Rebecca Spiess

Is Cambridge’s equity-based school system finally facing a reality check? - The Boston Globe Elizabeth Hudson has tapped into public frustration that, despite lavish spending on schools, persistent achievement gaps in Cambridge remain.

Based on Cambridge’s liberal reputation, a candidate like Elizabeth Hudson shouldn’t have had a chance in School Committee elections, @rebeccaspiess.bsky.social writes.

The DEA said it arrested 171 ‘high ranking’ Sinaloa Cartel members. A Spotlight investigation found that’s not true. - The Boston Globe A Globe investigation found that the federal agency misrepresented the stature of its targets, claiming cartel ties at a time when the Trump administration is taking lethal military action against suc...

The DEA said it arrested 171 ‘high ranking’ Sinaloa Cartel members. A Spotlight investigation found that’s not true.
from @globespotlight.bsky.social
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/29/m...

Digital footprints: Employing AI, parents are resurrecting children lost to fentanyl The Facebook video depicted a girl with dyed blonde hair, lounging on a plush outside patio in gray sweatpants. Her legs were crossed, and she faced the...

I wrote about how bereaved parents are using AI to resurrect their kids lost to fentanyl.

Many say it's helped them heal. Others say it's "kind of like an addiction."

More here: www.post-gazette.com/news/health/...

Dr. Derrick Todd has been accused of abusing patients. He could have been stopped sooner. Hundreds of women allege Dr. Derrick Todd sexually abused them over a decade. A Globe Spotlight investigation found the state’s medical establishment missed key warning signs.

🧵 Nearly 250 patients have filed civil lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by Dr. Derrick Todd, a renowned doctor at top Boston hospitals. He also faces two criminal charges of rape.

A @globespotlight.bsky.social report found he could have been stopped earlier.

Abstract and results summary

🚨 New preprint 🚨

Across 3 experiments (n = 3,285), we found that interacting with sycophantic (or overly agreeable) AI chatbots entrenched attitudes and led to inflated self-perceptions.

Yet, people preferred sycophantic chatbots and viewed them as unbiased!

osf.io/preprints/ps...

Thread 🧵

Wu’s tactic against Kraft? Being relentlessly tough. - The Boston Globe The mayor waged a ferocious campaign against the first-time political candidate who dared to challenge her.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/15/o...

This Kentucky Republican is bucking Trump over Epstein. He got his start in Massachusetts. - The Boston Globe Thomas Massie went to MIT and founded a company here, displaying some of the qualities that have since made him a thorn in Trump’s side.

Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky has become Trump’s main Republican antagonist in Congress over the Jeffrey Epstein case. And as I learned reporting today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point, Massie got his professional start in Massachusetts www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/15/n...

The US economy is weakening. These 5 numbers tell the story. - The Boston Globe From falling job numbers to rising unemployment, the signs of a slowdown are mounting, even as the stock market keeps going up.

Confused about how the US economy is doing right now? Today's Starting Point walks through numbers that help tell the story.

A tale of two ballrooms Last week’s National Conservatism and Abundance gatherings in Washington laid out two clashing visions of America’s future.

In which I spent $425 to hear a couple guys say "retarded" www.theargumentmag.com/p/a-tale-of-...

Two candidates will be eliminated from the Boston mayoral race. But their ideas may not. - The Boston Globe Even policies on the political margins sometimes gain popularity with voters.

The Boston mayoral campaign will narrow to two contenders tomorrow. But as today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains, the two losing candidates could continue to shape the race’s dynamics going forward www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/08/n...

5 ways Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is dismantling public health as we know it - The Boston Globe From changing vaccine rules to spouting misinformation, Trump’s health secretary is undermining the country’s capacity to combat disease, experts warn

As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies to Congress, today’s @bostonglobe.com Starting Point explains the 5 major ways he’s dismantling public health as America has known it for decades, including by ousting experts and spouting misinformation www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/04/n...

Top CDC Officials Resign After Director Is Pushed Out The exodus has set off alarms among CDC staff: “My main concern is they will be replaced with puppets."

The CDC is in chaos. If you’re a current employee and would like to share information anonymously, please reach out via Signal: emullin.06

www.wired.com/story/center...

Trivia: Can you tell which meme was posted by a government official? - The Boston Globe Is there any difference between official messages from our federal government and the posts of a trolling X user? See if you can tell them apart with this eight-question quiz.

The Trump Administration has aggressively altered countless American institutions and norms, @rebeccaspiess.bsky.social writes. This includes official government communications.

Can you tell the difference between messages from the government and posts from trolling X users?

