John West
@johnwest.bsky.social
I report the news with code at the Wall Street Journal. I wrote Lessons and Carols (Eerdmans, 2023); The Internet Will Die, and So Will You (Here below, 2026); The Psalmist (Union Square, Hachette, 2027).
http://beebe-west.com/john
http://beebe-west.com/john
Here's a deeply generous review of my book on Bill Tammeus's blog, "Faith Matters." He compared me to Annie Dillard, a hero of mine who sadly recently passed, and I can imagine few higher compliments.
Here's the review: substack.com/home/post/p-...
Here's the book: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Here's the review: substack.com/home/post/p-...
Here's the book: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
September 17, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Here's a deeply generous review of my book on Bill Tammeus's blog, "Faith Matters." He compared me to Annie Dillard, a hero of mine who sadly recently passed, and I can imagine few higher compliments.
Here's the review: substack.com/home/post/p-...
Here's the book: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Here's the review: substack.com/home/post/p-...
Here's the book: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Reposted by John West
Happy Publication Day to John West, MFA '18 (Nonfiction)! His book, THE INTERNET WILL DIE, AND SO WILL YOU: On Learning to Live in Our Digital Age, is out today from Here Below Books.
vist.ly/5hyd8
vist.ly/5hyd8
September 10, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Happy Publication Day to John West, MFA '18 (Nonfiction)! His book, THE INTERNET WILL DIE, AND SO WILL YOU: On Learning to Live in Our Digital Age, is out today from Here Below Books.
vist.ly/5hyd8
vist.ly/5hyd8
There's link rot and then there's link rot: www.wsj.com/world/middle...
AWS Says It Can’t Restore Some Data From Mideast Facilities Struck by Iran
Amazon’s announcement is the first indication that some data stored exclusively in Bahrain and the U.A.E could be gone forever.
www.wsj.com
September 16, 2026 at 12:13 PM
There's link rot and then there's link rot: www.wsj.com/world/middle...
Thanks to @kofinas.bsky.social for being such a thoughtful interlocutor in this conversation about my book!
It's the dream of pretty much every author (I think) to talk to someone who's so willing to dig into the text--and draw on such broad expertise about what you're writing about.
It's the dream of pretty much every author (I think) to talk to someone who's so willing to dig into the text--and draw on such broad expertise about what you're writing about.
I'm joined by @johnwest.bsky.social to discuss the shift from human agency to platform agency, how AI could further remake our relationship to the Internet and to ourselves, and what the collapse of a shared reality means for our politics and our humanity.
hiddenforces.io/podcasts/the...
hiddenforces.io/podcasts/the...
The Internet Will Die and So Will You | John West
Pulitzer-winning journalist and technologist John West describes the impermanence of the Internet, the forces shaping it, and how AI could further remake our relationship to it and to ourselves.
hiddenforces.io
August 13, 2026 at 1:27 PM
Thanks to @kofinas.bsky.social for being such a thoughtful interlocutor in this conversation about my book!
It's the dream of pretty much every author (I think) to talk to someone who's so willing to dig into the text--and draw on such broad expertise about what you're writing about.
It's the dream of pretty much every author (I think) to talk to someone who's so willing to dig into the text--and draw on such broad expertise about what you're writing about.
Want a free copy of THE INTERNET WILL DIE, AND SO WILL YOU? Well, there's a Goodreads giveaway through the end of August for fifteen copies of it! (Don't worry, you're still welcome to purchase a copy, even if the Goodreads gods fail you.)
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
Book giveaway for The Internet Will Die, and So Will You: On Learning to Live in Our Digital Age by John West Aug 03-Aug 28, 2026
Enter to win one of 15 free copies available. Giveaway dates from Aug 03-Aug 28, 2026. From a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
www.goodreads.com
August 4, 2026 at 1:18 PM
Want a free copy of THE INTERNET WILL DIE, AND SO WILL YOU? Well, there's a Goodreads giveaway through the end of August for fifteen copies of it! (Don't worry, you're still welcome to purchase a copy, even if the Goodreads gods fail you.)
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sho...
I've listened to PJ Vogt's podcasts ever since TL;DR, through REPLY ALL, and all the way to SEARCH ENGINE.
Here's what he said about my book, THE INTERNET WILL DIE, AND SO WILL YOU.
You can preorder it here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Here's what he said about my book, THE INTERNET WILL DIE, AND SO WILL YOU.
