Morning Coffee (7/22/19)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

What Americans Do Now Will Define Us Forever

Puerto Rico’s week of massive protests, explained

Ocasio-Cortez calls for an independent investigation into child separation policies

Extradition and independence: What’s behind the continued protests in Hong Kong

Chinese Money in the U.S. Dries Up as Trade War Drags On

Elizabeth Warren’s latest Wall Street enemy: private equity

!!! New Kinks Music is Underway After More Than Two Decades Apart, Dave Davies Confirms

Into this: Natalie Portman will take up Thor’s hammer in Thor: Love and Thunder

What: Paul McCartney Has Been Secretly Writing an ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Musical

Picard's dog's name in 'Star Trek' spin-off is confirmed, and it's perfect

Morning Coffee (6/20/19)

FINALLY, New Hampshire: Gov. Sununu signs bill declaring Juneteenth a state holiday

‘Never again’ means nothing if Holocaust analogies are always off limits

Prominent Uighur Writer Dies at Chinese Internment Camp

E.P.A. Finalizes Its Plan to Replace Obama-Era Climate Rules

Good for him: A Pride Flag is flying over California’s Capitol. Gavin Newsom says it’s sending a message

Which 2020 Candidates Have The Most In Common … On Twitter?

Librarian of Congress Names Joy Harjo the Nation's 23rd Poet Laureate (THE FIRST NATIVE AMERICAN POET LAUREATE. Sigh.)

GOOD: Nxivm’s Keith Raniere Convicted in Trial Exposing Sex Cult’s Inner Workings

Whoa: Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje stepping away from competition

In the Bronze Age, Bagels Were Tiny

Morning Coffee (6/3/19)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

Evil: U.S. is using unreliable dental exams to hold teen migrants in adult detention

Twitter Takes Down Accounts of China Dissidents Ahead of Tiananmen Anniversary

Of course: Trump Administration Lifts Ethanol-Fuel Ban That Was Meant to Cut Smog

Boeing Built Deadly Assumptions Into 737 Max, Blind to a Late Design Change

Transportation Secretary Failed to Sever Financial Ties to Construction Company (Also relevant here that she's MARRIED TO MITCH MCCONNELL.)

What Republicans And Democrats Are Doing In The States Where They Have Total Power

This is horrifying: A New York teacher made black students act as slaves in mock auctions

I'm so glad this is working out better than it originally looked: It Looked As Though Millions Of Babies Would Miss Out On A Lifesaving Vaccine

GOOD FOR HER: Taylor Swift Urges Passage of Pro-LGBTQ Equality Act: ‘I Reject the President’s Stance’

Found: 20,000-Year-Old Seawater From the Ice Age

Morning Coffee (5/20/19)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

What a shock: Deutsche Bank Staff Saw Suspicious Activity in Trump and Kushner Accounts

This is bad on... several levels: Trump May Be Preparing Pardons for Servicemen Accused of War Crimes

Rebecca Traister, great as always: Our Fury Over Abortion Was Dismissed for Decades As Hysterical

Stacey Abrams: We Cannot Resign Ourselves to Dismay and Disenfranchisement

Trump’s puzzling trade war with China, sort of explained

Yay! In first for Asia, Taiwan lawmakers back same-sex marriage

Where Will Measles Break Out Next? Chicago, Los Angeles or Miami, Scientists Predict

Maya's a pal of mine and also Julian Castro's campaign manager and this is a great interview: ‘You Can’t Always Be Exactly Who You Are’: A Chat With Maya Rupert

Eeeee: See exclusive new photos from the upcoming 'Veronica Mars' revival on Hulu

Oh: Man killed by crossbow in Germany led 'medieval cult'

Morning Coffee (5/19/19)

Yay!! Senate Committee Backs Independent Redistricting Commission in N.H.

Appeals court finds Trump administration’s move to end DACA ‘arbitrary and capricious’

Elizabeth Warren Deserves Your Undivided Attention

Abortion in America, explained in 10 facts

Awesome: Borough mayor is knitting to prove men speak too much at meetings

Despite Measles Warnings, Anti-Vaccine Rally Draws Hundreds of Ultra-Orthodox Jews

How many Cuban troops are there in Venezuela? The U.S. says over 20,000. Cuba says zero.

Books a Target of New China Tariffs

This sounds not great! ‘Extraordinary thinning’ of ice sheets revealed deep inside Antarctica

Fatal Stabbing on Appalachian Trail Is Uncovered Thanks to GPS and a Dog

Morning Coffee (5/16/19)

This is horrifying: Trump Administration to LGBT Couples: Your ‘Out of Wedlock’ Kids Aren’t Citizens

Skeptical U.S. Allies Resist Trump’s New Claims of Threats From Iran

This headline is, uh, mild; this is definitely added restrictions to legal immigration: Trump Immigration Plan Emphasizes Immigrants’ Skills Over Family Ties

Trump administration cracks down on giant Chinese tech firm, escalating clash with Beijing

Anti-Abortion Laws Will Put Women in Jail

The Senate Is as Much of a Problem as Trump

Biden Is (Still) Leading Cable News Coverage

The Met Will Turn Down Sackler Money Amid Fury Over the Opioid Crisis

Uh: Mel Gibson’s Rep. Claims Controversial ‘Rothchild’ Movie Is ‘Completely Unrelated’ to the Rothschild Family

Shrinking and Quaking Hint at Moon’s Tectonic Life

Morning Coffee (5/6/19)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

Trump wants Venezuela’s military to remove its president. But Maduro has made that difficult.

