Virginia Heffernan
@virginiaheffernan.bsky.social
The New Republic, The Guardian, WIRED, Politico, LA Times, NY Times, The Atlantic, &c
WHAT ROUGH BEAST
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-rough-beast/id1787176282
MAGIC + LOSS
https://virginiaheffernan.substack.com/
WHAT ROUGH BEAST
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-rough-beast/id1787176282
MAGIC + LOSS
https://virginiaheffernan.substack.com/
Pinned
What Rough Beast
Politics Podcast · What Rough Beast, hosted by Virginia Heffernan (Wired, Trumpcast) and Stephen Metcalf (Slate, Culture Gabfest) is a podcast where we bear witness to America’s demise, and ask what m...
podcasts.apple.com
If you were a Trumpcast listener, this may be what you need now: my new show w/Stephen Metcalf. It's designed to be adrenaline for a better future.
We look straight at the catastrophe. And we ask what can be built from the rubble. It's also free & ad-free.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
We look straight at the catastrophe. And we ask what can be built from the rubble. It's also free & ad-free.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
"The problem for billionaires is written on the tin: It’s their billions. Lately, once the money of the private-jet set enters a campaign, the stink of the oligarchy sticks to the campaign."
Me today @newrepublic.com :
newrepublic.com/article/2033... via @newrepublic.com
Me today @newrepublic.com :
newrepublic.com/article/2033... via @newrepublic.com
The Real Losers in Seattle’s Mayoral
Election? Oligarchs.
They poured mountains of dollars into trying to find ways to stop socialist Katie Wilson. But to younger voters, their money stinks.
newrepublic.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:51 PM
"The problem for billionaires is written on the tin: It’s their billions. Lately, once the money of the private-jet set enters a campaign, the stink of the oligarchy sticks to the campaign."
Me today @newrepublic.com :
newrepublic.com/article/2033... via @newrepublic.com
Me today @newrepublic.com :
newrepublic.com/article/2033... via @newrepublic.com
Reposted by Virginia Heffernan
VH: It’s my opinion that Catholics shipwrecked in the 1990s with the priest-abuse revelations. Protestants likewise shipwrecked in 2016 with the election of Donald Trump. And Jews are shipwrecking right now, terribly, with the fall of Israel into authoritarianism and crimes against humanity.
November 19, 2025 at 4:35 PM
VH: It’s my opinion that Catholics shipwrecked in the 1990s with the priest-abuse revelations. Protestants likewise shipwrecked in 2016 with the election of Donald Trump. And Jews are shipwrecking right now, terribly, with the fall of Israel into authoritarianism and crimes against humanity.
It’s amazing to me that a few yrs ago I looked into the owner of Business Insider. First it was some Christian Democrats of Germany, a center-right family that sounded far-right to me. Didn’t subscribe. Then I was told “private equity” had acquired it so I thought “that sounds normal” & was all in.
November 19, 2025 at 4:27 PM
It’s amazing to me that a few yrs ago I looked into the owner of Business Insider. First it was some Christian Democrats of Germany, a center-right family that sounded far-right to me. Didn’t subscribe. Then I was told “private equity” had acquired it so I thought “that sounds normal” & was all in.
Also Sherlock Holmes, with all the sleuthing around the dog that didn’t bark.
But from his nutbag punctuation it’s clear Epstein could barely read beyond the title of one of Nabokov’s books. He’s not curled up with Ada or Speak, Memory
But from his nutbag punctuation it’s clear Epstein could barely read beyond the title of one of Nabokov’s books. He’s not curled up with Ada or Speak, Memory
I was just joking about the injustice of Vladimir Nabokov's name being dragged through the mud like this. But, uh, I think that ship sailed a while ago.
November 19, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Also Sherlock Holmes, with all the sleuthing around the dog that didn’t bark.
But from his nutbag punctuation it’s clear Epstein could barely read beyond the title of one of Nabokov’s books. He’s not curled up with Ada or Speak, Memory
But from his nutbag punctuation it’s clear Epstein could barely read beyond the title of one of Nabokov’s books. He’s not curled up with Ada or Speak, Memory
What’s private equity and is it new?
November 19, 2025 at 4:13 PM
What’s private equity and is it new?
Nick Fuentes is an incel Catholic, and Charlie Kirk was a married evangelical family man. This matters a LOT in the current splintering of the right. (DM me if you need a comp subscription.)
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/protestant...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/protestant...
Protestants and Catholics are warring again.
MAGA Christians are at each other's throats.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Nick Fuentes is an incel Catholic, and Charlie Kirk was a married evangelical family man. This matters a LOT in the current splintering of the right. (DM me if you need a comp subscription.)
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/protestant...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/protestant...
