Nitish Pahwa
@nitishpahwa.com
staff writer for business/tech @slate.com and Council Member for Online Media @wgaeast.bsky.social. words also in NYT, LARB, Brooklyn Magazine, Complex, and POW Mag. he/him. nitishpahwa.73 on Signal. if it's major, hit me on my pager.
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Nitish Pahwa
@nitishpahwa.com
· 15d
A Hollywood CEO Tried to Kill This Movie. Now It’s His Latest Humiliation.
His plan to bury the film blew up in his face like a stick of dynamite.
slate.com
wrote about Coyote vs. Acme's very good box-office weekend, and David Zaslav's (mostly) very bad year: slate.com/business/202...
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
“California lawmakers have passed AB 1661, which would steer $5 million collected from penalized oil wells in Inglewood into direct cash aid for 1,000 nearby households with qualifying respiratory or reproductive health impacts.”
capitalbnews.org/california-o...
capitalbnews.org/california-o...
In LA, Some Black Residents May Soon Receive Environmental Reparations
California could put money directly into the hands of families harmed by oil drilling, testing an approach advocates hope will spread nationwide.
capitalbnews.org
September 16, 2026 at 6:11 PM
“California lawmakers have passed AB 1661, which would steer $5 million collected from penalized oil wells in Inglewood into direct cash aid for 1,000 nearby households with qualifying respiratory or reproductive health impacts.”
capitalbnews.org/california-o...
capitalbnews.org/california-o...
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
Genuinely curious how Metallica fans feel about Limp Bizkit in the year 2026.
September 16, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Genuinely curious how Metallica fans feel about Limp Bizkit in the year 2026.
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
Annie Dillard has died at 81.
buff.ly/RNQwniF
buff.ly/RNQwniF
Remembering the great Annie Dillard.
Annie Dillard, the masterful stylist and brilliant thinker, has died at 81. Her death was confirmed by her literary executor, Maggie Nelson. Dillard, who wrote in many forms and experiments, was an…
buff.ly
September 16, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Annie Dillard has died at 81.
buff.ly/RNQwniF
buff.ly/RNQwniF
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
On the 30th anniversary of DJ Shadow's Endtroducing album, treat yourself to "Shadow's Legitimate Mix," the instrumental mix he made in 1991/2 for a Zimbabwe Legit 12"—the track that initially spurred Mo' Wax's James Lavelle to get in touch youtu.be/HMpGLxDmRG8?...
Zimbabwe Legit - Shadow's Legitimate Mix (1991) (vinyl)
YouTube video by ednbo
youtu.be
September 16, 2026 at 4:53 PM
On the 30th anniversary of DJ Shadow's Endtroducing album, treat yourself to "Shadow's Legitimate Mix," the instrumental mix he made in 1991/2 for a Zimbabwe Legit 12"—the track that initially spurred Mo' Wax's James Lavelle to get in touch youtu.be/HMpGLxDmRG8?...
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
morning
I called up famous concert taper Aadam Jacobs to talk about his newest project: issuing his recordings on vinyl. On Friday, he’ll put an album by Eleventh Dream Day and one by Naked Raygun.
Aadam Jacobs finally releases some of his ten thousand show tapes on vinyl - Chicago Reader
Laughing Bee drops live records by Eleventh Dream Day and Naked Raygun, emo band Nymb reissue their whole catalog, and Tone Deaf celebrates seven years.
chicagoreader.com
September 16, 2026 at 3:02 PM
morning
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
"I am always worried that I am being recorded or that my lectures, course materials, will be challenged by students or administrators," said one person cited in an AAUP survey. I talk a little about my experiences. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2026/09/16/p...
‘Probably the worst has been the level of mistrust I have toward my students’
Six weeks into the semester I felt my first chill during a lecture on the origins of rhetoric. Ancient Greek who held power, I explained to students, often distrusted Sophists because they taught t…
humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com
September 16, 2026 at 3:02 PM
"I am always worried that I am being recorded or that my lectures, course materials, will be challenged by students or administrators," said one person cited in an AAUP survey. I talk a little about my experiences. humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2026/09/16/p...
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
Bonnie Greer, writer and cultural commentator, dies aged 77
Bonnie Greer, writer and cultural commentator, dies aged 77
The British-American novelist and playwright who regularly appeared on panel shows will be remembered for her ‘warmth, humour and generosity’, says her husband
The British-American novelist, playwright and commentator Bonnie Greer has died aged 77.
