Tidings of Comfort and Joy [#151]

Not promising any of this will save us all from Satan's power.

Hello from Taipei!

How’s your morale? How’s your nervous system? Mine feels frazzled and foreboding. Trying not to spiral into fatalism by remembering what Tressie McMillan Cottom said after the election: “Donald Trump is not the last gasp of the G.O.P.’s descent into chaos and madness, but he is a sign that it’s the only strategy they have. They only have one tool. If there’s an upside today, it’s that, yeah, the tool worked this time, but they only have one. That means there is plenty of opportunity here to build more and better tools, and that’s our job right now.”

Reading

South Korea swiftly impeached a corrupt president for the second time in the past decade. This is a good historical context for the political turmoil there. The fundamental schism in how Americans see the world. The murder of a health insurance CEO and what it says about Americans’ tolerance for violence. Luigi Mangione was radicalized by pain. A prediction about the American news media I co-sign. “To think that 2024 wasn’t about identity politics is almost certainly to be White.” A place where good ol’ fashioned personal ads are still a thing. In defense of “y’all,” a perfect word. (I’ve been saying for 30 years that y’all the only English parallel to the Spanish vosotros and we should appreciate that, tysm!) Looking for non-profits for your end of year giving? This classic Vox list of climate charities is a great resource. And, I like the WIRED gift guides.

Werk Werk Werk

A conversation on living a softer life with comedian Jenny Yang.

We ended the year with TED Talks Daily as one of the top ten most popular shows on Spotify, globally. Thank you, listeners! It’s wild that this show has such reach and is used to support English learning for non-native speakers. Privileged to host this one for nearly five years now, and TED’s brought me closer to or in connection with so many incredible changemakers that I would have never otherwise met. Grateful.

Watch and/or Listen

NPR’s Code Switch, on what tradwives have to do with white supremacy, and where moms of color fit in.

Power User with Taylor Lorenz, on why Democrats won’t create a Joe Rogan of the left, whether deplatforming is a thing of yesteryear, and what we could do about the manosphere

Christmas Every Day, an eerie NYT Op-Doc that simply observes as preteen influencers go about their days, with their parents along for the ride as these baby entrepreneurs do their thing.

Coming Up

January 9: Online, my TED Talk release date! I’ll send out a blast.

February 7: Dallas, in conversation with Bill Gates for his memoir launch event

March 3: Dallas, Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business lecture

Soon, I’ll post the year ending Hu’s Letter with the links you loved the most. Looking forward. Just need to gather up the links.

More to come,

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