Musicians Are Begging Fans to Mask Up at Concerts. Here’s Why. by Nina Corcoran Writing for Pitchfork, Nina Corcoran relates the enormous difficulty smaller and mid-tier acts are facing as they adjust to touring, their main source of revenue, in … Continue reading Outside Reading — Masks at the Merch Table
The Story Behind That Photo of Ketanji Brown Jackson and Her Daughter by Gina Cherelus In the interest of focusing on the positive, I am setting aside the instinct to engage with arguments made in bad faith to instead celebrate … Continue reading Outside Reading — Through Sarahbeth Maney’s Lens edition
I Know What It’s Like to Be a Florida Teen Who Can’t Say Gay. I Was One by Kristen Arnett This is an entirely appropriate response to the hideous, hateful Florida law that effectively bars the acknowledgement of anyone who … Continue reading Outside Reading — Unsaid edition
Black-Owned Bookstores Safeguard Our History as Racists Try to Ban It by St. Clair Detrick-Jules As they fully intend, it’s difficult to pin down precisely which of the right wing’s many infractions against political norms and basic decency is most … Continue reading Outside Reading — Black Ink edition
Who’s Afraid of Ketanji Brown Jackson? by Sherrilyn A. Ifill Writing for The New York Times, Sherrilyn A. Ifill, the brilliant and insightful president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, draws from the historical record to … Continue reading Outside Reading — Things That We Knew But Would Rather Forget edition
Her Name Was Shirley by Dr. Reniqua Allen-Lamphere Writing for Esquire, Dr. Reniqua Allen-Lamphere traces the longterm negative impact the 1956 Life magazine article “The Restraints: Open and Hidden,” part of a series on segregation in the U.S., had on … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Restraints edition
The Truth About School Indoctrination by Jessica Valenti Writing for her own newsletter, All in Her Head, Jessica Valenti addresses the latest manufactured outrage of the political right, which at its most dramatic has led to genuine book burnings. More … Continue reading Outside Reading — Stuff Some Adults Don’t Want You to Read edition
I Am Not Proof of the American Dream by Tara Westover In some quarters, Tara Westover’s runaway bestseller memoir, Educated, made her exemplar of the American ethos that rewards concerted effort no matter the station in life that is a … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Long Legacy of Claiborne Pell edition
Why I’ve Decided to Take My Podcast Off Spotify by Roxane Gay With characteristic clarity, Roxane Gay writes about removing her current podcast from Spotify, part of an exodus of major figures in response to the streaming audio provider’s generous … Continue reading Outside Reading — Censorship vs. Curation edition
A Loving TV Portrait of a Woman in Full by Shane O’Neill In remembrance of Louie Anderson, Shane O’Neill writes about the character he was instrumental in creating for the FX series Baskets. Although Christine Baskets was originally conceived by … Continue reading Outside Reading — Missing Christine edition
Coffee for Two 