Poland’s Populists Pick a New Top Enemy: Gay People

Democrats Green Light Trump’s Authoritarian Ambitions

This story has been WILD: Baltimore’s Mayor Resigns Over a Series of Self-Published Children’s Books

Important historical context for Trump's ridiculous lies about abortion: “They Will Execute the Baby”

"The message Biden is sending is that he cares about women as a political bloc but not as individuals whose perspectives merit concerted empathy."

F.D.A. Approves the First Vaccine for Dengue Fever, but Limits Its Use

Science Academy Pushes to Eject Sexual Harassers

‘Coronation Street,’ Long-Running British Soap, Introduces Its First Black Family

The Hottest App in China Teaches Citizens About Their Leader — and, Yes, There’s a Test

Afternoon Tea (4/30/19)

An important read in the wake of the latest synagogue shooting: Once We Were Free

In Kosovo, a Teenage Girl’s Rape Case Stirs a #MeToo Fury

K-pop is being rocked by a sex scandal. It’s part of a bigger societal problem.

We've Always Been Into Psychological Thrillers

New Scholarship Is Revealing the Private Lives of China’s Empresses

Afternoon Tea (4/1/19)

The Indefatigable Spirit of Agnès Varda

This was very interesting: How Is Your Judaism Different From Your Parents'?

Once & Future Coauthors Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy on Writing with Your Soul Mate

Stepping Into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun

Her Father Murdered My Mother. Then, We Became Friends.

Morning Coffee (2/19/19)

Final days of the 'Isis caliphate' – photo essay

North Carolina investigators describe “unlawful” ballot tampering scheme in House election

Uh: William Barr’s Son-in-Law Just Landed a Job Advising Trump on “Legal Issues”

Chinese company leaves Muslim-tracking facial recognition database exposed online

Ilhan Omar’s tweet revealed core truths about anti-Semitism in America

The real stakes in the 2020 primary aren’t about legislation

America Isn’t Really Set Up For Third-Party Presidential Bids

Ugh: Bob Costas Says NBC Axed His Super Bowl Gig Following Concussion Comments

Archive shows medieval nun faked her own death to escape convent

Swansea University announces 'decolonised' English course

Morning Coffee (1/13/19)

F.B.I. Opened Inquiry Into Whether Trump Was Secretly Working on Behalf of Russia

GOOD: Families of Sandy Hook shooting victims win legal victory in lawsuit against InfoWars, Alex Jones

This Government Shutdown Is Now the Longest Ever

Viktor Orbán’s Far-Right Vision for Europe

This is an essential read from Adam Serwer: The Exceptions to the Rulers

Nothing ELSE is illegal in New Hampshire, but . . . He Disparaged the Police on Facebook. So They Arrested Him.

Why U.S. universities are shutting down China-funded Confucius Institutes

New York’s Orthodox Jewish community is battling measles outbreaks. Vaccine deniers are to blame.

Germany outlaws Amazon's one-click Dash buttons

A Lost Story by Sylvia Plath Contains the Seeds of the Writer She Would Become

Afternoon Tea (1/10/19)

This story is QUITE SOMETHING: The Itsy-Bitsy, Teenie-Weenie, Very Litigious Bikini

I have limited sympathy for Shelley sometimes but this was fascinating: Wielded by a Wizard

A Photographer’s Quest to Reverse China’s Historical Amnesia

'One Cut of the Dead' Bootleg Reveals Amazon Prime's Piracy Problem

She awed the country before Amelia Earhart even took to the skies

Morning Coffee (1/1/19)

Happy New Year! And here we go: Elizabeth Warren Announces She Is Running for President in 2020

Pilots Kept Losing Oxygen and the Military Had No Idea Why. Now There’s a Possible Fix.

For Italy’s Populists, Everything Is a Nationalist Cause. Even Leonardo.

China’s State Media Finds Good News in Underwear

Liza Redfield, Who Broke a Broadway Barrier, Is Dead at 94

Today! For the First Time in More Than 20 Years, Copyrighted Works Will Enter the Public Domain

Celeste Ng Reflects on Our Era of Rage—and Illuminates the Path Forward

How To Make Good New Year’s Resolutions

Why eating less meat is the best thing you can do for the planet in 2019

Lincoln declared an end to slavery on New Year’s Day 1863. It went on for two more years.

Morning Coffee (12/29/18)

Of course: Trump Accidentally Exposes the Location, Identities of U.S. Navy Seal Team 5 on Twitter

Trump administration to release hundreds of immigrant families from detention

The shutdown is intractable because Trump’s wall is ridiculous and Republicans know it

More evidence piles up in North Carolina election fraud scandal

Remember what it was like to have a smart president? Here are Obama's book, movie, and music recommendations for the year.

