From the NYT’s Overlooked obituary series: Katharine McCormick, Force Behind the Birth Control Pill. In the 20s, she smuggled 1000 diaphragms into the US in her luggage and later funded the development of the birth control pill.
kottke.org
Jason Kottke’s weblog, home of fine hypertext products since 1998
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The List Keepers, on the informal efforts to keep track of the...
The List Keepers, on the informal efforts to keep track of the toll of AIDS in the theater industry. “Sometime around 1982, McAssey had opened a pocket-size spiral-bound diary and written LOST FRIENDS at the top of a page.”
Former Substack creators say they’re earning more on new platforms. “Paying someone...
Former Substack creators say they’re earning more on new platforms. “Paying someone $100,000 a year to host your blog. Come on buddy. I said I hate being a businessman, but even I know that’s fucking stupid.”
ICE director’s dream: “Squads of trucks rounding up immigrants for deportation the...
ICE director’s dream: “Squads of trucks rounding up immigrants for deportation the same way that Amazon trucks crisscross American cities delivering packages […] like (Amazon) Prime, but with human beings.” This is pure evil.
Speedrunning Economic Collapse for Funsies
Ryan Broderick on how, with the trade war that Trump’s tariffs has unleashed, we are speedrunning Brexit and other hyper-inflationary financial crises (thread) and Americans may soon find out what happens when US dollars don’t buy anything.
So from my uniquely weird perspe...
From Edith Zimmerman: Vampire Brand Crossovers. Like Nosferatuthbrush from Orlok-B....
From Edith Zimmerman: Vampire Brand Crossovers. Like Nosferatuthbrush from Orlok-B.
The Phoenician Scheme
Ok so I’ve watched the trailer for the new Wes Anderson movie, The Phoenician Scheme, a couple of times and I still don’t know what it’s actually about? But from the looks of things, it is more of the same for people who like that sort of thing, which is lucky for me.
Also, Michael Cera might be the most Wes Anderson-coded actor that’s never before been in a Wes Anderson movie.
Tags: movies · The Phoenician Scheme · trailers · video · Wes Anderson
Which types of people aren’t big fans of “impartial” news? People who...
Which types of people aren’t big fans of “impartial” news? People who don’t have power. “The poor, those with less education, young people, and women are less likely to prefer ‘impartial’ news sources over those that align with their own views.”
The Rules of Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote Cartoons
Speaking of the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, animator Chuck Jones and his team were said to follow these simple rules when creating the cartoons:
The Road Runner cannot harm the Coyote except by going “meep, meep.”
No outside force can harm the Coyote — only his own i...
Can I Teach the First Amendment If I Only Have a Green...
Can I Teach the First Amendment If I Only Have a Green Card? “[Trump’s chilling actions] also make it difficult to work out how to teach cases that boldly proclaim this country is committed to a vision of free speech that, right now, feels very far away.”
25 Films to Help Understand the US Today
For The Guardian, the film critic Guy Lodge has complied a list of 25 films that “shed light on the US under Trump”. From the introduction by filmmaker Alex Gibney:
This is a dire moment in the US. It’s a moment where there’s an opportunity for people with a lot of money to...
Happy 10th birthday to Lit Hub, a site I’ve been reading and...
Happy 10th birthday to Lit Hub, a site I’ve been reading and linking to more frequently over the past few months. “I believe deeply in making our small corner of the internet a better place, publishing work that elevates, interrogates, and inspires…”
DJ Bart Simpson & The Hood Internet
In a recent episode of The Simpsons, Bart becomes a DJ and KDO favorites The Hood Internet wrote the music and did all of Bart’s mixes. They also made a ending credits remix of some of the most memorable Simpsons songs, including See My Vest, Mr. Plow, Do the Bartman, We Do (the Stonecutters song), Dr. Zaius, and The Monorail Song:
(via @unlikelywords.bsky.social)
Tags: music · remix · The Hood Internet · The Simpsons · TV
How to Enter the US With Your Digital Privacy Intact. “Crossing into...
How to Enter the US With Your Digital Privacy Intact. “Crossing into the United States has become increasingly dangerous for digital privacy. Here are a few steps you can take to minimize the risk of Customs and Border Protection accessing your data.”
