Many things have been hard about the last month, for many people, but I suffered a particularly personal and to me, cruel blow. After submitting my research on a new model of national satisfaction to a journal that seemed interested, I received feedback from a reviewer that was so vitriolic
Last year – around early December, I assume, because when you're the President you can't send them in January – I received a Christmas card from Joe Biden. It's still on the mantel, and if there weren't a Christmas every year I imagine it
Here is the second half of a very interrupted interview I did about who runs for office in the United States – and who needs to. (The first part can be found here.) It's a good book, and a good conversation. I hope you enjoy it! (And I hope
Another book finished, an infinity more to read. As promised, I have now finished, annotated, summarized, and mulled over a book I’ve been meaning to read for quite some time: Why Civil Resistance Works, by Harvard Kennedy School professor Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan, previously of the US
I have finished Erica Chenoweth's 2011 book, Why Civil Resistance Works, and I am excited to share what I learned. But as I transform my ten pages of notes from a series of texts that I sent myself while walking the dog, into an intelligent description of critical
How time flies, and then crawls, and then flies again – This is an interview that I (apparently!) did in February of 2024. It was a great one, and I had been saving it for the big conclusion of my story arc, but times have changed. With nomination.day still in
The fireworks are over. In places you can still smell the smoke, though soon that should be gone too. And the budget of the American secret police is now big enough to be the third largest military budget in the world. The secret police who are beating the fathers of
I didn't have time to write you an essay ... because I spent an hour in the sun in a wool suit, shooting a video. It's not the best video ever made, but it's also not the worst – and as the literally only video I&
This morning I got an email with a very small notification. After a brief moderation check, my paper had been posted on SocArXiv. This wasn't a journal. It wasn't "published." But after close to three years of on and off work, no collaborators, no
See Part 1 here! Principle 4: Liking, or Positive Associations If you like somebody, you’re more likely to do something for them. But why do we like people? One bad but incredibly common academic assumption is that it’s largely a function of familiarity. If you’re around someone
(Note: I’m very excited to get to the How and When arguments of my planned series, but they both require my getting through a rather long book first. Which is just to say that there are logistical hurdles, but they are specific and known, I haven’t forgotten about
Among all of my other jobs, plans, schemes, and projects, there's one that is particular close to my heart. I am trying – slowly, but earnestly – to start a new national Day. Now, you probably know it as the Fifth of July. But I like to call it: Nomination
Due to powers beyond my control, I have been very abruptly given unexpected responsibilities that take up a large portion of my time. This makes it so that – like everyone, with everything, these days – I am forced to re-evaluate what this newsletter will look like. I am grateful for your
I write this from the Oakland airport, where I am finishing the first of two weeks on the West Coast. My wife and I, who met in college and after our families had left the places we grew up, are going to introduce one another to our hometowns. It will
I ended Part 1 (which is here) by saying that, by any reasonable interpretation, and with the clear endorsement of multiple lawyers and legal scholars, President Trump would appear to be guilty of the Constitutional crime of treason. I also said that in this post, I would describe what we
Part 1 of our conversation is here. Part 2 is directly linked here, or can be found in the header of this post on the website. Here's the next piece of my conversation with Adam, about intentional relationship building around hard conversations – specifically, through the lens of his
A little context Since cancelling the serial installments from the long-form Plan, I'm still figuring out what content should replace it. I'm excited by the What Why How and When research, but it's also substantial work. To provide something that's easier but
In a recent post, I outlined the What, Why, How, and When of the work in front of us. I said that we must remove Donald Trump from power, because of his attacks on the United States government, through peaceful mass refusal to comply until he resigns, and as soon
The piece I'm working on – regarding the rationale to use when demanding the President's resignation – is taking more time and legal research than I anticipated. While that research progresses, I found that the meaning of this already record-breaking film is surprisingly relevant to our political situation.
Oh man, this one was fun. Adam is an old friend – we were in an accelerator for our two startups back in 2018 – and he's been doing amazing things ever since. In this interview he and I talk about his company HeadOn, which is a platform designed to
In a post last week, I outlined the What, Why, How, and When of the work in front of us. I said that we must remove Donald Trump from power, because of his attacks on the United States government, through peaceful mass refusal to accept anything his administration does, and
Dear Friends, I didn't have time to write you one coherent post, and so I am writing you three posts instead. The First: They're Arresting Judges; Here's How Hitler Did It Here's the news of the day, should you be hiding from
I am talking to a production company about professionalizing the newsletter, and they are recommending I rebrand. But how? I have a few ideas, but as the actual readers, I would benefit immeasurably from your thoughts. Please don't hesitate to suggest something entirely different. The goal is to
Preface: Thoughtful Inertia and Crazy Action I feel like I've noticed a striking pattern recently. 1. "Respectable" people (who in all the cases below I do, truly, respect) are earnestly, accurately, and objectively describing the terrible things that are happening. Some examples: 2. But it'