You can preorder it here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
August 3, 2026 at 10:18 AM
I've listened to PJ Vogt's podcasts ever since TL;DR, through REPLY ALL, and all the way to SEARCH ENGINE.
Here's what he said about my book, THE INTERNET WILL DIE, AND SO WILL YOU.
You can preorder it here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Here's what he said about my book, THE INTERNET WILL DIE, AND SO WILL YOU.
You can preorder it here: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
A weird part of writing a book is cold-emailing people you admire and asking them to say something nice. I've long admired @anildash.com for his willingness to go against the grain in a field that rewards group-think masquerading as contrarianism. Here's what he said.
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
July 25, 2026 at 6:50 PM
A weird part of writing a book is cold-emailing people you admire and asking them to say something nice. I've long admired @anildash.com for his willingness to go against the grain in a field that rewards group-think masquerading as contrarianism. Here's what he said.
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
The first review of THE INTERNET WILL DIE, AND SO WILL YOU is out from Publishers Weekly: "His wide-ranging meditations, which touch on everything from Bach to TikTok, will appeal to readers who want to search for meaning rather than scroll for distraction."
www.publishersweekly.com/9780802885425
www.publishersweekly.com/9780802885425
July 16, 2026 at 9:57 PM
The first review of THE INTERNET WILL DIE, AND SO WILL YOU is out from Publishers Weekly: "His wide-ranging meditations, which touch on everything from Bach to TikTok, will appeal to readers who want to search for meaning rather than scroll for distraction."
www.publishersweekly.com/9780802885425
www.publishersweekly.com/9780802885425
I can’t remember who said this, but it’s true: the LLM future looks a lot like endlessly communicating an idea by inflating and deflating it with computers—at great cost.
"i have 100 times the output i did before" somehow never seems to show up in actual profits or sales or anything, it's more a measurement of how people feel based on the number of emails they have a bot send
I‘m sorry, but this reads like somebody with an addiction that genuinely needs help. If a friend told me they were talking and acting like this I’d be really worried!
June 29, 2026 at 11:38 AM
I can’t remember who said this, but it’s true: the LLM future looks a lot like endlessly communicating an idea by inflating and deflating it with computers—at great cost.
this is an incredible story (and my colleagues are incredible reporters).
1/ After seeing a lot of Polymarket videos on social media, my @WSJ colleagues and I wanted to understand Polymarket’s marketing. After watching a bunch of videos, we noticed that the website featured in them was almost, but not quite, identical to Polymarket’s actual platform.
June 22, 2026 at 2:15 PM
this is an incredible story (and my colleagues are incredible reporters).
Reposted by John West
Novel sentence alert
May 20, 2026 at 8:28 PM
Novel sentence alert
Reposted by John West
MY BAD: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE QUEER 90S AND BEYOND comes out in one week and I am certainly not freaking out about it! There's still time to get 20% off the hardcover by preordering from Hachette with the code MYBAD20. All my June tour dates are below! www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/hugh-...
My Bad
A powerful and hilarious personal history that tells the true story of the queer ’90s and how it transformed queer life in the decades that followed.“Dee...
www.hachettebookgroup.com
May 19, 2026 at 4:32 PM
MY BAD: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE QUEER 90S AND BEYOND comes out in one week and I am certainly not freaking out about it! There's still time to get 20% off the hardcover by preordering from Hachette with the code MYBAD20. All my June tour dates are below! www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/hugh-...
Reposted by John West
The Internet Will Die,
and So Will You
by @johnwest.bsky.social
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
First!
too much internet, not enough death :)
www.netgalley.com/book/824047/...
and So Will You
by @johnwest.bsky.social
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
First!
too much internet, not enough death :)
www.netgalley.com/book/824047/...
The Internet Will Die, and So Will You
I just reviewed The Internet Will Die, and So Will You by John West
www.netgalley.com
May 12, 2026 at 8:04 PM
The Internet Will Die,
and So Will You
by @johnwest.bsky.social
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
First!
too much internet, not enough death :)
www.netgalley.com/book/824047/...
and So Will You
by @johnwest.bsky.social
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
First!
too much internet, not enough death :)
www.netgalley.com/book/824047/...
Reposted by John West
RETVRN to computers with integral bench seating
July 22, 2024 at 3:25 PM
RETVRN to computers with integral bench seating
Reposted by John West
Attention is precious.
The Internet Will Die, and So Will You (by John West)
#HereBelowBooks #CoverReveal
The Internet Will Die, and So Will You (by John West)
#HereBelowBooks #CoverReveal
May 7, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Attention is precious.
