Morning Coffee (10/31/16)

Happy Halloween! Me elsewhere: TV news!

This was RIDICULOUS: Sen. Mark Kirk questions opponent’s American heritage in Illinois debate

Here's a good summary of the new email nonsense.

James Comey is damaging our democracy

Comey's Judgment Looks Far Worse on Day Two

David Fahrenthold is still doing great, great work: Trump boasts about his philanthropy. But his giving falls short of his words.

I wish this surprised me more than it does: New lawsuit claims Bela and Martha Karolyi ignored abuse of gymnasts

Fascinating: The Reason For Your Halloween Candy Paranoia

I... huh: ‘Bye Bye Birdie Live!’ With Jennifer Lopez Set at NBC

I really need to read Ann Cleeves, though I'm always suspicious of mystery writers who claim not to outline.

Lyrical Paintings of Life Inside a WWII Internment Camp

Morning Coffee (10/30/16)

Hillary Clinton is matching Barack Obama with young voters

Some good stuff about historical parallels here: Does Donald Trump Believe in Anything but Himself?

Jill Stein’s Ideology Says One Thing—Her Investment Portfolio Says Another

The Female Politician Trying to Turn Georgia Blue

Wow: Trump and Clinton: The Victorian Novel

!! Bees trained by scientists can teach each other new skills

"You have to be 'likable,' which is my least favorite bloody word in the industry. Rachel isn't 'likable.' What does that mean? To be witty and pretty and hold it together and be there for the guy? And he can just be a total drip?"

An interesting profile even if you don't care much about football: The Great Expectations of Scotty Walden, the Youngest College Football Head Coach in America

Heh: Peyton List-icle: 6 Ways to Identify Which Peyton List Is Which

This is a fascinating story: Jane Campbell: Parliamentary divorce pioneer

Morning Coffee (10/29/16)

There's a lot of interesting stuff here: Inside the Trump Bunker, With 12 Days to Go

This is troubling: Some Trump Voters Call for Revolution if Clinton Wins

The lap dogs of democracy who didn’t bark at Trump

The ABA wouldn’t run a piece calling Trump a “libel bully.” Here it is.

Hahahahahahaha: Destruction of Walk Of Fame star leaves Donald Trump down to his last six Horcruxes

More savage than Caravaggio: the woman who took revenge in oil

Perfect: Highly Conceptual Literary Halloween Costumes for 2016

Sarah MacLean: Bashing Romance Novels Is Just Another Form Of Slut-Shaming

Lovely: How My Sister Found (and Lost) My Wedding Dress

George Kennan’s Love of Russia Inspired His Legendary “Containment” Strategy

Morning Coffee (10/28/16)

Boy do we need a break for some happy Friday links.

These stories of women born before the 19th Amendment who are now getting to vote for a woman for President are amazing.

There are some pictures from the new Anne show here and here and I remain optimistic.

A football player did a press conference dressed as a wizard and talked about Quidditch and it was amazing.

Starving Stray Dog Is Rescued and Taken to Pet-Friendly Restaurants All Over LA

In other important dog news: Ice cream truck's most loyal customer is this beautiful dog

The Old-Fashioned, Modern Marriage of Ina and Jeffrey (Clearly this book needs to go on my Christmas list.)

All the brooding in Poldark, ranked

Giant Flip Books Are Hiding in the Woods of New Hampshire

I don't agree on ALL POINTS but this ranking of Taylor Swift songs is a good read, and I am now working on my own rankings for you.

Two contestants on The Bachelor fell in love WITH EACH OTHER instead and this story is just delightful.

Morning Coffee (10/27/16)

"Clinton is making her closing argument. Trump is making infomercials."

This is maybe big: DNC Launches Broad Legal Attack On RNC Over Trump's 'Voter Fraud' Crusade

Related: Make America violent again: Trump’s rhetoric could cause Election Day mayhem — and worse

He's SO GREAT, you guys: Tim Kaine's feminism

Trump's comments on women in the military are quite, um, something. Among other things, this shows his complete lack of respect for the competency and professionalism of ALL our troops of any gender, and as the sister of a soldier, I have to say that's pretty offensive.

What Drives Donald Trump? Fear of Losing Status, Tapes Show

In case you were wondering: Donald Trump Has No Idea What Obamacare Does

Chris Christie Is Over (When I went to a Chris Christie rally the person sitting literally next to me raised her hand and asked how Christie would protect her from THE LIBERALS and not whispering "We're all around you!" was the hardest thing I've ever done.)