On the Episode That Changed Ira Glass’s This American Life Forever. Or,...
On the Episode That Changed Ira Glass’s This American Life Forever. Or, On the Importance of Fact-Checking. “There was only one problem. In almost every salient detail, the story was a fabrication.”
Torpedo Bats and the Physics of the Sweet Spot. They invented a...
Torpedo Bats and the Physics of the Sweet Spot. They invented a new legal-for-now baseball bat shaped like “an elongated bowling pin” and the Yankees are using it?
Thomas Zimmer: “If you are feeling overwhelmed by the stupidity, the chaos,...
Thomas Zimmer: “If you are feeling overwhelmed by the stupidity, the chaos, the vile fanaticism, the immeasurable damage and suffering, the specter of global turmoil, just know that I am feeling that too. Because this is just an insane situation.”
America’s Future Is Hungary
Anne Applebaum writes about how Trump, Bannon and other MAGA conservatives love what Hungarian Prime minister Viktor Orbán is going to his country.
Once widely perceived to be the wealthiest country in Central Europe (“the happiest barrack in the socialist camp,” as it was ...
Three key points on how economic crises can lead to the breakdown...
Three key points on how economic crises can lead to the breakdown of authoritarian regimes. “1. Regimes break down when elites turn on each other about how to deal with an economic crisis.” It becomes a matter of “who needs to avoid bankruptcy”.
Rebecca Solnit on the importance of Preaching to The Choir in activism....
Rebecca Solnit on the importance of Preaching to The Choir in activism. “‘Have we thought critically about why we agree?’ It’s a call to go deeper, to question yourself.” It’s also good to hear “the great stories more than once”.
“If we want to bring the world back from the brink, we...
“If we want to bring the world back from the brink, we have to deal with him.” Quick quiz: is that a quote from the latest Mission Impossible movie trailer or about the current inhabitant of the White House? (Also, Mr. Milchick!)
Tesla’s Cybertruck Is The Auto Industry’s Biggest Flop In Decades
Move over Ford Edsel, Pontiac Aztek, and AMC Pacer, there’s a new automotive flop in town: the dumpster-forward Tesla Cybertruck.
After a little over a year on the market, sales of the 6,600-pound vehicle, priced from $82,000, are laughably below what Musk predicted. Its...
An editorial in Nature: “A brain drain would impoverish the United States...
An editorial in Nature: “A brain drain would impoverish the United States and diminish world science”.
America Is Watching the Rise of a Dual State. “For most people,...
America Is Watching the Rise of a Dual State. “For most people, the courts will continue to operate as usual — until they don’t.” Great piece on how autocrats both use and flout the law to suppress & control while keeping capitalism humming along.
Silence is Collaboration: Academics Must Speak Out Against Fascism. “We will call...
Silence is Collaboration: Academics Must Speak Out Against Fascism. “We will call these arrests what they are: abductions by ICE cowards in plainclothes and facemasks.”
I’m a Free-Thinking Centrist with Only Right-Wing Ideas. “I voted for Trump,...
I’m a Free-Thinking Centrist with Only Right-Wing Ideas. “I voted for Trump, but I respect Democrats like John Fetterman who are willing to reach across the aisle to promote ethnic cleansing.”
Travel maven Rick Steves made a great hour-long documentary about the history...
Travel maven Rick Steves made a great hour-long documentary about the history of fascism in Europe. “We’ll see the horrific consequences: genocide and total war.”
This Is the Holocaust Story I Said I Wouldn’t Write by Taffy...
This Is the Holocaust Story I Said I Wouldn’t Write by Taffy Brodesser-Akner defies easy explanation but is very much worth reading. “Does a life have to be meaningful? Can’t it just be a life?”
Photos of the Hands Off! Protests
On Saturday, millions of Americans flooded the streets of cities, small towns, and every other sized municipality in the nation to protest the illegal and damaging actions of the Trump regime. These photos published by a number of media outlets show the scale, enthusia...
A rare interview with Tracy Chapman. “But I grew up across the...
A rare interview with Tracy Chapman. “But I grew up across the street from a public library, and it was the only place my mom would let me go on my own. It was my second home, and I read everything that I could get.”