Why Not Pink and Brown?
The unbearable whiteness of being....
Dispatches
The Best Questions Are Not Good
“But, it would seem, there is no getting around explanations, we are constantly explaining and excusing ourselves; life itself, that inexplicable complex of being and feeling, demands explanations of us, those around us demand explanations, and in the end we ourselves demand explanations of ourselves, until in the end we…
Documentary ‘Being Eddie’ Means to Cement Legacy
Many recent documentaries about comic entertainers show the alienation, sadness, and self-perceived failure in the lives of people we think of as “funny” and investigate connections among hardship, talent, and drive. While “Being Eddie” is interesting, and Murphy is good in it, if somewhat restrained, it has little such complexity.
Why the Line Between Coercion and Consent in Policing Eludes Us
The terms of the struggle are renegotiated every time a law is deemed unjust by civil disobedience, and the tension ratchets up every time we are forced to acknowledge that laws without the threat of possible force are no laws at all. The law may fix the line between coercion and consent, but in a democratic republic we at least have the prospect of that line moving forward or back.
How We Could Keep Holy
The tech bros must have stumbled onto Abraham Heschel’s book about the Sabbath.
Ritalin Works–But Not the Way We Thought
ADHD, sleep deprivation, amphetamines and the truth of why they work.
Community Radio in St. Louis Comes Back from the Dead
The new initiative aspires to acquire an FM frequency one day, and these volunteers who banded together to save community radio in St. Louis are a smart, tough, resourceful crowd. I expect to report their further success one fine day.
How Tough Should Journalists (or Any of Us) Be?
Can truth be found gently? What about hope, and grit?
Yes, We Can Be Ambivalent About the Death of Mass-Market Paperbacks
Almost anyone over the age of 40—dare it be said, even 35?—has their own indelible memory of this crafty little reading medium.
The Purpose of a Cookery Book
Like many old cookbooks, Jessie Conrad’s contains recipes we all still know and enjoy, such as an apple tart from scratch, as well as those you might not have enjoyed in a generation or two, such as calf’s kidney on toast; bacon pudding; pigeons with carrots; and “Boiled Mutton for an Invalid.”