Here's the Carnegie Medals shortlist! I want to read all of them.

I don't really CARE, do whatever you want, but why did Michael Phelps keep his marriage a secret when he wasn't trying to keep his wife or child out of the spotlight or anything? If they wanted to keep the relationship quiet in general, I would get it, but why have his wife constantly on TV as his "fiancee"? Just... why bother? Why did his agent perform the ceremony? It's just so ODD.

Morning Coffee (10/26/16)

This piece was very good but reading it was sort of like descending into a nightmare: You’ll Likely Be Reading One Of These 5 Articles The Day After The Election

Welcome to Trump TV: Donald Trump Launches Nightly Facebook Live Show

I hate this whole ridiculous tone: Hillary's list: An old-fashioned campaign plods ahead Yes, her campaign is METHODICALLY DOING THE WORK, HOW DARE THEY.

Everything is very normal: Rep. McCaul: I told Trump Russia was behind the hacks, but he thinks there's no proof

WHAT: After Kelly Preston's son died, Trump said he "worked like hell to try and pick her up."

Well: Donald Trump’s campaign has spent more on hats than on polling

This was a great profile of Andy Borowitz, whose stuff I actually do like.

This has been quite the fall: Kathleen Kane, Former Pennsylvania Attorney General, Is Sentenced to Prison

Oops: Australia Could’ve Fixed a Major Government Website Outage by Turning Router Off and On

Thomas Becket's personal book of psalms 'found in Cambridge library'

Morning Coffee (10/25/16)

This is a big deal! Or at least it should be! Exclusive investigation: Donald Trump faces foreign donor fundraising scandal

Well, this is disappointing: Fearing Trump, Bar Association Stifles Report Calling Him a ‘Libel Bully’

It really is all a scam: Trump’s Donors Paid For His Jetliner, His Hotels And Now, His Books (Also, you can't just randomly say books are out of print when they're not! Words have meanings!)

The 281 People, Places and Things Donald Trump Has Insulted on Twitter: A Complete List

Serial’s Adnan Syed Could Be Freed on Bail

My friend Alyssa has a great series about the police in pop culture coming out this week at the post. Here's the first part: How Police Censorship Shaped Hollywood

Uh... Kansas Ends Bad Economic News by Not Reporting It

!!! Christopher Marlowe credited as Shakespeare's co-writer

Somehow that weird Wind in the Willows murder story got weirder.

Oooh: Archaeologist Finds Ancient Roman Coins in 12th-Century Japanese Castle

Morning Coffee (10/24/16)

Me elsewhere: Your TV news for the week!

Steve Bannon’s Vision for the Trump Coalition After Election Day

This is a really good point: Trump’s “winners and losers” mentality made him a hit on reality TV but a flop in the debates

Why we trust Donald Trump’s accusers but didn’t believe Bill Clinton’s

Good for him: Jeff Van Gundy Advocates Zero-Tolerance Policy For Domestic Violence Offenders

Wild: The Team of Men Behind Rachel Brewson, the Fake Woman Whose Trump-Fueled Breakup Went Viral

This profile of Shirley Jackson was quite something: " A few months later, Jackson arrived at the hospital to deliver her third child. The clerk asked for her occupation. 'Writer,' she replied. 'I’ll just put down housewife,' came the response."

My friend Libby interviewed some big names in pop culture about depression and it's very interesting.

How the Berenstain Bears Found Salvation

Doesn't this sound like it should be the beginning of a romance novel blurb? In the Early 19th Century, Firefighters Fought Fires ... and Each Other

The doxxing of Elena Ferrante: the uproar over the novelist’s secret identity, explained

Morning Coffee (10/23/16)

Donald Trump's Campaign Has Become a Cult

Related: Women Explain Why They’re Standing By Trump

And: The Desperate Gamble of Scottie Nell Hughes, World's Most Loyal Trump Surrogate

I think Brian Beutler makes good points about why Trump TV is probably a bad idea in a business sense, but that doesn't seem to have ever stopped Trump before.

Heh: The hideous, diabolical truth about Hillary Clinton

John McCain explains how the filibuster will die

Fascinating: Reporting massive human rights abuses behind a façade

How the Alt-Right Grew from an Obscure Racist Cabal

The Russian-U.S. Relationship Goes Way Back to John Quincy Adams

HEEEEEE: Shot through the eye and who’s to blame?

