#308: The Animal Issue 🐶 🐱 🦔 🐋 🐙 🐤

Now for an entirely different experience, let’s talk about animals.

Newer subscribers might be asking, “Why does a newsletter that focuses on race, education, and culture also include pictures of pets?” The official answer is, I don’t know! But ever since Indie graced these pages more than five years ago in Issue #29, loyal readers have sent in photos every week, and they’ve brought us joy and brought our reading community closer together.

So this week, for the first time ever, I’m dedicating an entire issue on great articles about animals. Don’t like animals? That’s OK. The pieces are deep and thought provoking regardless. My favorite is the one about hedgehogs. How about you? Please feel free to let me know!

Eating The Whale

In this moving piece about the effects of climate change and the power of lineage, former restaurant critic Wyatt Williams travels to Utqiagvik, Alaska, because he wants to eat whale. He does, at a nalukataq, a festival of the hunting season. But instead of feeling affirmed by the community celebration, Mr. Williams turns melancholy. “I wanted to tell people that if only we could eat more like the whalers, sharing the food of our own communities, we’d probably be better off,” he writes. “But I knew it wouldn’t really matter. The world would go on continuing to end.” (26 min)

Millennials Are Obsessed With Dogs

Since last year’s pandemic pet surge, Millennials have now surpassed Baby Boomers as the generation most likely to own dogs. How come? According to Amanda Mull, herself a chihuahua lover, the reasons are systemic (wage stagnation, student loan debt, other ills of late-stage capitalism), Millennial (e.g., delayed marriage, delayed parenthood) and personal (e.g., the desire for touch and companionship). Most viscerally, Ms. Mull says, taking care of Midge (her “booboo”) is a way “to soothe the psychic wounds of modern life” and “a balm for purgatorial anxieties.” (11 min)

The Incredible Mind Of The Octopus

Years before the Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher, Sy Montgomery got to know and appreciate Athena, a Pacific octopus. Athena is 5 feet long, weighs 40 pounds, has a brain the size of a walnut, and can slither inside small holes and change shape and texture. Most amazing, though, is Athena’s ability to connect through touch. (Each arm includes 200 suckers and millions of neurons.) “Meeting an octopus is like meeting an intelligent alien,” Ms. Montgomery writes. But if humans and octopuses diverged 500 million years ago from our common ancestors, how did both species become so smart? (22 min)

A Dog’s Inner Life: What A Robot Pet Taught Me About Consciousness

This week on my commute (a book a week!), I’m reading Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro, about an “Artificial Friend” and her ability to love. While artificial intelligence has not yet brought us human companions, robot dogs – that bark and play and respond to touch – are already here, thanks to Sony. This article by Meghan O’Gieblyn begins playful but then delves deeply (and creepily, I must add) into issues of consciousness, free will, and whether machines can have inner lives. (16 min)

Looks That Quill: The Dark Side of Hedgehog Instagram

Mr. Pokee, an African pygmy hedgehog, has 1.9 million Instagram followers and enjoys taking pictures out in nature and inside ice cream cones. He’s cute, and so are Cinnamon and Maple and Lionel. But there’s a dark underbelly to the hedgehog craze, as Noelle Mateer reveals in this piece. Since 2017, thousands of people have made exotic hedgehogs their pets without knowing how to take care of them. The poop, the high rate of cancer, and wobbly hedgehog syndrome have left many hedgehogs abandoned, with states cracking down on their distribution and ownership. (14 min)

The Surprise Hit Board Game That’s Transforming An $11 Billion Industry

I’m not a birder, though I appreciate people who know about and appreciate birds. So when VIPs Phoebe and Peter introduced me to Wingspan, by Elizabeth Hargrave, I didn’t know what to expect from the game. But the experience turned out calming and delightful, as this article explains, a respite from the stress of the outside world – and a great way to connect with the people you love, uncompetitively, while you place your birds in their habitats, make sure they’re fed, and remind yourself of the glory of nature. (17 min)

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Did you enjoy the theme? Or do you think we should go back to the regular format (fewer animals, more race / education / culture)? Let me know by clicking on “Yes” or ”No” below. I like hearing from you.

To our new subscribers Lauren, David, and Jenny, I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Eunice! Emily! Eric!), you’re pretty great, too.

