Lisa Borders

don’t forget to destroy your clocks tonight, walk away from your mortgage, just start driving, you’re free

I’m the L.A. Doll in John Cougar Mellencamp’s “Small Town,” and I Hate This Godforsaken Shithole Picture it: Los Angeles in 1985. I’d moved there two years earlier to make it as a model, but all I had to show for it was a couple of car shows, o...

I went home to face yet another lonely ol’ night with my husband, only to learn that he had lost my entire month’s tips in a poker game. As I started to lay into him, he waved me off.

“Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow,” he muttered cryptically as he headed to the bathroom.

Surreal level of disconnect.

Got this from @kenmartin.bsky.social & @democrats.org today. “Taking the gloves off”??? I just can’t with these people. As a lifelong Dem I’m filled with disgust at how clueless party leadership is. People are being murdered for peacefully protesting, Ken, but sure, you file your lawsuit. JFC.

I’m the L.A. Doll in John Cougar Mellencamp’s “Small Town,” and I Hate This Godforsaken Shithole Picture it: Los Angeles in 1985. I’d moved there two years earlier to make it as a model, but all I had to show for it was a couple of car shows, o...

"Maybe I could have tolerated the location if our relationship was great, but once the first bloom of romance wore off, he started talking about wanting it to hurt so good. That’s really not my thing."

If you’re old enough to remember John Mellencamp’s mid-80s hits, perhaps you’ve wondered whatever happened to that L.A. Doll in “Small Town”? My latest for McSweeney’s. #johnmellencamp #smalltown

I had so much fun talking with @splturnthepage.bsky.social about LAST NIGHT AT THE DISCO! Love this podcast!

Jorts my mom lived outside but I’m lucky I never had to. I don’t like the plow sounds though. ❤️

Justice for Minneapolis | Bonfire My partner Jeff and I created this logo to express solidarity and raise funds.. My partner Jeff and I initially created this logo to express solidarity on social media...

A few of you suggested it, and we did it! @jasperdyne.bsky.social and I are selling these t-shirts (there are sweatshirts too) through Bonfire, with all profits to be split between @aclumn.bsky.social (ACLU of Minnesota) and Midwest Immigration Bond Fund. www.bonfire.com/justice-for-...

And the majority of HCWs even in cities don’t work within public transit distance. I can drive 45 minutes to work or take a hellish 2.5-hour trip on three trains with longish walks at the beginning and end. If I had the option for, say, a convenient one-hour public transport trip, I’d do it gladly.

It’s the top admins and the inherent unfairness in for-profit health care that really needs to be called to task. Overpriced parking lots are just one symptom. Fancy specialists get a bad rep but I know many who work hard, long hours for their patients. Note: I am not a fancy specialist. Or a doc.

Dude I'm a health care worker and I have worked for hospitals where I had to pay to park! (I agree with you, it's just equally outrageous to pay for the privilege of being an overworked and underpaid employee.)

At the risk of sounding hopeful in a time with little hope, I think it's a good sign that WaPo & NYT are both accurately reporting that the videos contradict what ICE is saying. It means they're aware they'd just lose even more credibility. It could even mean they think regime change is coming.

The way he’s being targeted is why so many in Congress don’t speak out about this regime. I am so grateful for Captain Kelly’s courage.

There is one spot left in my Novel Reactor class, starting January 26. All classes held on Zoom. Details here: mailchi.mp/e64138d3584b...

4 and 19 hit so damned hard yo

We just wrapped up posting @mcsweeneys.net's most-read pieces of 2025. Thanks again to our contributors and readers this year. I like everything we publish, of course, but I’d like to point out some great pieces that didn't receive as much attention. #McSweeneysHiddenGems2025

My first time on a @mcsweeneys.net Most Read Pieces of the Year list! This ran in January and I wish the political stuff was not still relevant, but sadly, it is.

Best Christmas movie!

Looking for a novel-writing class in 2026? Check out my offerings! mailchi.mp/e64138d3584b...

More Excerpts from Olivia Nuzzi’s American Canto “Forget the sex; the real scandal here is the crime against language.” — Brian Phillips, The Ringer, on Olivia Nuzzi’s new memoir, American Canto, ...

“What is a politician? What is felching? I googled, read, heaved. Then we felched twice.”

It’s been a thrill for me to see readers connect with my deeply flawed and oh-so-unreliable protagonist, Lynda Boyle. Sharing a few of my favorite Goodreads and NetGalley reviews, with gratitude for the book love. 🪩💃❤️ #booksky #lastnightatthedisco @netgalley.bsky.social @regalhouse.bsky.social

Thanks for the shout-out, @misdonnacolta.bsky.social! I can’t wait to read OFELIA AND NORMA, coming next fall from @regalhouse.bsky.social.

Thanksgiving or Perimenopause? 1. There’s a turkey neck situation. 2. Is it four thousand degrees in the kitchen, or is it just you? 3. You love your family, but you also wish th...

I teamed up with @janineannett.bsky.social for this perimenopause or Thanksgiving quiz up @mcsweeneys.net

Turns out there is a surprising amount of overlap.

www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/tha...

Had a blast of a disco brunch at Thunder Road Books this morning. Saw friends and family and my beloved fifth grade teacher. Met new friends and readers! Profoundly grateful for the support and love I’ve felt on this whole trip. Indie bookstores and libraries are the best places in the world. ❤️

Giving the sequins a rest today, then two events this weekend in Philly and Spring Lake, NJ for Last Night at the Disco. Can’t stop the dance!

South Jersey! I’ll be dressed in my disco finery at the Millville Public Library tonight as part of the NJ Authors Series, 6:30 pm. Come for the fun 70s slide show, stay for a discussion of my new novel, LAST NIGHT AT THE DISCO. 🪩 💃🪩

Window of Words bookstore in Maplewood NJ, with many copies of novel Last Night at the Disco on display.

Lisa Borders, Elly Lonon and Emily Flake discussing Disco.

Me, Emily and Elly at the Irish pub afterward!

Fabulous night with @emilyflake.bsky.social and Elly Lonon at the amazing Words bookstore in Maplewood, NJ. Next stop: Millville NJ, Thursday night!

Chuck Schumer Helps Pull Democrats Back From Brink Of Courage

Chuck Schumer Helps Pull Democrats Back From Brink Of Courage

The average SNAP benefit per month is $177 a person.

The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person.

People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives.

And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.