Morning Coffee (10/22/16)

CHRIS PINE IS PLAYING MR. MURRY. This entire Wrinkle in Time casting endeavor is a gift. A GIFT.

ALSO we have some new Anne of Green Gables show casting!!

What We Know About Friday's Massive East Coast Internet Outage

Interesting: Washington’s foreign policy elite breaks with Obama over Syrian bloodshed

HEAVY SIGH: GOP congressman on Clinton: 'A lady needs to be told when she's being nasty'

Imagine If Donald Trump Controlled the NSA

Attention journalists: An adult can’t ‘have sex’ with a preteen. It’s rape.

A pint-sized pup keeps Hillary Clinton's campaign staff going in a hectic campaign season (And yes, I open the app specifically to feed and pet the dog. Well done, developers.)

Sirius XM released its holiday channel lineup! I'm sad that the Holiday Traditions channel is starting later than usual, and I'm ALWAYS sad that the classical Christmas channel doesn't start until Christmas Eve.

Aaah, we're getting a Juliet, Naked movie! I love that book.

Morning Coffee (10/21/16)

I think we all need some Happy Friday links this week.

SUCH good news: Gugu Mbatha-Raw Joins Ava DuVernay’s ‘A Wrinkle in Time’

Ooh: JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth love story to be published next year

This is very cool: Using Math to Repair a 650-Year-Old Masterpiece

This piece about the new Taylor Swift coffee table book (which is on my Christmas list, obviously) gets at a lot of what I like about her.

Aww, look at this baby elephant trying to save her trainer. (Everyone's fine.)

Ha: What This Big-Ass, Twitter-Powered Metronome Is Doing in Downtown Austin

I'm not that into these particular Gilmore Girls posters, but hey, new Gilmore Girls posters!

This Chart Reveals Which ‘Hamilton’ Character You Are At Work

Hygge – a soothing balm for the traumas of 2016

A Brief History of the Haunted House

Morning Coffee (10/20/16)

"But the other reality is that Clinton has been, at every turn, prepared, disciplined, and coldly strategic. She triggered Trump’s epic meltdown purposely, and kept Trump off balance over multiple weeks that probably represented his last chance to turn the election around."

There's a new “silent majority,” and it's voting for Hillary Clinton

Welp: While You Were Watching The Debate, Trump Just Launched Trump TV

A short history of white people rigging elections

Malik Obama: Donald Trump’s debate guest and Barack’s half-brother, explained

Heh. The Onion: Undecided Debate Viewer Waiting Until He Hears Same Responses For Seventh Time Before Making Decision

I love Ned Resnikoff trolling the trolls with Taylor Swift.

Related: Anti-Semitic Posts, Many From Trump Supporters, Surge on Twitter

5 Heartbreaking Accounts Of Sexual Abuse In Modern India

Oh, interesting: A Pearl Harbor Disappearance May Finally Have Been Solved

Morning Coffee (10/19/16)

Ecuador says it cut WikiLeaks founder's internet over US election interference

Is Trump Urging His Gun-Toting Supporters To Break Voter Intimidation Laws?

What a shock: Trump's Twitter debate lead was 'swelled by bots'

If You’re Ever Dissed in a Hacked Email, Try to Respond Like Larry Lessig

Donald Trump threatens press freedom worldwide

FiveThirtyHate: Meet The Trump Movement’s Post-Truth, Post-Math Anti-Nate Silver

Women know why Donald Trump’s accusers stayed silent for so long

This piece about home health care workers is important.

The short film Stutterer made me really angry, and it's now online, so please see if it makes you angry too.

Fascinating: Parenting by the Books: ‘Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson’

Morning Coffee (10/18/16)

There Is a Conspiracy to Rig the Election, and Donald Trump Is Part of It

How Trump Took Hate Groups Mainstream

“Trump Manages To Channel Goebbels”: White Nationalists Cheer Nominee’s Conspiratorial Speech Packed With Anti-Semitic Themes

"Like the female protagonist of a quest narrative—or, perhaps, of a dystopian fantasy—Clinton has made it through all her challenges to face the bull-headed Minotaur of sexism at the end of the maze."

