Afternoon Tea (3/31/17)

Heartbreaking and fascinating: The High Price of Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Life

This series is great: Parenting by the Books: ‘Little Women’

The Hidden World Of Harlem’s African Braiders

Lady Jane Franklin, the Woman Who Fueled 19th-Century Polar Exploration

The Marsh Arabs of Mesopotamia

These Passionate Latvian Linguists Refuse to Lose Their Language

March Book Review: The Wages of Sin

(First - yes, Kaite Welsh and I have very similar names! We became friends on Twitter partially because of that - mutual friends thought it was funny - but so far as we know we are not related. Alas.)

I'm a big fan of historical mysteries, so I know there are a ton of good series out there, and it can get overwhelming. But I'm here to tell you that you should absolutely try Kaite Welsh's debut The Wages of Sin, the first in her series about medical student turned detective Sarah Gilchrist. There are a lot of "spunky Victorian lady detective" series, but the fact that this one is set in Scotland rather than England and that Sarah is among the first class of medical students at her university to include women sets this series apart.

One of my pet peeves with historical mysteries - and historical fiction in general - is when characters have completely modern worldviews, and especially when earlier feminist characters think just like contemporary feminists. Welsh does a great job of avoiding that trap here. Sarah's views are very progressive for her time, but this reads as organic to the character, her background and experiences and interests. For all her advanced views, Sarah is very much shaped by her time and culture, so she doesn't seem to be dropped into the story from the present day.

The mystery Sarah investigates arises naturally from her medical studies (and from her volunteer work at a clinic), which helps the narrative work, but it is also completely intertwined with important economic inequality and social justice issues of the time (and of... now), which adds heft to the novel. The reader learns what's really going on in various parts of Scottish society as Sarah herself does, which helps avoid preachiness, and the mystery plot is well-paced and complex enough to be satisfying without being unnecessarily ornate.

Sarah Gilchrist is a delightful, complex protagonist surrounded by interesting supporting characters, and I'm definitely looking forward to following them through more books. But I'm looking forward even more to returning to the fascinating world of late Victorian Edinburgh and seeing how the series develops through this time of social change.

(This review made possible by my Patreon supporters! If you'd like to see more reviews here, come join! I think we're only a few dollars a month from the next goal.)

Morning Coffee (3/31/17)

WHAT A WEEK. Time for some Friday happy links!

!!! I want to go to this: Inside the Mesmerizing World of Miniatures Coming to New York City

Wow, this is quite the concentration of people I like in one movie.

The Folger Shakespeare Library Will Lend Chilly Readers a Handmade Shawl

Well this is just DELIGHTFUL: Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern, Wildly Close

In case you were concerned: Bo and Sunny Obama Are Just As Cute As Ever

HUH: Prosecco-Flavored Nail Polish Now Exists

Let's All Watch a Young Mary Berry Work Her Soothing, Sensible Magic in the 1970s. YES, LET'S.

Ooh: See the World’s Largest Collection of Fluorescent Rocks

I want all the candles.

5 fantastic Beauty and the Beast adaptations that go beyond Disney

Whoa, look at these 90s snack-themed doughnuts.

Let's make some spring pasta.

Afternoon Tea (3/30/17)

The rise of forensic science in an unlikely world—Hindi pulp fiction blockbusters

The True Cost of the Louisiana Purchase

The Masada mystery: Have archaeologists proven the ancient tale of mass suicide in the Judaean desert or twisted science for political end?

I haven't listened to this podcast, but this piece has some interesting points about access and the changing nature of fame: 'Missing Richard Simmons' And The Nature Of Being Known

Guardians of a Vast Lake, and a Refuge for Humanity

The Supposedly Pristine, Untouched Amazon Rainforest Was Actually Shaped By Humans

Morning Coffee (3/30/17)

Pillars of the West Shaken by ‘Brexit,’ but They’re Not Crumbling Yet

The UK has officially begun the Brexit process. Here's what happens now.

