Morning Coffee (7/31/19)

"We are in great danger": In Amazon, indigenous Waiapi chief is killed by illegal miners

No More Family Separations, Except These 900

Trump’s Cynical War on American Citizenship

States Rush to Make Voting Systems More Secure as New Threats Emerge

Hardly Any Rape Cases Lead to Charges in England and Wales: Report

Study: Malaria Drugs Are Failing At An 'Alarming' Rate In Southeast Asia

Scientists want to make it a war crime to damage the environment in a conflict

America’s dual housing crisis and what Democrats plan to do about it, explained

The World Is Getting a Pickup-Truck Emoji Because the other emoji weren't manly enough!!

Michael Jaffee, Who Co-Founded Early-Music Group, Dies at 81

Morning Coffee (7/4/19)

I think we're going with a holiday schedule through the weekend, so one post a day! At slightly weird times, apparently!

UGH: Park Service diverts $2.5 million in fees for Trump’s Fourth of July extravaganza

UGH: Justice Dept. Reverses Course on Citizenship Question on Census, Citing Trump’s Orders

But this call transcript about it is incredible.

An Open Letter to the Director of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum signed by over 100 scholars

Trump Consultant Is Trolling Democrats With Biden Site That Isn’t Biden’s

Gross: Teenager Accused of Rape Deserves Leniency Because He’s From a ‘Good Family,’ Judge Says

LGBTQ Groups Backing SAG-AFTRA in Member Privacy Fight Against IMDb

Deep-sea mining to turn oceans into ‘new industrial frontier’

This shouldn't have happened in the first place but good: Kim Kardashian will rename her “Kimono” shapewear brand after appropriation backlash

Milton Quon, Disney Animator on 'Fantasia' and 'Dumbo,' Dies at 105

Morning Coffee (6/22/19)

Do not ignore what is going on at the border or with ICE all over the country. Call your reps.

ICE raids targeting migrant families slated to start Sunday in major U.S. cities

Immigration Agency Says It Plans Deportation Operation Aimed at Undocumented Families

‘There Is a Stench’: No Soap and Overcrowding in Detention Centers for Migrant Children

4 Severely Ill Migrant Toddlers Hospitalized After Lawyers Visit Border Patrol Facility

Attorneys: Texas border facility is neglecting migrant kids

Children at the Homestead Migrant Shelter Share Stories of Grief, Trauma, and Fear

I’m a Jewish historian. Yes, we should call border detention centers “concentration camps.”

In other news another woman has come forward about the President raping her.

And: Trump Says He Called Off Strike On Iran Because He Didn't See It As 'Proportionate'

Okay, we'll end on something better: Supreme Court Strikes Down Conviction Of Mississippi Man On Death Row For 22 Years

Morning Coffee (6/18/19)

Please read this: The Youngest Child Separated From His Family at the Border Was 4 Months Old

Trump Adds Troops After Iran Says It Will Breach Nuclear Deal

Mohamed Morsi, ousted president of Egypt, dies in court

‘There’s no accountability’: Trump, White House aides signal a willingness to act with impunity in drive for reelection

THIS monster: Lawyers for Sandy Hook families say Alex Jones sent them child porn

Chilling Video Shows Cop Aiming Gun At Black Family After Girl, 4, Takes Doll From Store

Disgusting: Alabama court forces rape survivor to allow rapist to have visitation with children

Gloria Vanderbilt Dies at 95; Built a Fashion Empire

Veronica Mars trailer!!

Out of Their Eggs, Into the Sky: How Baby Pterosaurs May Have Taken Flight

Afternoon Tea (6/6/19)

‘Archaeology of D-Day’ Aims to Preserve What the Soldiers Left Behind

This is a fascinating read about Waldorf schools in general in addition to the vaccine issue: Measles for the One Percent

Why Society Goes Easy on Rapists

Overlooked No More: Alan Turing, Condemned Code Breaker and Computer Visionary

Gwenda Bond's take on writing tie-ins/IP is great: Toy Stories

Morning Coffee (6/2/19)

THIS IS BAD: US now seeking social media details from all visa applicants

Uh, so is this: Justice Department does not comply with court order to release transcripts of Michael Flynn’s conversations with Russian ambassador

Good for Elizabeth Warren: No President Is Above the Law

Unhappy With Findings, Agriculture Department Plans to Move Its Economists Out of Town

Their families fled Spain for Venezuela. To escape Maduro, they’re returning again.

These Rape Victims Had to Sue to Get the Police to Investigate

Good news: Transgender no longer recognised as 'disorder' by WHO

Half of H.I.V. Patients Are Women. Most Research Subjects Are Men.

Yay!! Netflix Options Sarah Dessen YA Novels, Sets 'Along for the Ride' Adaptation (Exclusive)

A Signal in Giant Earthquakes That Could Save Lives

Morning Coffee (5/13/19)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week - a lot of it!

Sweden reopens rape case against Julian Assange

South Africa’s ruling party ANC wins reelection

Trump asked Don McGahn to publicly state he didn’t obstruct justice. McGahn refused.

