Pairing this with the protest post because neither one will probably get a lot of conversation.
Okay, this is the list as it stands right now. This is kind of “last call” for input at this point. Once it’s done there will be a link in the sidebar.
I am still ambivalent about Podcasts and YouTube.
- Please weigh in with your thoughts on whether those should be included.
- If so if you could supply URLs in the comments that would be great.
- Anything on here you think shouldn’t be?
- Anything missing that should be here?
- Also, if you think something is in the wrong group, please chime in.
IF YOU CAN LIST THE CATEGORY IT SHOULD GO UNDER, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL!
PLEASE INCLUDE RAW URLs SO I CAN EASILY MAKE THE LINKS IN THE ACTUAL LIST.
Other random input? Go for it!
Independent News
AP News
Christian Science Monitor
Democracy Docket
Democracy Now
MinnPost
Mother Jones
ProPublica
Rewire
Talking Points Memo
TechDirt
Texas Observer
The 19th News Network (nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy)
The American Prospect
The Independent
The New Yorker
Wired
State & Local News
The Colorado Sun
Des Moines Register (Iowa)
Plain Dealer aka Cleveland Plain Dealer (Ohio)
Philadelphia Inquirer (non-profit)
Baltimore Banner (non-profit)
Recombobulation Area (Wisconsin)
High Country News (Western US)
The Cascadia Advocate (Pacific Northwest)
Louisiana Illuminator
Mississippi Free Press
Mississippi Today
Missouri Independent
The Nevada Independent (Jon Ralston)
Tennessee Holler
Tampa Bay Times
VTDigger (non-profit, Vermont)
International News
BBC
Canadian Broadcast Corporation (Canada)
France 24 (France, in English)
Der Spiegel (Germany, in English)
Deutsche Welle (International news)
Ha’aretz (Israel)
Ian Dunt (Striking 13) (UK focus)
Middle East Eye (news, Middle East focus)
El Faro (Central America, in English)
El País (Spain, in English)
The Guardian
The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak (in-country Ukraine focus)
Substacks & Newsletters
Aaron Rupar’s Public Notice
Brad DeLong (Grasping Reality)
Brian Buetler Off Message
Candidly Tiff
Chris Geidner/Law Dork
Dan Rather
Erin Reed (Erin in the Morning)
Jeff Tiedrich
Harry Litman
Heather Cox Richardson
James Fallows
Jay Kuo
Jess Piper
Jessica Valente
Jim Acosta
Joyce White Vance
Judd L Popular Information
Karen Attiah
Mark Jacob (Stop the Presses)
Meidas Touch
Molly White (Citation Needed)
Nathan Tankus
Oliver Willis
Paul Krugman
Robert Hubbell’s Today’s Edition
Ruth Ben-Ghiat
Sherrilyn Ifill
Simon Rosenberg (Hopium Chronicles)
Steve Vladeck
The Contrarian (started by Jennifer Rubin and Norman Eisen)
The Downballot
The Focus Group ??
The Handbasket
Timothy Snyder
What the Fuck Just Happened Today
Will Bunch
Will Leitch
Zeteo
Blogs & Websites
404 Media
Background Briefing with Ian Masters
Bellingcat
Bolts Media
Charlie Pierce
Daily Kos
Dan Froomkin
Dave Zirin
Dean Baker (Beat the Press)
Dear Dean Publishing
Defector
Dissent Magazine
Electoral-Vote.com
Digby’s Hullabaloo
Informed Comment
Jamelle Bouie
Just Security
Lawfare
Marcy Wheeler (emptywheel)
Mike the Mad Biologist
No More Mister Nice Blog
Political Wire
Religion Dispatches
Rewire
Steve Benen (MaddowBlog)
Techdirt
Terry Kanefield
The Black Guy Who Tips
The Editorial Board
The Professional Left
Wonkette
Both Sides of the Issues
YouTube?
LegalAF: https://www.youtube.com/@LegalAFMTN
Fred Kaplan: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/war-stories
Farron Balanced: https://www.youtube.com/@FarronBalanced
I’ve Had It: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa2mr0CgSHfgNL0ORZF2EA4tIFIYQOhYg
The Professional Left (YouTube)
Podcasts?
Talking Feds
Professional Left
Progress Pondcast
The Dollop
The Ben Joravsky Show
Al Franken
Weekly Show with John Stewart
Know Your Enemy, from Dissent Magazine
Why is this Happening with Chris Hayes
Stay Tuned – Preet Bharara
Cafe Insider- Preet Bharara & Joyce Vance
Five Minute News
Strict Scrutiny
Uncategorized
Via YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkbwLFZhawBqK2b9gW08z3g
Via home site: https://fiveminute.news/
Action
Redshift – More from DC Stand Up for Science
Old Mike
“Openib Arguments” was a typo for “ Opening Arguments “. You can delete it. Apologies.
WaterGirl
@Old Mike: I figured that out when I saw the URL, added Opening Arguments, but apparently forgot to delete the one with the typo! :-)
WaterGirl
Did you guys see my question about LGM yesterday? Trying to include good sources as well as activist action-oriented sites. Does LGM fit that? I don’t read it so I don’t know.
Also not interested in both-sides-y or Trump apologist sites.
LGM is on our “blogroll”, and this list isn’t going to replace that. The question is does it belong here?
Eunicecycle
How about Ohio Capital Journal under state and local news? Their url is ohiocapitaljournal.com I forget how to make it a hyperlink, sorry! They have a lot of Ohio news but usually link it to national news.
Loveofcoffee
Park Rose Permaculture is on youtube and the tictok, and she is very clear on what is at stake, and she has good action information.
TurnItOffAndOnAgain
Ariella Elm, who’s keeping track of easy to miss Dem activity.
TBone
These are sort of cutting edge and raising my eyebrows, not sure if they should be included sources but dang, Hegseth and Elno are busy militarily…
https://spacenews.com/space-force-unveils-strategic-plan-for-ai-integration/
Golden Dome:
https://www.twz.com/space/putting-missile-interceptors-in-space-critical-to-defending-u-s-citizens-space-force-boss
Sandgk
Lawyers Guns Money Blog
Columbus Dispatch – Local News with a central Ohio tilt.