The Marine Photo Scandal and the Cost of Indifference

An Alabama Prison’s Unrelenting Descent Into Violence

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ President Trump’s company pursues second Washington hotel

70 days in, Donald Trump’s presidency is flailing

The Offender of the Free World

Devin Nunes's botched effort to scuttle the Trump/Russia investigation, explained

Donald Trump’s belief that Obamacare is “exploding” is false and self-destructive

The Future of the Left Is Female

I'm mostly enjoying Reza Aslan's show Believer, but this makes some good points: Reza Aslan and the Risks of Making Religion Relatable

Forbidden love: The WW2 letters between two men

Afternoon Tea (3/29/17)

Welcome to Afternoon Tea! It's a short list of interesting reading to provide you with a little break in your day.

Does Alexa Have Free Speech Rights?

This is a fascinating look at weddings in Iran: The Bride's Side

How Aristotle Created the Computer

TV’s Dead Zone: How the Cable Sector Is Killing Off Struggling Networks (The chart in this is amazing.)

All the President's Yachts: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of FDR's Floating White House

A great interview about the late Bob Silvers: “He Couldn’t Conceive of a Life Without Being the Editor of the NYRB”

Morning Coffee (3/29/17)

Now that the world is an unending hellscape of terrible news, I have a big backlog of links basically all the time. (Both because there's so much hard news and because the less urgent [and also more fun] stuff gets pushed back, though I try to fit in at least a few non-newsy links each day.) I figure more than about twelve links in a post will get overwhelming for you guys (maybe I'm wrong?), so... let's try something new! Morning Coffee will stay as it is, with a mix of current events and other stuff, so if you like that and don't want more, just keep reading what you're reading. But when I have a backlog I'm going to add in Afternoon Tea posts as well. They'll go up at 4pm Eastern on weekdays with a smaller batch of non-time-sensitive links, designed to provide you with a little afternoon break. Let me know how this works for you or if you have better ideas!

Trump is weighing a major escalation in Yemen's devastating war

Killing of a Hamas Leader Could Signal a New Conflict With Israel (Good thing we have Jared Kushner to solve this whole problem. Oh wait...)

Senate Committee to Question Jared Kushner Over Meetings With Russians

Sigh: Donald Trump Claims U.S. Constitution Bars 'Apprentice' Star's Defamation Suit While in Office

Paul Ryan is just not good at his job!

Useful: The Devin Nunes/Trump/wiretapping controversy, explained

Who Should Pay for Evan Karr's Heart?

Regretful Trump Voters Are (Mostly) a Myth

Kiersten White is doing a new Buffyverse YA book series!

This is so important and also FASCINATING: How to revive Massachusetts’ first language

The Trouble with Innocence

DNA Reveals an Early American Dynasty Centered on Women

Morning Coffee (3/28/17)

What Russia's Latest Protests Mean for Putin

Uh: Venezuelan troops invaded Colombia this week. But just a little bit.

Trump's Anti-Immigrant Policies Are Scaring Eligible Families Away From the Safety Net

I just... Trump Reportedly Handed Merkel a $374 Billion Invoice for NATO

Donald Trump is extremely bad at making deals

Trump’s Terrifying Comey Tweet

Hee: BUY THE BOOK: Trump Got To Sit In A Big Boy Truck Because Today Was A Special Day!

Oh hey, we haven't had a Theranos update in a while! Theranos offers shares to investors if they promise not to sue

At Muirfield, the World’s Oldest Golf Club, Women Can Join. Finally.

CAN YOU IMAGINE being isolated for a year filming a British reality show and coming back to find out about Brexit AND Trump???

PLEASE LET THIS HAPPEN: Did Senator Cory Booker and Mindy Kaling Just Set Up a Real-Life Date Over Twitter?

Deep in Brazil’s Amazon, Exploring the Ruins of Ford’s Fantasyland

Morning Coffee (3/27/17)

Me elsewhere: Your TV news for the week.

Muslims inside FBI describe culture of suspicion and fear: 'It is cancer'

Trump says he'll destroy ISIS. His budget would make that a lot harder.

Yazidis who suffered genocide are fleeing again, but this time not from the Islamic State

Trump Supporters Are Getting Triggered by an Adaptation of a Novel Over 30 Years Old

How the White House Got James Comey Wrong

The GOP's True Health Care Problem

Trump did to Merkel what men do to women all the time

Barack Obama has a plan for the Trump era

I can't believe this Rabid Puppies nonsense is still happening. Here's the latest in their one-sided feud with John Scalzi.

