Leslie Jamison on Why Surprise Is Her “Working Definition of God”

Akbar and Jamison I’m both boggled and inspired by the ways the plotlines we write for ourselves are always getting overturned.-- Leslie Jamison I recently came across an incredibly interesting conversation between two contemporary authors—Iranian-American poet Kaveh Akbar, and American novelist and essayist Leslie Jamison. It was published last year in The Paris Review under …

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A Few Interesting Articles from the News, Pt. 5

Okay, I’m finally done getting caught up on my news clippings from the past couple months. (See also pt. 3 and pt. 4.) This batch is the longest out of the three, all admittedly too long to begin with. I do hope, however—in scanning through these clippings—that someone out there does find something interesting in …

Seven Reasons People Collaborate with Someone Like Trump

We all feel the urge to conform; it is the most normal of human desires.---Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic Anne Applebaum published a captivating extended article in The Atlantic back in the July/August issue that I recently got around to reading in full. It’s called “History Will Judge the Complicit”, and it helps answer for me …

Six Ridiculously Good and Super Addictive Chip Flavors

For your own sake, I hope you will completely ignore this post. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cpdb78pWl4 Chips are without a doubt one of the worst foods you can eat. I didn’t have them much growing up, but during this stressful time, I’ve found myself eating more chips, and between Kroger’s, Costco, and Trader Joe’s, my wife and I …

Nine “Errors of Intuition” Still Damaging the U.S. Response to COVID-19

Whenever Ed Yong posts something on The Atlantic, I read it. A couple weeks ago he posted another long, extremely well-researched piece about the U.S. response to COVID, and I thought it deserved a post. The article, entitled "America Is Trapped in a Pandemic Spiral," begins with a fantastic metaphor for our nation's tragically bad …

It Is Insane How Much Latitude This Country Gives Cops to Use Deadly Force

His dulcet tones and gushing sympathies notwithstanding, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s press conference on Wednesday announcing a grand jury’s decision in the investigation into Breonna Taylor’s March 13th killing by police made it clear that—at least in his judgment, and that of the grand jury—cops in this country have enormous latitude under the law …

Tim Kreider on the Pleasures and Perils of News as “Outrage Porn”

Imagine if we had chosen the path of retribution and revenge. Our country would have been dust and ashes.--- Desmond Tutu, on the end of Apartheid Look, I’m mad too. I’m scared too. I'm anxious and exhausted and finding it hard to be kind too. These are dark days. Some fear, some anger, some impatience …

A Few Interesting Articles from the News, Pt. 4

Hey folks, it’s me again. As I noted earlier this week, it had been a solid month+ since I posted a news dump, so I’m still getting caught up on sharing clippings from some of the interesting articles I’ve recently come across. Here’s the next batch… 1.) “Women Won The Right To Vote 100 Years …

Meritocracy and the “Last Acceptable Prejudice”

Barack Obama showing the rest of us how it's done in 2012. I’ve lived in major cities all over the world, I have two advanced degrees, I can out-talk the best of ‘em at any art museum, and on most matters I’m as progressive and cosmopolitan as they come. But my family background is thoroughly …

Four Fascinating Historical Examples of How Disasters Have Positively Shaped Modern Cities

The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. It provides the opportunity to do things that were not possible to do before.– Rahm Emanuel, 2008 We live in dark times. That’s a given. Without minimizing in the slightest the immense suffering that so many people are experiencing …