TheNewsGal, Edition No. 61
What a week! Here's what you missed.
All the things
In the land of fiction and fake news. As compelling as anything I’ve read about this strange new world we’re living in. (Elizabeth Mitchell, Guernica Magazine, ~24 min.)
The joys of being an absolute beginner — for life. I’ve thought a lot about this essay, a first-person account of learning chess as an adult, and it’s inspired me to learn something new this year … though probably not chess. (Tom Vanderbilt, The Guardian, ~16 min.)
Attorney Roberta Kaplan is about to make Trump’s life extremely difficult. I like her already. (Karen Heller, Washington Post, ~12 min.)
Will we ever be able to shop again? I admit, I miss it. (Susan Orlean, Medium, ~3 min.)
The doctor vs. #MeToo: How an HIV specialist in Germany is using media law to erase reporting of sexual abuse allegations against him. Absolutely infuriating. (Caitlin L. Chandler, Columbia Journalism Review, ~29 min.)
To millions of viewers a night, he was the host of Larry King Live. In my family, he was the crazy uncle. What a life. (Rich Cohen, Rolling Stone, ~29 min.)
How the New York Times Crossword became too big to fail. Ugh. (Chris Erik Thomas, Study Hall, ~23 min.)
Four years in the front row: The country’s best female political reporters go on the record about what it was really like covering Trump’s America. I just can’t even. (Madison Feller and Rose Minutaglio, Elle, ~30 min.)
Having and being had: What does it say about capitalism that we have money and want to spend it but we can’t find anything worth buying? Excellent. (Eula Biss, Granta, ~9 min.)
Sinatra’s My Way was the soundtrack to Trump’s presidency, and it’s always been the anthem of despicable men. Why do guys get off on its self-pity? All this time, I’d never really listened to the words. Ew. (Tim Grierson, MEL Magazine, ~9 min.)
Quitting America: I came to Canada to escape a childhood — and a nation— consumed with lies. This cuts deep. (M.E. Rogan, The Walrus, ~25 min.)
How 22-year-old Amanda Gorman became Biden’s inauguration poet. I’m a fan. (Julia Barajas, Los Angeles Times, ~6 min.)
The accident on the Pacific Crest Trail: One young man began the 2,650-mile hike with dreams of wild adventure and personal transformation. He never made it home. This one’s a toughie. (Louise Farr, Alta Journal, ~20 min.)
Hard times: Will America recover under Biden? How Biden himself may complicate things. (Andrew Cockburn, Harper’s Magazine, ~17 min.)
A final interview with Hank Aaron. I’m not crying, you’re crying. (Douglas Brinkley, NYT Opinion, ~6 min.)
If you read one thing this week
Inaugural, an original poem by the winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, on the occasion of the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. As good as it gets. (Jericho Brown, NYT Magazine, ~3 min.)
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Thanks for reading.
Kirsten