How Did Aboriginal Australians Arrive on the Continent? DNA Helps Solve a Mystery

2,000-Year-Old Seeds Found in Chinese Tomb May Reveal Clues About the Past

Morning Coffee (3/26/17)

As French Election Nears, Le Pen Targets Voters Her Party Once Repelled

9 bonkers things Donald Trump said in his new exclusive interview with Time

Again, doesn't matter now, but Dylan Matthews was right about this: A modest proposal for solving Republicans' Obamacare impasse

Same here, actually: Why would Democrats ever let Neil Gorsuch be confirmed?

This is... sort of good? Hill Republicans say they're growing frustrated with Mattis

Rex Tillerson Doesn’t Exactly Sound Like Someone Who Wants to Be Secretary of State

The World According to Bannon

"The theft, and then recovery, of Brady’s jersey was like a tale of Trumpian fan fiction."

There are now 3 rivers that legally have the same rights as humans

Interesting: Chinese maths textbooks to be translated for UK schools

How Scarlett Got Its Groove Back: The Link Between Pop-Culture Properties and Baby Names

A trove of anti-Soviet jokes recently declassified by the CIA offers a glimpse of Cold War humor

Morning Coffee (3/25/17)

‘The closer’? The inside story of how Trump tried — and failed — to make a deal on health care

I can't believe this is real: ‘Hello, Bob’: President Trump called my cellphone to say that the health-care bill was dead

Obviously beside the point now, but this from Matt Yglesias is a good read: The Republican health care plan is totally nuts

Donald Trump Is Not Having Fun

Amazing: We Redacted Everything That's Not a Verifiably True Statement From Trump's Time Interview About Truth

I've seen a lot of misleading stuff going around, so: DC's Missing Teens: What's True and What's Not

Taliban Take an Afghan District, Sangin, That Many Marines Died to Keep

The corruption cases that could take down Benjamin Netanyahu, explained

The Gig Economy Celebrates Working Yourself to Death

A Scholarly Sting Operation Shines a Light on ‘Predatory’ Journals

How Bob Silvers and the New York Review of Books Transformed the Literary World

Early Tech Adopters in Ancient Rome Had Portable Sundials

Morning Coffee (3/24/17)

I... well. Who knows what's going on with anything at this point, really? But I can offer some Friday Happy Links if you'd like a distraction.

I WANT TO GO THERE: There’s now a spy-themed bar in London where you have to crack codes to get cocktails

I wish this had been the most important political news of the week: This Adorable Pup Named Biden Just Got To Meet Former VP Joe Biden

Churchill trailer!!

New emoji are coming!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society cast is looking INCREDIBLE.

Ooh: Stunning 'new' cloud formations captured in updated atlas

Amazon is making a Victoria Woodhull movie with Brie Larson! (She was the first female presidential candidate, in 1872.)

Butterbeer ice cream?!?!

Let's have a The Royal We party.

Or run away to the Isles of Scilly.

I'm not convinced by this birthday cake mimosa idea but... you know, I'd try it.

The British Library's Medieval Manuscripts Blog takes a look at some Beauty and the Beast-adjacent holdings.

Morning Coffee (3/23/17)

I'm just catching up on the developments overnight in the London attack, but I recommend the Guardian liveblog.

US Officials: Info suggests Trump associates may have coordinated with Russians

AP Exclusive: Before Trump job, Manafort worked to aid Putin

Warnings of a ‘Powder Keg’ in Libya as ISIS Regroups

Beneath Mask of Normal Nigerian Life, Young Lives Scarred by Boko Haram

This case should be getting more attention: Suspect in Manhattan Killing Hated Black Men, Police Say

This Is How Neil Gorsuch Thinks

This is a bit long and dense, but really interesting: History's Guide to Contested Liberalism

Why Verizon and AT&T are suddenly pulling their ads from Google and YouTube

Ooh: Shaking Up the Dinosaur Family Tree

Your TV Show Doesn’t Have To Be A Movie: In Defense Of The Episode (Again)

For Women's History Month, the blog Early Modern Notes is doing an interesting series on primary sources of women's writing. Find it all here.

