Sam Thielman

Sam is a reporter, critic, and editor whose work can be read at Slate, The New Yorker, and here, among other places. He hosts a podcast with critic Alissa Wilkinson called Young Adult Movie Ministry.

The War at Home

Confessions of A Poll Worker

Here's what FOREVER WARS’ editor saw as a poll worker in his own pro-Trump part of Brooklyn

The War at Home

Kamala Harris Can Win

Trump beat Hillary Clinton, but he ran against Barack Obama. He'll have a harder time than he expects now that his opponent is Black

The War at Home

What Could Be More Radicalizing Than An NYPD-Columbia Education?

Cop-Mayor Eric Adams ordered the NYPD to arrest student protesters in the name of stopping their "radicalization." The lesson he taught will last lifetimes

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Slouching Toward Jerusalem

Evangelicals love Israel. Why?

The War at Home

A Strangler in a Strange Land

Daniel Penny killed Jordan Neely with his bare hands on video, but every institution in New York seems to be on Penny’s side. Why?

The War at Home

Twitter’s Secrets Are in the Worst Possible Hands

The social media company’s entire business was content moderation. Its “free speech” king has destroyed it. Now what? PLUS: Come see Spencer talk in Manhattan on Tuesday!

Substack Retaliates Against FOREVER WARS Editor

Spencer took the newsletter off Substack when his contract ended. They got mad at the blog post explaining why and took away Sam’s freelance gigs because he…edited it

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You Guys Actually Worship Cthulhu

The SBC has pledged to handle their accusers with "Christlike compassion." In a moment when they must repent and pay restitution, they still see themselves in Jesus' sandals.

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At War With the Pedophile Knowers

Conservatives claim to care about keeping children safe from predation. At their own institutions, children are horrifyingly unsafe, and they’re all looking for the guy who did this.

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Protect trans kids.

A thoughtless sop to bigots in Texas has endangered trans children and their only advocates. It’s time to stand up for them. PLUS: Madeleine Albright, remembered

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So, Just Making Sure That We Agree: It's OK To Seize Oligarchs' Stuff Now

President Biden has vowed to confiscate the assets of parasitic oligarchs. FOREVER WARS has a modest proposal for the expansion of this exciting new front in the class war.

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The Digital Offertory and the Militant Right

GiveSendGo isn’t just another far-right Kickstarter clone. It’s an expression of long-established Christian financial frameworks.

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'America Is Not A Land of Crime, Horror, Murder, Hatred, and Bloodshed'

Censors on school boards and in legislatures have attacked a vast breadth of literature as “obscene.” You'll be shocked how they define obscenity! PLUS: The death of Whatshisname, leader of ISIS

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Jonathan and Spencer Go to White Castle

The first Katz x Ackerman collab

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Here’s The Money You Raised To Protect Abortion Access in Texas

And why we need to do this in the first place.

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A Song All By Himself

Farewell to Stephen Sondheim, the best to ever do it. But from your bookshelf to your music stand to your Netflix queue, he can never truly be gone.

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Science Fiction Land

What happens when the theme-park guys come for Jack Kirby and Chloe Zhao

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"On U.S. Intelligence’s Wiki, Anxiety About Legal Challenges To Drone Strikes," Oct. 22, 2021

Intellipedia entry: “Targeted Killing-Policy, Legal and Ethical Controversy” (PDF) Appended to this article.

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"Fear Itself," Oct. 12, 2021

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Fear Itself

In the post-9/11 era, police departments blur the lines that separate them from spy services. More and more Americans get the treatment the CIA gives our non-American comrades

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Paywalled for a good cause

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‘Deus Vult,’ Said The Cosmopolitans

After 9/11, conservative Christians and contrarian secularist intellectuals entered an alliance of convenience against Islam. Guess whose priorities won out?