Samit Sarkar
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samitsarkar.bsky.social
Samit Sarkar
@samitsarkar.bsky.social
4.4K followers 410 following 2.1K posts
✊🏾 formerly & forever Vox Union | 📝 past life: @polygon.com, next thing: TBD | ⁉️ proud @jeopardyofficial.bsky.social‬ loser | reading, writing, playing, watching, sleeping | he/him
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samitsarkar.bsky.social
the framing in the WaPo push notification also was seriously lacking context
a push notification from the Washington Post app: Breaking News Pentagon says it will investigate Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) after controversial video
November 24, 2025 at 10:22 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
They paved Paradise, put up a parking lot
Pope Leo XIV holding a microphone with both hands and speaking into it with his eyes closed
November 23, 2025 at 4:20 AM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
This is great, and I was particularly glad to see Alissa note that there's plenty of blame to go around here, including for all the Platforms that are so hungry for Content these days.

Strong incentives for artists to take shortcuts have existed in the past, but doing so has never been this easy!
But with documentaries, there’s also a kind of social contract. We believe that what they show us happened, with some exceptions. Re-enactments have become more common in recent years, but filmmakers have developed a visual vocabulary for those staged scenes: they’re dreamy, a little blurry, usually faceless. You immediately know what you’re looking at, because it doesn’t look “real.” These conventions exist to preserve our trust in what we’re viewing. If you’re watching historical images of a civil rights march or scenes from a family birthday party, you believe that a producer dug up that footage. But finding and shooting footage is expensive and takes time. And that’s exactly what today’s documentarians are often not afforded — especially when they’re working on ripped-from-the-headlines films for the bottomless content pits that are streaming platforms. The temptation is clearly there to plug a prompt into A.I.; sometimes that’s even the mandate from on high. Who will know, right? [the line that begins "And that's exactly what today's documentarians" is highlighted in blue]
November 20, 2025 at 2:50 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
"THINGS HAPPEN"

not sure how many folks who knew Khashoggi are still left at WaPo, but they're surely incensed right now
a push notification from the Washington Post: Breaking News Trump defends Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over killing of Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, saying 'things happen'
November 18, 2025 at 6:06 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
Good to see that American journalists aren't letting this go unremarked upon. See another appropriate framing from NYT here:
a push notification from the NYT app: Saudi Crown Prince Visit President Trump welcomed Mohammed bin Salman, who U.S. intelligence has said ordered a journalist's killing in 2018.
November 18, 2025 at 5:55 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?

(where my fellow sadboys at?)
the cover of Beck's 2002 album Sea Change, with a headshot of Beck in front of a backdrop with a white-to-pink gradient and streaks of color on his face
November 17, 2025 at 9:12 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
an illustration of a blue-gray pigeon from the book Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!; the pigeon is asking, "Hey, can I drive the bus?"
November 12, 2025 at 3:57 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
Mr. Burns, standing next to Homer Simpson, reading from a page typed up by a monkey: "with new data from DoorDash's State of Local Commerce Report"?!
November 11, 2025 at 8:33 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
Brad Lander doing an interview at Zohran Mamdani's election night party wearing a "GOOD FUCKING RIDDANCE" T-shirt in the blue/gold color scheme and branding of Mamdani's campaign materials
November 7, 2025 at 11:45 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
Finally filing for unemployment since my last severance check is arriving today, and did you know that in the state of New York, the year is 1985, not 2025?
6. Did you receive a written agreement about the dismissal or severance payment? [•] YES [ ] NO If "YES" mail a copy of this agreement immediately to the address below. Please write your social security number on each page of the document. NEW YORK STATE DEPT OF LABOR PO BOX 15130 ALBANY NY 12212-5130
November 7, 2025 at 2:55 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
From A Great and Glorious Game: Baseball Writings of A. Bartlett Giamatti by A. Bartlett Giamatti, et al "The Green Fields of the Mind " It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops. Today, October 2, a Sunday of rain and broken branches and leaf-clogged drains and slick streets, it stopped, and summer was gone.
November 7, 2025 at 2:22 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
"...and Ethiopian aunties. Yes, aunties." 😂
Zohran Mamdani giving his victory speech on MSNBC
November 5, 2025 at 4:25 AM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
With 60.2% of the votes counted, NBC News just called it for Zohran!!!!!!!
a TV showing MSNBC calling the New York City mayor's race for Zohran Mamdani
November 5, 2025 at 2:37 AM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
♥️♥️♥️
a live NYT update from Sarah Chatta, reporting from Queens In the brightly lit basement of Shanai Restaurant in Jackson Heights, Queens, Bangladeshis, Pakistanis and Indians gathered to watch the election results. Eating onion pakoras and sipping hot chai, they expressed excitement and optimism. One couple said they had traveled from Connecticut because "we wanted to be part of this historic moment."
November 5, 2025 at 2:17 AM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
You might sneer at the idea of vegetarian chili, but this is the PERFECT fall meal. (The recipe makes enough to last 2 people multiple days!)

Re: handwritten note: Adjust the heat level to your liking.

