@leahsottile
Independent journalist | Co-founder @thewesternedge.bsky.social Books: Blazing Eye Sees All, When The Moon Turns To Blood. Podcasts: Hush, Burn Wild, Two Minutes Past Nine, Bundyville. www.leahsottile.com
The far right's bullshitting heroes: Before there was Trump, there was Bo Gritz
Bo Gritz died quietly and mostly forgotten last week. But the legacy of his deeply fascist action-hero ethos--especially the militia movement he led, which eventually morphed into MAGA--not only lives on, but now dominates our world.
davidneiwert.substack.com/p/the-far-ri...
This story contains a porn-texting police chief, a money-hungry police union, a nasty mayor’s race, a man in a Waldo costume and the phrase “pig pig pig” — your weekend read from @thewesternedge.bsky.social / me and @ryanjhaas.bsky.social
www.thewesternedge.media/p/the-shady-...
OPB dropped the ball big time dropping hush. But maybe we're all better off now that The Western Edge is here.
What a wild ride this story was
A romping weekend read from @thewesternedge.bsky.social.
In the small town of St. Helens, Oregon, where the news media is on life support, corruption thrived.
2,500 pages of new documents have finally revealed the clear story of what happened when Brian Greenway came for Halloweentown.
This story contains a porn-texting police chief, a money-hungry police union, a nasty mayor’s race, a man in a Waldo costume and the phrase “pig pig pig” — your weekend read from @thewesternedge.bsky.social / me and @ryanjhaas.bsky.social
www.thewesternedge.media/p/the-shady-...
This story is a great example of the type of work small outlets can do because they aren't chasing clickbait. The attention economy has encouraged journalists for decades to do shallow work, but it's the time-consuming stuff that reveals the truth and holds bad actors accountable.
Highly recommend this great discussion with @leahsottile.bsky.social and Benjamin Park, on Mormon and religious extremism in general. Fascinating and informative.
The sound of journalists around the world rapidly inserting the word "former" before Kristi Noem's name into stories in production.
We received such fantastic questions from the audience! Here’s the link to my conversation with @benjaminepark.bsky.social from last night.
Yes!
Hey this is tonight!
I’ll be doing my first-ever livestream on YouTube tomorrow March 4 at 7 pm MT with @benjaminepark.bsky.social , author of American Zion. We’ll be talking all about extremism in church history, Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell, the Bundys, etc. Join us!
www.youtube.com/live/pzWyl2q...
After Jason Lee opened a camera shop in Eagle Rock, I thought, man, that'd be a fun story to do. I did not know that it would eventually lead to him threatening to take me to court. For @defector.com, the whole bloody affair:
defector.com/a-compliment...
A screenshot of a headline that says "Kyron Horman's name surfaces in Epstein files"
Today in clickbait.
I've now woken up and decided why not be overt: it's classless when The Oregonian and Oregon Public Broadcasting doesn't cite independent reporters writing a story first. Are we still doing this in 2026?
Ahem, I just want to say @ryanjhaas.bsky.social broke the news in @thewesternedge.bsky.social that PacifiCorp now owes Oregonians $1 billion
www.thewesternedge.media/p/pacificorp...
The Epstein files published by DOJ briefly mention a woman’s unverified accusation that President Trump assaulted her in the 1980s, when she was a minor. But several key FBI memos related to the woman's account have not been released.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/u...
I think it means that I’m dead inside because when I’ve received these adoring emails, my reaction was “people would never be this nice about my writing so this must be a scam.” Saved by a powerful negative voice!
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/b...
Oregon's second largest electric utility, PacifiCorp, passed a notable milestone today: $1 billion owed to people who had their lives destroyed by the 2020 Labor Day wildfires.
Portland, you're coming to see @letsgomathias.bsky.social talk about his incredible book tomorrow, yeah? Come ask good questions!
I’ve been too preoccupied to deal with Kristof’s Epstein take—which gratuitously involves him using sex work ads to call the cops on a guy he says is a pimp, and maybe for the first time acknowledges that survivors are not all grateful to cops for “rescuing” them (as he also lightly scolds them)
again, so so stoked to be discussing my book with the incredible @leahsottile.bsky.social THIS Thursday in PORTLAND, OREGON at the @cstpdx.bsky.social!
Sponsored by the amazing folks at @ojrcenter.bsky.social , @westernstatescenter.org , and @107ist.org! Get your tixxxxx cstpdx.com/event/to-cat...
🤣
But seriously, tell your friends happy birthday. Everyone likes it.
Every year when I wish my friends happy birthdays, literally the response is "how did you remember?!" Calendars, man. Hell of a tool.
After a busy week I finally got the time to read this today from @ryanjhaas.bsky.social & @leahsottile.bsky.social. Notable details: a councilor‘s response to a threatening email, an AI slop video from a local news outlet.
When I say that @ryanjhaas.bsky.social and I like to deep dive with our reporting, what I mean is that we go to the absolute bottom and find insane shit like this.
A comment on a Western Edge story praising its reporting.
What are people saying about @thewesternedge.bsky.social?
Wendy absolutely gets the vibe we are going for. Old school reporting that cuts at power, packaged for the digital age.
SO EXCITED that the great @leahsottile.bsky.social is going to interview me LIVE at the @cstpdx.bsky.social in PORTLAND, OREGON next week!
Sponsored by amazing folks at @ojrcenter.bsky.social @westernstatescenter.org & @portlandtimbers.bsky.social! Get your tix now! cstpdx.com/event/to-cat...