I note that the already included Guardian (under International sources) also maintains a US-centric node on their site. The UK/US nodes can be toggled in their banner atop the title bar.
BritinChicago
I would put “The Guardian” under Independent News Sources, as well as under International News. They publish a lot of US news, and even have a US edition. And it’s free! (I give them a little money every month, and would encourage others who can afford it to do the same.)
Cliosfanboy
The Independent in the UK for news. https://www.independent.co.uk/us
And Blue Virginia for, well, Virginia. https://bluevirginia.us/
VFX Lurker
Evan Urquhart’s Assigned Media reports on anti-trans propaganda. I already subscribe to Erin Reed’s excellent Erin in the Morning. I’m planning to support Assigned Media later this year.
MazeDancer
Daily Beans – activist-oriented. Excellent news summary podcast.
https://www.dailybeanspod.com
PendulousSanity
Realitychex.com has a good rundown of the politics of the day.
laura
Damn fine list- good job all around everybody!
Bill Hicks
Atrios/Eschaton and as noted above, Lawyers, Guns and Money
WaterGirl
@Eunicecycle: It’s actually easier for me for this purpose if people post the raw URL so I can do a straight copy and then link it.
Paul W.
The Majority Report with Sam Sedar is fantastic and pretty popular, the mix news with calls to action.
Also, a smaller but fantastic show is Kagro in the Morning with David Waldman mostly deep dive analysis and breakdowns, not prone to doomerism though certainly based in the real world.
WaterGirl
@Cliosfanboy: It’s already there under Independent News.
You think it should be under International, too? Or instead?
WaterGirl
@Bill Hicks: URLs?
Mr. Longform
@WaterGirl:
My two cents – LGM is a real go-to for me. Smart front pagers, feisty and generally pretty good comments. A bit doom-and-gloom, but reality has a doom-and-gloom bias these days.
VFX Lurker
Posting the raw URL below:
Assigned Media – https://www.assignedmedia.org/
WaterGirl
@VFX Lurker:
Perfect!
TBone
https://www.twz.com/
From its early beginnings to the present day, TWZ’s purpose remains the same.
The site stands at the nexus of military technology, strategy, and foreign policy. As a full-spectrum defense news and analysis website, TWZ covers the air, sea, land, space, and cyber domains of warfare, with an infusion of geopolitical context and technological analysis to offer readers deeper, yet easy-to-consume, insights than what they will find anywhere else.
TWZ’s pioneering use of open-source intelligence is a key facet of the site’s reporting, especially on global conflicts and international technological developments.
Trivia Man
Is PBS omitted for being too mainstream or too Bothsides-y?
rikyrah
I don’t know her first name, but, her last name is PIPER.
She’s on Youtube and TikTok and the Twitter
She’s from Missouri, and she talks about RURAL VOTERS
Baud
@rikyrah:
Jess Piper is already on the list.
strange visitor (from another planet)
i would add the gothamist.com (for NYC news) and i would hurl john fucking stewart and al fucking franken into the fucking sun.
Ruviana
There might be some controversy but I’d recommend MisterMix’s newsletter. Both he and Kay write there and are activist oriented. https://www.heymistermix.com . The newsletter is Reverse Pyromania. I think the link should work.
Geminid
@Cliosfanboy: Virginia Mercury is another good source for Virginia political news in general, while Cardinal News concentrates on political and other news from Southside and Southwest Virginia.
I’m not sure if I would include those two sites among these lists though, because they’re pretty crowded already. But maybe this summer, when Virginia’s governor and leagislative races heat up, there will be some posts in those races and these sites will become more relevant. Same for the New Jersey Globe and New Jersey governor race.
I think both states will hold their primaries in June. The top spot in Virginia is pretty much set with former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, but New Jersey Democrsts have a real three- or four-way fight for their governor nomination.
Cathie from Canada
@WaterGirl: yes Lawyers Guns & Money belongs on the list. I check it frequently and appreciate the posts.
No Nym
Ground News, which Trae Crowder advertises frequently, is a site for seeing how both sides of the political spectrum are covering news stories. I find it pretty helpful in understanding the two very different realities we live in.
No Nym
@Loveofcoffee: I second this suggestion! She is one I forward regularly.
TBone
This is frequently a great source
https://www.citizensforethics.org/
JWR
@WaterGirl:
Thanks for adding Background Briefing with Ian Masters to the list. Masters has been around for a very long time, and for years was a regular Sunday thru Thursday drive-time treat from KPFK radio. He was carried on a few of the other Pacifica stations around the country as well.
But then the 2016 election happened, KPFK lost it’s collective mind, and he decided he’d had enough. He said something like “I had Steiniacs to the left of me, Berniebros to my right”, so he left the station and took his entire operation online. Pacifica’s loss, if you ask me, and I’ve always thought he deserved a much wider audience, so thank you!
And I think you’ve got his show in the proper category, “Blogs & Websites”.
Arclite
For podcasts, I recommend Adam Conover’s Factually podcast. Great guests, and Adam is informed, funny, and progressive. Here’s the YT version, but it’s also on every podcast app.
https://m.youtube.com/@TheAdamConover
Mike S
Is there a reason NPR isn’t listed?
https://www.npr.org/
piratedan
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/
https://theonion.com/
SpongeBobtheBuilder
The Chicago Sun-Times is non-profit, and partners with WBEZ, the Chicago Public Radio Station. I recommend both.
RaflW
Thanks for adding Religion Dispatches from the prior thread.
Really a very deep set of info here!
Bupalos
I think there is a lot on here that I’d characterize as extractive politainment, especially the former Republican inflected politainment folks like Jen Rubin or the Meidas people who are essentially just leveraging “even-the-conservative” to glom on to a viable politainment angle. Not that they aren’t in some sense sincere. But I feel they have nothing meaningful to contribute.beyond the kind of algorithmic feel-good they are selling. And I emphasize that they are selling. These aren’t nutritionally sound sources I don’t think.
I think Ezra Klein would be a really good and much more thoughtful replacement for any of these even-the-Republican type entities. I think he drives people nuts for engaging with Republicans angles and themes, but this is a useful function. As opposed to kind of posing as a Republican, telling liberals they are right. For money.
