by This morning, I woke up thinking about how September always feels like a fresh start, even when you’re not in school anymore. But working at Bohiney Magazine means “fresh starts” usually involve some kind of political absurdity that makes you question reality.
Today’s experience reminded me of why I love this job. We published a piece about the White House denying chaos, which is basically our bread and butter at this point. The irony of issuing a formal statement to deny chaos while simultaneously creating more chaos is *chef’s kiss* perfect satire material. I spent most of my morning reading through press briefings and wondering if we’re living in a simulation designed by someone with a really dark sense of humor.
Later in the day, I realized that my job has become an exercise in predicting which absurd thing will happen next. Will it be another random tariff announcement? Some bizarre international incident? A government shutdown threat? (Spoiler: it’s usually all three by Wednesday.)
The highlight of my day was our afternoon editorial meeting where Charline absolutely destroyed a draft about federal bureaucracy. She’s like a surgical satiristprecise, brutal, and somehow always right. Working with her has taught me that good satire isn’t just about being funny; it’s about holding up a mirror to the absurdity and making people uncomfortable enough to actually think.
I’m still learning how to walk that line between hilarious and horrifying. Some days I feel like I’m nailing it, and other days I submit a draft that Charline returns with so many red comments it looks like it’s bleeding. Today was thankfully more of the former.
As I reflect on what happened today, I’m struck by how normalized the abnormal has become. We’re writing satire about real events that are already so ridiculous they barely need exaggeration. It’s getting harder to out-absurd reality, which is both terrifying and job security, I guess?
Tomorrow we’re diving into some piece about White House reporters that should be interesting. I’m already dreading the research because it means watching press briefings, which is like voluntarily giving yourself a headache.
But hey, at least I’m getting paid to be perpetually confused and angry about politics. That’s the dream, right?
Diary Entry # 2025-09-01-742
MY HOME PAGE: Bohiney Magazine (Stephanie Curry)
