Haley Byrd Wilt

can’t help but still dabble in reporting at times but not covering Congress anymore (though I loved my time at NOTUS, such wonderful colleagues! Just time for something different)

The Return of ECLOGUE PRESS We come to you now, at the turn of the tide

Back from Bluesky hiatus (I was trying to look at my screen less) to tell you about a new D.C.-based SF and fantasy publishing house I’m helping launch into the world. 100% human-made art, for humans. (And we already have good merch.) Meet ECLOGUE PRESS: open.substack.com/pub/ecloguep...

one of the biggest arguments against AI dependence is that the strongest proponents of its use have become visibly *dumber* in the last few years.

I talked to Republican lawmakers about deaths since USAID’s withdrawal from the world. Most brushed off the reports, and some insisted that people couldn’t be dying as a result.

“I don’t believe that. No.”

Read more: www.notus.org/foreign-poli...

Oh — Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, despised and rejected, is going to sacrifice himself to save everyone? Oh? He espouses radical nonviolence? Oh??? He is going to be triumphant in the end????

I knew I would love the How to Train Your Dragon books because it is clear by the first page that they are so silly and fun compared to the movie (which is already fun). Now that I have finished reading book 9 with my son, I realize I also love this series because it is secretly Christian literature

Hoth Takes #61: No Bras In Space Strong women have been part of the Star Wars saga from the very beginning, but the franchise has often struggled with how it portrays them. In this episode, we compare and critique how storytellers…

Had a great time talking with @gracesegers.bsky.social and @byrdinator.bsky.social on @hothtakes.bsky.social about female characters in Star Wars and why the franchise needs more female creators. Listen now: hothtakes.wordpress.com/2025/06/30/h...

we love to see Star Trek 2009 appreciation, it is excellent

Gelato, Boat Rides, Cooking Classes and Energy Policy: Lawmakers Keep Going to a Stunning Italian Villa for Free More than four dozen members of Congress and their spouses have taken trips to Lake Como on the Aspen Institute’s dime since 2023. They say the trips are substantive on policy.

Gelato, boat rides, cooking classes and energy policy: Lawmakers keep going to a stunning Italian villa for free

36 years ago.

The Author Who Pulled Me out of the Doomscroll - Christianity Today Fantasy novelist Guy Gavriel Kay, who helped compile Tolkien’s Silmarillion, grapples with the juxtaposition of love and suffering in Written on the Dark.

It was lovely to get to interview @guygavrielkay.bsky.social for this essay about his books and storytelling in the dark:
www.christianitytoday.com/2025/06/auth...

Hoth Takes #60: Girlbossing Too Close to the Sun Andor season 2 is over, and we have strong feelings about it! Join us as we debate and disagree about Cassian’s destiny, Bix’s trauma, Luthen’s amorality, and Mon’s eye-opening escape, plus two oth…

🎙️ @gracesegers.bsky.social, @byrdinator.bsky.social, and I are back with a @hothtakes.bsky.social episode about #Andor season 2. It may surprise you to learn that we disagreed about a lot of things! hothtakes.wordpress.com/2025/05/23/h...

I love this take because it is essentially Federalist 51

'Andor' and Moral Compromises The dark side can’t drive out the dark side. (Spoilers for Andor season two are in here!)

finished the star war last night and had to blog about it open.substack.com/pub/haleybyr...

The Problem of Panic - Christianity Today Where Peter once stood in the place of Pan, we can hear the voice that changes everything.

Loved this essay from @drmoore.bsky.social www.christianitytoday.com/2025/05/prob...

Lawmakers Are Growing More Skeptical Trump’s Tariffs Will Spark an Industrial Renaissance in the U.S. “Even the machines that are going to make something in the United States, the machine itself is from another country,” said Sen. Rand Paul.

Rand Paul describes a meeting w/ Trump trade rep Jamieson Greer:

"It reminded me of a meeting on industrial policy in the Soviet Union, where you have to be nice to the czar because if you're nice to the czar, they'll bequeath upon you exceptions to the iron fist."

(via @byrdinator.bsky.social )

Hoth Takes #59: OnlyHoths With the premiere of Andor season 2 just a few days away, we’re sharing our hopes and predictions for the long-awaited return of Cassian Andor and company. We discuss the show’s increasing politica…

Only on @hothtakes.bsky.social are you going to get a Søren Kierkegaard reference in a conversation about #Andor's depiction of the moral compromises of Rebel Alliance leaders. 🤓 hothtakes.wordpress.com/2025/04/18/h...

