The World Cup is over, but today is apparently World Mango Day, so let’s celebrate. Here’s the weekly!

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This week on Blocked and Reported, Katie is joined by Jessica the ‘80s Baby to discuss the latest saga to rock the knitting world when celebrity knitter Stephen West appears on a conservative’s YouTube show. Plus, subliminal swastikas, and for Primos, Jessica the ‘80s Baby answers all your burning questions.

Note: This is our last free episode before summer break. We’ll be back with a new free show on August 10th, but Primo episodes will keep coming, so if you want your fix, join us.

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Ravelry: Designs by Stephen West

MSKL and Westknits should be ashamed. Censorship is the tool of the Nazi. | by VolkColopatrion | Medium

24 free Magazines from BLOCKEDMAGAZINE70982

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Note for free subscribers: This is a preview…

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Forgive me one last World Cup pic please - it’s going to be a long wait until the next one.

Here’s the weekly open thread, you know what to do!

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Authors Ben Westhoff and Emily Dufton will be joining me (Katie) on Substack Live on Thursday July 16th 10 PT / 1 ET for a conversation about books, about drugs, about drug treatments, about why Nixon was good actually, and more.

Ben Westhoff is an award-winning investigative reporter whose books are taught around the country and have been translated around the world. This includes Fentanyl, Inc., the bombshell first book about the fentanyl epidemic. Ben’s new documentary, Antagonist: How a Wonder Drug Got Sidelined, is about the suppression of the opioid treatment drug naltrexone, and he has advised officials at the top levels of government about the opioid crisis. Ben has been interviewed on CNN, NPR, and CSPAN, Fresh Air, and the Joe Rogan Experience, and he publishes a Substack newsletter called Drugs + Hip-Hop. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, and the Guardian.

Emily Dufton is a writer and drug historian based near Washington, DC. Her first book, Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America, is considered the foundational text on marijuana's history in the US. Her newest book, Addiction, Inc.: Medication-Assisted Treatment and America's Forgotten War on Drugs, tells the story of the federal development of methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone as public health projects, and their subsequent abandonment to privatization and profiteering. The recipient of a Whiting Creative Nonfiction Grant, her work has been featured in the Washington Post, CNN, and Smithsonian magazine.

This live video chat will be open to all subscribers but archived for Primos only. You should receive an email notification shortly before it begins. (Not getting our emails? Check your Substack settings.)

Questions? Comments? Leave them below.

This week on Blocked and Reported, Jesse and Katie discuss the fast rise and faster fall of humble oyster man/alleged rapist Graham Platner. Plus, the trans sports issue divides Tahoe.

The Wrong Side of the Mountain - Jesse Singal - The Dispatch

Exclusive: Woman who dated Graham Platner says he sexually assaulted her - POLITICO

Several Women Who Dated Graham Platner Recall ‘Unsettling’ Behavior - The New York Times

The Fifth Column (A Podcast)

Are We the Baddies? The Graham Platner Reckoning (w/ Kat Rosenfield) - #565

The great Kat Rosenfield joins us to discuss the ongoing fallout from rape allegations against Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner published Monday by Politico…

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15 days ago · 117 likes · 141 comments · The Fifth Column and Kat Rosenfield

Armie Hammer’s First Interview Since Cannibalism Scandal - Air Mail

Why Didn’t Graham Platner’s Many Red Flags Matter?

The ‘Mad Scientist’ Behind Graham Platner’s Scandal-Plagued Rise - WSJ

Platner’s Daniel Moraff Barred from Summer Lee’s Campaign Over Sexual Misconduct Complaints

I Might Be Wrong

The Simplest Explanation for Platner Is That the Far Left Has Awful Judgement

In shocking news, Graham Platner — the Senate candidate widely known to have 50 skeletons in his closet — actually has 51 skeletons in his closet. And that 51 number is as of press time; there honestly seems to be something of a Skeleton Pride Parade going on in there. People who previously defended Platner took to social media to express shock — shock! — at this totally unforeseeable development. Here’s an example from…

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15 days ago · 154 likes · 83 comments · Jeff Maurer

Inside the Implosion of Graham Platner’s Maine Senate Campaign: ‘A Slow-Rolling Disaster’ - The New York Times

Cross-Tabs: June 2026 Times/Press Herald/Siena Poll of the Likely Electorate in Maine - The New York Times

Happy Wednesday, primos! Sorry this is a little late - figuring out a new timezone here

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This week on Blocked and Reported, Jesse and Katie discuss the milkshake-ducking of a New York coffee shop after the owner’s failed shaming of a congressman deemed insufficiently anti-Israel. Plus, crazy lady/future Rep. Darializa Avila Chevalier and what the DSA revolution in New York City means for the Dems, and the Supreme Court weighs in on trans athletes.

The Supreme Court’s Utterly Mainstream Ruling on Women’s Sports - The Atlantic

DOJ opens investigation into Brooklyn coffee shop after banning Rep Goldman | Fox News

Rep. Dan Goldman addresses Brooklyn coffee shop banning him over his views on Israel | CNN Politics

Angry Coffee Shop Owner Who Smeared Jewish Rep Dan Goldman as a ‘Fascist’ Sipping ‘Genocide Juice’ Is a Graham Platner Donor Cited for ‘Filth and Flies’

NYC coffee shop tells Rep. Dan Goldman he’s not welcome over his pro-Israel views

Inside the 2025 NYC Mayoral Primary: Strong Support for Economic Justice and Palestinian Rights

The New York Editorial Board

Darializa Avila Chevalier on Housing, Immigration, & Her Run for Congress in New York's 13th District

The New York Editorial Board spoke with Darializa Avila Chevalier about her campaign in the Democratic primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District (parts of Manhattan and the Bronx) on the morning of June 17, 2026. Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist endorsed by NYC-DSA and Mayor Mamdani, is challenging Rep. Adriano Espaillat in the primary e…

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a month ago · 64 likes · 87 comments · New York Editorial Board

I Might Be Wrong

How Crazy Is Darializa Avila Chevalier on a Scale From “Yowza!” to “Ay Caramba!!!”?