Spanky
Open thread? Here’s a heartwarming story from Suburban Maryland:
NotMax
What’s listed as Uncategorized above is Five Minute News. Same content, just two different way to access it.
debit
@Bupalos: have to agree about the Meidas Touch group. Every post is hysterical click bait, with wild proclamations rarely rooted in reality. They are an automatic “not interested” whenever they show up in my YouTube recommends.
WaterGirl
@Trivia Man: I think no one suggested PBS. But it is pretty both-sides-y!
@Mike S: No one suggested NPR until now.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: We’ve got Jess Piper, if that’s who you are thinking of.
Eunicecycle
@WaterGirl:
https://www.ohiocapitaljournal.com
WaterGirl
@strange visitor (from another planet): Yeah, I choked on John Steward when I saw it.
RaflW
@debit: I’m OK with Jen Rubin. I find the Meidas Touch stuff to be pretty spammy & overwrought. NBD if it makes the cut, but I won’t be bothering.
WaterGirl
@JWR: Appreciate the feedback!
WaterGirl
@Spanky:
“We don’t know who it’s gonna be yet, but we’re super excited that it’s not gonna be Tesla!” :-)
WaterGirl
@debit:
That’s how I feel about Meidas Touch, too.
NotMax
@debit
Can no longer deal with those items there helmed by Ben. Unnecessarily sensationalistic, plus it remains a wonder how he hasn’t pulled both arms out of their sockets from patting himself on the back.
Some of the other contributors are worth a click, though.
MartyIL
For podcasts I like Impolitic, the Bulwark Podcast, wellRED and Sisters in Law
Rational Exuberance
Please consider adding Boston’s own Universal Hub to the local/state list — it’s a very well established outlet that covers a lot of interesting stories that other outlets don’t, including terrific reports on a wide range of court cases:
http://www.universalhub.com
scribbler
@Ruviana: Link to mistermix doesn’t seem to be working.
frosty
Dan Rather’s Substack newsletter is called Steady. I’m reading it via email for free (so far).
https://steady.substack.com/
I’m also reading The Cross Section by Paul Waldman (ex WaPo); another substack.
https://paulwaldman.substack.com/
Both are good but I now have 5 or 6 newsletters in my email every morning and I haven’t added Brad DeLong and some of the others in your list. I should probably cut back a little LOL, but honestly, B-J does a great job of covering the news and the latest outrages.
Trivia Man
@WaterGirl: IMHO: leave NPR PBS off this list. Sanewashing, both-sidesism, overly cautious… but most of all neither one is an obscure treasure who needs exposure for new fans. Maybe the most famous “liberal” brands in the country? Rightly or not.
Ruviana
@scribbler: try this
https://heymistermix.com/
It worked for me. You can also just do his site name as one word and the newsletter should come up as the first entry.
jackmac
Please consider adding Capitol News illinois https://capitolnewsillinois.com/
It’s a non-profit venture created in 2019 by the Illinois Press Association to bolster coverage of state legislative, government and policy news along with a dose of state politics. They have links with Northwestern University’s Medill journalism program as well as offer investigative and deep dives via ties with ProPublica.
Capitol News Illinois runs a professional newsroom and the service is offered free to IPA members. But anyone can read CNI articles via their home page. It’s an outstanding — and underrated — service.
WaterGirl
@jackmac: Will do!
Rich2506
Crooks & Liars ( https://crooksandliars.com/ ) isn’t so much a source of original reporting of news so much as they look around the internet and tell us “Hey, ya hear what these guys are up to NOW?” They’re reasonably reliable, though I often have to use them as an initial source rather than as a complete story source.
The Red Pen
YouTube?
Yes on all the listed source.
Might want to add https://www.youtube.com/@keithedwards (Keith Edwards)
David Collier-Brown
off topic:
Tod Maffin @[email protected] writes:
DO YOU WANT TO MOVE TO CANADA?
On Tuesday night (7pm Pacific), I’ll be hosting a LIVE Q&A with a registered #immigration consultant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8_oX7nlo28
VFX Lurker
More of a distillation of current events than in-depth reporting on current events:
Ann Telnaes’ editorial cartoons – https://anntelnaes.substack.com/
Deeter
I read Rachel Bitecofer : https://thecycle.substack.com/ — action oriented takes. Newsletter and podcast.
Newsletter: Thomas Zimmer offers a German historian lens: https://thomaszimmer.substack.com/
YouTube/Podcast: The Bulwark? >> https://www.thebulwark.com/ — at minimum Sarah Longwell’s focus group podcast is depressing as hell, but important information: https://www.thebulwark.com/s/thefocusgroup
Blog/newsletter that is not substack: Uncharted Blue https://www.unchartedblue.com/ Writing from Hunter Lazzaro, Laura Clawson, Mark Sumner. Often cross-posted on DailyKos
12xuser
The Focus Group is part of The Bulwark, an assotment of never-Trumper writers and podcast/Youtube makers which should be on this list, IMHO.
dm
I suppose Crooked Media (other than Strict Scrutiny, apparently) are personae non grata for their early Biden apostacy, but they do have Stacy Abrams: https://crooked.com/podcast-series/assemblyrequired/ which includes a segment of “what you can do” each episode
And Jane Coaston’s morning news segment is a superior replacement for NPR: https://crooked.com/podcast-series/what-a-day/
And they do have fundraising and activism links through their Vote Save America signup: https://votesaveamerica.com
and I do find the Bulwark interesting for a glimpse of sanity on the other side of the fence.
Mike S
@WaterGirl: Thanks. I work for an affiliate of NPR and like PBS they can be a little too both sides but getting stories right is paramount.
And we are very much under attack right now. Chapter 8 of Project 2025 was all about getting rid of Public Media.
charon
International news:
https://www.aljazeera.com/
(I find this a pretty fair site that values credibility)
Blog:
https://yastreblyansky.blogspot.com/
(One or two posts per week but tres insightful)
News Magazine:
https://www.bylinesupplement.com/
Sandia Blanca
Ms. Kanefield’s first name is misspelled on the listing; it should be “Teri” instead of “Terry.” Thanks.
karensky
@rikyrah: Jess is her first name.
Mike E
I listened to professional left’s podcast from 3/11, driftglass and bluegal are a lot of fun and they go back 20 years to recap what a few people here remember well: the Steve Gilliard hit job. Receipts given; media crimes, exposed!
