Our January book club selection is Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook by Sohla El-Waylyy. We will be in conversation and cooking with Sohla on January 16h, and registration is open. More details coming soon. If you missed our conversation with Lindsay, you can watch it HERE.
In the latest Work Friend, how to manage a micromanager, dealing with feedback that may be sexist, needing a colleague to stop asking after estranged family, and not getting enough validation from coworkers.
WBEZ profiles RGB author Lindsay Hunter. Have you read Hot Springs Drive yet?
A lovely review of Bonnie Jo Campbell’s latest novel The Waters.
This happened. I don’t have anything to say publicly beyond that I love my cousin and will always be proud of her.
In Japan, after a plane crash, all 379 people on board survived. A not so small miracle.
Turns out, studios were all (only) talk when it comes to actually making movies by diverse creators. Shocking.
Also shocking, NFTs are now worthless. Guess what? They always were!
Sometimes, when I see these kinds of laments, I wonder if maybe we’re worrying way too much about what other people are doing. Yes, sometimes or even a lot of the time, we take pictures and video of the incredible things we are lucky enough to experience. It doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate those moments. It doesn’t mean we aren’t fully present.
RIP Ana Ofelia Murguía, RIP Tom Wilkinson, such a talented, seemingly affable man. RIP Tom Smothers. RIP Laura Lynch. RIP Lee Sun-kyun and what a terrible tragedy.
On the tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day.
Another day, another Dave Chappelle special where he offers the same tired jokes and snickers as if he is just oh so clever. He used to be so funny. What a waste. In Florida, he walked off stage after an audience member pulled out their phone during his gig. I don’t really care about that. Here is what he’s like as a neighbor.
The first two chapters of Naomi Klein’s Doppelganger Effect.
Florida men were arrested after a brutal hate crime. The details here are so… chilling.
A woman tried to burn down Wisconsin’s only abortion clinic and now she has to pay a fine.
Mayim Bialik is out as one of the Jeopardy hosts. What happened?
Trump has been removed from Maine’s 2024 ballot, so now that is two states that recognize that insurrectionists should not be able to run for office. All the people wringing their hands over this blow my mind. This is democracy, actually.
In Colorado, an armed man entered the building that holds the state’s Supreme Court and began firing a gun. This is tyranny. I hope the difference is clear.
Ohio’s governor has vetoed a transphobic bill.
How Da’Vine Joy Randolph approached her role in The Holdovers. She was one of the only good parts of The Idol. I would watch her in anything.
There are now eight billion people in the world.
A look at who Jordan Neely was.
Sounds like this woman had the worst possible experience at a dentist’s office which is… saying something.
The challenge of maintaining the legacies of Black communities
Mentors mentor.
Corn is delicious.
The Color Purple is doing pretty well at the box office.
Ooops. Spirit Airlines put an unaccompanied minor on the wrong flight.
Mosab Abu Toha on being taken from his family by the IDF and what he endured.
I guess polyamory is having a moment. Honestly, who has the time? Or the energy? But I’m happy for all of you who get down like that.
A conversation with Cord Jefferson. Go see American Fiction. My favorite movie of 2023.
Have you heard about this nine-month long Royal Caribbean cruise?
Bye bye, Black history in some school district in Missouri. Where does it end? Oh… we know. We know.
A father.
The paramedics were found guilty in the death of Elijah McClain. I suppose it is something but a young man is still dead. I hope this brings some measure of peace to his family.
Simone Biles, AP athlete of the year, for the third time. Her husband stepped into some mess. And she wonders if the internet is done making jokes about it. Answer: No.
On Blake Butler’s Molly and how we write about the dead.
A man who spent FIFTY years in prison for a crime he did not commit was exonerated. It is… appalling how often this happens and how much life is taken from innocent men and women.
A Florida teenager shot his sibling in an argument over Christmas gifts…
Vin Diesel is facing a sexual harassment suit. Many of you know how much I love the Fast and Furious franchise so this was a real disappointment. Jermaine Jackson is also facing a lawsuit.
Taraji P. Henson got real about the pay disparities Black women deal with in Hollywood.
Small Beer Press is shuttering. They published lovely books.
People in age gap relationships are largely happy but no one believes them!
This essay from Tom Scocca, navigating the healthcare system, a failing body, and trying to make a living as a writer, is really well-written and haunting.
Latino voters are not, in fact, turning to Republicans in huge numbers.
Grimes is proud of white culture. Ummm, congrats I guess. And I am very curious about how she defines white culture. Actually, I am only mildly curious.
Lots of new books have entered the public domain.
In NY the amazing bookstore Bluestockings is facing eviction for being community-oriented and caring about people.
The LAPD spends $50 million a year on helicopters that are always hovering over my neighborhood. SO LOUD.
Benjamin Dreyer on thirty years as a copy editor and moving on to new things.
An absorbing piece about a climbing mystery that is now less opaque.
How an old motel became a sanctuary.
Here’s how to build a small solar power system! Just in case.
The range of emotions I'm feeling about your cousin right now. I am furious. Absolutely livid. And sad sad sad. The audacity of white men who feel victimized is limitless. I'm so so sorry.
Roxane, definitely keep you pride in your cousin, Dr. Gay. That entire hearing was a farce.
I always appreciate your roundups and wish you Debbie and your entire extended family a peaceful, joyful 2024!