If you like The Highlighter, please help it grow. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#307: Actions > Words

Hi loyal readers. I’m very grateful that you opened today’s issue of The Highlighter. It’s a good one: focusing on race (as usual) and exploring the theme of words vs. actions. More than a year after George Floyd’s murder, and after a year of protest and (some) change, our country has (mostly) returned to the same script. Let’s talk about equity and antiracism, but let’s not do very much. Besides, we’re too busy yelling about masks, wishing the pandemic would go away, worrying about our children at school, and avoiding the news in Afghanistan and Haiti. Many of us are exhausted. We’re languishing in our cocoons. We’re practicing self-care.

Lately, I’ve found myself there, too – resting, reflecting, and reading in an effort to determine my next steps. This week’s articles helped me get unstuck, and I hope you’ll appreciate them, too. “We Talk About Racial Inequality But Do Little About It“ reminds us that this year’s pause on racial equality is not unique, that white Americans have long advocated for fairness as long as justice does not lead to personal inconvenience.

The other three pieces in this week’s newsletter build on those ideas. The second article explains the roots of anti-Asian hate on the West coast (recommended especially for history teachers), while the third and fourth selections explore various ways that Black Americans have acted – and the backlash they’ve endured – to promote a freer and fairer world.

Please enjoy. And let me know what you think! All you need to do is hit reply.

We Talk About Racial Inequality But Do Little About It

In 1944, the Nobel Prize-winning economist and sociologist Gunnar Myrdal published An American Dilemma, a two-volume study that explored the gap between nation’s ideals and its racial reality. He concluded, “The average white American does not want to sacrifice much himself in order to improve the living condition of Negroes.”

More than 75 years later, according to senior correspondent Janell Ross, not much has changed. We might be getting a little better at talking about race, but talk is cheap. Ms. Ross writes, “As the notion of white America’s inherent superiority is verbally rejected, very few are willing to use what power they have to shift the systems that have served them well. Some people who are used to winning are having trouble playing fair.” (10 min)

+ Is Time Magazine back? They’re publishing some solid articles lately.

The Anti-Asian Roots of Today’s Anti-Immigrant Politics

One reason it’s easier to talk change than enact change is that racism remains deeply embedded in our laws and institutions. This excellent history of the anti-Asian movement in California explains how white politicians and labor leaders pitted the white working class against Chinese and Japanese citizens, redefining Europeans as “native” and inventing the concept of “illegal immigrant” after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Writer Mari Uyehara points out that fear-mongering tactics worked then as they do now, as did political slogans like “The Chinese Must Go!” and “Keep California White.” So much for the California Dream. (20 min)

+ U.S. History teachers, this article is a good one.

Doing Equity Work While Black

One institution that prefers words over actions is our public school system. Even in affluent progressive districts like Bellevue, Washington, whose ample budget funds a “department of equity,” Black leaders like Shomari Jones find themselves “losing an arm” when facing white resistance. The district’s director of equity and strategic engagement, Mr. Jones described his job this way: “I put on the flak jacket and I knew I was going to take some hits. And you get hit and you get hit, and you’re cool because you got the jacket on. But when you get hit enough times, the jacket doesn’t work for you anymore. You’re hoping there are other people who are willing to put on their jackets and take a hit for you, or alongside you. But if that day never comes, you have to decide, to what point am I willing to sacrifice myself?” (16 min)

For Black Women, Working From Home Meant Freedom From Microaggressions

Project manager Mary Smith loved working from home during the pandemic – but not because of the quick commute and the flexible schedule. Rather, she appreciated not having to worry about making sure her hair, clothes, and demeanor were presentable for her white colleagues. So when her employer called everyone back to the office, Mary quit. She’s not alone. A Gallup survey last Fall concluded what Black women already know: They’re less respected and treated less fairly in the workplace than any other demographic. And many are leaving. (10 min)

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Did you enjoy the theme? Or do you think we should go back to the regular format? Let me know by clicking on “Yes” or ”No” below. I like hearing from you.

To our new subscribers Ipek and Kait, I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Darlene! Dan! David!), you’re pretty great, too.

If you like The Highlighter, please help it grow. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#306: Journeys Of Grief

Welcome back to The Highlighter, and thank you for opening today’s issue! I’ve been hearing from many of you that you are enjoying how I’m experimenting with the format of the newsletter. One trend lately is that I’m paying closer attention to how articles talk to each other, trying to bring them together when it makes sense. Today’s issue, which focuses on the theme of grief, includes four outstanding pieces that explore the various ways we come to terms with losing someone we love.

