Kate Linnea Welsh: July 2018

I'm picky about podcasts, mostly because a. most of the time I'd rather just read about something and b. I have a hard time figuring out when I can fit them into my life regularly, so I'm always way behind. But! There's a new podcast that I've been actually keeping up with, so clearly that is HIGH PRAISE and you should give it a try. It's called Cult Faves and it is, indeed, about cults. It's hosted by YA writer Gwenda Bond and journalist Cher Martinetti; they pick a cult a week and one of them does the research and sort of walks the other through it, which is a nice format - conversational without being too meandering. (They do have some off-topic chat as well, mostly at the beginning of the episodes, about what's going on in their lives/the world; that kind of thing sometimes bugs me but their personalities and the balance work for me here.) The latest episode is about NXIVM (a.k.a. the Alison Mack sex cult) and I'm very excited to listen to it later this evening. Give it a try!

Morning Coffee (7/20/18)

Phew, time for some Friday happy links.

Michelle Obama's funny, star-studded video reminding you to vote is downright delightful.

The Colette trailer looks so great!!!

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jonny Sun have a book coming out!

Black Panther's Sister Shuri Is Getting Her Own Comic Book Series & It's Happening So, So Soon

'Lost in space' Bakewell pudding found in Lincolnshire

Your Friday may need Prince Louis' christening photos. They're REALLY CUTE. (Shocker.)

Ooh, first images of the new cast of The Crown: Olivia Colman as the Queen and Helena Bonham Carter and Ben Daniels as Princess Margaret and Lord Snowden.

!!!! Trogdor!! The Board Game

Hot Topic's new Disney princess collection is actually really cute.

10 Fun Ways To Wear Pigtails As An Adult

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Afternoon Tea (7/19/18)

This is great: Chris Hayes Reviews Michiko Kakutani’s Book About Our Post-Truth Era

Glenn Gould Is Always on Fast-Forward

Olympian Alex Shibutani Shares His View From the Front Row at New York’s Men’s Shows (Josh Jackson alert.)

Queer Fat Girls Deserve To Be Heroines In YA Books, Too

The Revolutionary War’s Most Enigmatic Naval Captain: Pierre Landais

Morning Coffee (7/19/18)

Brett Kavanaugh Is Nice. That Doesn’t Mean He’s Not Sexist.

What Was Maria Butina Doing at the National Prayer Breakfast?

And here's a good Maria Butina primer.

WHAT: DNC alleges Secret Service blocked it from serving lawsuit to Jared Kushner

Was the Queen sending coded messages to Donald Trump via her brooches? Absolutely

Shocking: Cambridge Analytica's Facebook data was accessed from Russia, MP says

This sounds fine: Top Voting Machine Vendor Admits It Installed Remote-Access Software on Systems Sold to States

This story is even weirder than the headline makes it sound: Arizona Senate candidate who killed his mother supports 'good guys' with guns

Oh god: Chris Christie to ‘set the record straight’ in upcoming book

NOPE: Mark Zuckerberg says Holocaust deniers are making an honest mistake

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Afternoon Tea (7/18/18)

This 60-Year-Old Novel About Sexual Harassment Was Ahead Of Its Time

These Women Were Told Not to Play Soccer. Instead They Formed a Team.

The Big Seep: Reading Raymond Chandler in the age of #MeToo.

Peterson's Complaint

YAs That Get it Right: Depression Edition

Morning Coffee (7/18/18)

Detaining Migrant Kids Is Now a Billion-Dollar Industry

Obama Warns In Mandela Speech That ‘Strongman Politics Are Ascendant’

It’s time to take Trump both seriously and literally on Russia

Rebecca Solnit: They Think They Can Bully the Truth

New Hampshire: Ground Zero in the War on Voting Rights

Yay! Puerto Rico Begins Allowing Transgender People to Change Their Birth Certificates

Record Number Of Native Americans Running For Office In Midterms

UGH: Police are protesting two novels on a school's summer reading list that grapple with police brutality

Perfect: 17 Real-Life Would-You-Rathers I, a Woman, Have Had to Ask Myself

Ooh: Les Misérables Photos: Dominic West, David Oyelowo and Lily Collins Star in PBS Adaptation — First Look

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Afternoon Tea (7/17/18)

The story of the first openly gay foreign service officer is fascinating: State Secrets

Obsession, Identity, and the New Thriller

Pent-up emotions: how Flowers in the Attic inspired today’s female writers

16 Highbrow Beach Reads for Your Summer Getaway

The Winchester Psalter: an illustrated bilingual Psalter

Morning Coffee (7/17/18)

Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and America’s “geopolitical suicide”

Trump and Putin vs. America

Feds Charge Russian Student, Linked To NRA, With Conspiracy

Inside Mueller's New Army

Made to Suffer for Her Sins: The Trump administration’s policies on family separation and abortion are driven by one view: A woman’s pain is fitting punishment.

