The most interesting way to look at Edward Said is to see the political and the literary as having always been conjoined
The most interesting way to look at Edward Said is to see the political and the literary as having always been conjoined
Department
Culture.
Society, trends, and the human experience.
Lately on the shelf
30 of 4302“What does it feel like to commune with AI spirits? It is a shot of caffeine. It is a dizzy spell. It is a download from the universe.”
“What does it feel like to commune with AI spirits? It is a shot of caffeine. It is a dizzy spell. It is a download from the universe.”
What happened to Scientific American? The political pendulum has swung back and forth, leaving a once hallowed magazine in shambles
What happened to Scientific American? The political pendulum has swung back and forth, leaving a once hallowed magazine in shambles
What made Cormac McCarthy a great writer? The sound of his prose, in its full excess and strangeness
What made Cormac McCarthy a great writer? The sound of his prose, in its full excess and strangeness
Historians have often created heroes, but few have themselves become one. Marc Bloch is the rare exception
Historians have often created heroes, but few have themselves become one. Marc Bloch is the rare exception
We’re in the midst of an attention crisis. All is disruption and distraction. John Berger saw it coming – and foresaw its consequences
We’re in the midst of an attention crisis. All is disruption and distraction. John Berger saw it coming – and foresaw its consequences
“Liberalism’s deepest grounding,” Judith Shklar writes, is the belief “that cruelty is an absolute evil”
“Liberalism’s deepest grounding,” Judith Shklar writes, is the belief “that cruelty is an absolute evil”
Howl at 70: “The last poem to hit the world with the impact of news and grip it with the tenacity of a pop song”
Howl at 70: “The last poem to hit the world with the impact of news and grip it with the tenacity of a pop song”
[Article] Ascending
Sometimes it's just time to go up the wooden hill... during Weird Web October! Let's roll some shapes...
Artists can be intellectuals, but no real artist is pure intellect. That was Marcel Duchamp’s problem
Artists can be intellectuals, but no real artist is pure intellect. That was Marcel Duchamp’s problem
A wild sprite haunting the West Yorkshire moors? Not quite. Emily Brontë’s legend distracts from what we know about her life
A wild sprite haunting the West Yorkshire moors? Not quite. Emily Brontë’s legend distracts from what we know about her life
#365 Tunnel Boring Machines Aren't Boring
Monetary Policy Trilemma, New Controls on Tunnel Boring Machines, and is China's Open-weight AI Strategy Changing Face?
A Guilty Person’s Idea of How an Innocent Person Would Behave
My review of “You Can See Everything”
It Doesn’t Matter What You Call It: Emily St. John Mandel’s Worlds of Trouble
Reviewing Her Latest, ‘Exit Party’—with a Little Backstory
Dostoyevsky, Just After His Death Sentence Was Repealed, on the Meaning of Life
"To be a human being among people and to remain one forever, no matter in what circumstances, not to grow despondent and not to lose heart — that’s what life is all about, that's its task."
Suggested Readings
A few recommendations by Figs in Winter for your reading pleasure
Malcolm Gaskill on Why Our Ancestors Weren't as Superstitious as We Think
Yascha Mounk and Malcolm Gaskill debate what the Enlightenment got wrong about the so-called age of credulity.
Your Book Review: The Ghost In My Brain
Finalist #13 in the Book Review Contest
What if the madness can’t be fixed with better government?
And other things I found on my travels this week
A Tale of Two iPhones
Well really, two tales of two different dichotomies between devices...
What the PHP Bug Shows Us About Humanity and Machines
Everything you need to know about the past week in cybersecurity.
How to install an app on your Commodore 64
It’s time to install an app! But here in 1986, we still call them “programs,” not apps. So, you’ll want to set aside some time to get started installing a program. Since you have a Commodore 64, there are really only two options for getting new programs this m…
Pluralistic: Critique and writing (23 Oct 2026)
Today's links Critique and writing: The most important part of a writing workshop is trying to fix other people's stories. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. Object permanence: USPS nukes the mail; Enron Explorer; "Scored"; UAE's international hacker leg…
On cyber-security and cyber-stupidity
Vibe coding the way toward disaster
The One Question I Can’t Stand at Restaurants. “The idea...
The One Question I Can’t Stand at Restaurants. “The idea of a restaurant I’d never been to using a dossier on me to decide, say, where I should sit, what I was likely to order, even whether I should be given a reservation at all, gave me chills.”
This Week At Persuasion
Persuasion Vancouver launches tonight! Plus, Eliot Cohen on The Good Fight.
Here’s Why Experts Keep Being Wrong About the Future
Why everyone missed the rise of Donald Trump ten years ago.
“US households are paying 62% more for drinking water...
“US households are paying 62% more for drinking water than they did a decade ago — outpacing inflation, grocery prices and household incomes.”
“Lobster and duck at the Johnson White House.” The success of Ralph Ellison’s individualist crusade resulted in an extreme version of public life
“Lobster and duck at the Johnson White House.” The success of Ralph Ellison’s individualist crusade resulted in an extreme version of public life
“God knows most novels are shit, but nobody is out here suggesting we all just stop writing them”
“God knows most novels are shit, but nobody is out here suggesting we all just stop writing them”