BethanyAnne
@Loveofcoffee: I love her. She’s on TikTok, too, but I catch her in YT.
BethanyAnne
I read Hamilton Nolan’s writing on Substack. He writes on inequality and unions and is damn good. I upgraded to paid recently, and have 3 gift subs if anyone wants one.
ETA: Link to https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/
Mike E
@karensky: her “I know what they’re doing” post (which she also narrated for you) is a great project 2025 breakdown previewed years prior in her home state
Trivia Man
@Mike S: I 100% support public news getting govt subsidies, i am in favor of both NPR and PBS. I have been a sporadic donator over the years. For this post, I envision a list of lesser known outlets most people wouldn’t find otherwise. Vetted and curated is a big plus.
I dont mean to disparage these 2.
Lyrebird
I have read interesting points on The Opinionated Ogre – Substack, here are two quotes:
Geminid
:Charon: I think Al Jazeera is a decent news source, but– I keep in mind that the Qatari government owns it and they aren’t going to publish anything that makes Qatar look bad.
On the other hand, Qatar is a major player in the Middle East and if I want to know what its government thinks, I can often figure that out through Al Jazeera. Sometimes when the Prime Minister wants something widely known, he’ll call in an Al Jazeera reporter who’ll lob him the right questions.
Al Arabiya is similar except that the Saudis own it. Both sites seem to report on US politics objectively for the most part. People over there seem more interested in and aware of US affairs and policies than we are of theirs.
Rudaw English is another good site for Middle East news. It’s published in Erbil which is the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region.
@charon:
Mr. Bemused Senior
Let me suggest The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
This is the organization that published the Panama Papers and the Pandora Papers. It’s not a breaking news source. Rather, it has in depth reporting specializing in worldwide corruption.
WaterGirl
@Lyrebird: Exactly the kind of thing I’m hoping to feature!
Jackie
O/T, but this has my BP skyrocketing. The FFOTUS “promised” SS and Medicare were off the table, but his silence is deafening…
rikyrah
@karensky:
Thank you :)
kindness
What about Mock Paper Scissors (https://mockpaperscissors.com/)? It isn’t news blog so much but it is fun. It’s nice to have a change of pace over what the news is now.
pieceofpeace
@No Nym: Yes, I agree on the value of having some conservative input, never Fox News. It’s good to know your enemies well (Michael Corleone, Godfather?), although I think he said to know them better than your ‘friends.’
Old School
@Jackie: So he’s going to shut down Social Security but blame the judge for it?
Jackie
@Old School: That’s his reasoning, it seems. “The judge made me do it.” Trump’s deafening silence…
Baud
@Old School:
@Jackie:
mrmoshpotato
@Jackie: Are you sure it’s silence and not howling laughter at how stupid too much of the US electorate are
ETA – I wouldn’t be surprised if Dump is genuinely surprised his conman Nazi ass got re-elected.
Robert M. Farley
@WaterGirl: LGM wonders where LGM fits…
Theresa,MF
Greg Sargent is now at The New Republic and has a daily podcast, The Daily Blast. It’s honestly one of the few political things I could tolerate right after the election, and the podcast episodes are brief.
https://newrepublic.com/authors/greg-sargent
sab
Very off topic. I need urgent advice from a Virginia lawyer who knows about family stuff, like who has rights to decide funeral and such from a 24 year old alienated from her mother whose 22 year old sister she listed as her next of kin is being ignored by the medical examiner.
The alienated mother has lost custody and has restricted visitation rights to all seven of her children because of neglect and drug use and also she steals everything not nailed down when she visits.
But Richmond medical examiner seems to have turned all control over to her because she said she was the mom.
Lovely girl died Turesday morning. Today we don’t even know where her body is. We cannot plan a funeral. We cannot plan a memorial service. We don’t know where her grave will be. We are devasted and lost and so angry. And there was nothing angry about her.
The alienated mother’s evil mothered cackled to her daughter who abandoned a foueteen year old” you don’t owe those people anything.” Those peole are the dead girls siblings, and her fiance.
ETA This is like something out of a cheesy novel, but it is actual our life, and it is breaking many hearts and there doesn’t seem to be a God damn thing we can do about it because of one call by a nitwit to one medical examiner.
WaterGirl
@Robert M. Farley: Ha!
oldgold
This morning Senator Grassley held a townhall in a small county seat town in north central Iowa.
It was held in the Franklin County Courtroom. The Courtroom was packed. So many wanted to attend, quite a few were relegated to chanting out on the Courthouse parking lot. The crowd was not made up of outside agitators, but good old native Iowa cornballs. The attendees let Grassley have it.
https://www.thegazette.com/government-politics/frustrated-and-angry-iowans-confront-sen-chuck-grassley-at-raucous-town-hall-in-hampton/?
sab
@sab: The lovely girl died in a car accident Tuesday. And her missing mother crawled of the woodwork to interfere and prove she is the mother.
Josie
I receive emails from Social Security due to my connection with the Fairness Act. I just got this in my email.
“Today, the Court issued clarifying guidance about the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) related to DOGE employees and DOGE activities at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Therefore, I am not shutting down the agency. President Trump supports keeping Social Security offices open and getting the right check to the right person at the right time. SSA employees and their work will continue under the TRO.”
WaterGirl
@sab: I asked an attorney I know whether they know any attorneys in Virginia.
What a nightmare. Some people are really fucked up.
Geminid
@sab: I wish I could help. Richmond has plenty of attorneys and maybe you can find a good one who works in the area of family law. It’s the weekend now, but if you do some research you might be able to find 3-4 prospects and leave a short message with each. A call back might be a good sign of serious intent. Ideally, they’d meet with the sibling first thing Monday. Kay could give some good advice but I don’t know if you have her email address.
bluefoot
@sab: I am not a lawyer and I wish I had one I could refer you to. But having gone through something like this in another state, I believe it should be the next of kin to whom everything is referred unless there was a legal proxy in place. The rules do vary from state to state though.
WaterGirl
@Josie: Encouraging.
Glad you got your make-up payment already. For people who are still waiting, it must be even more distressing.
Other MJS
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Geminid
@Geminid:
@sab: Looks like WaterGirl has a good lead. All I can add is, don’t be discouraged.