Remember 2021, when MTG tried to start an America First caucus, dedicated to “common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions” and had it rejected by her own party as racist and nativist?
November 17, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Remember 2021, when MTG tried to start an America First caucus, dedicated to “common respect for uniquely Anglo-Saxon political traditions” and had it rejected by her own party as racist and nativist?
Reposted by Virginia Heffernan
Sobering and profound piece by @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/of-course-...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/of-course-...
November 13, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Sobering and profound piece by @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/of-course-...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/of-course-...
The world of “history is complex and it’s not evil mustachioed men exchanging bags of money and trafficked girls in back rooms” has some explaining to do
November 12, 2025 at 9:01 PM
The world of “history is complex and it’s not evil mustachioed men exchanging bags of money and trafficked girls in back rooms” has some explaining to do
This one has been a long time in coming. Reflections on the philosophical catastrophes facing Catholics, Protestants, and now Jews.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/religious-...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/religious-...
Religious Convulsions
Priest abuse, then Trump, now Netanyahu have hit three major religions hard. Each is catastrophic. But, as Catholicism has shown us, something will emerge from the devastation.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:21 PM
This one has been a long time in coming. Reflections on the philosophical catastrophes facing Catholics, Protestants, and now Jews.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/religious-...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/religious-...
Latest episode of What Rough Beast:
Harvesting chaos with Kristianna Smith @mochaeinstein27.bsky.social
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/harvesting...
Harvesting chaos with Kristianna Smith @mochaeinstein27.bsky.social
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/harvesting...
Harvesting chaos with Kristianna Smith
On collective imagination, liberation work, and daring to dream beyond compromise
virginiaheffernan.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Latest episode of What Rough Beast:
Harvesting chaos with Kristianna Smith @mochaeinstein27.bsky.social
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/harvesting...
Harvesting chaos with Kristianna Smith @mochaeinstein27.bsky.social
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/harvesting...
Defining neoliberalism—optimization, consumerism, and bookmaking—so you can purge your inbox of it.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/money-is-s...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/money-is-s...
Money is something everyone else has
Purging your inbox of neoliberalism.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Defining neoliberalism—optimization, consumerism, and bookmaking—so you can purge your inbox of it.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/money-is-s...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/money-is-s...
ZM, yesterday: I'm for human dignity and other harmless things
ZM, today: EUGENE V. DEBS
ZM, today: EUGENE V. DEBS
November 5, 2025 at 4:26 AM
ZM, yesterday: I'm for human dignity and other harmless things
ZM, today: EUGENE V. DEBS
ZM, today: EUGENE V. DEBS
hey there verizon something is wrong with my screen - it's saying that a rapist fraud beloved of billionaires lost something
November 5, 2025 at 3:04 AM
hey there verizon something is wrong with my screen - it's saying that a rapist fraud beloved of billionaires lost something
Enough with worrying about whether Democrats should tack left or center. What we need from Democrats (from Mamdani to Spanberger) is sweat. Wrote this for @newrepublic.com today:
newrepublic.com/article/2026...
newrepublic.com/article/2026...
Mamdani, Spanberger, and Sherrill Have One Important Thing in Common
Yes, they have real ideological differences. But they’re all out there hustling. And hustle is what the Democrats need right now.
newrepublic.com
November 4, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Enough with worrying about whether Democrats should tack left or center. What we need from Democrats (from Mamdani to Spanberger) is sweat. Wrote this for @newrepublic.com today:
newrepublic.com/article/2026...
newrepublic.com/article/2026...
Zohran has brought tryhardism back and it’s the best thing to happen to politics. No more no-drama Obama. He sweats it all
November 3, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Zohran has brought tryhardism back and it’s the best thing to happen to politics. No more no-drama Obama. He sweats it all
I’m like an animal. I can smell the times ahead.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/im-like-an...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/im-like-an...
I’m like an animal. I can smell the times ahead.
From perfume to fascism, how each new meme devours the last. Featuring J.D. Vance, Peter Thiel, Friedrich Nietzsche, Russell Vought, and Benito Mussolini.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:08 PM
I’m like an animal. I can smell the times ahead.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/im-like-an...
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/im-like-an...
It's a vibrating week w/ Mike Albo's book Hologram Boyfriends out. This book is so beautiful & delonelyfying. Buy it in any form, and watch your life improve & become funnier. It's also a reminder of the Underminer and our 35y friendship, the best of my life. + @albomike.bsky.social
October 28, 2025 at 8:39 PM
It's a vibrating week w/ Mike Albo's book Hologram Boyfriends out. This book is so beautiful & delonelyfying. Buy it in any form, and watch your life improve & become funnier. It's also a reminder of the Underminer and our 35y friendship, the best of my life. + @albomike.bsky.social
“You’ll become a fascist too.”
