Reading List: The One That Includes A Culture Hot Take On A Reality Show I've Never Seen.
Lovelies! It’s Friday, the days are longer, dogs are awesome, coffee is delicious, and we’re all doing the very best we can.
So let’s get to reading, shall we?
Peter Baker, A Four-Decade Secret: One Man’s Story of Sabotaging Carter’s Re-election (NYT) - I’m not prone to conspiratorial thinking… but maybe I should be? I dunno, this article about how the Iran hostage crisis was allegedly drawn out because of presidential politics sure makes me want to fashion a tinfoil hat and start a podcast.
Anya Zoledziowski, ‘Under His Wings’: Leaked Emails Reveal an Anti-Trans ‘Holy War’ (Vice) - If the use of fervent crusade-like language against a minority group doesn’t chill you to your core, I think you’re reading the wrong morning newsletter. And lest you think “I’m not trans, this doesn’t affect me”, let me redirect you to Martin Niemöller’s quote about the transient nature of hate.
McKay Coppins, Nobody Likes Mike Pence (The Atlantic) - Arrrrrrrgh, Coppins is so very good: “But in creating a permission structure for voters to excuse Trump’s defective character and flouting of religious values, Pence was unwittingly making himself irrelevant. In effect, he spent four years convincing conservative Christian voters that the very thing he had to offer them didn’t matter.”
Jeremy W. Peters, Inside the 3 Months That Could Cost Fox $1.6 Billion (NYT) - I cannot stop reading about the Fox News meltdowns in the face of ultra-right networks sucking up their viewers. It would be deliciously schadenfreudy if it didn’t lead to an attack on the Capitol and an acceleration/normalization of anti-democratic hysteria.
Loren Cecil, Scandoval And The Psychology Of Cheating: A Case Study (BuzzFeed News) - Major caveat: I am not a reality TV person unless it’s F Boy Island or Too Hot To Handle, so I have less than no idea of who the players in this drama are - it hasn’t even crossed my FYP! But I am fascinated by what makes people do bad things to others, so even a surface-level exploration of the urges of infidelity fascinates me.
Dawn Gilberston, Work Travel Is Suddenly a Lot More Work (WSJ) - It’s a niche topic, sure, but I know I have some road/sky warriors that read this, so YOU GET IT.
That’s it! I hope your weekend is restful and fun, and that you have the chance to take some time for yourself. Drink some water, get outside, be kind to yourself, won’t you?
xoxo Amy