Carol
I recently found Drop Site News. It’s on Substack. I have joined it, but haven’t paid anything for it. Here’s more about it. https://www.dropsitenews.com/about
Anyway
No page break?! Lot of links to scroll past =)
NutmegAgain
I searched, but didn’t see Media Matters. I think it’s a useful site. https://www.mediamatters.org/
Similarly, Current Affairs
https://www.currentaffairs.org/
sab
Also too, thank you Watergirl for having driven off such a useful commenter who actually provided helpful free advice to actual problems on many occassions over decades.
Posted her and shamed her for a whole weekend. Good job. Useful. Now she is gone.
Acallidryas
Please include podcasts and YouTube! Those are huge sources of information for some people and the right wing influence there- especially for podcasts- is overwhelming. I’d love to have suggestions for friends that only do info that way, and to have any good YouTube channels or Podcasts get a listening and algorithm boost.
sab
@Geminid: Yeah right.
sab
@Geminid: I know they have good attorneys but I don’t even know what specialty we need. The right kind will help because they have contacts. The wrong kind will cost us money and accomplish nothing.
Josie
@sab:
I hope that it is your upsetting situation that has caused you to make such an untrue and unwarranted attack on WaterGirl. Hopefully, you will at some point realize it and back off.
Bob Brandon
Reuters for international news:
https://www.reuters.com/
Kansas Reflector for state news:
https://kansasreflector.com/
Along those lines, any outlet from States Newsroom not already mentioned above;
https://statesnewsroom.com/
Thanks for letting me suggest options!
SLC Lurker
The Salt Lake Tribune is a non-profit as of 2019. Though still imperfect, it is a good newspaper and an independent voice in Utah and much of the Intermountain West. It regularly features voices that are otherwise not prominently displayed or heard in the region. It’s a model that I think ought to be encouraged and supported. I think it would be a good addition to local and regional news sources:
https://www.sltrib.com/
WaterGirl
@Anyway: Shit, I meant to do that, even decided where to put the break, and then spaced out. Sorry
edit: All better now. Thanks for not being an asshole when you called it to my attention.
schrodingers_cat
@sab: Deputinize practices Family Law, you could ask him.
WaterGirl
@sab: I have no idea who or what you are talking about.
WaterGirl
@SLC Lurker: Thanks, and welcome!
sentient ai from the future
@sab: have you asked the Virginia bar association for a referral? In many states the bar will have a service for this kind of thing, where you give the rough outline of your situation and they send you to someone who works in that practice area.
Anyway
I was tweaking you, being a smartass … I’ve lost count of the actions by this administration that piss me off…
Kathleen
Great list! I’d add:
Violet Blue
“Threat Model” on Cybersecurity, Covid and more
https://www.patreon.com/c/violetblue/posts
Atrios
Eschaton
https://www.eschatonblog.com/
and mor
WaterGirl
@sab: The premier family law firm in Richmond would have the contacts you need. See my comment at #96.
WTFGhost
I once again nominate mahablog.com – if it was heard and rejected, that’s fine, but, she’s deserving of consideration, and I wasn’t around to see if she was considered.
WaterGirl
@WTFGhost: I don’t recall that one, so I don’t think it was deliberately left off.
WaterGirl
@Anyway: I was seriously thanking you, not being sarcastic. There have been a couple of occasions when someone has been a real jerk about it.
Czar Chasm
I’m all for having a podcast list, as they seem to now be a fully integrated element of the media landscape.
So happy to see The Dollop added to the list. Let Gary know!
Sister Golden Bear
@VFX Lurker: Agreed. Both Assigned Media and Erin in the Morning should definitely be on the list because their excellent coverage of trans issues.
WTFGhost
@sab: In a pinch, the bar association might have a referral service. If you have $500 to spend, I was warned (state of Washington bar) to expect up to two hours @ $250 an hour to take in a complicated legal situation, and make recommendations.
For family medical matters… sigh. I’d have sent you $500 if you needed it, when I was able to work, but, you may need to spend some dollars, to get some calls made and a letter written. Can you do that? If you can’t, you know you need to ask for reduced rate/pro-bono help – or, maybe there’s another well-to-do Jackal.
Now: you can tell the Bar, or any lawyer you speak to, that it’s a critical emergency regarding medical care. Just like with arrests, attorneys are used to appearing in 15 minutes, in a suit, with very official looking papers. But, obviously, you don’t ask them to do that if all you need is a phone call. Still: a lawyer in an expensive suit scares da phuck out of people who know they bear liability potential, and that’s everyone but maybe some of the cleaning staff.
ETA: missed “medical examiner” in my desire to spew helpful words, which renders some of them stupid sounding. Sorry.
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: Thank you for everything, WG.
zhena gogolia
@sab: You can find her at mistermix’s thing.
WaterGirl
@Acallidryas: You make a good case!
They are in. :-)
I will be updating the list over the weekend with suggestions from today.
Sister Golden Bear
Joe.My.God ( http://joemygod.com ) is a good news aggregator blog with a focus on LGBTQ+ news — and not infrequent posts about the latest Grand Old Pedophiles being arrested, convicted or sentenced.
LGBTQ Nation ( https://www.lgbtqnation.com/ ) is another great news source for queer/trans issues.
sab
@sab: Also too, many many apologies to Watergirl who stepped right up to help even as I was blasting her about Kay.
Thank you some much, Watergirl. There are some devastated young women and a couple of kids. Where is their sister? When and where will there be a funeral?
One evil meth head can wander in and make things so much worse just because? Her mother believes in devils, and the fetus her promiscuous daughter had was a devil. Because daughter getting pregnant derailed her life. It was the fetus’s fault. I kid you not. Grandma evil bitch believes it.
Sweet kid had to sit outside on the porch during family visits because bitch grandmother wouldn’t let her inside. And these people are running her funeral. We expect she will end up cremated in a paupers grave in Va because the medical examiner was confused.
I cannot begin to express our frustration and my anger.
A 24 year old dies on a tragic accident and the medical examiner does everthing they can do to make it worse.
