A Transformative Life Lesson Passed Down From David Lee Roth [#160]

And, you may have already read the 20 lessons on tyranny, but it's worth reviewing them again.

Greetings from back home in LA.

The Pope memes have given me some pep in my step. And after watching “Mean Girls at The Vatican,” aka Conclave the film, I’m super excited that a conclave is happening soon.

In April I was in Canada one week, followed by Mexico the next, and fretted about re-entering the country both times. My new friend Jena, upon coming back to the states after giving her TED Talk in Vancouver, got questioned:

I don’t know what happens next. The clock is ticking on American democracy, such as it was. I reiterate the advice that voting rights activist Stacey Abrams shared with me this week, about speaking up and taking action from where you are, on the issue or issues you care about the most. And that all social change has always been fueled by a critical mass of people taking action where we can, from where we are.

Reading

A grand unified theory on why American politics have gone haywire. The clock’s ticking for Taiwan, too. We’re in an AI bubble and it threatens all of us. Thinking about AI as a ponzi scheme. How Elon manages his legion of babies, many of whom are secret. A lovely reflection on the decision to marry in old age. Straight women are turning to ChatGPT to unpack their situationships. The porn-ification of America shaped an entire generation, with heavy consequences. (That’s an excerpt from Sophie Gilbert’s must-read non-fiction, Girl on Girl, which is out next week.) Incredible story of a man who gave his “golden” blood his whole life, and may have saved two million babies in doing so.

Werk Werk Werk

Five years ago, the design great Debbie Millman told me something that transformed me. She said she interviewed David Lee Roth and he reflected on how lonely it was at the peak of his career, because no one else was up there and the only way to go was down. So it led her to think that she wanted to peak when she was 90 and die. Every since then, I, too, have wanted to peak when I’m 90 and die. We had Debbie on Forever35 where I thanked her for that wisdom, and again on TED Talks Daily, where we chat about what she’s learned by becoming a gardener. Both are insightful; I love Debbie so much.

How we perceive ourselves is the topic of a TED Radio Hour episode I guested on in early April. I chatted with the tireless

Jessica DeFino

for her Guardian column on wedding makeup. Plastic surgery tourism is still big business in South Korea and Flawless gets a nice mention in this Insider piece on it.

The Stacey Abrams interview is coming soon, and I will share it when it is out because Doree and I just had such a blast talking with her about how she’s caring for herself, her favorite TV to watch right now, her writing process and, she gave us a little hope. That felt great.

Watch and/or Listen

John Lithgow recites historian Tim Snyder’s 20 lessons on tyranny, beginning with “Do not obey in advance.”

Al Gore is pissed off and I’m here for it.

I binge-watched The Pitt (Max) on so many of y’alls recommendations and am so glad I did. So glad it was renewed and they’re already working on season two, which takes place about 10 months later.

All right that’s about it from here. Keep sending me your thoughts, quips, links and other recommendations. Thank you to longtime readers and hello to the new ones.

Onward,

E