Morning Coffee (3/22/17)

What Donald Trump Doesn't Understand About Libraries

A must-read on the Gorsuch hearing: How Dare You Question Our Precious Nominee?

Why women wore Handmaid's Tale robes in the Texas Senate

Hillary Clinton: “I Am Ready to Come Out of the Woods”

Vindication: Nancy Pelosi was right: Democrats had to pass the bill so people could find out what’s in it

This is fascinating and heartbreaking: A Janitor Preserves the Seized Belongings of Migrants (They're confiscating rosaries. Rosaries.)

'London Bridge is down': the secret plan for the days after the Queen’s death (This is very well done, covering the government, media, etc., and was so immersive that I spent a couple days catching myself thinking "Wait, DID the Queen die?" No. She's fine. She better be fine.)

Sad news for mystery fans: Colin Dexter has died.

So they're making a sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl in the Spider's Web, but it's based on the fourth book, which was written by another author, and it's going to have a new cast. And new director. So. Huh.

A ‘Triumphant Return’ for 17th-Century Tapestries

Uncommon Ancestry

Russia’s February Revolution Was Led by Women on the March

Morning Coffee (3/21/17)

Oh wow: Martin McGuinness, an I.R.A. Leader Turned Peacemaker, Dies at 66

How a Sleepy German Suburb Explains Europe’s Rising Far-Right Movements

The FBI’s director just confirmed it’s investigating the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia

All of Trump’s wiretap claims have now officially been debunked by the FBI and NSA

Of course he does: Tillerson plans to skip NATO meeting, visit Russia in April

Dahlia Lithwick is always worth a read: The Case Against Neil Gorsuch

The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind the Trump Presidency

I really hope Sesame Street brings back Donald Grump.

Speaking of: Sesame Street Will Introduce Its First Character With Autism in April

Why do the big stories keep breaking at night?

Have you read this crazy story about the Thinx CEO yet? Because it is CRAZY. (Younger friends: None of that is normal. I promise.)

The Cottingley fairy hoax of 1917 is a case study in how smart people lose control of the truth

Morning Coffee (3/20/17)

The first day of spring Google Doodle is very cute.

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

Whoa if true, as they say: Basque Separatist Group ETA Is Said to Promise to Disarm

Well, this sounds... great: White House installs political aides at Cabinet agencies to be Trump’s eyes and ears

In case you wanted to see the actual results of Meals on Wheels, here you go.

Defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting won’t kill PBS. It will hurt Trump voters.

Donald Trump Sees Himself in Andrew Jackson

GOOD: Man who triggered seizure in Newsweek’s Kurt Eichenwald on Twitter arrested by FBI

Please do: Palm Beach may slap Mar-a-Lago with big tax to pay for ‘devastating’ cost of Trump’s weekend trips

Well this is horrifying: Brazilian Goalie Who Fed His Lover to His Dogs Is Now Free, Signed to a Team, and Wants Custody of Their Child

Today in things I wish were surprising: Women in finance work just as hard as men — and are more likely to get fired

The Forged ‘Ancient’ Statues That Fooled the Met’s Art Experts for Decades

Morning Coffee (3/19/17)

Sad news: Chuck Berry has died.

No Magic in How G.O.P. Plan Lowers Premiums: It Pushes Out Older People

What is Donald Trump hiding in his tax returns?

Welp: Girl Guides of Canada cancelling trips to the U.S., citing travel concerns

It’s ‘nonsensical’ to cut the Coast Guard to pay for Trump’s border wall, dozens of lawmakers say

The CBO's other bombshell: the Affordable Care Act isn't imploding

In Trump's Fascist Aesthetic, Dissenters Are Losers and the Photograph Rules

The Murder of an Honorable Lawyer in Myanmar

Please don't put jungle gyms in movie theaters. That sounds TERRIBLE.

Hee: Guess The Media Outlet By Its Tweet

Fascinating: Remembering Nüshu, the 19th-Century Chinese Script Only Women Could Write

What Happens When an Archaeologist Challenges Mainstream Scientific Thinking?