In a statement, her husband David Hutchins said that she died on Tuesday evening following a brief illness. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
September 16, 2026 at 12:52 PM
Bonnie Greer, writer and cultural commentator, dies aged 77
we gotta start calling it "gettin Sheeran'd"
Ed Sheeran getting canceled for canceling Macklemore at the behest of the anti-cancel culture crowd is trippy.
September 15, 2026 at 11:41 PM
we gotta start calling it "gettin Sheeran'd"
I don't *want* to keep paying attention to Boosie's meltdowns … but I can't look away …
September 15, 2026 at 10:38 PM
I don't *want* to keep paying attention to Boosie's meltdowns … but I can't look away …
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
I desperately want someone to compile and issue an edited collection of JClo’s music criticism… www.thenation.com/article/soci...
The Many Lives of Joshua Clover (1962–2025)
How the militant, poet, political theorist, organizer, and giver of gifts refused to die.
www.thenation.com
September 15, 2026 at 8:59 PM
I desperately want someone to compile and issue an edited collection of JClo’s music criticism… www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
Since at least 2019, "A.I. insiders have been issuing apocalyptic, god-in-the-machine proclamations about this software, professing fears that observers rarely followed up on and that almost never lived up to scrutiny" — @nitishpahwa.com with a timely primer slate.com/technology/2...
The A.I. Doomsayers Are at It Again. There’s a Good Reason You Shouldn’t Fall For It.
Industry insiders have been offering absolutely terrible odds for humanity’s future—on bizarre pretenses.
slate.com
September 15, 2026 at 8:47 PM
Since at least 2019, "A.I. insiders have been issuing apocalyptic, god-in-the-machine proclamations about this software, professing fears that observers rarely followed up on and that almost never lived up to scrutiny" — @nitishpahwa.com with a timely primer slate.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
Thanks for writing this! Inspired me to dig up Joshua Clover’s 2001 year-in-review entry in Spin
An important 25th anniversary
September 15, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Thanks for writing this! Inspired me to dig up Joshua Clover’s 2001 year-in-review entry in Spin
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
“The TEA is also prohibiting teaching one specific journalistic work, The 1619 Project, which is a series by The New York Times Magazine marking the 400th anniversary of the beginning of slavery in America.”
Suppressing this history project remains central to the conservative project.
Suppressing this history project remains central to the conservative project.
Future Texas teachers face new limitations on race and gender
The TEA is encroaching on the academic freedom of future Texas teachers with a new mandate that forces Educator Preparation Programs to vow to follow the state’s K-12 DEI ban at public and private uni...
couriertexas.com
September 15, 2026 at 8:35 PM
“The TEA is also prohibiting teaching one specific journalistic work, The 1619 Project, which is a series by The New York Times Magazine marking the 400th anniversary of the beginning of slavery in America.”
Suppressing this history project remains central to the conservative project.
Suppressing this history project remains central to the conservative project.
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
i'm not sure if robert kraft quite grasps what he started
The Irish musician Aaron Rowe has said he is withdrawing as a support act on Ed Sheeran’s tour.
September 15, 2026 at 7:28 PM
i'm not sure if robert kraft quite grasps what he started
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
you gotta be kidding me
September 15, 2026 at 6:56 PM
you gotta be kidding me
another piece from me today, one I'm quite proud of and happy (as always) to publish with the almighty POW Mag
In the fall of '01, The Coup dropped "Party Music," a Molotov cocktail masterpiece that quickly became a target of conservative pundits and a political football in post 9/11.
@nitishpahwa.com Pahwa revisits Boots Riley's subversive classic on its 25th anniversary.
www.powmag.net/p/the-2001-p...
@nitishpahwa.com Pahwa revisits Boots Riley's subversive classic on its 25th anniversary.
www.powmag.net/p/the-2001-p...
The 2001 Project: The Coup’s Party Music
For the fourth installment in our series reexamining hip-hop in the year 2001, Nitish Pahwa reexamines Boots Riley’s sickle-wielding, speaker-melting masterpiece.
www.powmag.net
September 15, 2026 at 6:47 PM
another piece from me today, one I'm quite proud of and happy (as always) to publish with the almighty POW Mag
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
buff.ly/RWoKPow
@France24_en speaks with a Dalit worker among 100+ rescued from the BAPS temple site in NJ, and with HfHR’s Sunita Viswanath, as workers continue their civil fight for accountability.
buff.ly/RWoKPow
@France24_en speaks with a Dalit worker among 100+ rescued from the BAPS temple site in NJ, and with HfHR’s Sunita Viswanath, as workers continue their civil fight for accountability.