The Time a Trump Aide Sued a Trump Adviser Over an Anti-Hillary Group Called C.U.N.T.

I shouldn't laugh but I can't help it: Kaakutja, Perhaps the First Known Boomerang Victim

This is a lovely profile of editor Robert Gottlieb.

Should TV pilots end with twists?

Fascinating: Stars Getting Rich Off Fan Conventions: How to Take Home "Garbage Bags Full of $20s" (I am not as outraged by this as it seems the article wants me to be.)

The Politics of Pockets

Morning Coffee (10/17/16)

Me elsewhere: The week's TV news.

War in Translation: Giving Voice to the Women of Syria

The Washington Post has a great Clinton endorsement: "That presages what Americans might reasonably expect of a Clinton presidency: seriousness of purpose and relentless commitment, even in the face of great obstacles, to achievements in the public interest. We believe that Ms. Clinton will prove a worthy example to girls who celebrate the election of America’s first female president. We believe, too, that anyone who votes for her will be able to look back, four years from now, with pride in that decision."

And here's their closing argument against Trump.

What a shock! "Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has informally approached one of the media industry’s top dealmakers about the prospect of setting up a Trump television network after the presidential election in November."

"And in New Hampshire, a state lawmaker warned what a Clinton presidency would mean. 'Ladies and gentlemen, if she becomes president, she’s moving in,' said Andy Sanborn, a state senator." (REALLY? IS THAT A PROMISE?)

We’ve been totally wrong about Hillary Clinton’s young voter problem

This chart of physicians' specialities and political party is fascinating.

The Guardian bought its own online ad inventory to track how the industry works and the results are fascinating.

This is great: Grilled Cheese Gives Some a Second Chance

!!! There Are Ten Times as Many Galaxies as Previously Thought

Morning Coffee (10/16/16)

This is great: President Obama Signs Law Requiring Baby Changing Stations in Men's Bathrooms

Trump Gets Desperate

Curt Schilling is THE WORST.

Hillary Clinton to Panicked Republicans: You’re on Your Own

Trump’s campaign wants to salvage his ground game. But an expert says “the damage is done.”

Will the press try to manufacture a horse race out of a blowout?

Some Apprentice transcripts are floating around and they're quite something.

WHAT: Flight attendant to black female doctor: ‘We’re looking for actual physicians’

The Coming of the Russian Jihad

Inside Japan’s first robot-staffed hotel

Morning Coffee (10/15/16)

I honestly don't even know where to start, you guys. (And I'm writing this Friday night because I'm volunteering for the Democratic campaigns all day Saturday!)

"It’s hard to predict how 'I reserve unwanted sexual advances for women I think are hot' works as a get-out-the-vote message, but we’re about to find out."

New York Times: we didn’t damage Donald Trump’s reputation. It was garbage anyway.

Woman says Trump reached under her skirt and groped her in early 1990s

Donald Trump Called Deaf Apprentice Marlee Matlin ‘Retarded,’ Three Staffers Say

Donald Trump once saw a child on an escalator and said, “I’m going to be dating her in 10 years”

Trump told 14-year-old girl he'd be dating her soon

Trump Faces Another Accusation — This Time, He Looked Up Models’ Skirts

Trump Body Shames Clinton, Too! 'I Wasn't Impressed, Believe Me'

And if all that weren't enough: Donald Trump Mocks NFL Concussion Rules: "Oh, You Got a Little Ding on the Head"

You must read this Giuliani profile if only for the scathing quotes from HIS OWN MOTHER.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg calls her Kaepernick criticism “inappropriately dismissive and harsh”

Morning Coffee (10/14/16)

How about some happy Friday links? I THINK WE ALL NEED A BREAK.

I'm reading Tana French's new novel right now, and Laura Miller's piece about her books in the New Yorker is just a delight.

Aw: This Guy Took A Road Trip With 29 Dogs, 8 Puppies, And A Cat (To get them to new homes!)

Unseen documents revealed on new website dedicated to TS Eliot

Whoa: Jacques Cousteau's Grandson Is 3D Printing Coral Reefs

Fun: How many movies feature a character with your first name?

The Man Who Invented Bookselling As We Know It

Inside the New York Public Library's Last, Secret Apartments

Ooh, Catherine the Great's Bow Necklace is up for auction again.

Petula Clark reflects on the making of "Downtown," which was semi-inexplicably my favorite song for a while as a little kid.