Morning Coffee (3/18/17)

Why The Famine In South Sudan Keeps Getting Worse

Watch Ireland’s prime minister bash Trump’s anti-immigration views just feet away from Trump

Interesting: St. Patrick’s Day Events Highlight an Irish Divide Over Trump

How Bad Are Things With North Korea?

Britain's top spies say Trump's claims they helped wiretap him are "nonsense"

Paul Ryan: I’ve Been Dreaming About Kicking Poors Off Medicaid Since I Was a Drunk Frat Boy

NYPD Commissioner Says Trump’s Budget Would ‘Hobble’ Counterterrorism Efforts

Liberals Would Be Foolish To Primary Joe Manchin

The century of American global domination of language is over, a linguist says

Late Bronze Age weapons discovery hailed as 'find of a lifetime'

Whoa: Disney Invented A Room Where Your Phone Will Never Die

Obviously I need to read some Angela Carter.

Morning Coffee (3/17/17)

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Let's have some happy Friday links.

Yay!!! Chelsea Clinton announces new picture book, She Persisted

Aw: Refugees in Canada are embracing the country’s silliest sport

I'm pretty impressed with these St. Patrick's Day manicures.

Aaah, look at these female author shirts. I want the Agatha Christie one.

Obviously I also need Game of Thrones wine.

Hero cat!!

!! Matthew Perry Once Beat Up Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Don't worry, they were kids.)

This winery/WWII spy museum sounds like the perfect place for my family to go on vacation.

Navigating Vienna’s Imperial Past — Through Pastries (I feel we should navigate MORE things through pastries, really.)

I assume you want to know about the Queen's secret handbag code.

A statistician got curious about M&M colors and went on an endearingly geeky quest for answers

The Unsung Delight of a Well-Designed Endpaper

Morning Coffee (3/16/17)

The good news: Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Latest Travel Ban Nationwide

The bad news: Donald Trump Budget Slashes Funds for E.P.A. and State Department, as well as public eduction and HUD, and cutting funding entirely for Meals on Wheels and other programs for the poor, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts, and more.

What a surprise: Neil Gorsuch Has Web of Ties to Secretive Billionaire

Ugh: Trump Admin May Let States Impose Medicaid Work Requirements

Donald Trump's tax plan would've nearly wiped out his 2005 tax burden

The GOP plan for Obamacare could kill more people each year than gun homicides

What the White House’s obsession with Andrew Jackson means for the world

Netherlands Considers a New Relationship to Muslims With Coming Election (Obviously the elections have happened, now, but it's still an interesting read.)

Boooo: Women's Retailer Modcloth To Be Bought By Jet.Com, Which Is Owned By Walmart

!!! Why This Court Decision Hinged on the Oxford Comma

I have so many questions: Design the cover for Dan Brown's next mystery

Cool: Soviet Military Mapping of the Cold War Era

Morning Coffee (3/15/17)

This is awful: New Hampshire GOP Pushes Voter Intimidation Bill That Would Send Cops to Registrants’ Homes

Despicable: A region in Italy wants to ban veiled women from being treated at hospitals

The GOP health plan is an act of class warfare by the rich against the poor

And: White House analysis of Obamacare repeal sees even deeper insurance losses than CBO

And: Trump signals his willingness to put even deeper cuts into Trumpcare

Trump rejects push to oust NSC aide

Trump Sold America a Miracle Cure: But when miracle cures fail, the patients don’t blame the salesman.

This is thorough and important: Why Is Silicon Valley So Awful to Women?

The Woolly Mammoth’s Last Stand

How The Americans Became the Most Relevant Drama on TV

Unearthing Armenia’s Giant, Ancient Earthenware

Hee: Ed Sheeran Songs That Should Have Been Sung By Somebody Else

Morning Coffee (3/14/17)

Just to warn you, the Winklevoss twins pop up in two unrelated links today.

Amid Divisions in U.K. Over ‘Brexit,’ Nicola Sturgeon Calls for New Referendum on Scottish Independence

Russian Espionage Piggybacks on a Cybercriminal’s Hacking

CBO estimates 24 million lose coverage under GOP plan. The devastating report, explained.

