Announcements!
Skip if time-crunched: a request for input, a preview of upcoming editions, and a shameless plug.
Housekeeping: Next edition Monday at 6:35 am PT, per usual. Check out archived versions here.
In this edition: An opportunity to offer input. What would you like to see more of? Also, upcoming weeks preview, and a shameless plug for myself.
It has been a few weeks, I hope you’re enjoying the newsletter. This week is announcements and a preview of upcoming weeks. Skip if you’re crunched for time.
First, I want to thank you all for your support and readership so far!
This is an opportunity for input. What do you love/loathe?, etc.
I have already had a few private requests and conversations. The response has been generally positive! Feel free to email or to leave a comment with your own recommendations.
When I studied composition, I had the concept of signposting drilled into me. It is generally a good idea to let people know where you’re going so they can decide if they want to come along, I guess. In that spirit, I want to offer a preview this week, in lieu of the usual edition. Later this week we’re back to it.
One quick preview: Later this week you’ll see a piece on the impending tsunami of evictions facing the U.S.
Following editions will look at (not necessarily in this order):
(1) American ‘escrache’: the data on the various forms of protest (what is effective and what isn’t?);
(2) In defense of ‘activist lexicography’: a defense of “activist lexicography” which is a clunky phrase for encouraging changes to the dictionary definition of words even when they carry a political edge;
(3) ‘Encouraging signs of polarization’: A review of Ezra Klein’s book Why We’re Polarized, which will argue that polarization isn’t as bad as it is made out to be;
(4) On public opinion: A piece diving deeper into my analysis for CS Monitor (asking the question: How does the internet impact the formation of public opinion?).
Advertisement for myself
An announcement: The paid version of the newsletter will be going out soonish. I’m expecting to launch it in the coming months; I just want to flag this for everyone. I would recommend signing up for that when it’s available. The free version of the newsletter will continue on Mondays at the usual time.
Paid version:
Longer profiles, interviews, reviews, dispatches, and essays will appear for first access to paying subscribers on a monthly basis. Full access is priced at the average cup of coffee in the U.S. ($2.70 per month). The money will go to books for reviewing, resources for dispatches and interviews, and, of course, the coffee necessary for me to write these things. The weekly Monday releases will continue to be free for all. If you cannot pay due to hardship or for some other reason, just email me (dtmollenkamp@gmail.com). Despite what you may have heard, I am extremely amiable and reasonable.
The first dispatch is a gonzo investigation of multi-level marketing schemes in the U.S., revealing the yearnings of a deeply unequal society.
In the meantime, look out for the piece on evictions, and feel free to comment (the button is below dear Uncle Sam).