Weekly Roundup (Apr. 7, 2023) (Patreon)

A blessed Good Friday to those who endure it.

Things have been chaotic lately, both personally and professionally. I'm currently sending out scads of work applications and hopping between job interviews. Never say journalism doesn't keep you spine-snappingly busy.

Some exciting news though: an op-ed I wrote about the Internet Archive has become the most shared article in the history of The Statesman. This is ridiculous and delightful. As soon as The Internet Archive retweeted the article, I knew it would blow up. I'm stupidly grateful to everyone who made this happen, and I hope y'all stick around for my other work.

Reading-wise, I've mostly been focused on mob/Italian stuff. Selwyn Raab's Five Families is a great epic history of the New York Mafia. The cookbooks of Marcella Hazan provide great cultural history as well as delicious recipes.

Robert Caro's The Power Broker is as powerful as everyone says. Never has a biography made my heart race like I'm reading a thriller.

Sorry for falling behind on writing. Everything's been sort of overwhelming. I'll try to catch up soon.

And now, a few headlines:

April Ortiz in the Texas Observer (which is not shutting down! Hooray!) is brilliant on the ties between racism and transphobia in the Lone Star state.

ProPublica broke that Clarence Thomas story.

Alex Tey nails Trans Day of Visibility.