How crazy is Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Zohran Mamdani-backed socialist trying to unseat incumbent Adriano Espaillat in New York’s 13th congressional district in the Democratic primary today? Well…how much time do you have? My challenge in this article is not to establish…

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a month ago · 314 likes · 175 comments · Jeff Maurer

I Might Be Wrong

Capitalism Has a Brand Problem

Let’s get the blood pumping today with a deep-fried, smothered-and-covered moron: Italian economist Clara Mattei…

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a month ago · 98 likes · 123 comments · Jeff Maurer

Mamdani-backed House candidate’s deleted posts called for abolishing police, borders

Israelis No Longer Ahead in Americans’ Middle East Sympathies

Happy birthday America! I’m sure there will be absolutely no online lunacy this weekend.

Whatever you’re celebrating - the 4th, Taylor Swift’s wedding, Mexico winning their first World Cup knockout ma…

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This week on the Primo Show, Part 2 of our investigation into one of the most sacred stories in LGBTQ history: the night transgender icon …

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This week on Blocked and Reported, (((Jesse))) and Katie dig into Graham Platner: the oyster farmer, Senate hopeful, and working-class rich kid whose Nazi tattoo and wandering eye were so rudely surfaced by the (((lamestream media))) in an effort to protect the (((billionaire class))).

The Political Awakening of the Oyster Farmer Taking on Susan Collins | The New Republic

Oysterman, Veteran, Prep-School Alum: A Senate Candidate’s Complex Class Story - The New York Times

Read our full archive of Graham Platner’s deleted Reddit comments

Graham Platner says ‘I am not a secret Nazi’ after photos of his tattoo emerge

Platner says he’ll remove tattoo that resembles Nazi symbol - POLITICO

K-File unearths new evidence that undercuts Dem candidate’s claim he was not aware tattoo was tied to Nazi symbolism | CNN

First Draft: Did the New York Times Just Run an Anti-Platner Hit Job?

Platner’s Wife Flagged His Sexual Texts With Other Women as Maine Senate Race Began - The New York Times

Several Women Who Dated Graham Platner Recall ‘Unsettling’ Behavior - The New York Times

These People Handpicked Graham Platner. He’s Now Democrats’ Biggest Risk. - WSJ

I Might Be Wrong

Stare Into the Face of Your Populist Revolution

How did the Graham Platner disaster happen? A curse monkey’s paw wish for more Democrats plucked from the SNL “Who’s More Grizzled” sketch? Barack Obama hitting a leprechaun with his car, causing the entire Democratic coalition to be struck with an ancient Celtic curse? I wouldn’t rule either of those things out, but…

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a month ago · 110 likes · 48 comments · Jeff Maurer

Happy Wednesday from someone unfortunate enough to have travelled to London for a heatwave, and commiserations to anyone else struggling. Crank up the AC & enjoy the weekly open thread!

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This week on Blocked and Reported, Part 1 of our two-part series on the Stonewall Riots and the mythology of Marsha P. Johnson. Plus, warring lesbian history accounts, a Father’s Day cartoon breaks b…

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Our researcher par excellence Jessica the '80s Baby (government name) is going to be joining the podcast soon with a story about [redacted], [redacted], and frogging. She has graciously agreed under threat of dismissal to stay after the free show and answer questions from our Primo subscribers. Questions? Comments? Leave them below.

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This week on Blocked and Reported, Jesse and Katie discuss Zack Polanski, the former hypnotherapist who turned a fringe environmentalist party into Britain's fastest-growing coalition of Corbynites, BDSM enthusiasts, and first-gen Islamists.

Can you really THINK your boobs bigger?

Politics was never part of the plan. | by Zack Polanski | Medium

Zack Polanski stood by breast enlargment hypnosis claim

Most UK Muslims define themselves by faith first

Green candidate for Makerfield by-election quits after 12 hours

It’s Wednesday, war is (maybe) over, and the World Cup is on! Lots to chat about - enjoy!

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This week on Blocked and Reported, Katie is joined by author/columnist/podcaster Phoebe Maltz Bovy to discuss her new book, The Last Straight Woman: On Desiring Men. Plus, funny business at The New York Times, Helen vs Helen, and, for Primo subscribers, an AMA.

The Last Straight Woman by Phoebe Maltz Bovy

Feminine Chaos

A podcast for problematic faves, dissident feminism, and interrupting poodles.

By Kat Rosenfield

The usual palm tree

On being canceled before it was cool

I. I Hate This Story…

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2 months ago · 971 likes · 132 comments · Kat Rosenfield

The Great Feminization | Compact

The Men Who Don’t Want Women to Vote - The Atlantic

The Men Who Fear Women? Is ‘Masculinism’ Actually a Real Thing? › American Greatness

This Is What a Queer Family Looks Like | Advocate.com

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This week on the Primo show, Jesse and Katie discuss the legal battle between apparel company Patagonia and drag queen Pattie Gonia. Plus, HelloFresh hits bottom and a Washington school’s…

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It’s Wednesday, which means the weekly thread. More importantly (for some of us), the World Cup starts tomorrow! Chat about that or whatever you like - you know how this thing works.

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Friend of the pod and honorary Canadian Phoebe Maltz Bovy will be joining us soon to discuss her new book, The Last Straight Woman: On Desiring Men, that New York Times article, and assorted other topics. Phoebe has graciously agreed to answer questions from our Primo subscribers, so please leave your questions and/or comments below.