4,500 Tech Workers, 1 Mission: Get Democrats Elected

UGH: Increasingly Agitated Elon Musk Labels Diver Who Mocked His 'Submarine' a 'Pedo Guy'

GOOD: Yankees Suspend Relationship with Papa John's After Founder's Racist Comments

Yay! J.K. Rowling's next Cormoran Strike novel Lethal White coming in September

Good for her: Seeking Pay Equity, Female Flutist Sues Boston Symphony Orchestra

Monday, July 16, 2018

Afternoon Tea (7/16/18)

What Internment Did to My Family

Andrew Rannells Stands Out

Arden Myrin: “Your Idea Of Comedy Is My Idea Of Creepy”

Junot Díaz and the Problem of the Male Self-Pardon

Why It’s So Hard to Stop Reading Books You Don’t Even Like

Morning Coffee (7/16/18)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

Russian Influence Campaign Sought To Exploit Americans' Trust In Local News

What a shock: Jill Stein’s Recount Cash Pays for Her Russia Legal Defense

Here’s How Kavanaugh Could Deal a Big Blow to Gun Control

Amazon Is Used to Promote White Supremacist Merchandise and Views, Report Says

Here is President Obama's summer reading list. I MISS HIM.

I bet he doesn't have a summer reading list: Donald Trump is excellent at selling books that trash him; mediocre at selling books that praise him.

How Many Teenage Girls Deliberately Harm Themselves? Nearly 1 in 4, Survey Finds.

Quite the editor's note: This New York Times Writer Failed to Mention She Used Her Husband As a Source on Vagina Selfies

In a cosmic first, scientists detect ‘ghost particles’ from a distant galaxy

Ooh! Ancient find may be earliest extract of epic Homer poem Odyssey

Sunday, July 15, 2018

Morning Coffee (7/15/18)

Jamelle Bouie, great as always: Trump’s Trickle-Down Transgressions

Of course: Trump is getting free advertising for his golf course out of his UK trip

Jared Kushner lacks security clearance level to review some of the nation’s most sensitive intelligence in White House role

Women Might Save America Yet

Official: Renewed Emmett Till probe prompted by 2017 book

Study: male political reporters retweet other dudes 3 times more than their female colleagues

Meanwhile in New Hampshire: "Robert Bevill, a parent and lawyer, asked that the district overturn the school’s protocol to no longer grade homework and alleged that his daughter’s due process rights were violated."

Heh, of course: The new GOP tax “postcard” is double-sided and requires 6 supplementary worksheets

Policy allowing hate groups to meet at libraries comes under fire

5 beer-menu rules I wish all bars would follow

Saturday, July 14, 2018

Morning Coffee (7/14/18)

12 Russian Agents Indicted in Mueller Investigation

US Fails to Reunite Detained, Deported Parents With Their Young Children

Trump administration to turn away far more asylum seekers at the border under new guidance

F.B.I. Agent Defends Actions in Russia Inquiry in Contentious House Testimony

This is awful: Adoption agencies could refuse same-sex couples under measure OK'd by House panel

Ugh: Split Supreme Court Says N.H. Residency Voting Bill Constitutional

FACT CHECK: Trump's Claims On NATO Spending

Why banning plastic straws upsets people with disabilities

Libraries are Bridging the Summer Gap for Hungry Kids

A Massive, Black Sarcophagus Has Been Unearthed in Egypt, And Nobody Knows Who's Inside

Friday, July 13, 2018

Afternoon Tea (7/13/18)

Attention, Please: Anne Tyler Has Something to Say

Why Do We Photograph Wedding Dresses on Hangers?

