First Derivative [11]
reactionary right—comedy—love letters—Aryan brotherhood—national security—web design—EPA—antiobiotics—hallucinogens
The big story was the Comey firing but haven't been able to read all the coverage. I'll include the best article on it next issue
Why the Reactionary Right Must Be Taken Seriously
Look around you. Donald Trump is now president of the United States, having won on a campaign that trashed liberal democracy itself, and is now presiding over an administration staffed, in part, with adherents of a political philosophy largely…
A tour de force from Andrew Sullivan. If my politics are unclear, this comes as close to a personal manifesto as far as I can see—TK
Tomi Lahren is afraid. She weaves her way through throngs of people out on the streets near the White House with her head down, her long, platinum-blond hair covering most of her face, hands clutching the lapels of her overcoat. These people are a…
It is not unusual for a female comedian to talk about her body. It is a little less conventional for her to talk about what comes out of it. Her breast milk, for instance. “Local, organic, free-range, farm-to-mouth milk,” Ali Wong…
A fun profile on Ali Wong, whose Netflix special 'Baby Cobra' is hilarious. Would recommend if you haven't seen it.—TK
Hemingway's 99-Year-Old Letters to His High School Crush
New letters shed light on Hemingway's unrequited love and early life. On a recent afternoon in Boston, Betsy Fermano walked through an exhibit titled “Ernest Hemingway: Between Two Wars” at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum.
Crystal meth glowed orange, an ember in an ink-black night. Skitz drew in smoke, held it, and then passed the pipe to Carol in the passenger seat, who fired up her own hit. Back and forth, inhale exhale, higher and higher, they settled in for a…
a bubble breaker. I love reading these kinds of pieces to remind myself that this is someone's story unfolding in the same world we share. long multi-chapter series but worth it—TK
Washington Loves General McMaster. Trump Doesn't.
For the Washington establishment, President Donald Trump's decision to make General H.R. McMaster his national security adviser in February was a masterstroke. Here is a well-respected defense intellectual, praised by both parties, lending a steady…
Let's hope McMaster lasts—TK
Sewage Saved This Man's Life. Someday It Could Save Yours.
When Thomas Patterson woke up from a two-month coma in March 2016, he learned two things he couldn't believe: Donald Trump was soon to become the Republican nominee for president, and his wife, Steffanie Strathdee, had saved him from dying of an…
cutting-edge medical practice taking on antibiotic resistant bacteria. we'll see more of this problem—TK
Web Design - The First 100 Years
Something similar happened with storage, where the growth rate was even faster than Moore's Law. I remember the state-of-the-art 1MB hard drive in our computer room in high school. It cost a thousand dollars. Here's a photo of a multi-megabyte hard…
I think vision 2 is compatible with vision 1 but a thought-provoking presentation. More arguing for a change in attitude (and collective introspection about our aims) than any specific policy—TK
E.P.A. Dismisses Members of Major Scientific Review Board
The Environmental Protection Agency has dismissed at least five members of a major scientific review board, the latest signal of what critics call a campaign by the Trump administration to shrink the agency's regulatory reach by…
I don't know if I'd call it the worst but the gutting of the EPA might be the most brazen. Baldfaced regulatory capture.—TK
Hallucinogen Eases Depression in Cancer Patients, Studies Find
In both trials, the intensity of the mystical experience described by patients correlated with the degree to which their depression and anxiety decreased. The studies, by researchers at New York University, with 29 patients, and at Johns Hopkins…