Mom was
thereon the phone from Ohio but sister was also an adult in person and said otherwise. But whatever. She isn’t a mom.WaterGirl
@WTFGhost: Trying to help is never stupid-sounding. :-)
Bg
Local journalism:
Al.com In addition to generic news and sports they do some excellent investigative and historical reporting They won a Pulitzer a couple of years ago for a year-long investigation of how the state slanted history to favor the Confederacy and the impact that has today
Miami New Times – local news and local details about national news – an “alternative “ paper that also had early coverage of local Proud Boys (like Enrique Tarrio) and their close alliance with the GOP, and Marco Rubio
sab
@WTFGhost: I might be wrong, but in a pinch the bar association gives you the names of people who sign up because they aren’t good enough to get referrals. I want competence and experience.
sab
@WaterGirl: Thank you so so much. I am abjectly apologizing for the kay criticism.
Sister Golden Bear
@Sister Golden Bear: Forgot to mention that Joe.My.God also has good coverage of what the fascist wing nut influencers — e.g. Charlie Kirk, Jesse Watters, etc. — are up to. Definitely an early warning system of stuff that gets pushed out the puke funnel to wider audiences later on.
WaterGirl
@sab: Stress is not pretty. Apology accepted.
Sister Golden Bear
For California news, SF Gate ( https://www.sfgate.com ) is a sister publication to the SF Chronicle, but it’s not paywalled, unlike the latter. Unfortunately, the San Jose Mercury, Sacramento Bee, LA Times and Orange County Register (CA’s other major papers) also paywalled.
SFist ( https://sfist.com/ ) and LAist ( https://laist.com/ ) are also good sources for CA news.
One of the Many Jens
@sab: Oh, I am so, so sorry. That’s terribly sad. Sending love and prayers to your loved ones for their loss, and good luck in their upcoming legal battle, and a hug to you for whenever you want/need one.
WaterGirl
Some really great suggestions in this thread! Thank you.
WaterGirl
@One of the Many Jens: So nice to see your nym! and you :-)
Thor Heyerdahl
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
https://www.abc.net.au/news
sab
@Josie: You must have missed that weekend. Post pinned all weekend.
WaterGirl
@sab: It was a weekday. The post was pinned from maybe 10 am to 5 pm. The post was not an attack on Kay. I did not drive her off.
You attack me with false information. You apologize. Then you abjectly apologize. I accept your apology. And then you come back to the original attack, still untrue. Wow.
Mai Naem mobile
https://statesnewsroom.com/
It’s a non profit consortium of sorts. They appear to have affiliates in most states. https://azmirror.com/ is rhe Arizona one. They do a lot of good reporting on local stuff.
https://ictnews.org/ Non-profit that overs Native American news/issues from all over the country.
https://www.notus.org/ non-partisan non-profit Jose Pagliery has had some good scoops.
Liz Winstead has a weekly podcast dealing with reproductive rights. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/feminist-buzzkills/id1575776538
I believe Bloomberg does a good job on straight national and international economic news. They also do some decent judicial news coverage. A lot of it is behind a pay wall so I don’t know if you should include it.
owlbrick
Have you looked at Some More News on youtube, with their podcast Even More News? They’re pretty good.
sab
@WaterGirl: Kay was offended.
My family is being torn apart by a meth head believed by an out of state medical examiner. We will never be able to fix this if we can’t this week. We need to find her body.
What normal US family even has to ask this after a traffic accident.
Thor Heyerdahl
I got this link from the comments recently – for positive news happening even amidst doom and gloom.
https://fixthenews.com/
Josie
@sab:
I missed nothing. I read the blog every day. We just have a different view of what happened.
Another Scott
@Trivia Man: The headline network news shows themselves have issues, but there are great shows carried by public radio.
https://theworld.org/ – The World
“The World is a public radio program and podcast that crosses borders and time zones to bring home the stories that matter.”
https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm – On The Media from WNYC
“While maintaining the civility and fairness that are the hallmarks of public radio, OTM tackles sticky issues with a frankness and transparency that has built trust with over one million weekly radio and podcast listeners. OTM can be heard weekly on more than 400 stations and has a biweekly podcast. It has won the Edward R. Murrow Awards for feature reporting and investigative reporting, the National Press Club’s Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism, it is the only back-to-back winner of the Bart Richards award for media criticism, it is the winner of several Mirror Awards, and it has a Peabody Award for its body of work.”
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens – As it Happens
“In 1968, As It Happens premiered on CBC Radio, with what may have seemed like a gimmicky premise: so many other shows rely on a call-in format – what if we call out? It was so simple it was brilliant. It enabled the program to interview people across the country and around the world, just by dialing a number: Canadian and world leaders, regular people in extraordinary circumstances, excited scientists, and proud eccentrics of all kinds.
And it proved prescient as well. We no longer have to reach people via rotary phone in their living rooms or offices — As It Happens can get hold of anyone, anywhere, who’s got a story to tell. Night after night, host Nil Köksal brings you in-depth, conversations with the people near, or at, the centre of the day’s news.”
And nightly puns!
Etc.
Best wishes,
Scott.
NotMax
Mentioned yesterday that Fred Kaplan does not belong under YouTube. Blogs and Websites would be better.
jmh
I would add The Arkansas Times under state and local news:
https://arktimes.com/
Radley Balko’s the watch
https://radleybalko.substack.com/
The Verge under independent news
https://www.theverge.com/
I would also put 404media under independent news
sab
@WaterGirl: I reacted then and haven’t reread the posts until I apologized. We all make mistakes. Reread it after my apology and I still agree with myself. So my apology was not accepted ( your right) has you saying I was worse than you thought so wow! So maybe I rethink too.
Interesting. Dosesn’t seem useful or healthy or helpful. Whatever. Refight old battles.
I am still very angry kay is gone. Your fault or her fault (I am neutral on that. You gave her reason but I do think she was looking for a reason.) I still miss her.
Thanks for your help. You are always helpful to jackals, so I don’t want to leave the impression that you are not, because you always are. And I look forward to your posts.
I am not thinking clearly at all, lashing out everywhere, because distraught about my granddaughtwr and there is nowhere to go. We don’t even want facts or justice or anything. We just wsnt her body back to bury in a proper funeral.
VFX Lurker
@sab:
If you need to contact Kay for help, I saw this from upthread:
Rokka
What’s the point of asking for advice when you ignore comments? I’ve posted twice in the last week that Techdirt is a pro big tech disruption blog that should not be on your list if you want to have any credibility as a left leaning site.