Tom Price is lying about the GOP health plan

Steve King Won't Back Down From His Tweet About 'Somebody Else's Babies'

The Great White House Freak-Out

Housekeepers Versus Harvard: Feminism for the Age of Trump

It’s Legal for 14-Year-Olds to Marry. Should It Be?

Robots Might Gather Evidence Better Than Humans in Child Abuse Investigations

No matter how much I read, I still don't understand Bitcoin, but I keep trying: Why Bitcoin lost 15 percent of its value in a few minutes

Neat! America’s First Writers Museum Is Slated to Open in May

To Have And To Hold?: Sex, Purity And Piety In Medieval Marriage

Morning Coffee (3/13/17)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

The astonishing dysfunction of Trump's State Department, in one quote

Trump's maternity leave plan only covers married birth mothers, because of course.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The President helped build a hotel in Azerbaijan that appears to be a corrupt operation engineered by oligarchs tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

Um, Small World, indeed.

Today in headlines that look like they were designed JUST FOR ME: German spies investigate Scientology art museum conspiracy

The Nihilistic Purity of the Far Left Will Kill Us All

Awesome: Nike launches hijab for female Muslim athletes

This is amazing: Defense lawyer’s pants catch fire during trial in Miami

Eee, Libba Bray's new book!

Why April has become the home of prestige TV

The Century-Long History of Tapping Wall Street to Run the Government

Morning Coffee (3/12/17)

The Conspiracy Theorist in Chief

The Bumbling Plot to Destroy Obamacare

It's Time to Take Sexism Seriously as a Political Force

The White House praised Exxon with a paragraph copied from an Exxon press release

Cressida Dick Will Be First Woman to Lead Scotland Yard

The Politically Subversive Power of Puppies

Ooh, drama: Why Was Times Theater Critic Charles Isherwood Fired?

Pluto Could Be Made A Planet Again, Along With 102 Other Celestial Bodies (Including the...moon?)

Why China's Screenwriters Are Thriving

The Book of Esther and the Jewish Festival Purim

3,000-Year-Old Child Footprints Found at Site of Ancient Egyptian Palace

This Medieval Knight’s Manor Houses Over 350 Mechanical Musical Instruments

Morning Coffee (3/11/17)

Iraqi forces retake archaeological museum in Mosul that was vandalized by the Islamic State

The GOP health bill doesn’t know what problem it’s trying to solve

Trump has set the US up to botch a global health crisis

WHAT: House Republicans would let employers demand workers’ genetic test results

Trump's Team of Weaklings

The White Supremacist Kansas City Shooting and the Need for Global Solidarity

Today in things I wish were surprising: Black People More Likely to Be Wrongfully Convicted of Murder, Study Shows

Whoa: Found: Time Crystals, a New Phase of Matter

This did... not go over well: HBO Made Fans Watch Ice Melt for 69 Minutes to Find Out When Season 7 of Game of Thrones Premieres

My Fair Lady is headed back to Broadway!

Mysterious Viking Ship Burial Yields a Trove of Artifacts

Where’s Waldo’s Elusive Hero Didn’t Just Get Sneakier. He Got Smaller.

Morning Coffee (3/10/17)

Time for our weekly break for some Friday happy links.

Some good news to start your weekend: A Self-Assured Swedish Cat Just Came Home After Nine Years Away

Maybe your weekend also needs wine and cake pairings.

Your weekend DEFINITELY needs dudes in suits.

Also at Go Fug Yourself: I want everything in the Brooks Brothers Fall/Winter collection, which I'm sure comes as a GIGANTIC SHOCK.

Can You Name The Best-Selling Book Title From The Visual Riddle? (I got 16/17 and I'm pretty mad about that last one.)

Ooh! Found: A Miniature Working Model of the National Archives Vault

I love dioramas! Let's go see them all.

Oreo drones!!

The world's largest knitted mitten! I love Sweden.

Whoa: If You Haven't Tried the New Starbucks Cookie Butter Bar, You Haven't Lived Your Best Life

The Original Hidden Picture Artists Were Dutch Masters

I'm skeptical of wine-infused coffee but I'd probably TRY it.

Morning Coffee (3/9/17)

British TV streaming service BritBox is here!!!

And we're getting a new Smiley novel!!!!