He Crossed the Border Alone, Then Spent 8 Months in Custody. He Was 7.

Leaked Documents Allege the NRA Has Been Spending $100,000 a Day on Lawyers

Biden’s 2020 Rivals Attack Him From the Left on Climate Change

Of course he does: Trump wants to change how poverty is calculated — to make fewer people eligible for benefits

This is so complicated, but I think basically a good step? Gilead Will Donate Truvada to U.S. for H.I.V. Prevention

Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Is Shutting Down

!! For a Split Second, a Quantum Computer Made History Go Backward

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

Morning Coffee (3/10/19)

Obviously this won't pass the Senate, but I'm still glad they did it: House Democrats just passed a slate of significant reforms to get money out of politics

‘Grab that record’: How Trump’s high school transcript was hidden

This is an interesting tracker: The 2020 Endorsement Primary

Denmark’s ‘Pervasive Rape Culture’ Is Detailed in New Report

One More Time, With Big Data: Measles Vaccine Doesn’t Cause Autism

It's a step... YouTube adds fact checks to search results on sensitive topics

Even Our Dog Parks Show America Is an Unequal Playing Field

Mysterious Type Of Killer Whale, Sought After For Years, Found In Southern Ocean

Making A Mark: Ancient Tonga Tattoo Tools May Illustrate Birth Of Polynesian Body Art

Oh Russia: Russia decides letting athletes drink beer during doping tests isn't a great idea

Afternoon Tea (11/1/18)

This piece about child rape at a school in Liberia run by an American charity is long and difficult reading but so important: Unprotected

O'Connor, Rehnquist And A Supreme Marriage Proposal

What Kind of Person Steals Their Co-workers’ Lunch?

The Ghost Story Persists in American Literature. Why?

Teen Girls Fight Back: 15 YA Books Featuring Revenge

Afternoon Tea (10/1/18)

A journalist researched the true story behind a rape allegation that occurred at her high school when she was a student, and the result is fascinating and heartbreaking: What Do We Owe Her Now?

This fits well with our current national mood: RANKED: 10 Paintings of Judith Beheading Holofernes

Photos Document What Remains of a Soviet Atomic City

The Women Spies of Historical Crime Fiction

Walking in Benjamin Britten's footsteps, Suffolk

Morning Coffee (9/26/18)

Trump urges world to reject globalism in UN speech that draws mocking laughter

In U.N. speech, Trump fails (again) to make his Iran case

Why Brett Kavanaugh’s yearbook page matters

How Russia Helped Swing the Election for Trump

Bill Cosby Sentenced to 3 to 10 Years in Prison; Bail Is Denied

The 9 most important state legislature elections in 2018, explained

This actually makes sense to me: Just Dunkin': Dunkin' Donuts to change its name

Ooh! Edith Zimmerman Joins the Cut As Senior Health Writer

The Dangers of DNA Testing

Lonely Hong Kong women are being swindled huge sums of money by fake lovers

Morning Coffee (9/9/18)

Trump Administration Discussed Coup Plans With Rebel Venezuelan Officers

In liberal Sweden, a party with neo-Nazi origins could become one of the country’s biggest after Sunday’s elections

The 7 most important moments in Obama’s blistering critique of Trump and the GOP

Donald Trump makes the case for his own impeachment

Julia Salazar, the socialist politician accused of lying about her past, explained

Election Season in a Dangerous Democracy

Moroccan authors say teenage rape case hits 'new level of unspeakable'

Sigh: Frozen actor grabs Trump banner from audience member during play

Perfect: Cool! The Dude Who Asked You To Absolve Him of Past Misconduct Is Succeeding While You Recover

Oscars organizers postpone controversial 'popular film' award

Morning Coffee (1/17/18)

Whoa: Koreas to carry single Olympic flag

Bannon Is Subpoenaed in Mueller’s Russia Investigation

Ex-C.I.A. Officer Suspected of Compromising Chinese Informants Is Arrested

140 Women Have Accused Larry Nassar Of Abuse. His Victims Think We Don’t Care.

How horrifying: The Emoji Movie is the first film publicly screened by Saudi Arabia in 35 years

Nicole Cliffe and Carvell Wallace have a new parenting advice column at Slate!

I still need to read that book about the Lucan case: Lady Lucan leaves fortune to housing charity Shelter

Brontë Society Roiled Again, This Time By Controversy Over Supermodel Lily Cole

Dippin' Dots launches cryogenics company, and we know where your mind is going, the answer is no

Interesting: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Spinoff Brings Gender Equality To Firefighting

Morning Coffee (1/16/18)

This is a wonderful step: 'A great milestone': Somaliland adopts legislation outlawing rape

Jamelle Bouie, great as always: Donald Trump Is a Racist

Fighting Fake News Is Not the Solution

This is horrifying: 13 Siblings, Some Shackled to Beds, Were Held Captive by Parents, Police Say

WHAT A SHOCK: Nearly three out of four women in computer-related jobs report discrimination in the workplace

