Whitney Bauck
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whitneybauck.bsky.social
Whitney Bauck
@whitneybauck.bsky.social
6.7K followers 1.1K following 270 posts
Award-winning freelance journalist reporting @ the Guardian, Grist, WaPo, Bloomberg, etc
Particularly interested in climate, ag, transit, grassroots movements and fungi
https://whitneybauck.substack.com/
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whitneybauck.bsky.social
Can’t imagine anything spookier than throwing away your vote in the NY mayoral race. New Yorkers, let’s get to the polls!
A photo of a sticker that says “Halloween Voter 2025” with a picture of a pigeon wearing a witches hat on it.
October 31, 2025 at 6:39 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
Such an honor to have my story on the Palestinian Heirloom Seed Library for @theguardian.com win a 2025 @coveringclimatenow.org award.

Such heartbreak that the horrors that prompted me to write the story are still ongoing.

I'm proud of many of my stories, but this one in particular means a lot.
‘They Kept Us Alive for Thousands of Years’: Could Saving Palestinian Seeds Also Save the World? THE GUARDIAN | WRITING Whitney Bauck, with Bridget Badore Read the winning story here. This short feature profiles Vivien Sansour, founder of the West Bank-based Palestine Heirloom Seed Library. As journalist Whitney Bauck reports, Sansour’s mission is twofold: to honor Palestinian heritage and culture in the face of violence that threatens both, and to contribute to food security worldwide, with Palestinian seed varieties that are well-adapted to extreme weather. Bauck expertly weaves a host of complex topics, including war and conflict, food systems, biodiversity, and justice issues faced by the people living on the front lines of both the climate crisis and a literal war zone. While frank about the horrors of Gaza, Bauck’s nuanced and warm characterization of Sansour also suggests that repair is possible, making this story, in a way, “a breath of fresh air” and “beautiful,” judges said.
September 18, 2025 at 9:37 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
Would you like to see something other than depressing news? Ok great cuz I found some good mushrooms this weekend
A picture with honey mushrooms in the foreground and a woman kneeling in the background A picture of tiny oysterlings A pinkish orange coral mushroom sticking out of the leaves The underside of a deep red gilled mushroom
September 8, 2025 at 2:34 AM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
As a one time religion reporter I’m also always struck by signs like this one
A handwritten sign that reads, “Who Would Jesus Deport?”
June 14, 2025 at 11:01 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
Spotted in NYC today #NoKings
A handwritten sign that reads “Break up with your Republican boyfriend”
June 14, 2025 at 10:57 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
What a joy it is when the spring mushrooms start showing up in NYC #fungifriends
Photo of a clump of small mushrooms with whitish stripes and brownish gills Photo of the underside of a mushroom with white gills against a blue sky Photo of a young mushroom that hasn’t yet opened its umbrella peeking out through wood chips Photo of a bunch of brown and yellowish mushrooms
June 5, 2025 at 2:45 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
Spotted at Harvard this week
A photo of a handmade sign in a window that reads, “invest in science, invest in the future” A handmade sign in a window that reads “science” inside a hand drawn heart
May 15, 2025 at 9:56 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
i'm listening
An email subject line that reads, "Learn How You Can Torment the Ghost of Robert Moses"
May 1, 2025 at 2:37 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
This is maybe my favorite-ever cover of any issue of @atmosmag.bsky.social (!). And we got so many good writers crammed into this issue, too—can't wait to get my hands on a print copy and to share the stories with you all soon.