This is horrifying: ‘There was blood everywhere’: the abuse case against the Afghan FA president

China refuses to release detained Canadians, despite demands

Amos Oz, Israeli Author and Peace Advocate, Dies at 79

A Russian bank gave Marine Le Pen’s party a loan. Then weird things began happening.

This might be the first political assassination in human history

Morning Coffee (12/25/18)

Merry Christmas!

Carols at Tornillo: protesters sing for children held in Trump's tent city

I love this: A girl in Mexico attached her Christmas list to a balloon. A man across the border found it.

This is interesting: Santa gets pushed out as China’s leaders emphasize tradition

Like Moths To A Flame: Why Modern-Day Guests Always Gather In The Kitchen

The elite cabal of mall Santas making up to $20,000 every Christmas season

Find Your Signature Holiday Cocktail With This Be Your Own Bartender Flowchart

Sorrel: The Ruby-Red Caribbean Christmas Drink Flavored With Black History

A medieval Nativity

Which Christmas Classic Is the Most Noir?

A Bioluminescent Christmas

Morning Coffee (10/25/18)

Everything's extra terrible today. I'm sorry. Happy links tomorrow!

This is terrifying: Pipe Bombs Sent to Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and CNN Offices

Obviously: Trump Allies Insist Bomb Threats Against Clinton, Obama, CNN Are ‘Pure BS,’ a ‘False Flag’ (But let's not call them threats! They were actual bombs. Actual assassination attempts.)

Alexander Soros: The Hate That Is Consuming Us

This story is FULL of unbelievable details - like, every other sentence, really, read it - but possibly the wildest is that the administration is not particularly worried about this because TRUMP NEVER READS ANYTHING SO HAS NO SECRETS TO SHARE: When Trump Phones Friends, the Chinese Listen and Learn

DOJ: Businesses Can Discriminate Against Transgender Workers (The Supreme Court has been asked to consider allowing discrimination on the basis of both gender identity and sexual orientation, just to be clear.)

Meanwhile: Man films himself burning LGBT children’s books from local library

I just . . . Trump now trying to pretend U.S. doesn’t ‘have tariffs anywhere’

Georgia NAACP files complaints alleging voting machines incorrectly registered votes (I actually do believe that in SOME cases this can be a genuine technical issue, but I also very much believe we need groups like the NAACP to make sure it gets fixed.)

What a surprise: White nationalist Richard Spencer accused of physically abusing wife throughout their marriage

OF COURSE: ‘I thought it was very nice’: VA official showcased portrait of KKK’s first grand wizard

Morning Coffee (10/12/18)

Trump is separating an unknown number of families at the border for “fraud”

America deserves to know how much money Trump is getting from the Saudi government

This fucking idiotic White House didn't even register his domain name. (I know it's actually better that they're incompetent, but it's still psychologically taxing.)

Ugh, of course: Court strikes down Native American adoption law, saying it discriminates against non-Native Americans

Brian Kemp Is Blocking 53K Applicants From Registering To Vote, Most Of Them Black

UGH: Shitty Media Man Sues Creator of Shitty Media Men List

This is good: Matthew Shepard Will Be Interred at the Washington National Cathedral, 20 Years After His Death

China rewrote a law to force Xinjiang Muslims into “psychological correction” camps

Maryse Condé Wins an Alternative to the Literature Nobel in a Scandal-Plagued Year

Healthy mice with same-sex parents born for first time

Afternoon Tea (10/8/18)

There's some VERY interesting stuff in this interview: Catherine Hardwicke Broke Records With ‘Twilight.’ Then Hollywood Labeled Her ‘Difficult.’

#Girlboss notebooks and “Feminist AF” pencils: the case against “empowering” office supplies

The fantasy world of pre-wedding photos: inside China's billion-dollar industry

The Boy Romantic

Immigration Narratives in Crime Fiction

Afternoon Tea (9/25/18)

This is fascinating and I would read a book about them: The Couple Who Helped Decode Dyslexia

One of the world’s oldest—and deadliest—diseases has undeniably racist roots

I promise this is more interesting and less annoying than the headline makes it sound: Welcome to College. Your Parents Are in the Tents Next Door.

Campus Novels and School Mysteries

Wynflaed and the price of fashion

Morning Coffee (9/25/18)

Is Rod Rosenstein fired, resigning, or staying? The drama, explained.

Why Senator Mazie Hirono Asked a Crucial Question at the Kavanaugh Hearing

Republicans just don’t take sexual assault seriously

Well, small victory: Dallas cop fired after killing neighbor in his own home

Just ordered her book: Author Ibi Zoboi Calls Out Racism and Classism in The Wall Street Journal Book Review

With Vatican Talks and Bulldozers, China Aims to Control Christianity

This makes sense: SiriusXM buys Pandora for $3.5 billion

Charles Kao, Nobel Laureate Who Revolutionized Fiber Optics, Dies at 84

Astronomers Spot a Black Hole Sucking Up an Earth-Size Clump of Matter

How Puberty Kills Girls’ Confidence