It’s hard to pick which article I’d urge you to read first. They’re all excellent. But I chose “One Family’s Struggle To Make Sense of 9/11” to lead this week’s issue because it’s a beautiful piece of writing. No matter how many articles you’ve read about 9/11, this one is different, and very powerful.

The rest of today’s newsletter is solid, too, with articles on grief as it intersects with artificial intelligence, social movements, and sibling relationships. Please enjoy!

+ Are you a teacher? (I know many of you are!) If so, I’d appreciate it if you shared The Highlighter with your colleagues as we begin the new school year. Thank you very much!
One Family’s Struggle To Make Sense of 9/11

Bobby McIlvaine was 26 years old when he died on September 11, 2001. He had a mom and a dad, a brother, and a girlfriend he loved deeply. He kept a diary and wrote drafts of novels on yellow legal pads. He was a dreamer, a charmer – ambitious but moody, ruminative and philosophical.

In this tender story, brilliantly told, Jennifer Senior captures the different ways that Bobby’s loved ones have mourned and made sense of his death. As we know about grief, each person has made their own path. “We are always inventing and reinventing the dead,” Ms. Senior writes. But at some point, she adds, “The dead abandon you; then, with the passage of time, you abandon the dead.” (58 min)

Love And Loss In The Age Of A.I.

Eight years after his fiancée Jessica died from a rare liver disease, 33-year-old Joshua Barbeau, still could not escape his anxiety and depression. The loss was too much to bear. So when he discovered Project December, a website that uses GPT-3 to manipulate human language, Joshua had to decide: Did he want to communicate with an A.I. version of Jessica, one that could replicate her style of speech, one that approximated her personality? Why, of course he did. (50 min)

+ Journalist Jason Fagone also wrote “The Lottery Hackers,” one of my favorite articles of 2018. He joined Article Club last July.

Grief Belongs In Social Movements. Can We Embrace It?

Malkia Devich-Cyril: “Death is a natural part of every life cycle. Our bodies will die. Our organizations will die. Our movements will die. Likewise, the specific conditions that oppress our families and communities will also come to an end. Endings are not to blame. Loss is simply an element of change. Change is the heartbeat of social movement. But, on either side of change is loss. Reimagining the world requires that we release the parts of the system and ways of being that are ready to die, and mourn the destructive losses that we could not control, despite our best efforts. Something is dying, and we are desperate for something new to be born.” (14 min)

My Brother’s Dinner With The President Of Sears

“It’s hard for me to admit that I didn’t really know my brother,” Marc Inman writes in this poignant essay. What begins as a playful account of growing up with a prevaricating older sibling grows darker as we learn about Jon’s mounting struggles of faith and sexuality and his capacity to inflict pain on his younger brother. Even still, Marc maintains empathy for Jon, hoping that they can rebuild their relationship – until it is too late. (22 min)

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Did you enjoy it? Let me know by clicking on “Yes” or ”No” below. I like hearing from you.

If you like The Highlighter, please help it grow. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#305: The Fight Over U.S. History

Happy August, loyal readers, and thank you for being here. This week I’m switching things up again, trying an experiment where I dedicate the whole newsletter to one great piece and encourage you all to take it in. My gut says that you’re going to like and appreciate it.

But first, a bit of context: Even though the title of this week’s newsletter is “The Fight Over U.S. History,” we won’t be talking about Critical Race Theory. As a former high school history teacher, I’m not going to pretend there’s an actual debate about whether CRT is being taught or if it has a place in our schools. All due respect, but that’s not worth our time here.

What I do find interesting, though, is how powerfully The 1619 Project, by Nikole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times, has shaped our construction of and discourse about American history. Two summers after its publication, we’re just starting to feel its effects.

That’s why I am grateful that Ms. Hannah-Jones and Ta-Nehisi Coates went on Ezra Klein’s show last week to discuss the following questions: What changes when a country’s sense of its own history changes? What changes when who gets to tell that story changes?

My hope is that you’ll find time this week to listen to this thoughtful conversation. If you do, and you want to talk about it, hit reply and let me know. If there is interest, I’d like to bring us together next Tuesday evening at 6 pm PT (details to come). Until then, please enjoy!

What’s Really Behind The 1619 Backlash?

In this 77-minute podcast episode, Nikole Hannah-Jones and Ta-Nehisi Coates speak with Ezra Klein about a number of topics, including their decision to join Howard University, their thoughts about the state of journalism, their beliefs about why The 1619 Project has caused such an uproar, and their perspectives on what young people should learn about their country’s history.

