Conversations and revelations about an ailing nation along Interstate 95.
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The Uncanniest Valley (and the Rest of Our Top 5)
In this edition: Concrete memories, grief science, captive cats, relentless pain, and myth meets reality.
Was It Worth It?
“I didn’t think about those nachos even once. I had never experienced anything like it. Is this, I asked my friends, how it feels to be normal?”
Manhattan Burning
Before the Jan. 6 insurrection, there was the Nov. 25 arson campaign, when violent anti-government conspirators sowed chaos in the heart of New York City.
Stories on Shady Science (and Our Top 5)
“On one hand, it’s critical to root out research fraud and serious errors. On the other hand, highlighting the most dramatic outliers risks creating the impression that science as a whole can’t be trusted.” When I told my 7-year-old daughter that the recent viral clip of bunnies jumping on a trampoline was fake, she looked […]
What Is a Body For?
One desire felt like it would make me more of who I already was, and the other would unmake me entirely.
Eight Limes, No More: The Accidental Poetry of Found Lists
A found list is a rare analog window into someone else’s needs—an accidental autobiography, a blank space to be filled with one’s imagination.
The (Un-)Happiest Place on Earth and the Week’s Top 5
“I left Trip House at 8:12 on Saturday morning, having not been murdered, and drove to the Magic Kingdom. The woman at the ticket window asked if I’d come to Disney World to celebrate anything special, and I laughed. If I answered that question truthfully — using unmagical words like ‘genital,’ ‘student loan,’ and ‘gentrification’ […]