Yoga, basketball and a test kitchen: Obama’s presidential library plans

WILL SHORTZ IS MAKING A HALLMARK CROSSWORD MYSTERY MOVIE

Hilarious: Russian Embassy Criticizes BBC Drama 'McMafia'

This saga is wild: Vegas Golden Knights, Named to Avoid Trademark Dispute, Face Trademark Dispute

16th-Century Child Mummy Had Oldest Known Case of Hepatitis B

Morning Coffee (11/4/17)

This is not how anything works! Trump just called for the New York terror suspect to get the death penalty

Russian Influence Reached 126 Million Through Facebook Alone

Tell me again how the candidates were the same: Notre Dame will drop birth control coverage for students, faculty, and staff

We know by now that he didn't win this but SIGH: Trump apparently wants to name his tax reform plan the “Cut Cut Cut Act”

James Comey Announced His Book Title and It’s a Clear Jab at Trump

What Experts Know About Men Who Rape

Miss Peru hopefuls chose to highlight women’s safety onstage instead of their measurements

!! 'Big void' identified in Khufu's Great Pyramid at Giza

This has a lot of good workplace advice, actually, beyond what it sounds like in the title: Ask a Boss: ‘My Co-worker Talks Too Much!’

This sounds fun: PBS Orders Food Series 'No Passport Required' From Vox Media

Morning Coffee (1/1/17)

Happy New Year! Thanks so much for reading.

NEWS: If you'd like to hear more from me about the books I'm reading, come subscribe to my newsletter! It's basically a little diary I'm sending out a few times a week about reading and life.

How to survive 2017: believe in protest, barricade your uterus and tax yourself

Of course they did: Mar-a-Lago sold tickets to New Year’s Eve party with Trump

Oh yay, the American Girl doll of the year is an African-American girl named Gabriela, the first non-white Girl of the Year in several years.

How Russians Pay to Play in Other Countries

I think this gets a lot right about the discussion around Milo Yiannopolous's book deal.

A Majority Agreed She Was Raped by a Stanford Football Player. That Wasn’t Enough.

The most dangerous thing about fake news sites is not what they say, but how they say it

I contributed to this roundup of the Best Female Performances on TV in 2016

What Happened To This Cult Leader's Lost Treasure?

Huh: Scottish spirits are soaring (but it’s gin, not whisky)

I'm going to join the Book Riot 2017 Read Harder Challenge. Join me!

Morning Coffee (12/26/16)

(I'm traveling, so this post was written in advance and does not take into account whatever additional horrors have recently been unleashed upon the world.)

Out With The Old, In With The New: Meet The Dems Who Will Defend Obamacare

Russia, NATO, Trump: The Shadow World

Important: After a Crime, the Price of a Second Chance

This is completely fascinating: The Most Politically Dangerous Book You’ve Never Heard Of

“In my defense,” he said, “I thought you were 13.”

The story behind The New York Times’ largest and most ambitious crossword puzzle

Kathleen Kennedy doesn’t think women are ready to direct ‘Star Wars.’ She can fix that.

Dungeons & Dragons’ Gradual Shift Away From Monster Boobs

Whoa: Found: A Roman Tombstone Buried in the New York City Suburbs

Deliver Me from Disneyland

Wow: Mahler's second symphony manuscript sells for record £4.5m

Feathered baby dinosaur tail found trapped in amber

Morning Coffee (12/22/16)

(I'm traveling, so this post was written in advance and does not take into account whatever additional horrors have recently been unleashed upon the world.)

Oops: Crossbow Recalled for Randomly Firing at People

Some U.S. Soldiers Share Extremely Blunt Thoughts On Commander-In-Chief Donald Trump

In Poland, a window on what happens when populists come to power

The Mar-a-Lago meeting and journalism’s worst impulses

Here’s What Separates Casey Affleck from Nate Parker

With Shifts in National Mood Come Shifts in Words We Use, Study Suggests

The Teen-Agers Suing Over Climate Change

This is amazing: A Master Work, the Ghent Altarpiece, Reawakens Stroke by Stroke

Reading Yeats in the Age of Trump

Personally, I love the annual Funny Science Journal tradition, but I get the issues.

In Defense of Pettiness

See Rare Photos from Inside Edward VIII’s Controversial Wedding to Wallis Simpson

Morning Coffee (11/23/16)

Some good news! Turkey withdraws child rape bill after street protests

ISIS Used Chemical Arms at Least 52 Times in Syria and Iraq, Report Says

Whoa: Pope Francis Extends Priests’ Ability to Forgive Abortion

Oh, sad: William Trevor, Writer Who Evoked the Struggles of Ordinary Life, Is Dead at 88

Why Jared Kushner is Donald Trump's truest heir and most trusted adviser

This is fascinating: Covering Trump: An oral history of an unforgettable campaign

Long but worth reading: Shirtless Trump Saves Drowning Kitten: Facebook's Fake-News Problem and the Rise of the Postmodern Right

Was Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s Attack Dog, Paid Illegally?

Hahaha: Oracle Just Bought Dyn, the Company That Brought Down the Internet

Now We’ll Finally Get to See the American Revolution Through the Eyes of King George