Subscriber Writing, August 2022

in September, yes yes I know

Here ya go! Here are links to writing by subscribers for the month of July, presented in the order in which I received them. If I’ve missed someone entirely, please let me know and I’ll be sure to include you next month; if I’ve misformatted something, comment and I will fix it on the website. Those of you who formatted your submissions in the way I asked are the real MVPs. Please note that while I tried to remember every email sent to the wrong address, I disavow any responsibility if I missed yours! I always find cool stuff to read in these, so please click around at whatever you might fancy.

I truly hope I have not missed anybody this month.

Kody Cava, The Self-Immolations of Climate Activists Exposes The Need For An American Reckoning

Why do people choose to set themselves on fire? This is an in-depth examination of political self-immolations carried out by climate activists and antiwar protestors which seeks to determine what factors contribute to people electing this form of death and what we can expect in the future as the climate crisis worsens.

Adam Gurri, A Realist Defense of Legislative Supremacy

A call to look at the pragmatic features of representative institutions rather than focusing on the moral narrative.

Zack Morris the Elder, Ugly Buildings Make for an Ugly Life

Ugly modern architecture makes life less pleasant and more stressful. (erroneously left off the last edition)

Zack Morris the Elder, How to Get Your Kid to Eat DInner.

Here's a quick and easy way to get your "picky eater" to start liking lots of different foods without a bunch of useless and complicated methodology. 

Arturo Desimone, “Reform the UN Before It's Too Late” in Counterpunch

A plea for movements to mobilise towards radical UN Reform beyond language-games and bureaucracy. I give different examples of present-day corruption.

Ryan Avent, The end of the conservative age

For half a century, much of the left and the right agreed that society should stay much as it is; those days are now ending.

Trevor Jackson, The Crypto Crisis

Crypto is a machine for generating impunity, like the rest of the financial system, only more so.

Mari, the Happy Wanderer, I Was Wrong about Mansplaining

Using personal stories, a digression into the reason calico cats are almost always female, and a celebration of dad jokes, I argue that we ought to admit it when we are wrong--yes, even about mansplaining--and, if we do, we will be rewarded with more productive and meaningful interactions with others.

Erica Etelson, Transcending Trumpism: What Would Thay Do?

Trumpism will be with us until the Left stops dunking on ordinary white dudes and and starts delivering on their--and everyone's--material needs.

David Roberts, Fools in Love

My personal riff on Joe Jackson's song "Fools In Love," including my own stint as a “fool in love.”

Daniel J. Russo, Shaming Culture as Neoliberal Governmentality

My latest publication in Philosophical Salon.

Trixie Little, Tiger Style Love School

A newsletter merging the sacred and the profane.

Nick A Russo, Hazel Motes and The Hunger

Putting Flannery O'Connor and Contrapoints in dialogue.

Brad Neaton, Divided We Stand

A treatise on the roots of America's polarization.

Josh off the Press, 41 Thoughts for 41 Years

For my 41st birthday, instead of receiving presents, I am giving you all a present, which is my 41 thoughts for my 41 years of life. 

Maria Artemisteria, Unsent 

a letter to my mother who died recently. 

Amod Lele, Against racialization

Synopsis: Let's seek to make black people's lives defined less by race, not to make white people's lives defined more by race.

Erin Etheridge, When we were very young 

When my 9 year old recently expressed his fears of violence, I began revisiting events from my childhood in Los Angeles, including a murder in my community. 

Thomas Parker, Living in the Labyrinth

When you have turned the last page of Piranesi, Susanna Clarke's recent follow-up to her great Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, you will possess the Great and Secret Knowledge that only a supreme work of fantasy can grant; then you too will be a Beloved Child of the House.

edward rathke, 100 Years of Encanto

Encanto is 100 Years of Solitude for babies.

James Eastman, Against the Wire (fiction)
In this short novella, two friends who served together during the early Iraq War try to help each other through the lonely and difficult adjustment back to civilian life. 

Christopher J Feola, Le photograph est mort; How Web3 will save photography

In a world of deep fakes, the future for photography is Web3 image tools that save every creation, change and update to #blockchain.

Max Daniels, Self-Care: Into the Body

Meditation can only take you so far; sooner or later you've got to get into the body.

J.R. Leonard, Dance, Monkey

What to make of the TikTok-ification of social media?

David Swift, The awkward reality of the far Right becoming diverse

The prominence of women and LGBT people within national populist parties shows how the false dichotomy of 'straight white men' vs everyone else is entirely bogus, and will become increasingly difficult to sustain as the Right becomes yet more diverse. 

Dan Murphy, The Photographer Theo Wenner Enters the NYPD Homicide Squad’s Inner Sanctum

Interview Magazine published an interview I did with photographer Theo Wenner about his new book of photos, HOMICIDE, documenting a year he spent imbedded with NYPD Homicide detectives.

Elizabeth Held, Notes from Three Pines 

Notes from Three Pines is an examination and celebration of all things Louise Penny and Inspector Gamache.

Clayton Davis, Every Book Its Reader, Every Customer Its Product

A book review of Everything and Less: The Novel in the Age of Amazon by Mark McGurl, following the Stanford professor's arguments as he reads through piles of softcore pornography and macho militia fantasies in order to understand Kindle Direct Publishing and its gravitational pull on "respectable" literature. 

T. Scott, You're That Guy!

Who is it that you think I am?

Sarah, A Man Must Dig a Hole

A poem about the things men do at the beach, with accompanying collage by substack user Carina. 

Luke T. Harrington, I spent the last three years asking people why they'd changed their minds. Here are the ten wildest things they told me.

I just closed shop on an interview podcast called Changed My Mind with Luke T. Harrington; here’s what I learned from it.

Andrew Rosa, She Licks Her Teeth, Unconcerned

Sally Rooney's Normal People is a vision of hell and eternal torment.

Paolo Ciocco, The Captain: Not Mine, But I Wish It Was

My take on ESPN's new Derek Jeters docuseries, The Captain.

J.M. Elliott. The Sacred Disease

An overview of ancient theories regarding epilepsy, from the supernatural to the scientific, including origins of the notion that excellence coincides with certain mental afflictions.