Welp, men let us down this week—again. And it wasn't just the one with the Nazi tattoo and a growing list of credible sexual assault allegations to his name. There was a whole crowd of them that crawled out of the woodwork to explain away the sins of the unfit Maine Democratic Senate candidate, not to mention the handful who reveled in flippant refusals to apologize for platforming him despite months of red flags. If a politics reporter you follow was on that list, it's time to trade up.
The good news is there's no shortage of women and gender-diverse folks doing hard-hitting independent reporting on leftist politics. Pick one—or several—from this list, and you'll be off to a good start!
⭐ Gillian Brockell | gillianbrockell.com
Gillian Brockell is a multimedia journalist and essayist. She covers ICE flights on her newsletter and podcast.
⭐ Alleen Brown | Eco Files
Alleen Brown is an independent investigative journalist. She digs deep to uncover the tactics used by powerful state and corporate actors to advance projects that harm communities and the climate.
⭐ Mel Buer | Words About Work
Mel Buer is a Los Angeles-based multimedia journalist and host of the Union Bug podcast. Words About Work includes reporting and a weekly digest of labor news.
⭐ Katelyn Burns | Burns Notice
Katelyn Burns was the first-ever openly trans Capitol Hill Reporter in U.S. history, and she covered the 2020 election as part of Vox's politics team. Burns Notice covers trans rights, politics, internet culture, gaming, and sometimes sports.
⭐ Frankie de la Cretaz | Out of Your League
Frankie de la Cretaz is a long-time sports journalist. Out of Your League takes queerness as a politic to guide its coverage of sports, gender, queerness, culture, and their intersections.
⭐ Marianne Dhenin | newsletter.mariannedhenin.com
Marianne Dhenin has been recognized for their investigative reporting, criticism, and narrative writing. Their newsletter covers politics and community organizing.
⭐ Yessenia Funes | Possibilities
Yessenia Funes is an environmental journalist telling stories of society's most oppressed. Possibilities' diary-style entries feature intimate thoughts related to the week's climate news, as well as behind-the-scenes details about Yessenia's ongoing reporting and projects.
⭐ Kelly Hayes | Organizing My Thoughts
Writer and organizer Kelly Hayes publishes interviews, essays, must-read lists, and musings about how we can take political action together and create a better world.
⭐ Marisa Kabas | The Handbasket
Marisa Kabas is a Brooklyn-based independent writer and reporter. Lately, she's been covering the unraveling of the federal government and the erosion of American Democracy by Donald Trump in his second term as president.
⭐ Sonali Kolhatkar | Rising Up With Sonali
Sonali Kolhatkar highlights solutions that bring us closer to economic, racial, gender, and environmental justice in a television and radio program and a newsletter.
⭐ Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg | Life Is a Sacred Text
Rabbi Ruttenberg's newsletter weaves together prophetic wisdom, healing, and actionable strategies—rooted in Jewish tradition, made for everyone.
⭐ Kat Tenbarge | Spitfire News
Kat Tenbarge's Spitfire News analyzes internet culture, media, and politics from a progressive, feminist perspective.
⭐ Molly White | Citation Needed
Molly White is a researcher, software engineer, and the independent publisher behind Citation Needed. The site offers reporting and analysis on cryptocurrency, technology, and tech policy—including stories that mainstream outlets often overlook or fail to challenge.
If you'd like to be removed from or added to this list of folks who are 1. solo indie publishers; 2. women, gender-diverse, etc.; and 3. cover politics, send me an email.
