The Che Guevara of Abortion Reformers
“That’s crazy. People won’t talk about abortion! They’re afraid to. I’m going to talk about abortion! ABORTION!”
Trapped in the Fire Zone
They couldn’t get away from California’s Camp Fire fast enough. Now, they can’t leave.
Mourning at the Magic Kingdom
A day after burying her father after his sudden death at age 67, Nicole Chung and her young family go on a long-planned vacation to Disney World, where she finds that making new family memories is one way to honor old family memories.
Brett Kavanaugh and the Cruelty of Male Bonding
It’d be really great if y’all could figure out a way to impress each other than didn’t involve assaulting or demeaning women.
Sex and Hotels
Slate has done us all a solid by bringing Geoff Dyer’s classic Nerve essay back to the internet, which examines why sex in hotel rooms is so much sexier than in other locations.
Junot Díaz and the Problem of the Male Self-Pardon
For Slate, staff writer Lili Loofbourow suggests that men accused of harming women should center the injured in any attempt at amends.
It’s Not Easy Being Evergreen: An Oral History of the Muppets
Studio 360, the public-radio show and Slate podcast, shares an oral history of the Muppets. The piece covers the endearing appeal of these personality-packed foam and felt creations and how creator Jim Henson struggled to find the right setting for his cast of characters in the early years before Sesame Street and The Muppet Show made them famous. Did you know they actually had a brief stint on Saturday Night Live?
The Trip of a Lifetime
In the context of some recent reads on psychedelic drugs, Laura Miller looks at Michael Pollan’s new book, How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence. In it, Pollan says that drugs such as psilocybin and LSD got a bad rap after some flawed scientific experimentation and images of burned-out, ’60s counter-culture hippies soured Americans on exploring the medical benefits these drugs might offer, suggesting that their mind-altering abilities might help free us from cognitive patterns that are holding us back.
Surrender Donald! A Queer Call to Action Since 1989
Long before Donald Trump even ran for President, in 1989, he was the subject of a protest by AIDS activists. Steven Vider recalls ACT UP’s descent on Trump Tower to protest a lack of housing for homeless people with AIDS while Trump received tax breaks.