I Had To Google What Dog Days Of Summer Meant. Thank You For Your Support In This Difficult Time.
Sweeties, there are some GREAT pieces this weekend, so might I suggest you get to reading already? And have a happy and restful couple of days off, you deserve it :)
Nitasha Tiku, Three Years Of Misery Inside Google, The Happiest Company In Tech (WIRED) - Nitasha Tiku is THE tech culture chronicler of our generation, full stop. And this piece on the internal social/political/cultural clashes within Google so deftly captures the razor’s-edge-moment big tech companies (and the entire tech industry imho) finds themselves in. It's exhaustively researched, beautifully written, and chock-full of drama and intrigue.
Art Spiegelman, Golden age superheroes were shaped by the rise of fascism (The Guardian). Art Spiegelman’s Maus was a formative series for me, setting me on a lifetime of study of the Holocaust, propaganda, and totalitarianism. It remains one of the best books I’ve ever read. So the fact that Spiegelman wrote a version of this piece tracing Jewish creators of the superheroes as a forward to a Marvel series, and it was axed because he included a reference to our current president as “Orange Skull"? And that Spiegelman eventually published the piece in the Guardian, while noting that the chairman of Marvel comics is a major Trump supporter and donor? This is basically the quintessential 2019 long read for me.
Britt Peterson, Victims, Families and America’s Thirst for True-Crime Stories (The Washington Post) - I haven’t started this one yet, but it’s most certainly on the list for this weekend, especially considering that I also have a backlog of true-crime podcasts to get through. Seems only fair.
Jason Parham, When Influencers Switch Platforms—and Bare It All (WIRED) - NSFW subject, but please do read how influencers, in the search for capital and share of voice and diminishing attention in a saturated attention economy, turn to… ahem… less wholesome ways of building followings and making money. Hmmmmm, it’s almost like the entertainment industry… in whatever form it takes… always reverts… to sex? Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
German Lopez, I was skeptical of unions. Then I joined one. (Vox) - I love this combo personal essay / deep dive into the importance of unions. Love it. And remember folks, organize early and often.
I like you all. Be kind to each other.
Xoxo Amy