Supporting the exploitation of writers, artists and musicians is not what anyone needs right now. Another site you should dump is LGM. My history with them includes Loomis banning me over two years ago
One of the Many Jens
@WaterGirl: Hello there! Hope you’re hanging in there ok. I knew throughout the Biden presidency just how much I appreciated having well-meaning (and mostly well-doing) adults in charge, but man. It’s been even harder focusing on life and work stuff than I’d been allowing for! One of my coping mechanisms for uncertainty is learning more about what’s going on — which is helpful under most circumstances, but doesn’t work so well in this kind of flood the zone with unnecessary bullshit scenario.
I just keep coming back to Frozen 2, and the next right thing. It has felt true to me before grieving loved ones, now it feels true with the death of this country as I’d known it. So now enough of us keep working on the next right thing, enough dawns, we’ll see where we really are, and what can be reimagined/rebuilt/built anew. :)
Take care of yourself!
Mai Naem mobile
@sab: I have no idea if this will help you but you could try calling Adult Protective Services in VA. They may at least be able to point you in the right direction.
sab
@Mai Naem mobile: Wr are Ohioans. Why would they protect us. She was new to VA.
Jackie
@Josie:
Which version of Lutnick are we, who NEED OUR SS to literally survive, to believe? Literally playing russian roulette with SS recipients is inhumane and cruel, and I don’t trust Trump or Lutnick at all. We aren’t real people to them; we’re toys to be played with.
Another Scott
@sab: I’m so sorry. :-(
I don’t know of any Virginia lawyers (we got some advice from a good eldercare attorney about 20 years ago, but she’s retired now and probably wouldn’t be a good fit anyway).
Maybe VALegalAid.org would be a decent place to start?
Good luck, and condolences to you and everyone who loved her.
Best wishes,
Scott.
Josie
@Jackie: I agree. I need that check just like you do. I was just reporting the message I received. Whether or not it is true remains to be seen.
ETA: I suspect that
LutnickDUDEK got out over his skis a bit, but who knows.WaterGirl
@Rokka: It looks like TechDirt is turning into a politics blog, and they had a great story recently related to Trump. I had never seen TechDirt before that.
I did see one comment about TechDirt being a pro big tech disruption blog – but if you posted it twice then i missed one. What does being a pro big tech disruption blog mean?
“Supporting the exploitation of writers, artists and musicians is not what anyone needs right now.” Can you explain how that relates to TechDirt. As you saying that’s what they are doing?
Also, I have some people saying YES to LGM and other people saying NO to LGM. There’s not consensus there at all.
Same with MeidasTouch and a few others. Not sure what to do when there is not agreement.
Josie
@WaterGirl:
Maybe a parenthetical note noting disagreement?
CapnMubbers
https://statesnewsroom.com/
States Newsroom is the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, with reporting from every capital. We shine a light on policy and politics in all 50 states and we provide that coverage for free; no pop-ups, paywalls or ads.
Edited: Mai Naem mobile already posted this.
WaterGirl
@One of the Many Jens: I saw Frozen, but not Frozen 2. The Next Right Thing. Interesting.
Kind of like one foot in front of the other, but with a positive twist, rather than the image of trudging forward.
We all need to take care of ourselves and one another.
Frank Wilhoit
@Sandgk:
The Dispatch is now a Gannett property and its print edition is literally USA Today with a custom slug in the top corner.
coin operated
@WaterGirl: My vote is to leave them up. We’re supposed to be adults here and can choose those that suit our particular taste.
I happen to like both Techdirt and LGM.
Ohio Mom
@Eunicecycle: The Ohio Capital Journal is excellent. Sometimes I can’t bear to read it though, how far down my adopted state has fallen.
WaterGirl
@Josie: Interesting thought. Or perhaps a separate section for the disputed ones?
Jackie
@WaterGirl:
Offer all and let individual jackals decide for themselves what works best for them. That’s actually the case for all links offered. One size shoe won’t fit all.
You’re doing an amazing job as always, and what you’re doing is deeply appreciated! Thank you :)
WaterGirl
@Frank Wilhoit: These fuckers are taking over everything.
Josie
@WaterGirl:
That would work also.
Jay
@WaterGirl:
For a long time they covered mostly Silicon Valley and start ups, writing from a generally positive/libertarian viewpoint, and then everything changed. And I think that change happened before, but most noticeably during the Silicon Valley Bank episode.
WaterGirl
@Jackie:
I am glad to be hearing various people’s thoughts on this. Not quite sure about that approach. Of course everyone will pick and choose from the list. But I’m seeing these as being recommended or having some sort of stamp of approval, so I’m just not sure.
Luckily, I don’t have to decide tonight. There’s still a lot of work left incorporating even the straightforward input in today’s thread.
WaterGirl
@Jay: I assume you are talking about TechDirt there. Everything changed for the better, or for the worse? Meaning TechDirt?
Jackie
Even though his signature is there, FFOTUS claims he didn’t sign it????
This is both his excuse to backpedal AND denounce autopen signatures… which could in theory throw commuted J6 sentences into jeopardy…
Josie
@Josie:
That should have been Dudek, not Lutnick, in my comment.
Jay
@WaterGirl:
Yeah, TechDirt. Over time, there was Gamergate, Crypto, no reason layoffs, program closures, MOU’s hanging their asses out in public, but TechDirt really changed when Silicon Valley Bank, whose purpose was largely to fund visionary start ups, was looted for the cash by the MOU’s they had favorably written about for decades.
Now, like Wired, they are now a good source for the evil being plotted and promoted in Silicon Valley,
WaterGirl
@Jackie:
Wow, the dog ate his homework.
He’s not exactly sure which dog did it.
The dog named Marco Rubio is a good boy, so if he ate Trump’s homework, well that’s okay, it was probably the right thing to do.
We are through the looking glass. Imagine ANY OTHER administration where someone besides the president decided an executive order should be signed and implemented.
The mind boggles.
Ohio Mom
@sab: I just got here, maybe you’ve already left this thread. I hope not.
First, my deepest sympathies. Nothing tears a family apart like a substance abuser.
