Our first week in a post-Anthony Kennedy America was about as bad as one would expect. But… BUT… we did learn that the passcode for Kanye’s phone is just six zeros, while Lana went to war with both Yeezy and then Azealia Banks in a bizarre Instagram/Twitter feud about… slavery? (We think.)
This week we were thinking a lot about labor and inequality, as we often do. University employees across Georgia are starting to unionize, in spite of the mistaken notion that it’s illegal for public employees to organize in the state.
Engineer and entrepreneur Conrad Bastable provides a mind-blowing explanation (with math!) of why no one in America can get ahead, whether they drop a hundy on college or not. Gabriel Winant talks about the history of labor in the very big picture. Jane McAlevey says that Democrats have a lot to learn from organized labor in terms of fighting back against a stacked system and seemingly impossible odds. And legendary genius and friend-of-the-blog Kathleen Bachynski explores masculinity and the insane culture of injury in sport, building on her important work about the history of public health, concussions, and football.
Unnecessary Toughness: Protective Gear and Masculinity in Hockey (Lady Science)
The Bermuda Triangle of Wealth (Conrad Bastable)
One Thousand Years of Labor (The Nation)
Three Lessons for Winning in November and Beyond (NYT)
How I Discovered My Depression—and Began to Confront It (Pacific Standard)
A wonderful story of war, adoption, and finding family: Crossing Continents to Find My Parents (BBC Outlook)
Millennials Kill Again. The Latest Victim? American Cheese (Bloomberg)
Cat Power talks about her great new album (and Lana!): At home in the world: A conversation with Chan Marshall (Creative Loafing)
Hollywood Libs and Fox (TPM)
Tiffany Trump Receives First Ever Text From Father (The Hard Times)
The Gendered Dynamics of Miscarriage (Nursing Clio)
University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce on Women in Charge (Slate)