In the meantime, pls admire ✨Pearl✨, our praying mantis cover star
An image of the cover of the print issue of Atmos Volume 11 that features a close-up image of a praying mantis in a range of colors. At the bottom is a quote from Janine Benyus that reads, "This planet 4.5 billion years ago was not hospitable to life. And life actually sweetened this place. It learned how to live here in a way that makes it better. And that seems to me to be our design brief. Life creates conditions conducive to life."
April 23, 2025 at 6:46 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
Heading out for a few weeks of travel, this is the reading list (feat @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social and a bunch of other authors not on bsky) 📚
A stack of books that includes the titles Absolution by Jeff Vandermeer, Edsa Uno by Angela Stuart-Santiago, an Introduction to the History of Mycology by Ainsworth, and Molds, Mushrooms, and Medicines by Nicholas P Money
March 9, 2025 at 5:57 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
One of the thing that's really stuck with me was @globalecoguy.bsky.social saying that food is what will "make or break" the climate. We're making progress on so many other things (incl fossil fuels!), but food emissions just keep trending up—and that needs to change
A screenshot that reads, “This is the wild card that will make or break climate change – food. It’s gonna be a long fight against fossil fuels, but renewable energy is better and cheaper and faster; it’s going to win at some point,” he said. “But I don’t know if a climate-friendly food system is going to win or not.”
March 7, 2025 at 6:27 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
Watching Kathy Hochul’s ~journey~ in relating to congestion pricing continues to be a truly a wild ride
Screenshot of a tweet from @nygov with the caption “beep beep babes we’re taking u to court” with a heart hands emoji. The tweet is quote tweeting a post from Kathy Hochul that reads “we are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king.” Underneath that there is a “Statement from a governor Kathy Hochul on congestion pricing” that reads: Public transit is the lifeblood of New York City and critical to our economic future - as a New Yorker, like President Trump, knows very well. Since this first-in-the-nation program took effect last month, congestion has dropped dramatically and commuters are getting to work faster than ever. Broadway shows are selling out and foot traffic to local businesses is spiking. School buses are getting kids to class on time, and yellow cab trips increased by 10 percent. Transit ridership is up, drivers are having a better experience, and support for this program is growing every day. We are a nation of laws, not ruled by a king. The MTA has initiated legal proceedings in the Southern District of New York to preserve this critical program. We'll see you in court.
February 19, 2025 at 8:58 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
The corpse flower at Brooklyn Botanic Garden finally bloomed! Can confirm he stanky. This botanical wonder was just what I needed today
A photo of a newly blooming corpse flower growing inside a greenhouse. The flower has a long yellow pointy center and a large petal-like leaf that’s deep red wrapping around the outside A close up of the reddish leaf-like petal of a corpse flower
January 24, 2025 at 5:27 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
When the world is grim, visit your local Botanic Garden—you just may discover that a bucket list plant you’ve long dreamed of but never seen IRL, like, say, a corpse flower, is about to bloom in the dark of winter
A photo of a corpse flower in a plant conservatory room, with a tall yellow spike emerging from its top.
January 16, 2025 at 9:39 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
When I think of Jimmy Carter, who died today, I will always think of him as the president who installed solar panels on the roof of the White House in 1979 — in that way at least, he was a man far ahead of his time
A photo of Jimmy Carter standing in front of solar panels A photo of Jimmy Carter and 3 other men standing on the roof in front of solar panels
December 29, 2024 at 9:49 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
Twenty-One Elegies by Danez Smith for @atmosmagazine.bsky.social Vol 9 🕊️
A photo of a poem on a printed page. The poem reads as follows: Twenty-One Elegies who owns the grief of these wings? how does the sky mourn? in revenge, the crows peck holes in our rising prayers. in protest, the rain refuses. no, we killed the rain. & the catfish. & the mussels. & the flying fox. the white of our palms a curse we pass by making, wanting. awful kings, everything we touch we bless out of existence. what will be alive at the end of us? the ōʻō gone even the name shocked at its passing. Hawaii, like anything, dies a little bit every day she’s American. all that ash in Maui. the birds died of grief. the birds, the people, the land, the birds the people, the land, the birds, the grief, the grief, the grief, the grief winged & everywhere. Do you love the world? Why are you not crying? you are nowhere. your heart is a nothing place. there is no sky in you. you don’t have birds. we don’t have birds. we used to be animals. now the world is lost in us. forgive us, mother. we have killed you so casually. & to our sisters the birds, we have no right to favors, but fly by his ear tell god it’s time again for the rain.
December 17, 2024 at 5:12 PM
whitneybauck.bsky.social
Maybe a long shot but: any other fungal nerds on here? And if so, anyone got recs for publications/books/newsletters on Chinese mushroom culture written in English?

(photo is from an ancient Saveur article, photog not named, but I do love this portrait!)
A photo of a Chinese man in a collared shirt sitting or squatting on the ground with a cigarette dangling from his lips and three large mushrooms in his hands
November 21, 2024 at 9:14 PM