Second, this could be a long shot but what about the Richmond NAMI chapter (National Alliance on Mental IIllness). I bet they know attorneys used to dealing with complex family issues. NAMI members have heard it all and will be sympathetic. The last thing you need is someone being judgemental, you are in pain already.
The idea of contacting Kay through Mister Mix’s site could also work though I think you have to join the site to comment.
It’s all so sad, and this is going to reverberate through your family. Keeping you in my thoughts.
Jay
@Jackie:
When, or if, Courts actually take action against illegal arrests and deportations, he will blame it all on L’il Marco.
WaterGirl
@Jay: Okay, thanks, that’s much more clear for someone like me who has never read them or followed their activities!
WaterGirl
@Jay:
You are so right.
Just a coffee boy. Hardly knew him!
Lyrebird
I didn’t think the list was intended to prove anything, more to help BJ readers continue to be able to get info they need.
@WaterGirl: You know far better than I do what the chances of full consensus are. I say, put “YMMV” in huge bold font at the top of the list. I sometimes hate the tone at LGM, and I think it should absolutely be on the list anyhow. Some people may have the same reax to Bulwark. Again, YMMV.
Kristine
@SpongeBobtheBuilder: I second both, especially the Sun-Times.
Jackie
@WaterGirl:
Marcos is just one the first to maliciously have his political career dismantled for daring to 1) run against him, and 2) to belittle him. (Never forget FFOTUS’s tiny hands.)
Ted Cruz and others are on FFOTUS’s enemies list – it’s only a matter of when they’re destroyed.
WaterGirl
@Jackie: So sad!
sab
I just want the kind of lawyer in VA who knows how to deal with this. I have a fine estate tax lawyer in Ohio and this stuff that is partof my daily life leaves him stunned and perplexe( and quite frankly, very
pro ladies..
Judge Me Not Anymore
The Obama Boys May be disfavored, but Pod Save the World often has in depth discussions on foreign affairs.
A Ghost to Most
My only recommendation is that people listen to the words of Jackson Browne’s “Before the Deluge” from Late for the Sky. Its’ relevance has never been greater.
Jay
@sab:
I hope this helps,
Link
Mai Naem mobile
@sab: First, let me offer you my condolences . Your children/grandchildren are never supposed to pass before you. It has to be indescribably difficult.
I did forget you were in different states and I’m reslly not sure if it would help. APS is for vulnerable adults so I am not sure since she’s passed they can help. One of my reasons for mentioning Adult Protective Services is that its Friday evening going into a weekend and most APS offices have emergency numbers. Also I was figuring they might at least point you in the right direction.
Jay
@Jackie:
Funny thing, all those DJTdiot “signed” Covid cheques were honoured and cashed.
Guess they were not “legal tender” according to DJTdiot’s feral rabid raccoons inhabiting his head, chewing on the neurons, and that all that money needs to be paid back.
Jackie
@Jay: Thank goodness mine was direct deposit; no signature! :D
Rokka
This is the post I made a few days ago:
Sorry, but Masnick has a long history of being an anti-copyright extremist in service of Google etc. and is way late to the party. Here’s what David Newhoff said about him in 2019:
“Mike and the rest of the Tech-Utopian Cheerleading Squad really need put down their pom poms, take a time-out, and think about what they’ve done. Perhaps in a moment of quiet introspection, they will recognize some different systems that, despite the good intentions of those who designed them, have been abused by some pretty bad actors to truly hideous effect”
https://illusionofmore.com/no-mike-its-that-youre-just-wrong-about-the-case-act/
Masnick was all in on disruption until Musk bought Twitter and continues to support the elimination of copyright protections. Techdirt is a blog that supports big tech piracy and shouldn’t be trusted by anyone.
LGM has turned into an un-readable dysfunctional train wreck. I don’t care what anybody else thinks about them.
Two sites you should list are Little Green Footballs where the commenters do a scary good job of doom scrolling the news and Joe.My.God.
dnfree
I haven’t read all the comments—clearly an engaging topic! Under local news I would suggest the Chicago Tribune, chicagotribune.com. Conservative editorially, but they do investigative reporting.
I don’t know what category it should be in, but theatlantic.com often has worthwhile longer pieces. I know some people here think its strictly conservative or libertarian, but there’s more variety than that that.
If people haven’t read it lately, electoral-vote.com is already on your list, but they are also doing daily news coverage that is pretty in-depth.
TadoDad
I say Yes to blogs, and vote for Talking Feds, Al Franken, and some of the DSR network podcasts, among them DSr’s Words Matter.
I am also a Yes on Lawyers Guns and Money.
frosty
I have two ideas. 1) If there’s no consensus, then leave it off the list. 2) Put a big caveat above the list. Something like: “These were recommended by commenters in March 2025. There was disagreement among us whether every one of these links should be included. Try them out and use your own judgement.”
dnfree
@WaterGirl: I read the whole post at the time, and while some of the comments were critical of Kay, the post itself was clearly not intended as an attack on Kay and I did not take it as one. Kay apparently took it as an attack on herself, but that was not the point of the post. Too bad for this post to get derailed too.
@sab: very sorry for your family’s loss and for the awful confusion added to it. Heartbreaking.
WaterGirl
@Judge Me Not Anymore: Good point. And welcome!
WaterGirl
@Rokka: Is Masnick related to the TechDirt site?
WaterGirl
@TadoDad:
DSR ?
Rokka
Techdirt has always been Masnick’s blog site.
https://www.techdirt.com/about/
Another Scott
@WaterGirl: I think it’s this:
https://thedsrnetwork.com/
https://thedsrnetwork.com/category/words-matter
Etc.
HTH!
Best wishes,
Scott.
Tom Fitz
https://www.ridenbaugh.com/
Ridenbaugh Press
Could go under either state/local or blog. Political analysis of Idaho, WA and OR. Quality writers.
MrPug
It looked to me like Zeteo didn’t make the cut after not making the first cut. I did find it under “Substacks and Blogs”, but really seems to belong somewhere else like “Independent News” or something. Glad to now see it on here though.
WaterGirl
@MrPug: There is no way to see anything on or from zeteo without supplying your email and subscribing.
That’s why it’s under Substacks & newsletters.
It doesn’t appear to be a website that anyone can get to. Unless I’m missing something?