Knight-Wallace Fellow at UMichigan 24-25. Culture correspondent at NPR, music critic at the New York Times. ah-nah-STAH-zee-ah tsee-OOL-kahs/Αναστασία Τσιούλκα(ς)/اناستازيا تسيولكاسhttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mt2q2svvos24Nothing like the entitlement of a Boomer screaming on speaker phone with a succession of his doctors’ offices ON THE TRAIN.14 Aug 2026 17:54 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt2q2svvos24https://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mr4byn777s2kOne should not underestimate JUST how popular English horns and flutes were in 1970s advertisements and industrial films. https://youtu.be/CyVe3dD-1mE?is=dPFKx8JHg89zw1Rk20 Jul 2026 21:57 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr4byn777s2khttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mpjqnmirm227My indoor tripod cat tore out of the house to (successfully-ish) hunt a chipmunk who played dead in the cat’s mouth long enough to engineer an escape and I believe that none of the three of us will ever be the same again30 Jun 2026 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpjqnmirm227https://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mp23i46dss26Recommending a fantastic memoir: RESTRUNG by Vijay Gupta. It’s about him rebuilding his life and purpose after being a child violin prodigy, but it’s really about building community when you have none. https://www.npr.org/2026/06/23/nx-s1-5800895/nonfiction-books-summer-202624 Jun 2026 14:04 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp23i46dss26https://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mo7tfn3fqc2qSaturday Night Live, Knicks in Five.14 Jun 2026 03:31 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mo7tfn3fqc2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mmzfyd23ss2pBreaking: fed judge orders removal of Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center, temporarily blocks the planned renovation project. The Kennedy Center says it will appeal the decision. https://www.npr.org/2026/05/29/nx-s1-5839349/president-trump-kennedy-center-name-judge-order https://www.npr.org/2026/05/29/nx-s1-5839349/president-trump-kennedy-center-name-judge-order?fbclid=IwdGRleASG2olleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEekD1DCRo-TyzVl7kKA7NGiM-yA9XyqUC0S-wVogz9pUkbDZ8oy9RXb4uOutM_aem_npbxr0QAe7gLd8zzzsY_VA29 May 2026 20:49 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmzfyd23ss2phttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mm5fijdxyc2nOn a flight home yesterday from ORD, two charming young men sitting next to me struck up a flight friendship. What did they talk about? Sun Ra. The poetry they each like. Playing piano vs. keyboards. Felix & Ezra, YOU DID MY HEART SUCH GOOD. (Did I eventually insert myself in the convo? Uh, yes.)18 May 2026 17:26 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mm5fijdxyc2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mjxitvt7vk2bMy report. And noting: this year’s number is only five titles fewer than the record high year, 2023. The three most frequently challenged titles: two YA novels, Sold by Patricia McCormick & The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and a memoir in comic form: Gender Queer, by Maia Kobabe. [contains quote post or other embedded content]20 Apr 2026 22:20 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjxitvt7vk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mjp7n2ki4k2tMy latest. If built, this 250-foot arch would tower over not just the Arc de Triomphe, but also over its two nearest rivals by size: El Monumento à la Revolución in Mexico City (220 ft) and the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, North Korea (197 ft). [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Apr 2026 15:14 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjp7n2ki4k2thttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mjdcpsouyk2vA sad day. My report for @npr.org. (A memory: taking Ashaji to lunch at a fancy Greek restaurant in midtown by her request, at which point all the Bangladeshi staff tried to mansplain to me how famous and beloved she was…as if I couldn’t possibly know or understand.) [contains quote post or other embedded content]12 Apr 2026 21:37 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjdcpsouyk2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mhr42j6qy22iICYMI earlier today. In a statement to me, a White House spokesperson wrote: "President Trump is committed to making the Trump-Kennedy Center the finest performing arts facility in the world. We look forward to ultimate victory on the issue." [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Mar 2026 22:24 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhr42j6qy22ihttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mh6vsiwbjc2pI'm currently listening to President Trump's remarks at a Kennedy Center board luncheon. Among other targets, he's specifically mentioned the National Symphony Orchestra for "terrible programming."16 Mar 2026 16:45 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mh6vsiwbjc2phttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mgvbho43pk26It’s snowing, yet again. (Related: I had a quite vivid nightmare last night in which it was snowing, yet again. I stepped out in my yard to touch the snow and I fell inside, sank hundreds and hundreds of feet down