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled terrible news, I guess: Trump’s New Ban Leaves Few Spots for Refugees, Even the Hunted

Right-wing groups strongly oppose Trump’s healthcare plan, pretend Trump has nothing to do with it

The Republican plan to pay for their new health care plan is: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Meet the Hundreds of Officials Trump Has Quietly Installed Across the Government (Click through and at least read the first paragraph. It's quite something.)

He ‘may not even understand Watergate’: Former Nixon lawyer schools Trump’s Obama-wiretap claim

Hm: Nigeria rejected British offer to rescue seized Chibok schoolgirls

Today in things I wish were surprising: STUDY: Women’s Voices Marginalized In 2016 News Coverage Of Foreign Affairs And National Security

Good for her: Chrissy Teigen Opens Up for the First Time About Her Postpartum Depression

!! Rabbit hole leads to 700-year-old Knights Templar cave

Huh: A Scottish-Style Whisky With Indian Characteristics

Morning Coffee (3/8/17)

No links today because of the Day Without a Woman strike. See you tomorrow.

Morning Coffee (3/7/17)

Wondering what exactly is in the Obamacare replacement bill that came out last night? Read Sarah Kliff.

And if you want to know about the new travel ban - God, so many terrible things came out yesterday! - read Dara Lind.

Related: "Donald Trump’s top advisers try to cheer up the sulking commander in chief by reminding him of their looming plan to endanger the lives of some of the most desperate and vulnerable people on earth."

HE'S A CITIZEN: Khizr Khan Reportedly Told His “Travel Privileges Are Being Reviewed,” Offers No Comment

The Supreme Court’s latest punt has big implications for transgender rights

Uh: Ben Carson: slaves were immigrants with dreams their family could find prosperity in America

In dramatic shift, White House suggests secret intelligence proves Obama wiretapped Trump Tower

This former British lawmaker is at the heart of the Trump wiretap allegations (There are some WILD details in there.)

Marines’ Secret Trove of Nonconsensual Nude Photos Is About Power, Not Sex

I think this is getting lost a bit among the "exclusively gay moment" stuff, but it's a big deal: Beauty and the Beast Will Feature Disney’s First-Ever Live Action Interracial Kiss

HarperCollins has a nifty new site to celebrate its 200th birthday.

The Bittersweet Taste of British Sicily

Morning Coffee (3/6/17)

Me elsewhere: Your TV news for the week.

On Europe’s Far Right, Female Leaders Look to Female Voters

Trump Seeks Inquiry Into Allegations That Obama Tapped His Phones (THERE IS NO REAL ALLEGATION. Sigh.)

Smoke from the White House

"When a student asked, 'What would you change about your campaign?' Clinton replied, 'I’d win.'"

Kellyanne Conway's Battle for Trump's Favor

I love Norway: This site is “taking the edge off rant mode” by making readers pass a quiz before commenting

Oops? Harvard scientists shocked the world by turning hydrogen into a metal, but then lost the only sample

Hee: Outrage at inclusion of gay character in film about woman-buffalo romance

Oh, this looks great: V&A opera exhibition looks to put to rest prejudice about art form

Found in the Remains of a Former Gilded Age Mansion, an Ancient Roman Artifact Reveals Its Secrets

An irony-free zone: early French translations of Jane Austen

Morning Coffee (3/5/17)

At Greece’s Refugee Camps, Trying to Recreate the Everyday

SIGH: Trump, Offering No Evidence, Says Obama Tapped His Phones

The Strange Case Of The Russian Diplomat Who Got His Head Smashed In On Election Day

Presidential! Trump has responded to the Russia scandal by trolling congressional Democrats on Twitter

Josh Marshall has been doing an interesting series thinking through the various Russia options. Here's the Innocent Explanation.

What The CIA and FBI Knew About Trump Before 2016

The Daily Mail's Xenophobic Pseudo-Journalism Is Fueling The “Alt-Right”

The current Slate Academy is about fascism and I'm sure that's a total coincidence.

Time After Time premieres tonight and this explainer is hilarious.

Ooh, Jennifer Egan's new book sounds good.