Delightful as always: Hottest Heads of State Explains: NATO

How the Humble Pork Pie Charmed the English

Keep on moving: the bizarre dance epidemic of summer 1518

Morning Coffee (7/13/18)

PHEW, Friday. Time for some happy links.

Here are the Emmy nominations!

And Jodie Whittaker's Doctor Who EW cover!!

This is so cool: Austin siblings create gerrymandering board game

Mary Queen of Scots trailer! I am very excited to watch/get mad at that movie!

Interesting: To All The Forgotten Princesses: Tor Books Acquires English Translation of Elżbieta Cherezińska’s The Widow Queen

Phew: Planters Is Selling Cheez Balls for the First Time in Over a Decade

Ooh, I'm bad at cutting melon, so this is useful: How to Cut Watermelon

I forgot they were making a Weetzie Bat movie.

Friday needs a quiz: Answer 7 Questions And We'll Tell You Which Fictional Bookworm You Are

14 Super Easy Polka Dot Manicures That Require No Effort

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Afternoon Tea (7/12/18)

Taylor Swift in conversation with Pattie Boyd is everything I've always wanted.

Fascinating: The Obsessive Search for the Tasmanian Tiger

Madeleine Albright: ‘The things that are happening are genuinely, seriously bad’

Borderlands Noir

Struggle for a Lighthouse: The Raids to Destroy the Boston Light

Morning Coffee (7/12/18)

Heartbreaking: As Migrant Families Are Reunited, Some Children Don’t Recognize Their Mothers

NOPE: Government Contractors Asked About The Religion Of Immigrant Women Trying To Reunite With Their Kids, Lawyers Say

Brief break for good news: People in Ethiopia are calling strangers in Eritrea as phone lines are opened after 20 years

Of course he does: House speaker defends Ohio’s Jordan as ‘man of integrity’

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Giuliani works for foreign clients while serving as Trump’s attorney

What men are trying to say when they show off their Female Relationship Résumé

Self-described Nazis and white supremacists are running as Republicans across the country. The GOP is terrified. That sounds like a self-inflicted problem!

Feminist Apparel Staff Confronted Their CEO About His History of Abuse So Like a Chill Woke Feminist, He Fired Them

First Woman Wins the Strega Prize in Fifteen Years

I’m Sorry, But the Posters for Mary Queen of Scots Have the Wrong Taglines

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Afternoon Tea (7/11/18)

This was fascinating: The Daughter as Detective

Lorena Bobbitt’s American Dream

He was one of Jersey's most famous poets. The FBI worried he was a communist.

The True Story of “A Very English Scandal” and the Trials of a Closeted Gay Politician

The Deep History of Women and Bread, Part One

Morning Coffee (7/11/18)

Trump Administration Returns to ‘Catch and Release’ of Migrants

In part because: Judge Rejects Long Detentions of Migrant Families, Dealing Trump Another Setback

ICE Officers to Asylum Seekers: ‘Don’t You Know That We Hate You People?’

How Brett Kavanaugh Will Gut Roe v. Wade

And from an actual news story about Kavanaugh: "I call him Lord Voldemort," said Professor Snape.

What a shock: Trump Voters May Be the Biggest Losers From Trump’s Auto Tariffs

Well! Support for immigration is surging in the Trump era

Young Women Could Redefine The Women’s Vote

All Things Ill-Considered: NPR’s Sexist Blunder

Headless Pompeii Victim Wasn't Crushed to Death, After All

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Afternoon Tea (7/10/18)

Hobby Lobby's Illegal Antiquities Shed Light On A Lost, Looted Ancient City In Iraq

The Lost Dogs of the Americas

ME TOO: I love museum text, please don’t laugh

The Bonds Between Sex and Books

Forget Baguettes — Why In-the-know Bread Lovers Should be Heading to the Caucasus

Weekly Rec: Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer

When I first heard about Andrew Shaffer's new mystery Hope Never Dies, I thought it was a cute idea and would be, at best, a fun novelty item. I'd have bought it regardless - look at that cover! But Quirk Books was kind enough to send me an early copy, and I am delighted to report that THIS BOOK IS ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD.