through the snow and ice, and was buried alive.)12 Mar 2026 20:47 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgvbho43pk26https://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mg6trw7dw224I made a point of only using work from the past few years. (So: no Persepolis. No Reading Lolita in Tehran.) [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Mar 2026 22:43 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mg6trw7dw224https://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mfcr5skee22wFacing a student mental health crisis, a New Jersey school district’s first step was to pull a Junot Díaz novel from a class. PEN America says it’s part of a trend of scrubbing literature about uncomfortable topics. My @npr.org report: https://www.npr.org/2026/02/20/nx-s1-5708741/junot-diaz-oscar-wao-mental-health-book-bans20 Feb 2026 18:42 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfcr5skee22whttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mfalqohkc225Our exclusive report: an internal Kennedy Center memo details planned renovations -- which are far more modest than the "complete rebuilding" promised by President Trump. What we don't know is if this is the full extent of the planned changes. https://www.npr.org/2026/02/19/nx-s1-5717475/trump-kennedy-center-renovations19 Feb 2026 22:00 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfalqohkc225https://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mecpgmyu7k2jA few hours ago I was in Michigan and now I am at Carnegie Hall and I think it is colder inside Stern than it was outside in Detroit please send some kind of help08 Feb 2026 00:46 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mecpgmyu7k2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mdycgrddb22rA while ago, I did a piece on body doubling and ADHD... and now I hold office hours for my students via Zoom (bc I mostly teach remotely). Honestly? Having a camera on while I plug away at my to-dos, anticipating the possibility of having folks drop in on me at any moment (which they DO, hooray) 1/03 Feb 2026 21:26 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdycgrddb22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mdvnrduigk2gTrump says he is closing the Kennedy Center on July 4th for two years of renovations/"Complete Rebuilding." We have so many questions. https://www.npr.org/2026/02/02/nx-s1-5696489/kennedy-center-renovation-trump-questions02 Feb 2026 20:11 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdvnrduigk2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mdtkwxh7622rBREAKING: President Trump just announced plans to CLOSE the Kennedy Center for two years as of July 4 to "begin Construction of the new and spectacular Entertainment Complex." More coming very soon. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/11599793970512117402 Feb 2026 00:15 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdtkwxh7622rhttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3mcddbsdx2c23Today is the deadline for the Smithsonian to file thousands of documents to the White House for a review that will determine whether they express "improper ideology." Our @npr.org story: https://www.npr.org/2026/01/13/nx-s1-5672645/smithsonian-deadline-white-house https://www.npr.org/2026/01/13/nx-s1-5672645/smithsonian-deadline-white-house?utm_sf_post_ref=650577507&fbclid=IwdGRleAPTgIpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEendY9PJw5ESuuTqdfofWCR53O8AffXrWacjqXOoICPrKi8TE1oH1YGAQJgbU_aem_yyXjbCil9nZ5dRFSsrAiZg&utm_term=nprnews&utm_campaign=npr&utm_sf_cserv_ref=10643211755&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social13 Jan 2026 19:50 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcddbsdx2c23https://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3m74ihg6yx22uWhat sin have I committed that my child is picking out the tune to "The Final Countdown" on our piano03 Dec 2025 22:19 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3m74ihg6yx22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3m2x33dzaek2eUnsolicited very strong recommendation of the day for the Jad Abumrad-led podcast on Fela Kuti. An absolute masterclass on how to tell a story — many stories — in audio. (And, of course, I adore Fela, as complicated and problematic as he is.) https://www.audible.com/pd/B0FRCQHHXN?source_code=ASSORAP0511160006&share_location=library_overflow11 Oct 2025 20:55 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2x33dzaek2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3m2jkywch6s2gICYMI [contains quote post or other embedded content]06 Oct 2025 12:03 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3m2jkywch6s2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3lz5f4biaas2kI suggest reading to get the full statement that DHS gave me today re Bad Bunny. (But also broadcast today on All Things Considered.) [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Sep 2025 22:20 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3lz5f4biaas2khttps://bsky.app/profile/anastasiat.bsky.social/post/3ly3u4oqvbc2jAn @npr.org exclusive: four Democratic senators are urging the Smithsonian to resist White House attempts to “bully” the institution. Our report: https://www.npr.org/2025/09/05/nx-s1-5529369/smithsonian-trump-senators05 Sep 2025 14:19 +0000at://did:plc:szyhlcmd2j7ylef3lq35qsxn/app.bsky.feed.post/3ly3u4oqvbc2j