“Ritual is an urge and an act; it’s an aesthetic gesture. As an adult I established the habit of turning my attention to those subtle seasonal details and recording them. I was loving and honoring the land, but this practice still left something undone. A certain clarity, maybe formality. Something like a frame around a […]
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Impersonation Nation: A Very Scammy Reading List
Five stories that demonstrate we’re living in the golden age of the personal hoax.
The Art of the Steal
The Social Register was a who’s who of America’s rich and powerful—the heirs of robber barons, scions of political dynasties, and descendants of Mayflower passengers. It was also the perfect hit list for the country’s hardest-working art thief.
New York City on Fire (and Our Top 5)
“As with the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, for instance, the lead-up to the arson campaign on November 25, 1864, was long, ugly, and both actively and tacitly encouraged by powerful men.” Hello, Friday! To help kick off your weekend, we’ve rounded up some reads for you. Our first recommendation, from […]
My Child Has a Disability. What Will Her Education Be Like This Year?
“We’re starting the school year with few details about how our fourth grader’s needs will be met.” Millions of disabled students are adjusting to online learning, and the support services that parents have fought for are now at risk.
Disposable Heroes
“Christine Blasey Ford’s memoir captures the hazards of ‘coming forward.’”
The Plot Thickens (and the Week’s Top 5)
“Accommodating the dead, like accommodating the living, has always entailed a head-on collision with the awkward reality that we have a finite amount of physical space.” Okay, yes, sure, maybe you weren’t expecting a quote about dead bodies to kick off your Friday morning. But I assure you that our new feature, “Disneyland of the […]
A Beautiful and Brutal Truth
“I only know that it is incredibly sad to admit to your children that you’ve been seeing videos of black men being killed since you were their age and that you haven’t been able to stop it.”
Hoops, Double Helices, and Our Top 5
“I’m not just crying, I’m truly wailing. I’m one of Homer’s grieving women, I’m Alice in Wonderland crying an actual ocean between hiccups, I’m Diane Keaton weeping then whooping in her Something’s Gotta Give breakup montage. My team, the Lakers, has lost.” I confess: I did not know much about basketball until I worked with Rachel Dlugatch […]

