This One's A Doozy [#77]
Happy Friday,
It's been a minute since I've written so it's time to remedy that. I write from Southern California, where plumes of smoke from Malibu's fires could be seen from my home in Marina del Rey, and the air quality got so bad that daughter Eva reported they canceled recess outdoors. The bigger tragedies are, of course, up north near Chico. I will head there Monday to cover the ongoing search for now some 600 missing.
Reading
The country has a violent white nationalism problem. How a toy helped my editor Uri reconnect with his father, who fled the Nazis as a child. George Lakoff on lie blitzkreigs. Trump has turned the GOP "into a racist, semi-authoritarian National Front." Bone-chilling reporting on re-education camps in China. Fascinating investigation into the "sonic attacks" on US diplomats in China and Cuba. Trump is a political genius and a political underperformer at the same time. Make you own old white Republican name. The sex recession. Other reasons behind it. Doing the sex math on John Mayer. Roxanne Gay writes lovingly on love. RBG + Maury is couple goals: "Mostly, they fell for each others' brains." American-style housing hurts friendships and community. The McRib is back, which reminded me of the theory of the McRib's pork arbitrage. Photos of the Beto pop-up offices around Texas. Beto lost the battle but won the war. Impressive questions to ask in a job interview. If you win the lottery, start a foundation. A chicken fried steak anthem, YEEEAH!
Werk and Musings
Weighing in on how US media misreads the North Korea story because it fails to understand ethnic nuances. A bonus Q&A following my talk at the Journalism and Women Symposium in Oregon. I hosted Here and Now from Boston this week before coming back to guest host It's Been a Minute (Sam Sanders' pod) from LA. Good chats from H/N include this one, on how American motherhood fails women and men. And for Sam's pod, I got to go deep on Asian American identity with STEVEN YEUN of Walking Dead fame. As someone said to me on Twitter, "He is such a snack."
Recommendations
You need a good gift for the political-nerd women in your life? How about this Resistance by Design scarf, which features the faces of women spurred by this moment to run for Congress.
Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.
Elise