskyte
A reminder to the news media: “conflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.
January 25, 2026 at 12:28 PM
A reminder to the news media: “conflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.
Reposted by monika bielskyte
“Not Great Power politics but Great Ego politics” is a good line open.spotify.com/episode/2iA2...
January 25, 2026 at 12:36 PM
“Not Great Power politics but Great Ego politics” is a good line open.spotify.com/episode/2iA2...
Reposted by monika bielskyte
Dystopia limits our imaginations, and also those of film and TV creators. It presents a world beyond repair, and consequently, futile to be engaged with or salvaged. A world where creativity is pointless, pleasure is dissociation, and sincerity and tenderness an invitation for humiliation and pain.
Heated Rivalry and the Art of Anti-Dystopia
Joy in the present makes joy in the future seem plausible.
jenka.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Dystopia limits our imaginations, and also those of film and TV creators. It presents a world beyond repair, and consequently, futile to be engaged with or salvaged. A world where creativity is pointless, pleasure is dissociation, and sincerity and tenderness an invitation for humiliation and pain.
Reposted by monika bielskyte
The success of Heated Rivalry is an indication that many people actually do want to see sex scenes when they show people genuinely having a mutually pleasurable experience. If that is a novel concept in 2026, taking women’s pleasure seriously is almost galaxy brain unthinkable.
Heated Rivalry and the Art of Anti-Dystopia
Joy in the present makes joy in the future seem plausible.
jenka.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:43 PM
The success of Heated Rivalry is an indication that many people actually do want to see sex scenes when they show people genuinely having a mutually pleasurable experience. If that is a novel concept in 2026, taking women’s pleasure seriously is almost galaxy brain unthinkable.
Reposted by monika bielskyte
Heated Rivalry shows us that the most transportive, visionary, speculative future isn’t one that looks different from our reality. It’s one that feels different. It’s a difference that we as the audience can feel as if we’ve already lived in that world too.
Heated Rivalry and the Art of Anti-Dystopia
Joy in the present makes joy in the future seem plausible.
jenka.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Heated Rivalry shows us that the most transportive, visionary, speculative future isn’t one that looks different from our reality. It’s one that feels different. It’s a difference that we as the audience can feel as if we’ve already lived in that world too.
Reposted by monika bielskyte
As Esther Perel says, “Sex isn’t something you do. It’s a place you go.”
In a culture where porn is ubiquitous, depictions of graphic, explicit sex are abundant and low value. Its mere mechanistic frictions can only show us people doing something.
Heated Rivalry transports us somewhere else.
In a culture where porn is ubiquitous, depictions of graphic, explicit sex are abundant and low value. Its mere mechanistic frictions can only show us people doing something.
Heated Rivalry transports us somewhere else.
Heated Rivalry shows us that the most transportive, visionary, speculative future isn’t one that looks different from our reality. It’s one that feels different. It’s a difference that we as the audience can feel as if we’ve already lived in that world too.
Heated Rivalry and the Art of Anti-Dystopia
Joy in the present makes joy in the future seem plausible.
jenka.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 9:25 PM
As Esther Perel says, “Sex isn’t something you do. It’s a place you go.”
In a culture where porn is ubiquitous, depictions of graphic, explicit sex are abundant and low value. Its mere mechanistic frictions can only show us people doing something.
Heated Rivalry transports us somewhere else.
In a culture where porn is ubiquitous, depictions of graphic, explicit sex are abundant and low value. Its mere mechanistic frictions can only show us people doing something.
Heated Rivalry transports us somewhere else.
Reposted by monika bielskyte
Dystopia at its core is about cynicism. It doesn’t have to be science fiction to be a dystopia. So often, shows set in a world indistinguishable from our own are peopled with characters who are almost anaphylactically averse to experiencing or communicating genuine emotion.
Heated Rivalry and the Art of Anti-Dystopia
Joy in the present makes joy in the future seem plausible.
jenka.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Dystopia at its core is about cynicism. It doesn’t have to be science fiction to be a dystopia. So often, shows set in a world indistinguishable from our own are peopled with characters who are almost anaphylactically averse to experiencing or communicating genuine emotion.
Reposted by monika bielskyte
Absolutely insane to see content about men "looksmaxing" when the hottest commodity on the planet rn is a man who's like "my style inspiration is Princess Diana" and "I like my stretch marks" and "I love hugging my best friend."
Just completely separate realities.
Just completely separate realities.
January 20, 2026 at 6:55 PM
Absolutely insane to see content about men "looksmaxing" when the hottest commodity on the planet rn is a man who's like "my style inspiration is Princess Diana" and "I like my stretch marks" and "I love hugging my best friend."
Just completely separate realities.
Just completely separate realities.
