2 hours agoMember-onlyThe United States Should Send Tanks to the Ukraine, Says “Me”Definitely read to the end of this piece: It is not quite as it seems. — I know this might sound crazy, but hear me out: I think the United States should send tanks to Ukraine. Now, before you start calling me a warmonger, let’s think about this logically. The Ukraine is in the middle of a very tense situation with Russia, and they need all…Chatbots4 min readChatbots4 min read
3 days agoMember-onlyRanking Your Best Picture Nominees by Likelihood They Will WinIt’s OK to care! — The Oscar nominations came out this morning. Oscar nominations are silly because all awards shows are silly, but of all the awards shows, the Oscars are unquestionably both the silliest and the most serious. The Academy Awards may fail at this goal constantly, but they do at least try to…Academy Awards4 min readAcademy Awards4 min read
Jan 19Member-onlyThe World Has Moved on From Bob KnightThank God. — Tonight, my beloved Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball team will play the Indiana Hoosiers. It’s an important game in the Big Ten standings, but the reason the game really matters is because of the history between the two teams. Indiana hates Illinois. But Illinois really hates Indiana. And the…Bob Knight4 min readBob Knight4 min read
Jan 17Member-onlyPeople Still Read Books: John HendricksonAn interview with the author of “Life on Delay: Making Peace With a Stutter” — I host the People Still Read Books podcast once a month, a podcast where I talk to authors about their books, their process, their fears, the excitement and terror of writing a book. (It’s also partly a way to help promote my upcoming novel The Time Has Come.) You can…People Still Read Books9 min readPeople Still Read Books9 min read
Jan 12Member-onlyThe January 6 Report Is a Lot Less Readable Than the September 11 ReportThey focused this one on TV, not literature. — As a general rule, I don’t tend to read a lot of government reports. They’re long, they’re dull, they’re full of footnotes, I’m too busy playing Uno on my phone … lots of reasons. But I read “The 9/11 Commission Report” cover to cover. The purposefully bland cover and deceptively…January 6 Committee4 min readJanuary 6 Committee4 min read
Jan 9Member-onlySo There’s Fist Fighting in Congress NowGreat. — In February 2017, The Wall Street Journal, surely doing some pivoting to video, put together a clever video showing, in the wake of a brawl in the Japanese Parliament, how there were often fights in the United States Senate in the 19th Century, and how common they were in the…Congress3 min readCongress3 min read
Jan 4Member-onlyThe Top 10 Movies of 2022An annual ranking. — This was as “normal” a movie year that we’ve had since the pandemic hit, but it still had that end-of-days vibe every movie year seems to have anymore: It strikes me as a worrisome sign that so many prestige end-of-year releases had “the power of the movies” as their explicit…Top 10 Movies 20228 min readTop 10 Movies 20228 min read
Jan 2Member-only“Glass Onion” Was the Perfect Holiday MovieEntertaining, talky, fast, not too heavy. — My family used to all go to the movies over Christmas break. We all saw The Pelican Brief in 1993, Titanic in 1997, King Kong in 2005, Black Swan in 2010. When you’re all stuck in the house together and run out of things to do other than have awkward…Glass Onion4 min readGlass Onion4 min read
Dec 29, 2022Member-onlyTen Predictions for 2023Guaranteed to be wrong. — It’s almost 2023, folks. 2022 wasn’t half bad! As part of a new tradition here at Medium, I’m going to end the year with surely terrible predictions for the next year. Please do not go back and look at these in 365 days, I’ll look like an idiot. Joe Biden…20234 min read20234 min read
Dec 27, 2022Member-only2022 Was Better Than 2021, Which Was Better Than 2020This is not the direction this usually goes. — Way back in December 2014, back when Donald Trump was in fevered negotiations about whether or not to return as the host of the television program “The Apprentice,” I wrote, for Medium, a short column called “Every Year Is The Worst Year Ever.” The premise was simple: At the end…Happy New Year4 min readHappy New Year4 min read