Pro-tip: Sprinkle some shredded cheese (Mexican blend or cheddar) on top and let it melt a bit!
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili Ingredients: - 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil - 1 medium-large sweet potato, peeled & diced - 1 large onion, diced - 4 cloves garlic, minced - 2 tablespoons chili powder - ¼ teaspoon chipotle chile pepper - ½ teaspoon cumin - ¼ teaspoon salt - 2 cups water - 2 15-ounce cans black beans - 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes - 4 teaspoons lime juice - 1-2 cups spinach Serving size: 2 cups Makes: 4 servings 1. Heat oil in a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Add sweet potato and onion, stirring often, until the onion begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, chipotle and salt, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Add water and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the sweet potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. 2. Add beans, tomatoes and lime juice & increase heat to high and return to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat and simmer until most of the liquid is gone; about 5 minutes. Lastly, add spinach and let it cook for about 2 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Per serving: 323 calories; 8 g fat (1 g sat); 16 g fiber; 55 g carbohydrates; 13 g protein; 0 mg cholesterol
November 4, 2025 at 2:53 AM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
[ʙʟᴜᴇ ᴊᴀʏꜱ ꜰᴀɴꜱ, ʟᴏᴏᴋ ᴀᴡᴀʏ... ɪ ɢᴏᴛ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴀɢᴀɪɴꜱᴛ ʏᴏᴜ, ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴀɢᴀɪɴꜱᴛ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɢᴜʏ]

this image will keep me going until next spring, baby
Vlad Guerrero Jr. in the dugout with tears in his eyes after losing Game 7 of the World Series, with the final box score displayed in the bottom left corner of the screen
November 2, 2025 at 4:53 AM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
I got you, brother
Vlad Guerrero Jr. in the dugout with tears in his eyes after losing Game 7 of the 2025 World Series, with the final box score displayed in the bottom left corner of the screen
November 2, 2025 at 4:28 AM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
oh fuck off with your advertising "innovation," Prime Video (this is a pause screen during Pop Culture Jeopardy!)
a TV showing an ad for Seventh Generation dish soap while an episode of Pop Culture Jeopardy! is paused on Prime Video
November 1, 2025 at 1:18 AM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
the vibes are immaculate at Japanese castles
a photo of Himeji Castle reflected in a pool of water that's enclosed by stone walls
October 30, 2025 at 6:55 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
the character Michael Bolton in Office Space speaking about the musician Michael Bolton to his co-worker Samir in their shared cubicle, saying, "No way. Why should I change? He's the one who sucks."
October 30, 2025 at 2:25 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
Here's a fun Jeopardy! origin story for @aaronlevinefox13.bsky.social! (shared w/ permission)

We don't know each other, but he sent me this nice DM the day after my episode aired.

It took just over 4 years, but he's now a Jeopardy! champion, with an impressive wire-to-wire win yesterday! Congrats!
a screenshot of a Twitter direct message sent by Aaron Levine (@AaronLevine_) at 11:55 AM EDT on Sept. 18, 2021 The message says, "Congrats again. Great showing. At this point, DDs are key for Matt to make sure it’s a runaway before Final. Curious what you did to prepare in the few weeks after getting the call. I’m in contestant pool for next 16 months and want to be prepared as possible on the off-chance it happened…!"
October 28, 2025 at 5:01 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
oh my GODDDDDDDDDDD

(apologies for screenshotting the hellsite, which I no longer use; I saw the link in CNN's Reliable Sources newsletter)
a screenshot of two X posts by Chris Lesinski (@lesinski) the first, posted at 7:14 PM EDT on Oct. 25, 2025, says: Quite an epic AI typo in The Journal today. The Paramount exec is named Cindy Holland and they wrote “Cindy the Netherlands” The post also includes a photo of the print newspaper featuring the passage in question. The second X post, a threaded reply from @lesinski, was posted 17 hours ago, and says: Spelling this out a little more: 1) yes, this is real, WSJ Sat/Sun edition this weekend 2) they probably do some form of AI copy editing and the style guide says “we don’t use the informal ‘Holland,’ instead use ‘the Netherlands’”… … it’s just that this is a very obvious exception a human should have caught.
October 27, 2025 at 2:07 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
a cropped page from Bruce's Big Storm by Ryan T. Higgins (published 2019), which is one of the books in our toddler's library — the full line on the right is "It's for rumpusing":
a scene from a children's book with a small animal telling a bear, "We call this addition the Rumpus Room." and another small animal adding, "It's for rumpusing."
October 17, 2025 at 2:26 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
things you can do when you're unemployed (and your kid's in daycare): trek into Manhattan to see a nearly three-hour movie with your wife at 11:10 on a weekday morning, projected *on film* in VistaVision, sitting near the dead center of one of the optimal rows
a movie poster for One Battle After Another illuminated in a display case, with the text "Now Showing 11:10" beneath it
October 15, 2025 at 8:04 PM
samitsarkar.bsky.social
you wouldn't steal a font
October 15, 2025 at 12:42 AM