The Internet Will Die, and So Will You (by John West)
#HereBelowBooks #CoverReveal
The Internet Will Die, and So Will You (by John West)
#HereBelowBooks #CoverReveal
Reposted by John West
This is what journalism is supposed to be about.
The first thing the editor in chief of the Roosevelt school newspaper did when she got home was hug her father. Then she opened her computer and started to type. Her article went viral. Lila Dominguez said running the newspaper during the ICE surge showed her “the power of truth.”
‘The power of truth:’ How high school students reported on the ICE surge in their front yard
Student journalists at Roosevelt High School in Minneapolis witnessed federal agents shove staffers and students and deploy pepper spray on school grounds last January. That inspired them to report st...
www.mprnews.org
May 9, 2026 at 2:44 PM
This is what journalism is supposed to be about.
I went to the Met (for the first time ever!). My partner and I decided to pick a piece to sit and stare at for at least 15 minutes. We picked “Old Woman Cutting Her Nails” by someone who isn’t Rembrandt.
It was wild to feel how rusty my attention is—and to see how applying it still drives wonder.
It was wild to feel how rusty my attention is—and to see how applying it still drives wonder.
May 6, 2026 at 9:39 PM
I went to the Met (for the first time ever!). My partner and I decided to pick a piece to sit and stare at for at least 15 minutes. We picked “Old Woman Cutting Her Nails” by someone who isn’t Rembrandt.
It was wild to feel how rusty my attention is—and to see how applying it still drives wonder.
It was wild to feel how rusty my attention is—and to see how applying it still drives wonder.
Reposted by John West
I have escalated my aversion to Spotify.
May 3, 2026 at 10:05 PM
I have escalated my aversion to Spotify.
Reposted by John West
1. I'm working on EPITAB: a browser extension that helps you memorize poems. If you add poems to your browser, it quizzes you on lines each time you open a new tab. Here, for example, after I opened a new window in Firefox, it's asking me for the line "The season's ill—"
I have an ask though...
I have an ask though...
April 27, 2026 at 1:20 AM
1. I'm working on EPITAB: a browser extension that helps you memorize poems. If you add poems to your browser, it quizzes you on lines each time you open a new tab. Here, for example, after I opened a new window in Firefox, it's asking me for the line "The season's ill—"
I have an ask though...
I have an ask though...
1. I'm working on EPITAB: a browser extension that helps you memorize poems. If you add poems to your browser, it quizzes you on lines each time you open a new tab. Here, for example, after I opened a new window in Firefox, it's asking me for the line "The season's ill—"
I have an ask though...
I have an ask though...
April 27, 2026 at 1:20 AM
1. I'm working on EPITAB: a browser extension that helps you memorize poems. If you add poems to your browser, it quizzes you on lines each time you open a new tab. Here, for example, after I opened a new window in Firefox, it's asking me for the line "The season's ill—"
I have an ask though...
I have an ask though...
Reposted by John West
Hello. I’m writing a novel. @editrixemma.bsky.social @alexbrownwrites.bsky.social
April 21, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Hello. I’m writing a novel. @editrixemma.bsky.social @alexbrownwrites.bsky.social
I’ve been practicing again. Here’s a sarabande from one of the perfect Bach cello suites played imperfectly on the recorder. (Also pictured: my 3D-printed recorder gun rack.)
April 21, 2026 at 4:45 PM
I’ve been practicing again. Here’s a sarabande from one of the perfect Bach cello suites played imperfectly on the recorder. (Also pictured: my 3D-printed recorder gun rack.)
I blogged again: this-republic-of-letters.fly.dev/posts/5/toge.... This time, on the many uses and abuses of poor Walter Ong.
April 21, 2026 at 11:06 AM
I blogged again: this-republic-of-letters.fly.dev/posts/5/toge.... This time, on the many uses and abuses of poor Walter Ong.
1. In the aughts and early teens, I'd fire up Google Reader and check my blogs—and maybe even write one. Pardon the earnest-posting (-maxing?), but it was often the highlight of my day. And, well, I'm blogging again: this-republic-of-letters.fly.dev/posts/3/we-s....
April 20, 2026 at 7:57 PM
1. In the aughts and early teens, I'd fire up Google Reader and check my blogs—and maybe even write one. Pardon the earnest-posting (-maxing?), but it was often the highlight of my day. And, well, I'm blogging again: this-republic-of-letters.fly.dev/posts/3/we-s....