Favorite Politics Twitter Follows

[NM11046]

Agreed BRB - I find that actually most don't clog things up too bad.  I peruse maybe twice a day and don't feel overwhelmed.  I'm new to twitter as of maybe a year ago, so I wasn't keen on getting overly bogged down.

[zoogs]

4 hours ago, TGHusker said:

Everyone, my first ? is - how do you find the time to read all of these and 'follow' them.  I don't think you all are retired and sipping a cool one on the beach -  Unless you are a internet junkie, how do you absorb it all and not get stir crazy!!

 

I'm trying to build my twitter list but I want to keep it disciplined to a few otherwise I'd be on it all day.  If you were to organize it into categories like Zoogs and Dude have done, what would be your top 2 in each category? (Might include Husker sports as a non political one, maybe a religion category if you choose. )

 

The way I usually find new accounts to follow is I see who journalists are talking to, liking, or retweeting. I generally have no idea who someone is before clicking to their page, seeing what they do and thinking "that seems reasonable, I'd like to hear more from them". For example, Andy Slavitt posts some very detailed healthcare related threads that often get RT'd by others. Sarah Jaffe I think wrote a really nice article one time and I figured I'd like to hear more from the author. Amanda Marcotte makes a lot of points I strongly agree with, and she does it succinctly and compellingly. 

 

I don't try to pare down my list. I'm pretty liberal in clicking "follow". Occasionally, I'll unfollow if I really don't like someone's tweeting style or the things they are posting, or have no interest in their conversations. One example that comes to mind is Kelly Cohen (https://twitter.com/politiCOHEN_), Justice Reporter for the conservative Washington Examiner, who I think is actually a pretty good follow ... but I couldn't deal with all her Miami football posts. I don't like sports in my twitter feed. But I would recommend her, too. 

 

I actually think the feed quality improves with more people. You're not seeing the same perspectives and arguments every time, which is a good thing. I don't think the feed can actually get "clogged" -- just more diverse, or in fact, less clogged by the same couple of people.

 

 

 

[RedDenver]

I honestly have broadened my political reading based on what other posters are saying and linking in the P&R forum.

[zoogs]

Follow-up: I think one inevitable drawback for my own twitter list is that it's pretty darn white. And it's specifically not very Black. Also, there were no trans people or people focused on transgender issues. I obviously don't wish to attack or impute negative connotations to (for example) straight white journalists and activists, but that's still a somewhat limited lens through which to interpret events, and without some additional effort it is the default one. So here are some additional suggestions:

 

Anthea Butler, Professor of Religious Studies and Africana Studies at University of Pennsylvania https://twitter.com/AntheaButler

Jelani Cobb, Staff writer at The New Yorker https://twitter.com/jelani9

Melissa Harris-Perry, Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest https://twitter.com/MHarrisPerry

Akilah Hughes, comedian, Crooked Media contributor https://twitter.com/AkilahObviously

Jeet Heer, Senior Editor at The New Republic: https://twitter.com/HeerJeet

Maria Hinojosa, journalist and anchor of Latino USA on NPR https://twitter.com/Maria_Hinojosa

Prerna P. Lal, activist and immigration attorney at UC-Berkeley https://twitter.com/prernaplal

Janet Mock, transgender rights activist and writer https://twitter.com/janetmock

Yousef Munayyer, exec director at US Campaign for Palestinian Rights https://twitter.com/YousefMunayyer

Heben Nigatu, writer and co-host of Another Round podcast. Previously Colbert Late Show writer. https://twitter.com/heavenrants

Franchesca Ramsey, intersectional activist and host of Last Name Basis podcast https://twitter.com/chescaleigh

Favianna Rodriguez, artist and activist https://twitter.com/favianna

Rinku Sen, president of Race Forward https://twitter.com/rinkuwrites

Jamil Smith, opinion writer at The LA Times https://twitter.com/JamilSmith

Natalie Tran, Australian comedian and writer (she's funny! Check out her YouTube channel. Doesn't post much more, but she was OG) https://twitter.com/natalietran

 

And another organization:

Intelligence squared, which hosts popular debates in the Oxford style. Check out their podcast! https://twitter.com/intelligence2

 

 

[NM11046]

Apprreciate how aware you are of balancing Zoogs.