Conservative network Newsmax agrees to pay $67M in defamation case over 2020 election claims The conservative network Newsmax has agreed to pay $67 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of defaming a voting equipment company by spreading lies about President Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss.

BREAKING: Conservative network Newsmax agreed to pay $67 million in the defamation case over bogus 2020 election claims.

My latest for Globe Opinion:

Social media has become an antisocial monster. It’s time to call it something else. - The Boston Globe The early aughts brought us the innovation meant to foster connection. It’s consumed us, instead.

“I’d argue it’s time to create a new term for social media, one that better describes the current digital landscape,” @rebeccaspiess.bsky.social writes. “After all, no one is calling cars ‘horseless carriages,’ and no one thinks that a porn bot on Twitter is helping you build a friend group.”

Everything Feels Like It Doesn't Make Sense Immigration, incentives, and the contradiction of Gentle Singularity

I wrote about the burning Waymos and gentle singularity and ragebait and how everything is coalescing into a giant contradiction kyla.substack.com/p/everything...

Do Market Basket prices really still offer ‘more for your dollar’? We put it to the test. - The Boston Globe A Globe reporter and video producer went to five local grocery stores, including Market Basket, to check the prices of a 10-item shopping list. Here’s what they found.

Is Market Basket really the cheapest grocery store in the Boston area? The Boston Globe compared prices at four other stores to find out.

Nearly 100 people killed seeking aid in Gaza on Sunday, Palestinian officials say Dozens of Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Sunday as they tried to get food aid, according to local health authorities, one of the deadliest days in recent months for those seeking assistance.

Dozens of Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Sunday as they tried to get food aid, according to local health authorities, one of the deadliest days in recent months for those seeking assistance.

By Joe Hernandez, @danielestrin.bsky.social and Anas Baba

I love how everybody is talking about Astronomer as if we all knew the company existed before 48 hrs ago

The front of a grey single-family house with two people on the porch. The white text reads: "The typical single-family house in Greater Boston now costs 81 million."

For the first time, the median price for a single-family house in Greater Boston has cracked $1 million.
https://trib.al/S4urWmQ

Op-ed: ‘Even God cannot hear us here’: What I witnessed inside an ICE women’s prison - The Tufts Daily On a Tuesday in March, I had spent most of my day working on my dissertation proposal and started to feel exhausted and hungry. It was the holy month of Ramadan, and I was fasting. Once finished, I qu...

“An Armenian woman I considered an aunt asked me every time I saw her, ‘Rümeysa, please write about us. Please let the world hear our story.’ I am keeping my promise, Auntie.” www.tuftsdaily.com/article/2025...

More than 450 subway passengers were led out of a tunnel beneath Boston Harbor after a Blue Line train became stuck due to a power outage Tuesday afternoon, officials said. https://trib.al/P9giBSj

The courts will not save us from tyranny - The Boston Globe The Supreme Court just washed its hands of its role in upholding the rule of law, the foundational principle that laws are meant to be followed by everyone, the government included, if we are to have ...

Essential anaylsis from @kimberlyeatkins.bsky.social: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/25/o...

Bragg Soldiers Who Cheered Trump's Political Attacks While in Uniform Were Checked for Allegiance, Appearance As Trump viciously attacked his perceived political foes, he whipped up boos from the gathered troops directed at California leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Really important story - army officials asked soldiers to identify themselves if they don't agree with Trump's politics that way he'd get only supportive soldiers in uniform during his political rally on base. Heavier soldiers were also barred from participating.

Being a progressive activist made me miserable - The Boston Globe My entire worldview changed when I realized that “being part of the solution” doesn’t require being part of a political tribe.

A fascinating look at leaving progressive movements by Sabrina Joy Stevens: www.bostonglobe.com/2025/06/11/o...

In the Trump era, where have all the protest songs gone? - The Boston Globe The lack of modern protest music is a phenomenon decades in the making, but now the silence is louder than ever.

Today, if artists are globally popular, they’re not singing protest songs, write @rebeccaspiess.bsky.social and Alicia Chen. The levers of mass media influence for political music don’t seem to exist anymore, and if listeners want to tune out politics, they can.

Thanks to @theweekendmsnbc.bsky.social for having me on. The problems with the MAHA report run far deeper than the AI fail.

‘He’s just a kid’: ICE detains Milford High student on his way to volleyball practice, administrator says - The Boston Globe The student, a junior whose name hasn't been released, had been in the country since he was 5 years old, a school administrator said.

From @camilo-fonseca.bsky.social:
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/05/31/m...