A new week of work requires inspiration, not box-ticking
Pretty much every Monday morning of my career so far, I have started the day with inbox catchup. …
An American love letter to the BBC’s Question Time
It feels like a hard time to both enjoy political debate and care deeply about political outcomes. Maybe this was always true; maybe each generation has to discover this for itself. …
Tips for those of us who are not natural-born runners
First things first: I am not a natural-born runner. I never played sports in school, and when we had to do the mile run in fourth grade, I finished second-to-last at a time of about 12 minutes. …
The most valuable lesson a substitute teacher ever taught me
In the past couple weeks, I’ve seen multiple tweets involving confusion about when to use “and me” or “and I” (including some would-be know-it-alls giving incorrect advice). As a bit of a know-it-all myself, this is my excuse to share the best grammar lesson a substitute teacher ever taught me…
Four works and voices that bring me cheer
There are many books, movies, songs, and streaming services that have been a balm to me in the last year, but a few rise above the pack for their therapeutic value. The common denominator: they forced a change of perspective.
1. Yoga With Adriene
There is nothing surprising or alternative about including Adriene on…
A quick tableau of white supremacy—how it started, how it’s going
Like so many images of the Donald Trump era, this photograph has the broad outlines of farce, but what it depicts is deadly serious. After storming the Capitol building, a Trump supporter stands on a pediment next to a statue of former president Gerald Ford; the supporter’s mouth is wide…
How I Got Through This
In a year of uncertainty, at least we could take control of our marriage
My husband and I weren’t alone in having to choose between postponing our big autumn wedding because of the pandemic, or becoming one of those viral (pun intended) news stories about selfish couples hosting superspreader events. We chose the former. It was an easy decision, made easier by having plenty…
Writing
Alexander Chee writes about the ‘destructive fantasies’ we engage in when we’re stuck
We often talk about writer’s block as if it’s some event that descends from the sky, with no origin or purpose. …
What will the great upheaval of 2020 look like in hindsight? That’s one question that writer Peter Leyden is addressing in his new speculative fiction series The Transformation.
In its first installment, the fictional Stuart Rand—perhaps a reference to the Whole Earth Catalog editor Stewart Brand—reflects on the changes he’s…
The pandemic holidays are here, and they are going to be very, very different this year
Around Labor Day, I wrote about how different the stretch from Thanksgiving to New Year’s would be this year, thanks to Covid-19. …
