Matt Pierce Blog

06/04/2026

In Brazoria County you can bet that bodycam footage will be corrupted or lost (if there was any at all) and all sorts of things will be done to protect this bastard. It is time that we own up to the over policing in America.

James Talarico what are planning on doing about it? Likely you'll not say a word because it is something that could have campaign implications or you'll say that we need to let the system do its job. We need more than that, young man.

A father who continues to grieve in Brazoria County over the death ...

06/04/2026

Let's talk about this.

06/01/2026

Thanks for making "American Splinters" number one on Amazon for our category today. Humbled.

06/01/2026

Well, this is something.

American Splinters is currently the #1 New Release in Rural Sociology on Amazon.

A book about rural America, class, politics, memory, survival, media distortion, and the people this country keeps misunderstanding found its way to the top of that category.

I’m grateful. But more than that, I think it says something: people are hungry for writing about rural and working-class America that does not treat them like saints, villains, statistics, or campaign props.

American Splinters is available now on Amazon.

American Splinters: Essays on Rural America, Class, Politics, and the People We Keep Misunderstanding

05/31/2026

I finally put this thing out into the world.

American Splinters is now available on Amazon.

This is a book of essays about rural America, class, politics, memory, media distortion, and the people this country keeps trying to explain without actually listening to.

It is not polished-up nostalgia.
It is not a campaign speech.
It is not another soft-focus love letter to small towns.

It is rural, real, relentless — a book from the American fracture.

These essays come from what I’ve seen, lived, questioned, and carried. They are about the places people drive past, the people reduced to stereotypes, and the hard truths still sitting under the dust.

Kindle is live now. Paperback is coming soon.

Grab it here:
https://a.co/d/05iEI8Tn

And if you read it, leaving an Amazon review helps more than you know.

05/31/2026

GO SPURS GO, BABY!

Western Conference Champs and headed to the NBA Finals!

Man, this feels like old times. The city’s got that buzz again. That real San Antonio buzz. The kind where every truck window has shoe polish on it, every cousin suddenly owns a Spurs flag, and somebody’s uncle is already talking about where he was when David Robinson dropped 71.

This ain’t just basketball. This is Silver and Black family business.

We’ve been through the quiet years. We watched. We waited. We kept the faith when the rest of the league acted like San Antonio had packed up the trophies and gone home. But Spurs fans know better. Around here, you don’t panic. You don’t run your mouth too early. You just keep hammering.

Pound the rock.

And now look at us.

Back on top of the West. Back in the Finals. Back where the whole basketball world has to remember that San Antonio doesn’t need flash when we’ve got heart, grit, and a city that rides for this team like it’s a family name.

So light up the River Walk. Fire up the grill. Honk twice on Commerce Street. Wake up the neighbors if you have to.

GO SPURS GO!
POUND THE ROCK!
FINALS BOUND!

Silver and Black forever. Fiesta colors glowing in the sky. San Antonio stand up. 🖤🤍🩵🩷🏀

05/31/2026

My new essay collection, American Splinters, is now live on Amazon Kindle.

It’s a book about rural America, class, politics, memory, working-class life, and the people this country keeps trying to explain without actually listening to.

This one comes from things I’ve seen, lived, questioned, and carried.

Kindle is live now. Other formats will be available soon.

If you read it, leaving an Amazon review would help more than you know.

American Splinters: Essays on Rural America, Class, Politics, and the People We Keep Misunderstanding

05/30/2026

Both parties keep telling Middle America they’re fighting for us.

That’s the sales pitch. The carnival bark. The greasy handshake outside the tent.

But follow the money and watch who gets served first.

It ain’t the mechanic in Moriarty.
It ain’t the waitress working doubles.
It ain’t the small-town family watching groceries, rent, gas, and insurance eat their paycheck like a hog in a feedlot.

The mainstream parties sold out the real interests of ordinary Americans a long time ago. Now they work for donors, lobbyists, special interests, and loud fringe groups who figured out that attention is the new political currency.

Meanwhile, the middle gets lectured, taxed, blamed, studied, targeted, and forgotten.

I took this photo on old Route 66 in Moriarty, New Mexico. Fitting place for it. Because if you want to understand America, don’t start in Washington. Start on the road they abandoned.

Middle America is still here.
The political class just stopped looking.

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02/16/2026

What does actual research tell us about content creation and the hazards faced by millions who are trying to cash in on the ecosystem?

02/12/2026

With Ottawa University Braves Athletics – I just got recognized as one of their top fans! 🎉