Let's back up. Hope Never Dies is exactly what it says it is: a murder mystery in which the detectives are post-presidency Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Biden's at loose ends once they're out of office, back in Delaware and watching from afar as his supposed BFF Obama hangs out with younger and cooler celebrities. Biden doesn't do well with free time, so when his favorite railroad conductor dies in a weird supposed accident, he ends up investigating - and Obama winds up pulled in too.

First, let me say: The plot here is solid. This would be a viable mystery novel even without the famous leads. I was a little hesitant about reading a novel told in Biden's voice, but Shaffer does a good job of it - his version of Biden is recognizable but also a character unto himself; this didn't feel icky to read as fiction about real people often does. Both this Biden and the book overall were very funny, as I'd expected, given that Shaffer is known as a humor writer.

But what I hadn't necessarily expected was that this book was genuinely moving, too. I laughed and cried, for real. Obviously part of that was due to our current political situation and nostalgia for the last administration, but that wasn't all. Biden's feelings about his place in the world and his worry over losing a friendship that's so important to him were well-drawn and relatable. He spends much of the book trying to distance himself in response to what he sees as Obama's distance, and I kept yelling GET BACK TOGETHER ALREADY, YOU LOVE EACH OTHER. (I wasn't QUITE yelling "MAKE OUT," but, you know, almost. It's not NOT also a romance novel, in a platonic soulmate sense.)

Oh. Did I mention there's a motel room with - *gasp* - only one bed?!?!

Hope Never Dies is out today. Go get it and escape our current hell for a few hours.

Morning Coffee (7/10/18)

Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick, explained

This is horrifying: Pregnant Women Say They Miscarried In Immigration Detention And Didn't Get The Care They Needed

Trump Administration Freezes Payments Required By The Affordable Care Act

Opposition to Breast-Feeding Resolution by U.S. Stuns World Health Officials

It was quite a day in the U.K. yesterday: Boris Johnson Resigns as U.K. Foreign Secretary Over Brexit Discord is the updated headline but he was NOT THE ONLY ONE.

Okay, some good news: Ethiopia's Abiy and Eritrea's Afewerki declare end of war

Please read this: On the subject of the London Pride parade hijacking by TERFs

He is a Member of a Violent White Supremacist Group; So Why is He Working for a Defense Contractor with a Security Clearance? (He's not any more, but still worth a read.)

Research shows electing women makes a real difference in people’s lives

Scott Pruitt is leaving behind a toxic mess at the EPA

Monday, July 9, 2018

Afternoon Tea (7/9/18)

The Fireworks King

Some great-looking stuff here: Every Science Fiction and Fantasy Novel You Need to Read From Now Till December

How We Elected T. rex to Be Our Tyrant Lizard King

The unromantic, untold story of the great US divorce spree of 1946

Mongolian Milk: Nomadic Cheesemaking in Mongolia

Morning Coffee (7/9/18)

Me elsewhere: TV news for the week.

Essential reading from Jamelle Bouie: White Fight: Donald Trump is leading the Republican charge to preserve a shrinking white majority.

Why Europe Could Melt Down Over a Simple Question of Borders

Twitter is finally addressing fake accounts. Trump wants it to go after two specific real ones.

Useful: The US-China trade war, explained in under 500 words

This Woman Flipped Off Donald Trump’s Motorcade Last Year. She’s Still Paying For It.

A baby was treated with a nap and a bottle of formula. His parents received an $18,000 bill.

Someone Is Stealing Italy’s Most Precious Cheese

Time to put THAT myth to rest: Research: Women Ask for Raises as Often as Men, but Are Less Likely to Get Them

Anne Tolstoi Wallach, 89, Dies; Her Advertising Novel Caused a Stir

Aaah, I am very excited that Patty Jenkins and Chris Pine are making a crime show.

Sunday, July 8, 2018

Morning Coffee (7/8/18)

WHAT A SHOCK: Shifting Strategy, Trump’s Lawyers Set New Conditions for Mueller Interview

We need to talk about the fact that Trump seriously considered invading Venezuela

Thank you, President Obama: "And do not wait for the perfect message, and don’t wait to feel a tingle in your spine because you’re expecting politicians to be so inspiring and poetic and moving. Politics, like life, is imperfect. But there is better, and there is worse."

