Media
Political Performance Art
I had other things on the docket today, but I’d be remiss if we don’t at least address WTF happened yesterday. TL;DR Someone tried to assassinate Former President Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, grazing his ear instead, killing a spectator, and wounding a few others. The suspect is now dead. I’m not a (…)
When Taking a Stand is Futile
When the Greeks took over Judea a few thousand years ago, they were very into sports. Just as today, men throwing things and fighting each other determined who was cool, popular, and deserving of sponsorships. Naturally, the Jews wanted to fit in with the Greeks and be athletic and cool, so they built a stadium (…)
How To Protect Your Brain From Being Eaten by Ideology, Idiocy, and Bad-Faith Arguments
A few years ago when I quit the news, I also quit reading articles. Specifically, ones forwarded to me via email by people who do not generally read. Like a food diet, my information diet needed to be protected. Books were allowed in. Documentaries, in. Debate, in. Forwarded articles were a no. Social media, no. (…)
What Arguments Are Worth Your Time
In response to the story I shared last week, many of you disparaged yourselves for not having the courage to say what I said. I realized I didn’t add an important distinction: That wasn’t courage. I rarely speak up when adults say inane and cruel things anymore. Not because I don’t want to, but because (…)
The Media’s Integrity Problem
Last week, I shared that I had experienced an unexpected and very sudden divorce. What I didn’t share was thanks to the very public nature of my ex-husband’s job, I had a front-row seat to the vitriolic and unethical world of politics and media – and the absolutely corrupt and coordinated relationship between them. I (…)
Why Open AI ChatGPT Will Not Ruin Writing, But We Will
This is my least favorite topic at the moment because, well, outrage is profoundly boring to me. But enough people have asked me to comment on ChatGPT so here we are. Am I worried about it. What are my thoughts. What will happen to writing and writers and original thought! I’ll start with the punchline: (…)
It’s ok not to know something
Trust in institutions is at an all-time low, with, I think, good reason. However, it appears we’ve overcorrected because now we claim to, “do our own research,” and cite, “this person I follow on TikTok,” Reddit threads, and Instagram memes. Listen. I love the democratization of information, but our absolute trust in non-peer-reviewed assertions that (…)
What Happened When I Stopped Watching The News
I have a secret. One I prefer stay mine, but I need to tell you the secret in order to make another point. So here we go. My secret is: I don’t watch the news. I don’t read the news, I don’t watch it, I’m off Twitter, I cannot tell you who did what where, (…)