Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
The James Robertson story was supposed to have a happy ending. The story of the 56-year-old Detroit factory worker who walks 21 miles to and from work each day warmed the hearts of the nation after his tale of perseverance went viral. Some $350,000 was raised for Robertson—not to mention, a local Ford dealership gave him a brand-new…
A bunch of 12-year-old kids had their hearts broken this week. Jackie Robinson West, a team from Chicago’s South Side, won the U.S. title at the 2014 Little League World Series. They achieved their dream in dramatic fashion. I remember watching their pitcher give up the go-ahead homer against Nevada in the title game and…
For the past eight years, TechCrunch has hosted a bizarro tech world version of the Oscars called the Crunchies. The industry gets all dolled up, walks the “green carpet,” and watches Silicon Valley insiders present trophies for categories like “Best On-Demand Service” and “Best Overall Startup.” At the eighth annual Crunchies last Thursday, the best startup…
Today in People Are Horrible, comedian Kamau Bell was accused of pan-handling from his own wife and her friends because he is black and she is white. Stereotypes, come on down! Earlier this week, Bell went to a restaurant called Elmwood Cafe in Berkeley, California for a birthday breakfast with his wife, Dr. Melissa Hudson…
Legacies are never simple; they create victims as well as beneficiaries. The more substantial the legacy, the more heated the disputes are over who has title of ownership, who gets to enjoy an inheritance, and who is left out in the cold. One of the most dangerous ways to treat a legacy is to bask…
To state the obvious, it seems like an odd time to discontinue the one Times beat devoted solely to race and ethnicity. (A few words of reminder: Michael Brown of Ferguson, Eric Garner of Staten Island, Tamir Rice of Cleveland.) But that’s what happened this week, as the Times announced that Tanzina Vega, who has…
It’s a blue, cold Thursday in January and I’m walking down Rugby Road on the first night of fraternity rush at the University of Virginia, brushing past groups of identical gossiping boys in matching preppy outfits: fleeces, checked oxfords, khakis, boots. “Excuse me,” they say politely when our coats touch, then turn back to each…
The PC Police are coming Chaiters Gonna Chait — The Nib — Medium.
Jonathan Chait’s new feature forNew York Magazine is called “Trigger Warning,” and it’s got a big old floppy dek: Can a white male liberal critique the country’s current political-correctness craze (which, by the way, hurts liberals most)? We’re sure you’ll let us know. The answer to this exquisitely slippery question is, of course: yes! A…
When New York magazine teased Jonathan Chait’s coming opus on race, politics and free speech last Friday – “Can a white liberal man critique a culture of political correctness?” — the hook alone was enough to send his Twitter haters into multiple ragegasms. I thought folks should save themselves some grief and at least wait…