Doug Jones Thinks He’s Supposed To Be Here

Sigh: Women in Tech Score Symbolic Wins, but Cash Is Still Hard to Come By

...sure? Saudi Arabia is about to spend millions to troll Qatar by turning it into an island

This sounds like EXCITING NEWS but I guess it, uh, actually isn't: America’s cheese stockpile just hit an all-time high

Huh: Wait, Leonard Bernstein Wrote a ‘Peter Pan’ Musical?

Ooh: Emily Mortimer fights for her business in the The Bookshop trailer (I... have I read the book? I THINK so.)

Prehistoric stone hunt under way in Devon salt marsh

Saturday, July 7, 2018

Morning Coffee (7/7/18)

Back to everything being terrible. Sorry.

Trump Administration in Chaotic Scramble to Reunify Migrant Families

Man with history of sex crimes working at Kansas shelter for unaccompanied migrant children

Sick Child Couldn’t Walk After U.S. Took Him From His Mom

Also horrifying: AP NewsBreak: US Army quietly discharging immigrant recruits

This sounds like it might be good but, spoiler, it's really not: How Andrew Wheeler, the New Acting E.P.A. Chief, Differs From Scott Pruitt

This broke shortly before Pruitt's resignation but WOW: E.P.A. Aide Questioned Deleting Sensitive Meeting Details. Then She Was Fired.

THE OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNT, not Trump's account: White House hits potential 2020 Trump rivals Harris, Warren over ICE

Oh: ‘Access to Literacy’ Is Not a Constitutional Right, Judge in Detroit Rules

Uh... British Couple Poisoned by Same Nerve Agent Used to Attack Ex-Russian Spy

Okay, let's end with good news: Judge Dismisses Ex-Boyfriend's Plagiarism Lawsuit Against Novelist Emma Cline

Friday, July 6, 2018

Afternoon Tea (7/6/18)

Here is the juicy history read your Friday afternoon needs: Queens of Infamy: Joanna of Naples

The Vanishing Dance

Lili Reinhart Is a Hollywood Ingenue with No Time for Haters

Cold Books for Hot Days

Fascinating and, you know, awful: Ice Poseidon’s Lucrative, Stressful Life as a Live Streamer

Morning Coffee (7/6/18)

Time to take a break for some Friday happy links!

At mausoleum for France’s ‘Great Men’, Simone Veil burial is most revolutionary yet

Phew: Coffee Drinkers Are More Likely To Live Longer. Decaf May Do The Trick, Too

The Juliet, Naked trailer looks amazing and I'm so excited.

After One Zillion Years, Superhero Movies Will Finally Have a Plus-Size Lead

Useful! The Best Ice Cream Makers

Alert: The Dior Couture Show Is Actually Quite Beautiful

Emma Thompson is writing a Christmas movie?!?!

Please give me a middle grade novel series about this immediately: The Spanish Princesses Will Attend Summer Camp in the United States

Archaeologists stumble on Neolithic ritual site in Suffolk

Watch Some Teen Movies And TV Shows And We'll Give You A YA Book To Read This Summer

Thursday, July 5, 2018

Afternoon Tea (7/5/18)

Dress Codes Are One More Way to Police Students’ Bodies

The Hierarchy of a Nigerian Wedding

Ooh, I want to read this book now: 'Number One Chinese Restaurant' Has Its Grand Opening

Meet Benedict Allen, the explorer rescued by the Daily Mail against his will

Appropriate for this week: Currant affairs? Taxation without representation in early Stuart England

Weekly Rec: Outline by Rachel Cusk

Outline isn't a new book - it came out in 2014 - but the third book in the trilogy, Kudos, was released a few months ago and the fascinating reviews made me want to read Cusk in general and this trilogy in particular. Outline is a novel but it's told in an unconventional way: the narrative takes the form of ten conversations that the main character has with acquaintances and strangers over the course of traveling to Athens and teaching a week-long writing class. There's not plot in any standard sense, and the main character herself is a cipher - we barely know her name - revealing herself only in her responses to other people's stories.

It's the kind of concept that could turn out very well or very badly in execution, and in this case I was delighted to find that it turned out very well. Despite the lack of narrative thrust, Cusk's lovely, precise writing kept me turning the pages; she paints extremely clear pictures of small details and seemingly random vignettes. And all the stories told to the main character are, of course, thematically related: taken together they comprise a fascinating examination of writing and marriage and family relationships and identity.