Give Your Loved One an Oyster I.O.U.: A Food-Themed Holiday Gift Guide by Helen Rosner As we rush headlong into the slice of the calendar years reserved for the most virulent consumerism, there is one only gift guide worth the … Continue reading Outside Reading — Tremendously Beautiful, Tremendously Useful, or Tremendously Absurd edition
The Trump Administration Created Its Own Reality on the Pandemic and Failed the Country by Charles P. Pierce Over seven hundred and fifty thousand dead in the United States from COVID-19, at a minimum. This enormous number was preventable. Instead, … Continue reading Outside Reading — Dereliction of Duty edition
Covid-19 killed my brother and sister a week apart. It didn’t have to happen. by Michele Genthon We are now in the phase of the COVID-19 pandemic where people are no longer dying of the infectious disease. For every one … Continue reading Outside Reading — Needless edition
In Praise Of Movies That Just End (Because They Used To Know When To End) by Mike Ryan This is exactly the sort of grumpy-old-man movie criticism I’m looking for these days. I’ve been slow to reengage in the moviegoing … Continue reading Outside Reading — The Last Frame of the Last Reel edition
Falsehoods Meddle in Humble Bid to Honor Past by Reid J. Epstein The news story out of Montana is an object lesson in the way right-wing brain worms have demolished the ability to get the simplest public works accomplished. A … Continue reading Outside Reading — Big Lie Country edition
The Shapeshifter by Sam Anderson I played music from a multitude of artists during my long-ago tenure as a student programmer in college radio. Many of those performers were clearly talented, and developed their gifts with commitment and craft. Those … Continue reading Outside Reading — Deep Normalcy Inflected By Sharp Stabs of Strangeness edition
Pure Nostalgia: The Oral History of ‘That Thing You Do!’ by Jake Kring-Schreifels Jake Kring-Schreifels draws a dream assignment: gathering reminiscences about Tom Hanks’s directorial debut, That Thing You Do! The considerable charm of the feature comes through in the … Continue reading Outside Reading — A Record Record Record? edition
The Most Amazing Bowling Story Ever by Michael J. Mooney That superlative of that title might seem a bit much, but I’m inclined to agree with the assessment. The article is an extraordinary piece of writing, tracking one Texas bowler’s … Continue reading Outside Reading — Strikes to Spare edition
Memoria: The Most Consequential Release Date In Alt-Rock Was 30 Years Ago Today by Michael Tedder This splendid retrospective landed yesterday on Stereogum. With insight and ingenuity, Michael Tedder (who, I should disclose, I know personally, which contributes to my … Continue reading Outside Reading — Our Little Group Has Always Been edition
Betraying the Victims of the Opioid Crisis by Ryan Hampton In the myriad of legal actions taken against Purdue Pharma, and the Sackler family that profits from it, the spigot drip of half-measure punishments is no less infuriating for being … Continue reading Outside Reading — Outrageous Fortunes edition