Channel Childhoods Gone By With This Digital Archive of Victorian Children’s Books

Mysterious Chinese skeletons in ancient London cemetery shed new light on Roman Empire

Morning Coffee (10/13/16)

WHOA. They just announced that Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature. That's... unexpected, according to everything I've read.

Okay, back to our current collective nightmare: Two Women Say Donald Trump Touched Them Inappropriately

And here's the personal story of a People writer, not one of the aforementioned two.

Obviously Trump is threatening to sue.

Related: The Guide To Donald Trump's War On The Press (So Far)

Before all that broke, yesterday: Trump bragged that he walked in on naked beauty pageant contestants

Chaser: Trump backers tweet #repealthe19th after polls show he'd win if only men voted

Trump Senior Adviser Promotes Trump Endorsement From Leading Anti-Semitic Hate Site

This is the kind of thing I'm seeing a lot from college-educated white male millennials and it's VERY BAD.

The Clinton campaign has a new microsite that compares what the candidates were doing in (supposedly) random years and it's quite something.

Fascinating: How One 19-Year-Old Illinois Man Is Distorting National Polling Averages

Morning Coffee (10/12/16)

(If you're sick of so many of these links being about the election, don't worry, I am too.)

This is great and I wish more people paid attention to policy during campaigns: Hillary Clinton is proposing a policy to tackle deep poverty

More Than 3,000 Sexual-Assault Survivors Call for Republican Leaders to Stop ‘Enabling’ Trump in Washington Post Ad

When you've lost Glenn Beck . . .

Trump, unbound

This is a fascinating look inside the Clinton campaign right now: ‘I’m the Last Thing Standing Between You and the Apocalypse’

Trump’s One Public Service Was Exposing the Misogyny of the GOP

Maine, can you please vote this guy out? Maine Gov. Paul LePage: Maybe the country needs Trump to show 'authoritarian power'

I watched this basically as it happened on Twitter and it was COMPLETELY ridiculous: Conservative Media Run With Absurd Smear That Hillary Clinton Hates “Everyday Americans”

Tapes or No Tapes, 'The Apprentice' Alums Recall Donald Trump's Sexist and Racist Behavior

Confessions of a Hillary Supporter: 'It's Not Like We Can Breathe Easy'

Morning Coffee (10/11/16)

This is terrifying: Trump is reciting disinformation obtained from Russian state news as truth.

Also terrifying: "On Sunday, to an audience of tens of millions of Americans, Trump voiced his contempt for the norms that define and safeguard our democracy with a promise to jail his chief political opponent. This, again, was the most important moment of the debate."

In case you thought he was joking: Donald Trump wants his supporters to know he’s dead serious about putting Hillary Clinton in jail

Paul Ryan won’t defend Donald Trump, but he is still endorsing him

Go Warren Buffett!

Trump interrupted Clinton 18 times. She interrupted him once.

I remember this nonsense from 2008 and of COURSE it would come up again: Trump ally Alex Jones thinks Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are literally demons from hell

Superman appeared on Supergirl last night and I can't stop smiling: "But in its own way, watching a powerful man unquestionably respect the authority of a powerful woman is just as much of a feminist statement as watching a woman stand up to misogyny. ... It’s no small gesture to have arguably the most famous male superhero of all time model feminism in action."

This is so cool: Scientists use 'virtual unwrapping' to read ancient biblical scroll reduced to 'lump of charcoal'

Ha: Actress: ‘7th Heaven’ reunion can happen if they kill Stephen Collins (Pretty sure she means HIS CHARACTER, but still.)

Morning Coffee (10/10/16)

Me elsewhere: Your TV news for the week.

Trump, companies accused of mistreating women in at least 20 lawsuits

Her love of research is one of my favorite things about her: Hillary Clinton Already Knows The Bad Thing You Said

From before the debate, but still: Inside Trump Tower, an Increasingly Upset and Alone Donald Trump

Charting Boko Haram's Rapid Decline

Hillary Clinton and the Resurrection of Old-School Hysteria

That Seventh-Grade Bully Is Running for President

The Definitive Map of America’s Creepy Clown Epidemic

Huh: Amazon Prime Now Offers Magazines

This piece about the creation of Addy Walker (the first black American Girl doll) is fascinating.

