It’s finally October! And I for one am excited, even though it’s still 86º here in Chicago and that is unacceptable, frankly.

Administrative Updates & In This Newsletter

First, a quick administrative update: I’m VERY excited to announce that I have BANISHED Acuity from my website. Good riddance, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. I’m back on Calendly for booking. If you’re signing up for class, privates, or other offerings, you might notice that the look is a little different, but hopefully you find that it’s a better experience overall. Everything is laid out on the new booking page here.

Aside from some rearranging, the main thing to pay attention to is that the codes to access different pricing tiers (or sliding scale, or venmo/cash) are slightly different than they were before. All are flagged on the offering so make sure you read the instructions when signing up 😇

Anyway, without further ado, this week’s newsletter includes:

• Some news you may have missed

• Some good things from the internet

• Spooky Season treats 🎃

• News about ✨ new ✨ offerings

News you may have missed

Keeping it short and sweet this week. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve no doubt already read about the flotilla to Gaza, strikes in Italy in solidarity with Palestine, ICE raids in Chicago, and the government shutdown. But you may have missed some things (or want some slightly longer-range context):

• This piece from 2019 (i.e., a century ago) documenting Stephen Miller’s white supremacist rhetoric and tendencies

• Deviant Ollam on Trump's UN fiasco and how escalators actually work

• Apple removed ICEWatch from the app store, and Google is seemingly also bowing to administration pressure

• Speaking of which, ICE intends to build a social media surveillance team

Some good things from the internet! Yay!

• Some people still believe in vaccines

• Feds being terrible at their fascist jobs

• Legacy media doing something right

• A reflection on finding and interviewing Assata Shakur in exile

Spooky Season! Sale! Trick or Treat!

Spooky season is so obviously the official season of Necessary Evils so it’s time for celebration mode. And by “celebration mode,” I mean, getting into the mood and theme of death, decay, and fear, and encouraging you to do some things that scare you—a little bit, or a lot. To do that, I’m offering some global sale rates on lots of different offerings, as well as some special trick-or-treat offers that will crop up throughout the month 🍬 And the best way to stay informed is to check in with the newsletters and follow along on instagram.

Spooky Sale

These deals will go live on October 15th, so you have almost 2 full weeks of advanced notice, lucky you 🌟

You can use these coupon codes when signing up for various services, and they’re good for bookings through October 31st. So challenge yourself to take on something scary — whether it’s confronting your upside-down game in a handstand private or working through how you want to show up for your community in this terrifying political climate.

All codes are listed as “first-time” but since I just moved (back) to Calendly, any new session you book this month will be your first time! Such good news, I know.

Sale Coupon Codes

• SPOOKYACRO - 10% off first-time acro private training session

• SPOOKYTRAINING - 10% off first-time in-person strength training or handstand private sessions

• SPOOKYZOOM - 10% first-time off virtual strength or handstand training

• SPOOKYPPM - 20% off first-time political peer mentorship single session

• SPOOKYCC4C - 20% off first-time couples counseling for comrades single session **

** If you’re wondering what this is, keep reading 😎

Trick or Treat

To keep the celebration going, I’ll also be doing a different special giveaway each week for the month of October. Stay tuned for the ig post this upcoming Tuesday 😈 Not following on Instagram? No worries, newsletter subscribers will still be able to participate!

✨ New ✨ Offerings

If you noticed above that there was a coupon code for CC4C and you wondered “what the hell is that,” you’re in luck because I’m about to explain 😇 Newsletter subscribers are getting a sneak peak during this soft launch of a new offering, with the public launch coming this month: Couples Counseling for Comrades.

What is Couples Counseling for Comrades?

Couples Counseling for Comrades (CC4C) sessions are coaching and mentorship sessions for you and your political partnerships. It’s not psychotherapy or mental health-focused; it’s dedicated time, attention, and facilitation for relationships that center on political work (or the political dimensions of your relationships), to dig through deep issues and negotiate areas of misalignment.

Traditional couples therapy is only designed for romantic and sexual partnerships, but your political relationships -- with co-organizers, comrades, close friends, and collective members -- are just as deep, connected, meaningful, and values-centered, so they deserve just as much attention and care. That’s what this container is for.

So much political organizing is derailed by relational challenges and substantive disagreements that come to an impasse. CC4C is intended to help you get to the heart of disagreements about values or strategy, so you can build stronger relationships and also stronger coalitions to work toward political change.

These are 90-minute virtual sessions for groups of 2-5 people. You can read more about the offering now on my website -- there’s even a set of FAQ to cover some of the highlights, but definitely reach out if you’re interested and still have questions! These sessions are currently open for booking, either for single sessions or for longer-term engagement. And don’t forget you have early access to the spooky season discount code SPOOKYCC4C 👻

Live Event: Tough Conversations on Oct 28

I wrote about how to have tough conversations (and when not to) at length a few weeks ago, and I’m holding a live, virtual event on October 28th for folks who want to dip their toes in on this challenging work. We won’t solve every issue in this 90 minute session, but you’ll get the beginning of a framework for how to approach challenging political conversations with people in your life. Signup coming soon so mark your calendar and stay tuned!

Stay in touch

That’s all for this week!

Did you benefit from this content? Newsletters are free for all subscribers, but you’re welcome to upgrade to a pay-what-you-want tier if you found it particularly useful and want to offer support. (There may be bonus content for this tier in the future but right now, WYSIWYG).

In solidarity,

Sirus