The book this is excerpted from ALSO sounds good: The Marked Woman

Muslims Were Banned From the Americas as Early as the 16th Century

Morning Coffee (3/4/17)

Thousands Of Civilians Flee Mosul Under Cover Of Night

Heartbreaking: Mass baby remains found at former Catholic home in Ireland

This seems super normal: “We cannot find the bill": inside the frantic hunt for the GOP Obamacare replacement (They mean that literally. I at first assumed they meant it was hard to come up with a replacement that would work - because OBVIOUSLY - but no, the bill is literally hidden.)

The Trump-Russia scandals: a quick visual guide

What We Know About Sergey Kislyak

Mike Pence used private email as governor, and it got hacked (BUT HER EMAILS.)

If you haven't seen it yet, here's an interesting blow-by-blow of the Oscar mistake.

Tom Hanks Has Been Keeping the White House Press Corps Caffeinated for Over a Decade Now

Roger Stone Versus the "Deep State"

!! Bees Can Learn to Play “Soccer.” Score One for Insect Intelligence

Ooh, Tina Brown's tell-all should be delightfully juicy.

The Story of Belle Gunness, One of America's Most Prolific Serial Killers

Morning Coffee (3/3/17)

I'm still discombobulated from travel but I think it's time for some happy Friday links!

New music from Lorde!

YAY: Hidden figures no more: female Nasa staff to be immortalised in Lego

Aw, this is great: PBS NewsHour and the Washington Press Club Foundation Are Creating a Fellowship in Honor of Gwen Ifill

Awesome: Swedish Women’s Soccer Team Replaces Names on Jerseys With Quotes From Women

I saw this Beauty and the Beast tea at Disneyland the other day and didn't want to take it home in my suitcase, but if it pops up at my local store I'm sure I'll give in.

Ooh: IBM Watson Created a Modern Sculpture Inspired by the Work of One of Spain’s Most Famous Architects

This headline is AMAZING: Prince Charles is behind a plan to use nutella to help sterilize squirrels

KITTEN REALITY SHOW (I just looked and three of them were snuggling adorably.)

Heh: A Single Mouse Grounded a Plane in London

A Tolkien Truther From Colorado Says He's the Real King of England (In his defense... Donald Trump is president.)

Step Inside This Underground Cathedral, Carved into the Walls of an Abandoned Salt Mine

Morning Coffee (3/2/17)

Back from my trip! Also, there have been posts the past several days - just scroll back to see them.

The Islamic State’s ‘business model’ is failing, study says

Officials: Still No Actionable Intel From Yemen SEAL Raid (So, of course, Trump was lying about it.)

Sessions spoke twice with Russian ambassador during Trump’s presidential campaign, Justice officials say (and lied about it during his confirmation hearing)

Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election Hacking

The Spies Who Love Putin

The Most Powerful Republican in America (and How He Paved the Way for Donald Trump)

The Threat of Moral Authority

How did we get to the envelope gaffe? The great Oscar drama of 2017

How The Oscar Flub Demonstrates The Limits of Black Graciousness

Cosmos Controversy: The Universe Is Expanding, but How Fast?

Ooh: Hundreds of Mysterious Stonehenge-Like Earthworks Found in the Amazon

Searching for California's Lost Viking Treasure Ship

Morning Coffee (3/1/17)

(I'm traveling, so I put this list together in advance. Back to real time tomorrow!)

I <3 libraries: Cologne library opens its doors to refugees: 'You fill this room with life'

In Response to Trump, a Dutch Minister Launches ‘She Decides’

Answering 'cultural genocide': Iraq's looted treasures to be displayed at Venice Biennale

State lawmaker’s solution for pregnant workers: ‘You can quit’

This was comforting in general but ESPECIALLY because of what it said about New Hampshire: Clinton’s Ground Game Didn’t Cost Her The Election

The Young Trump: Jared Kushner is more like his father-in-law than anyone imagines.

Should designers dress Melania and Ivanka? The question is more complex than it seems.

The Man Who Became Donald Trump

How an Interoffice Spat Erupted Into a Climate-Change Furor

FASCINATING: How Think Tanks Became Engines of Royal Propaganda

1,800-Year-Old Shipwreck Found Almost Completely Intact Off Spanish Coast

A Computer to Rival the Brain