Hoth Takes #59: OnlyHoths With the premiere of Andor season 2 just a few days away, we’re sharing our hopes and predictions for the long-awaited return of Cassian Andor and company. We discuss the show’s increasing politica…

One of the topics in our new #Andor season 2 preview episode is the arranged marriage of Mon Mothma's daughter.

It's hinted at in the trailer. But @byrdinator doesn't buy it. Her alternative explanation has to be heard to be believed. 😂

hothtakes.wordpress.com/2025/04/18/h...

Holy Powers John Mark McMillan · Cosmic Supreme · Song · 2025

It’s hard to choose a favorite song on the new John Mark McMillan album but … I think it’s this one open.spotify.com/track/6h3seg...

Religious Freedom Advocates Are at Odds With the White House A new report from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom highlights the divide between advocates and the Trump administration.

An event to release this year’s U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom report was bipartisan as usual — even as the Trump administration’s moves to halt foreign aid and refugee admissions run directly counter to the commission’s 2025 recommendations: www.notus.org/policy/commi...

Lawmakers Are Pressing the Trump Team for Answers on Abducted Ukrainian Children “It looks like we’re playing into the hands of Putin again, and it’s not good,” Rep. Don Bacon told NOTUS.

Lawmakers are asking the Trump admin for more clarity on a research program that had been tracking Ukrainian children abducted by Russia during the war — until the Trump team abruptly halted funding for the work:
www.notus.org/foreign-poli...

Lawmakers Are ‘Disappointed’ That Earmarks Didn’t Make It Through Congress This Year “I think everybody will look back on this and say, ‘Boy, this isn’t a good way to do business,’” House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole said.

Lawmakers are “disappointed” that earmarks didn’t make it through Congress this year.
www.notus.org/congress/law...

Temptation

I’ve listened to this probably fifty times since the album came out and the sound mixing on it blows my mind even more each spin, just masterful

open.spotify.com/track/1jHX6N...

Marco Rubio’s State Department Failed an Early Test of Its Influence Thailand’s deportation of dozens of Uyghurs to China despite American opposition raises questions about the diplomatic power of the U.S. in Asia.

America’s influence in Southeast Asia — with a U.S. ally — was put to the test.

China came out on top.

On the State Department’s efforts to protect Uyghur refugees in Thailand, who were repatriated against their will to Xinjiang last week: www.notus.org/foreign-poli...

Musk claims DOGE ‘restored’ Ebola prevention effort. Officials disagree. USAID’s initiatives to fight Ebola and other diseases have been gutted, current and former agency officials said.

Elon Musk said DOGE made a mistake by cutting USAID’s Ebola prevention but it had been “restored.”

That’s not true, current and former officials told me and @johnphudson.bsky.social.

“There have been no efforts to ‘turn on’” Ebola prevention, said Nidhi Bouri, who oversaw team until January.

Southern Baptists Abandon Abuse Database - Christianity Today The Executive Committee’s major focus is now recouping $3 million in legal fees related to the crisis.

Southern Baptists have abandoned a proposed online database that would list the names of abusive pastors.

Instead, leaders say they will focus on helping churches access other databases of abusers and training churches to do better background checks.

China Hawks Are Reckoning With the Elon Musk Era “As we develop the right policies, business will follow the policy,” the chair of the select committee on competition with the Chinese government said, optimistically.

www.notus.org/foreign-poli...

Trump State Department Official Has Called for Sterilizing ‘Feral’ Populations “Population control? If only!” wrote Darren Beattie, who was appointed to a senior role by Marco Rubio.

Darren Beattie, the State Department’s acting undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, has repeatedly voiced support for mass sterilization of “low-IQ trash.”

via @byrdinator.bsky.social:
www.notus.org/whitehouse/t...

Hoth Takes #57: Zest for Pirating With Skeleton Crew, Disney told a Star Wars story unlike any other, but still rooted in the themes that make the franchise so successful and endearing. In this episode, we discuss our favorite stor…

🎙️ @hothtakes.bsky.social returns with an episode about #SkeletonCrew! Find out what @gracesegers.bsky.social, @byrdinator.bsky.social, and I thought of this new addition to the Star Wars universe: hothtakes.wordpress.com/2025/02/10/h...