Reposted by monika bielskyte
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
January 20, 2026 at 10:53 PM
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
Reposted by monika bielskyte
“When confronted with the unknown that looms ahead of him and Ilya at the end of the first season, all Shane Hollander can muster is, “We just want a future.” He speaks for all of us right now.” - @jenka.bsky.social
jenka.substack.com/p/heated-riv...
jenka.substack.com/p/heated-riv...
Heated Rivalry and the Art of Anti-Dystopia
Joy in the present makes joy in the future seem plausible.
jenka.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:38 AM
“When confronted with the unknown that looms ahead of him and Ilya at the end of the first season, all Shane Hollander can muster is, “We just want a future.” He speaks for all of us right now.” - @jenka.bsky.social
jenka.substack.com/p/heated-riv...
jenka.substack.com/p/heated-riv...
Reposted by monika bielskyte
This is so great. "Heated Rivalry has broken through the onslaught of pop culture visions that make dystopia’s cynical, joyless futures seem inexorable precisely because it is a piece of art that not only show us, but allows us to FEEL that another world is truly possible."
January 21, 2026 at 7:02 PM
This is so great. "Heated Rivalry has broken through the onslaught of pop culture visions that make dystopia’s cynical, joyless futures seem inexorable precisely because it is a piece of art that not only show us, but allows us to FEEL that another world is truly possible."
Reposted by monika bielskyte
”The sight of weakness brings out the jackboot in the fascist mind. Blames the victim for encouraging the kick.” — Jay Griffiths
Minneapolis, today.
Note how three agents holding the civilian down.
Why spray?
www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...
Note how three agents holding the civilian down.
Why spray?
www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...
January 21, 2026 at 9:38 PM
”The sight of weakness brings out the jackboot in the fascist mind. Blames the victim for encouraging the kick.” — Jay Griffiths
Reposted by monika bielskyte
Repeat after me - the institutions of this economy depend on the institutions of this democracy, among which is the rule of law
Jack Smith: "My fear is that we have seen the rule of law function in our country for so long that many of us have come to take it for granted. The rule of law is not self-executing. It depends on our collective commitment to apply it."
January 22, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Repeat after me - the institutions of this economy depend on the institutions of this democracy, among which is the rule of law
Nostalgia is poison would be less polite framing of Carney’s nostalgia is not a strategy
And the soft power really needs to reframed as smart power in this context
And the soft power really needs to reframed as smart power in this context
"We know the old order is not coming back. We shouldn't mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy. But we believe that from the fracture we can build something bigger, better, stronger, more just. This is the task of the middle powers," says PM Mark Carney in Davos speech.
#cdnpoli
#cdnpoli
January 21, 2026 at 8:05 AM
Nostalgia is poison would be less polite framing of Carney’s nostalgia is not a strategy
And the soft power really needs to reframed as smart power in this context
And the soft power really needs to reframed as smart power in this context
Reposted by monika bielskyte
The Trump disbelief that the Norwegian govt doesn't control the Nobel process is deeply indicative of his thinking. He can't conceive that an institution could (or should) be genuinely independent of coercion or political power. That's the change he represents.
Trump: "I should have gotten the Nobel prize for each war...I saved millions and millions of people...and don't let anyone tell you that Norway doesn't control the shots. It's in Norway. Norway controls the shots. It's a joke. They've lost such prestige.“
January 20, 2026 at 8:02 PM
The Trump disbelief that the Norwegian govt doesn't control the Nobel process is deeply indicative of his thinking. He can't conceive that an institution could (or should) be genuinely independent of coercion or political power. That's the change he represents.
Reposted by monika bielskyte
Remember the Soviet joke about a man who always goes to look at the papers but never buys one. The news agent asks him what he's looking for and he says, "An obituary" and the news agent points out that they're always in the back section. "This one won't be".
January 21, 2026 at 5:55 AM
Remember the Soviet joke about a man who always goes to look at the papers but never buys one. The news agent asks him what he's looking for and he says, "An obituary" and the news agent points out that they're always in the back section. "This one won't be".
Reposted by monika bielskyte
As my friend and futurist @monikabielskyte.bsky.social says, "Those who control the fantasy, control the future."
So much of the media Hollywood serves up is cynical dystopia because its creators are influenced by the cynicism of the world they themselves inhabit.
So much of the media Hollywood serves up is cynical dystopia because its creators are influenced by the cynicism of the world they themselves inhabit.
Heated Rivalry shows us that the most transportive, visionary, speculative future isn’t one that looks different from our reality. It’s one that feels different. It’s a difference that we as the audience can feel as if we’ve already lived in that world too.
Heated Rivalry and the Art of Anti-Dystopia
Joy in the present makes joy in the future seem plausible.
jenka.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 9:10 PM
As my friend and futurist @monikabielskyte.bsky.social says, "Those who control the fantasy, control the future."
So much of the media Hollywood serves up is cynical dystopia because its creators are influenced by the cynicism of the world they themselves inhabit.
So much of the media Hollywood serves up is cynical dystopia because its creators are influenced by the cynicism of the world they themselves inhabit.