buff.ly/RWoKPow
How a former BAPS temple worker in the US got his freedom, but still seeks justice
The Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) Hindu sect at the heart of the Eiffel Tower strike made headlines in France during the inauguration of its latest temple near Paris. In…
www.france24.com
September 12, 2026 at 4:07 PM
buff.ly/RWoKPow
@France24_en speaks with a Dalit worker among 100+ rescued from the BAPS temple site in NJ, and with HfHR’s Sunita Viswanath, as workers continue their civil fight for accountability.
buff.ly/RWoKPow
@France24_en speaks with a Dalit worker among 100+ rescued from the BAPS temple site in NJ, and with HfHR’s Sunita Viswanath, as workers continue their civil fight for accountability.
buff.ly/RWoKPow
I imagine this is far wilder than just about anything Nixon said during his blackout benders
Trump is flatly accusing the Democrats of orchestrating the assassination attempt against him in Butler, PA. He's literally calling it a "Democrat Plot, to get me out of the Election."
September 15, 2026 at 6:00 PM
I imagine this is far wilder than just about anything Nixon said during his blackout benders
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
September 15, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
This is a good read. A reminder that doomsayers like this are almost always wrong.
The A.I. doomsayers are at it again. There’s a good reason you don’t have to listen to them. slate.trib.al/8QZP6UZ
The Best Reason to Doubt the A.I. Doomsayers
Industry insiders have been offering absolutely terrible odds for humanity’s future. There’s a reason for that.
slate.trib.al
September 15, 2026 at 10:21 AM
This is a good read. A reminder that doomsayers like this are almost always wrong.
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
A more hopeful if guarded look at the rogue AI ruckus:
"Then they locked themselves into claustrophobic Silicon Valley echo chambers populated exclusively by fellow catastrophists and lost their grip on other ways to perceive the real world (and their own tech)."
slate.com/technology/2...
"Then they locked themselves into claustrophobic Silicon Valley echo chambers populated exclusively by fellow catastrophists and lost their grip on other ways to perceive the real world (and their own tech)."
slate.com/technology/2...
The A.I. Doomsayers Are at It Again. There’s a Good Reason You Shouldn’t Fall For It.
Industry insiders have been offering absolutely terrible odds for humanity’s future—on bizarre pretenses.
slate.com
September 15, 2026 at 4:20 PM
A more hopeful if guarded look at the rogue AI ruckus:
"Then they locked themselves into claustrophobic Silicon Valley echo chambers populated exclusively by fellow catastrophists and lost their grip on other ways to perceive the real world (and their own tech)."
slate.com/technology/2...
"Then they locked themselves into claustrophobic Silicon Valley echo chambers populated exclusively by fellow catastrophists and lost their grip on other ways to perceive the real world (and their own tech)."
slate.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
The V&A East’s “The Music Is Black” is celebratory but also probes the effects that the slave trade, music-industry racism, and widespread anti-immigrant sentiment have had on Black British music culture and artistry over the years www.dominicumile.com/blog/chris-s...
Chris Steele-Perkins and Wolverhampton’s sound systems, 1978 — Dominic Umile
Sound systems were safe havens for immigrants navigating an often hostile Britain
www.dominicumile.com
September 15, 2026 at 4:04 PM
The V&A East’s “The Music Is Black” is celebratory but also probes the effects that the slave trade, music-industry racism, and widespread anti-immigrant sentiment have had on Black British music culture and artistry over the years www.dominicumile.com/blog/chris-s...
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
the recent breakthrough of the A.I. doomsday narrative wasn't a psy-op, nor was it *just* marketing; these guys believe their rhetoric, albeit for reasons that have little grounding in reality. allow me, a longtime observer of the scene, to walk you through what's goin on: slate.com/technology/2...
The A.I. Doomsayers Are at It Again. There’s a Good Reason You Shouldn’t Fall For It.
Industry insiders have been offering absolutely terrible odds for humanity’s future—on bizarre pretenses.
slate.com
September 15, 2026 at 4:18 PM
the recent breakthrough of the A.I. doomsday narrative wasn't a psy-op, nor was it *just* marketing; these guys believe their rhetoric, albeit for reasons that have little grounding in reality. allow me, a longtime observer of the scene, to walk you through what's goin on: slate.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Nitish Pahwa
Really appreciated this Slate piece by @nitishpahwa.com on how the current AI freakout is mostly hype: apple.news/AOPZG46oiQnu...
The Best Reason to Doubt the A.I. Doomsayers — Slate
Industry insiders have been offering absolutely terrible odds for humanity’s future. There’s a reason for that.
apple.news
September 15, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Really appreciated this Slate piece by @nitishpahwa.com on how the current AI freakout is mostly hype: apple.news/AOPZG46oiQnu...