The Audacious Roundup

For the week of July 10th

Our July bookclub selection is Rivermouth by Alejandra Oliva. We will be in conversation with Alejandra on July 25th at 5 pm PST/8pm EST. Register now.

If you’re looking for a nice notebook, check out my Draft Writing Journal from Baron Fig. It’s pretty swank if I do say so myself. To accompany my Draft Writing Journal, there is now a pen! It’s beautiful and satisfying to hold. And if you’re looking for some writing instruction, you might want to check out my Masterclass. Debbie Millman’s Remarkable Life Deck is a useful tool for taking stock and looking forward.

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In this week’s Work Friend, queries about mandates for posting professional things on personal social media accounts, FedEx fees for freelancers, promotions without raises, and unequal pay for equal work.

I was chuffed to see this review in Audiofile Magazine of the audio play of Dykes to Watch Out For that I have a small role in.

Architect David Adjaye is facing allegations of sexual assault and other misconduct.

This year’s Emmy nominations have been announced. Ironically, the networks are all celebrating their accolades that they would not have received without the work of writers.

Those networks, at the same time, put out some strike propaganda saying that they won’t even come back to the negotiating table until October because they want to wait until writers start losing their homes. It’s so villainous that it sounds made up but it isn’t. And clearly, they don’t know writers at all. We wait months and months for our money.

Some handwringing about men. At some point, I do think we need to talk about how perhaps the crisis in masculinity is about younger men resenting that women have more independence and are less willing to tolerate the bullshit of ye olde times.

A look at Dear John’s, one of my favorite restaurants in L.A.

New fiction by Tessa Hadley.

A profile of Sarah Rose Etter, author of our August book club pick, Ripe. And here is a conversation with the author.

Buzz Aldrin likes to wear multiple watches.

Twitter has lost half its advertising revenue since the emerald apartheid prince took over. Shocking.

The concentration here… And sometimes, kids are brutally honest.

Apparently only Supreme Court justices are allowed to have personal debts.

Did you know Bob Mackie made Barbie a fashion icon?

RIP Jane Birkin, inspiration for a beautiful handbag.

Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon, defeating Djokovic.

Carlee Russell went missing in Alabama, but thankfully, she’s been found. I hope she recovers and thrives as she moves on from whatever happened.

If you love Neutral Milk Hotel, this might be an anthology you want to submit a story to.

A different kind of catfish.

A conversation with Ryan Gosling and Margo Robbie.

The Smithsonian inexplicably canceled the Asian American Literature Festival. Their explanation makes no sense.

The truth about people and their resentments.

Author John Milas on writing a horror novel in wartime. And his wonderful novel, The Militia House, was reviewed in The New York Times. This novel started as his thesis when he was my student and I am so very proud.

The NYT shuttered their sports desk which… is odd. At best.

SAG/AFTRA has joined WGA on strike! So, I’m doubly on strike as I am a member of both unions. The studios are, predictably, acting like cartoon villains.

After many long years, a serial killer in Long Island has been arrested.

But what is the deal with Mission Impossible and brunettes.

On Tracy Chapman, Luke Combs, and her single “Fast Car'“ hitting number one on the country charts.

Theee Franklin Leonard has a new interview series for Vanity Fair. His first guest is Stephanie Hsu.

Sometimes men are a mess. Keke Palmer’s boyfriend is one such fella. But she is a bright shining star and she is profiled in The Cut.

Really, it was quite a week for insecure men who funnel their issues into abusive behaviors.

Student loans are a morass of problems that borrowers should never have had to deal with in the first place.

Few members of the cast of Orange is the New Black were fairly compensated which, of course, is why actors are on strike.

Cedars-Sinai, racist practices toward Black women giving birth in the hospital. Shocking.

Larry Nassar was stabbed in prison. Not gonna cry for him even though prison, as an institution, is barbaric and inhumane.

Speaking of, Leslie VanHouten has been released from prison.

This story about a chimp seeing the sky for the first time is… just fucking depressing.

A woman got caught doing crimes against Amazon which, fair.

An excerpt from Rachel Eliza Griffith’s novel, Promise.

Kristen Kish is the new host of Top Chef.

Transphobes love to out themselves. Loud, proud and wrong.

This story about a Nebraska mother and her daughter being punished for seeking abortion care is just the beginning of what’s to come.

Polish man goes to Poland, finds no one there cares that he is Polish.

Coming soon-ish, a Black Panther video game!

We shouldn’t be able to be vigilantes simply because invasive technologies make it possible. (But that Ring doorbell sure can come in handy sometimes.)

Here’s a horrifying thing.

Y’all gonna learn—nothing good can be found in an AirBnB.

There’s a new season of Project Greenlight buuuuuut…. it seems kinda messy. I’ma watch and see what’s what. I really enjoy the work of the people involved so I hope it’s not as bad as the review suggests.

Crop top season for men. Intriguing, if you’re interested in men’s style.

Extreme heat is a major problem in many places with many repercussions.

There’s always some weird little man on an ego trip behind the deterioration of social progress.

A conversation with Ted Chiang on how to think about AI.

Girl dinner…. aka snacks.

Babies! Love to squeeze them.

A Black man was murdered after being accused of stealing… fruit. May he rest in power.