In which I insist that you watch Mussolini, or at least the trailer, to finally unravel the mystery of 2016: Why Trump won. There's no other way. You'll have to feel it in your cells.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/youll-beco...
In which I insist that you watch Mussolini, or at least the trailer, to finally unravel the mystery of 2016: Why Trump won. There's no other way. You'll have to feel it in your cells.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/youll-beco...
“You’ll become a fascist too.”
Trump’s hair, the first insult to aesthetics, has been central to his victory.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com
October 26, 2025 at 5:30 PM
“You’ll become a fascist too.”
In which I insist that you watch Mussolini, or at least the trailer, to finally unravel the mystery of 2016: Why Trump won. There's no other way. You'll have to feel it in your cells.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/youll-beco...
In which I insist that you watch Mussolini, or at least the trailer, to finally unravel the mystery of 2016: Why Trump won. There's no other way. You'll have to feel it in your cells.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/youll-beco...
I meant to put this up for the thrilling one-year anniversary, but I missed it by a week. Anyway:
October 26, 2025 at 4:36 PM
I meant to put this up for the thrilling one-year anniversary, but I missed it by a week. Anyway:
Reposted by Virginia Heffernan
As keeper of the administration’s Christian nationalist agenda, Vought, whom the media reliably describes as a “wrecking ball,” preens like he’s Blue Öyster Cult in 1975. But he’s afraid. It’s Q4, and 2025 was supposed to be his year. What he fears most is delays.
By @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social
By @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social
Trump Is Actually Failing Fast—and the Rabid MAGA Bigwigs Know It
Yes, he’s done enormous damage. But he’s unpopular, the courts are checking him, and freako-extremists like Curtis Yarvin have thrown in the towel.
open.substack.com
October 26, 2025 at 3:59 PM
As keeper of the administration’s Christian nationalist agenda, Vought, whom the media reliably describes as a “wrecking ball,” preens like he’s Blue Öyster Cult in 1975. But he’s afraid. It’s Q4, and 2025 was supposed to be his year. What he fears most is delays.
By @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social
By @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social
Oh for Chrissakes.
The left needs real candidates. Dude got a blobby & unsecret tattoo that no one but the dandruff club calls a Nazi decoder-ring thing. I used "88" in my handle for years till a dandruff man told me it was Third Reich code. That's his problem. They can't own blobs & integers.
The left needs real candidates. Dude got a blobby & unsecret tattoo that no one but the dandruff club calls a Nazi decoder-ring thing. I used "88" in my handle for years till a dandruff man told me it was Third Reich code. That's his problem. They can't own blobs & integers.
October 22, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Oh for Chrissakes.
The left needs real candidates. Dude got a blobby & unsecret tattoo that no one but the dandruff club calls a Nazi decoder-ring thing. I used "88" in my handle for years till a dandruff man told me it was Third Reich code. That's his problem. They can't own blobs & integers.
The left needs real candidates. Dude got a blobby & unsecret tattoo that no one but the dandruff club calls a Nazi decoder-ring thing. I used "88" in my handle for years till a dandruff man told me it was Third Reich code. That's his problem. They can't own blobs & integers.
Reposted by Virginia Heffernan
“No time for ideology. We’re just kinda watching now. That’s how memes work. An old meme spontaneously mutates; the mutation proves to be adaptive, as people pick it up; now the old meme dies from inattention; and the new one takes its place.” @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social
Here Comes the Paradigm Shift
It's all moving very fast.
open.substack.com
October 22, 2025 at 12:23 AM
“No time for ideology. We’re just kinda watching now. That’s how memes work. An old meme spontaneously mutates; the mutation proves to be adaptive, as people pick it up; now the old meme dies from inattention; and the new one takes its place.” @virginiaheffernan.bsky.social
Obama's America and its shadow—Jeffrey Epstein's America—was once history's dead-end.
The right saw those days as exclusive & woke. The left considered the culture stagnant.
For better or worse, we're unstuck now & change is happening very fast.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/tiktok-zoh...
The right saw those days as exclusive & woke. The left considered the culture stagnant.
For better or worse, we're unstuck now & change is happening very fast.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/tiktok-zoh...
Here Comes the Paradigm Shift
It's all moving very fast.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com
October 22, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Obama's America and its shadow—Jeffrey Epstein's America—was once history's dead-end.
The right saw those days as exclusive & woke. The left considered the culture stagnant.
For better or worse, we're unstuck now & change is happening very fast.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/tiktok-zoh...
The right saw those days as exclusive & woke. The left considered the culture stagnant.
For better or worse, we're unstuck now & change is happening very fast.
virginiaheffernan.substack.com/p/tiktok-zoh...