Instead of summarizing the conversation, I’m going to share four of my favorite excerpts from the conversation. Here’s the transcript if you’d like to read the whole thing (though listening is better, in my opinion).

On why there has been such a backlash about The 1619 Project:

Ms. Hannah-Jones: The entire reason the 1619 Project had to exist in the first place is that we have been willfully opposed to grappling with who we are as a country. What’s clear is that whether you are a progressive or a conservative, many, many white Americans have a vested interest in that mythology of American exceptionalism and greatness, and that we are a pure nation, right? And clearly, the 1619 Project intentionally was seeking to unsettle that narrative. What the 1619 Project does is it actually displaces white people from the center of American greatness and places Black people there.

And I think that is also part of what angers people so much. It is not just saying the men who founded us they did some pretty terrible things, like engaged in human bondage and human trafficking. But also, your whole idea about democracy actually comes from Black resistance. I think that’s just too much for people to accept.

On the centrality of slavery and how it changes the story of U.S. History:

Mr. Coates: What does it mean to know that without enslavement, without the destruction of Black families, without the exploitation of Black labor, without labor guaranteed through torture, [the founders] would not exist as we know them today? Thomas Jefferson wasn’t moonlighting as a slaveholder, George Washington wasn’t moonlighting as a slave holder. That was their career. That was how they garnered the resources to go off and do these other great things that we so admire and we praise. What does it mean to know your founder’s occupation was slave holding? What does it mean to have to accept the fact that the deadliest war in this country’s history for Americans was launched to preserve enslavement? It’s difficult. It changes the story. It decentralizes the individual; your individual goodness is irrelevant. There is a system at work here. There’s something larger than you, bigger than you.

On how we we should teach U.S. History to our young people:

Ms. Hannah-Jones: We can teach our children what George Washington did that was great, and we can also teach our children what George Washington did that was terrible. You can’t just put a person in a category as being good or bad, but that’s how we’ve wanted to teach the history of this country, and we have to be more honest. No one is responsible for what our ancestors did before us. We’re not responsible for the good things, so you don’t want to own up to slavery then also you can’t claim the Declaration because you also didn’t sign the Declaration of Independence. None of us are responsible for what our ancestors did. But we are responsible for what we do now.

And we do have the ability to build a country that is different, that is not held hostage to the past. But we won’t do that by denying that upon which we were built. Because that past is shaping us. It is shaping our country, our politics, our culture, our economics, whether we acknowledge it or not. And all I’m saying is let us acknowledge that upon which we were built so that we can try to actually become the country of these majestic ideals. And I do believe the ideals are majestic, we just have failed to live up to them.

On the future, hope, and how the imagination matters more than facts:

Mr. Coates: Obviously I believe in the importance of history, but some of this ain’t fact-based, man. Some of this is like back in the lizard brain or whatever brain we assign to deciding what the world should look like. This is rude to say, but there are people that I recognize I can never get to because their imagination is already formed. And when their imagination is formed, no amount of facts can dislodge them. The kids, however, the kids who are in the process of having their imagination formed, who in the process of deciding, or not even deciding but being influenced in such a way to figure out what are the boundaries of humanity, that’s an ongoing battle.

And so like I think about 2018 the movie “Black Panther,” and I think about seeing white kids dress up as the Black Panther. This sounds small. This sounds really, really small. And I want to be clear, there’s a way in which this kind of symbolism certainly can be co-opted and not tied to any sort of material events. But I keep going back to this, there’s a reason why in 1962 they raised the Confederate flag over the Capitol of South Carolina. The symbols actually matter because they communicate something about the imagination, and in the imagination is where all of the policies happen.

There’s a generation that is being formed right now that’s deciding what they will allow to be possible. What they will be capable of imagining. And I just I want to be a part of that fight.

That last sentiment – about the role of imagination – is one that I want to reflect on as I return to work today, as young people return to school in the coming weeks, as teachers choose which curriculum to put in front of their students, as parents decide what to listen for and what to talk about with their children at the dinner table. What will we allow to be possible? What are we capable of imagining? What fight do we want to be part of? (77 min)

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Did you enjoy it? Or do you think we should go back to the regular format? Let me know by clicking on “Yes” or ”No” below. I like hearing from you.

To our new subscribers Nabiha and C, I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. To our long-time subscribers (Eileen! Emma! Eric!), you’re pretty great, too.

If you like The Highlighter, please help it grow. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!