The Audacious Roundup
For the weeks of November 17th and November 23rd
AUDACIOUS BOOKCLUB HAPPENINGS
Our December selection is Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite. We will have a live book club discussion with Oyinkan on December 20th at 1 pm EST/10 am PST. Registration is open! I hope to see many of you there. For newcomers, there is a bookclub FAQ if you have questions about how it all works. We’re partnering with the lovely people at Allstora for the Audacious Book Club. Now, you can sign up to have the monthly selections delivered to your doorstep each month! Otherwise, I’ve put together an Audacious Book Club storefront if you want to buy current or forthcoming book club titles. If you missed our November conversation, you can view it here.
THE NEWSLETTER WEEK IN REVIEW
PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL NEWS
Alongside some wonderful other writers, I have an essay in The Big M, an anthology about menopause edited by Lidia Yuknavitch. Pre-order, now!
Thanks to you guys and other readers, The Portable Feminist Reader is a NYT bestseller! So thank you! And if you haven’t gotten a copy yet, there’s still time! (And there will always be time, it’s a book.) And check out Love Letter to a Garden, by Debbie Millman.
Book and project buying links: Books I’ve Written, RGB Imprint Titles, Rebind: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.
READING MATERIAL
RIP Viola Fletcher, the oldest survivor of the 1921 Tulsa massacre. May she rest in power and be remembered, always.
The regime has been firing all the competent lawyers so they can more easily do crimes. But the competent lawyers who remain are clear that it’s illegal to do murders and yet.
Speaking of crime, Pete Hegseth is doing a lot of war crimes. And maybe, just maybe, lawmakers will do something about it. (Don’t hold your breath.)
National Guard soldiers were shot in D.C., and one, Sarah Beckstrom, died from her injuries. It’s a terrible thing, compounded by the fact that the Guard should not be deployed in this manner.
The regime is continuing its deportation plans with relative impunity. Now, they’re going after people at their green card interviews. A nurse who has lived here for decades was deported to Ghana, where she is not from and now they’re sending her to Sierra Leone, the country she fled.
The US Coast Guard just can’t decide whether or not it should ban the swastika. Yes, it is indeed 2025, in case you thought you had entered the wayback machine.
The DOGE era is done but the damage is long lasting.
Wah. Mike Johnson is sad because his job is demanding.
Nicki Minaj visited the U.N. to talk about the persecution of Christians in Nigeria. While some people are expressing surprise, I’ve profiled Minaj and when we spoke, (before she married the pedo and went off the rails), she spoke knowledgeably about politics, immigration, and the cultural climate. Not sure how she veered off course but at the time, she had smart things to say.
As the economy continues to flail, especially for the people who can least afford it, Black woman are being affected the most.
Mayor-elect Mamdani is already making changes at City Hall. And in Atlanta, the first government funded grocery store. More of this!
In Hong Kong, a deadly high rise fire.
Northwestern University has joined the short list of universities that have caved to Trump’s demands.
Former Brazilian president Bolsonaro keeps getting in trouble for doing crimes!
Former Harvard president Larry Summers was quite friendly with pedo Jeffrey Epstein. And now he’s in trouble and no one wants him around at Harvard. Good. He’s an absolute asshole and I hate his face. Cornel West has to be appreciating the irony of this.
Anyway, Epstein and his pals sure did send a lot of e-mails with horrible punctation issues and details of crimes.
Hundreds of people lost their jobs or were otherwise affected for criticizing Charlie Kirk after his death.
What’s that? Another Black woman in labor being treated horribly by a hospital. This time it’s in Indiana. When does this change? When do Black women’s lives start to matter?
Influencers can be so dangerous when they are pushing ideas that are unsafe, untested, and unscientific.
ICE protests continue apace in SoCal and elsewhere. Organizers truly get things done. ICE also enjoyed well-organized resistance in North Carolina. Shout out to organizers, always.
Here’s a guy who chases ICE around on scooters. Shout out to him, too.
Because the ultra wealthy generally lack imagination, they hire people to help them have “meaningful experiences.”
I started noting the proliferation of Advent calendars on TikTok and it was odd but I just kept it moving. Then I saw this article about how everyone is getting in on the Advent action. SMH. Trends!
When student loan debt is a family affair in the worst ways.
Olivia Nuzzi has been…. a busy woman.
Surveillance has become so deeply entwined with intimate relationships. It’s probably not good but I confess I lo-jacked my parents and now just my dad. (He knows, of course. And he can also track me.)
A Utah man took his young family hiking, endangered their lives, and is now facing charges.
It’s kind of shocking how many people have been encouraged to die by suicide via Chat GPT.
Louis C.K. was soooooo cancelled that he has been profiled in The New Yorker.
Finally, someone with taste! A Frida Kahlo self portrait has sold for $55 million.
A profile of actor Katy O’Brian, a lesbian, too. A profile of Paulina Borsoon. The legacy of Abigail McGrath.
There will be an A Different World sequel series on Netflix. Curious to see how that goes. I really did love A Different World when it originally aired. Another sequel that may be happening—The Family Stone. Not sure what a sequel to that movie would look like but I did enjoy the original.
Just a question but why are food brands putting protein into everything? The protein lobby is working overtime.
See also: the pelvic floor.
In “Modern Love,” an essay from a woman declared unfit as a parent, who finds an unexpected way of rebuilding her relationship with her son.
Tatiana Schlossberg has terminal cancer and wrote one hell of an essay about facing mortality, parenting while sick, and contending with the healthcare system that is currently under the control of her crazy and horrible cousin.
RIP Tom Stoppard.
How Black women are doing the Work in One Battle After Another.
Marshawn Lynch brings his talents to the Houston Symphony.
At holiday gatherings, it’s okay to call your racist relatives racist because they are racist.
The folks at Wirecutter bought a pallet of returned goods and break down what was included. Oh, the waste.
A Campbell’s soup exec was talking shit about Campbell’s soup! Oh boy.
What it’s like to be a comedian in China.
An oral history of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
I love adorable little trucks like this.
There’s some debate about Michelin-rated cheesesteaks. I don’t like cheesteak sandwiches. It tastes like mushy cheese meat.
In sort of surprising news, all things considered, Cory Booker married in an “intimate” ceremony over the weekend. He married a woman!
A celebration of trans joy in Barton Springs, Texas.
Space is at a premium at the Center for Fiction in Brooklyn. The writers are fighting for desks! (They’re not really fighting, just complaining. It’s fine.)
The National Book Awards happened. I reckon I won one. Congratulations to all the winners and especially Patricia Smith who gave one of the most moving speeches I’ve ever heard.
Here is a lovely story about how a man was able to find a new lease on life in repairing typewriters.
Did we all see Beyoncé being fine and thicker than grits at F1? It was a religious experience, tbh.
Congratulations!
Always look forward to the Audacious Roundup. Thanks as always!