Peace [#69]
OH HAI,
We all survived the Singapore summit and while North Korea's nuclear arsenal is exactly the same, Trump declared world peace so I'm sure everything is fine now. I lost the USB fan from the press kit already but it sounded like it might be the artillery that accidentally kills me so, maybe I'm better off.
Since I last wrote, we lost Philip Roth, Tom Wolfe and Anthony Bourdain. They were each giants. And what a gut punch with Bourdain. Christ. The tragedies seem to keep outdoing themselves, though, don't they? I couldn't even bring myself to listen to the audio of children at the border being separated from their parents because I've already reached the nadir.
Reading
It's all too much to take, but we still have to care. Every explanation from the administration still ends with screaming children in cages. The 15 most important books to Philip Roth. Philip Roth on Trump. We're in a time of linguistic emergency, and the consequences are real. Trump's winning the linguistic war, so find ways to fight back. Can things get put back together after he's gone? Deportation is often a death sentence (h/t @photomatt). Father versus son at Fox News. Another "positive" thing that capitalism is ruining. Don't believe the "nine percenters" hype, one percenters are still the problem. The challenges Democrats face, by Friend Peter. Modern manhood pares away intimate friendships, emotional range and open communication. Friend Jenny on the Friendzone and hitting rock bottom. (It's a testament to Jenny that I've never read a tale of woe that made me laugh so hard.) When time with your parents is running out, by Friend Tom. The Ira Glass commencement speech lifted me up a little (ht Friend Sarah). The patent for the brown paper lunch sack.
Werk
The human rights situation in North Korea should be tied to strategic demands. The dispatch from the summit on the day of. Analyzing the agreement on the NPR Politics pod. Explaining the agreement on Vox's Today Explained pod. Pompeo in Seoul. Completed the ol' cable news hat trick while in Singapore, maybe my geekiest accomplishment of the year.
Watching
I need your recommendations! After The Americans ended I planned on diving into the latest season of The Handmaid's Tale but given how much it seems to mirror reality, I have instead been reading books. What do you love that is most like Party Down? I have yet to find anything close to Party Down.
Recommendations
Here is what you can do to help the situation at the border.
Peace in the Far East,
Elise