What Growing Up on a Farm Taught Me About Humility by Sarah Smarsh This typically powerful piece by Sarah Smarsh details a portion of her experience growing up on a family farm in rural Kansas. She effectively maps out the … Continue reading Outside Reading — In the Heart of the Heart Country edition
Saturdays are when I use my little corner of the digital world to excitedly redirect eyes to the recent writing of others. As the year comes to a close, I’ll offer encore hyperlinks to the following six pieces, presented more … Continue reading Outside Reading — Six from 2022
The New Number One Film On Sight And Sound’s Greatest Movie List Is A Step Forward, But More Needs To Be Done by Erin Brady Writing for /Film, Erin Brady considers the latest Sight and Sound list of the one … Continue reading Outside Reading — Canon Fire edition
THE DIRT ON PIG-PEN by Elif Batuman Writing for Astra, Elif Batuman explores the history of the Peanuts character who travels with his own trailing cloud. I’m always fond of cultural commentary that convincingly applies broader social theory to seemingly … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Human Dust-Bowl edition
“VOTERS ARE SMARTER THAN THE MEDIA”: THE PUNDIT CLASS MISJUDGED THE AMERICAN PEOPLE by Molly Jong-Fast Another election cycle, another abject failure of political reporters. Prompted by the blundered predictions of broadcast and print pundits, Molly Jong-Fast correctly heaps scorn … Continue reading Outside Reading —People Have the Power edition
Two Weeks of Chaos: Inside Elon Musk’s Takeover of Twitter by Kate Conger, Mike Isaac, Ryan Mac, and Tiffany Hsu I begin with a low opinion of the emerald mine scion who fancies himself some sort of revolutionary thinker — … Continue reading Outside Reading — Tweet, Tweet Against the Dying of the Light edition
I’m a Teacher in Florida. The Anti-LGBTQ Rules Are Making the Job Nearly Impossible. by Abigail McLeod Writing for Slate, Florida teacher Abigail McLeod details the challenges she and her colleagues face in adhering to the vague, cruel, and unpredictably … Continue reading Outside Reading —Lessons edition
How Disinformation Splintered and Became More Intractable by Steven Lee Myers and Sheera Frenkel Much as I know that bigotry, cynical propaganda, and bald-faced lying have long been welcome in our broader political discourse, I swear there was a time … Continue reading Outside Reading — Untruth Social edition
The Supreme Court Is Blowing Up Law School, Too by Mark Joseph Stern My master’s degree program included a class in constitutional law. It didn’t really make sense that it did, but I greatly enjoyed the class. In his lectures, … Continue reading Outside Reading — Unsettled Law edition
Guess Who’s Coming to Mordor by James Poniewozik When considering the flood of sewage deliberately pumped into the public discourse by right-wing cads, it’s practically impossible to determine which infraction against basic decency is most egregious. That, too, is part … Continue reading Outside Reading — Fellowship edition
Coffee for Two 