George Washington's 'racy' letter about a donkey goes on sale

Morning Coffee (10/9/16)

"Mr. Trump is rape culture’s blathering id, and Sunday night Hillary Clinton (who, no doubt, has just as many man-made scars as the rest of us) has to stand next to him on a stage, and remain unflappable as she’s held to an astronomically higher standard, and pretend that he is her equal while his followers persist in howling that sexism is a feminist myth."

“Shame On You!”: Trump Supporters Clash With Republican Leaders

Why Republicans Are Probably Stuck With Donald Trump

Mike Pence enabled Donald Trump. Stop saying he’d make a good president.

Here's Lin-Manuel Miranda's Saturday Night Live monologue. It's pretty adorable. I know, you're shocked.

"This is about 'lesser evil' Hillary Clinton. But what if I don’t think Hillary Clinton is 'evil' at all? What if I like her real good???"

The Horror Is Everything the GOP Could Tolerate About Trump, and Why

"These rhetorical time bombs, in other words, could be the catalyst for actual intimidation and violence, before and after Election Day. And if that violence and intimidation strikes, it will be against the chief targets of Trump’s campaign: people of color."

Oh: US protests over Russian 'harassment' as diplomats allegedly given date rape drug

Spoiler Alerts: Any Story Worth Telling Doesn’t Need Them

Morning Coffee (10/8/16)

In case you have been away from all media for the last day, a tape surfaced with Trump talking about routinely sexually assaulting women.

In light of this, the Times published Nick Kristof's column early: Donald Trump, Groper in Chief

And the editorial board is going all in: "And so we have now heard the Republican nominee for president of the United States bragging about repeated sexual assault."

Yes, it's too late to get Trump off the ballot (if normal rules still apply, to anything). Here's Vox's solution.

And here's how the tape came to light.

ALSO YESTERDAY: Russia filed a complaint with the UN about an official saying bad things about Trump. For real.

Speaking of Russia, ALSO YESTERDAY: U.S. government officially accuses Russia of hacking campaign to interfere with elections

ALSO YESTERDAY: Donald Trump Says Central Park Five Are Guilty, Despite DNA Evidence Because he is racist.

MEANWHILE: President Obama just signed a "bill of rights" for survivors of sexual assault

The lesson of Hillary’s secret speeches is she’s exactly who we already knew she was

How Donald Trump Supporters Attack Journalists

Morning Coffee (10/7/16)

Time for some happy Friday links!

Me elsewhere: I was not impressed by the Conviction pilot.

Ooh, National Book Award finalists!

I am so excited about this YA arranged marriage rom-com.

In case you missed it, Netflix released a very cute Gilmore Girls featurette.

Prince Harry and James Middleton are having a beard-growing contest?!?!

A Guide to the Real-Life Homes of the Heroes of Children's Literature

Let's look at some pretty coats.

Star Trek corn maze!

This 1856 review of Clara Schumann is fascinating.

Stark, Spare, Beautiful Midcentury British Safety Posters

A Field Guide to Wodewoses

Morning Coffee (10/6/16)

Me elsewhere: Timeless was fun!

N.S.A. Contractor Arrested in Possible New Theft of Secrets

The best piece on the VP debate I've found: This Wasn’t a Debate. This Was a National Gaslighting.

The Atlantic has only endorsed presidential candidates twice: in 1860 and 1964. And now this year.

Get to know António Guterres. He'll be running the UN for a while.

Inside Planned Parenthood's $30 Million Ground War to Stop Trump-Pence

Donald Trump's Tax Records: A Tale of Business Failures

A civil rights museum refused to close for five hours so Trump could have private access to tape ads, so now people are threatening to burn it down.

Eric Trump being sleazy about his father’s tax returns, an annotated guide

How Donald Trump Ditched U.S. Steel Workers in Favor of China

Fox News Outdoes Itself With a Ridiculously Racist Segment About Trump and Asians

Morning Coffee (10/5/16)

This exit interview that President Obama did with historian Doris Kearns Goodwin is worth a read.

The Onion, but WHERE IS THE LIE? Nation’s Women Fantasize About Some Future Election That Isn’t Absolutely Pivotal To Their Well-Being

This was pretty funny: The RNC accidentally put up its “Mike Pence won the debate” post early

Donald Trump is toying with refusing to concede if he loses. That’s horrifying.

Grading the Presidential Candidates on Science

Whoa: British book dealer slain for his first edition of 'The Wind in the Willows,' prosecutors say

Oh: The Wave of Evil Clown Sightings Is Nothing to Worry About. It Happens Every Few Years!

The Not-So-Wholesome Reality Behind The Making of Your Meal Kit

He really has a lot to answer for: Yes, It Was Donald Trump Who First Introduced Pizza Hut's Stuffed Crust to the World

Chasing the Sun: The woman forgotten by science

Morning Coffee (10/4/16)

I'm probably not going to have time to write about it - I'm focusing on network premieres - but I really liked Westworld on HBO. Check it out!

Strange matter wins physics Nobel

Trump Foundation ordered to stop fundraising by N.Y. attorney general’s office

Sad news: Neville Marriner, Prolific Musician and Acclaimed Conductor, Dies at 92

This is important: Why Every Woman Should Be Mad That People Are Treating Kim Kardashian's Holdup Like a Joke

!! Drink Free Coffee Like a Gilmore Girl at Hundreds of Luke’s Diner Pop-Ups Across America

"If you believe this election is basically a lock, or you happen not to live in a battleground, and are thus flirting with the idea of abstaining or of voting for a third party, ask yourself if you want to live in a country that has established proof of concept for a more polished racist demagogue."

This paper is long but worth reading: Fanning the Flames: Reporting on Terror in a Networked World

Pepe The Frog’s creator is voting Hillary, isn’t sure what the hell happened either

Oh: Stephen King's 'It' Movie Producer Denies Creepy Clown Sightings Are Marketing Stunt

Postcard from the past: a nostalgic glimpse into holidays of yesteryear

Morning Coffee (10/3/16)

Me elsewhere: Your TV news for the week.

There was some big news over the weekend, in case you were offline. First, I feel like this barely made a ripple, because of everything else going on: Colombia referendum: Voters reject Farc peace deal

And now what everyone's talking about: Trump Tax Records Obtained by The Times Reveal He Could Have Avoided Paying Taxes for Nearly Two Decades

As news of Trump’s taxes breaks, he goes off script at a rally in Pennsylvania

The New York Times risked legal trouble to publish Donald Trump’s tax return

The Time I Found Donald Trump’s Tax Records in My Mailbox

LeBron James: Why I'm endorsing Hillary Clinton

Part of this story takes place at my local yarn store! I'm so mad I wasn't there. Trump has a challenge with white women: ‘You just want to smack him’

I don't think Elena Ferrante has some divine right to anonymity or anything, but this piece claiming to unmask her is icky on a number of levels.

!! Missing piece of lost Magritte painting is discovered in Norwich

Here's a great profile of our new Librarian of Congress.

Morning Coffee (10/2/16)

Well this isn't alarming at all: Donald Trump Tells Those Who Are Not Conservative Christians To Identify Themselves At Rally

Undecided voters: Not who people often make them out to be.

Trump wanted to fire women who weren't pretty enough, say employees at his California golf club

Brian Beutler makes good points about conservative newspaper endorsements of Clinton.

Stein: Also not great at naming world leaders.

Oh: Anger as Churchill's home turned into Hitler HQ for Transformers 5

The Brangelina divorce and Hollywood’s ‘marriage of equals’ fantasy

James Patterson needs a get-a-grip friend.

The Forgotten History of Florence’s Mixed-Race Medici

YES: It’s Sherbet, Not Sherbert, You Dilettantes

Morning Coffee (10/1/16)

It's October!

ICYMI, I wrote about The Lost Tudor Princess yesterday and I had some issues with it.

This is important and more complicated than you probably think: What the FBI Files Reveal About Hillary Clinton’s Email Server

Also important: Thousands of immigrants who thought they'd done everything in time to get citizenship to vote probably won't be able to because of a backlog.

The key question on the Clinton Foundation is whether it saved lives. The answer is clearly yes.

David Fahrenthold continues to do great work: Trump Foundation lacks the certification required for charities that solicit money

Also: Trump's campaign paid his businesses $8.2 million

The GOP’s Jewish Donors Are Abandoning Trump

The myth of Gary Johnson

UGH New Hampshire: Calling for a Coup - State Rep Candidate McCoole Wants Military to Take Obama Into Custody

I. WHAT. Grumpy Cat Is Joining the Cast of Cats

Human Remains Found at Ancient Roman-Era Shipwreck