A conversation with Cadwell Turnbull, author of The Lesson, about science fiction, colonialism, and redefining utopia Elements of conchology, or, An introduction to the knowledge of shells. 1776. The Lesson, the debut novel by Cadwell Turnbull, is one of best sci-fi novels I’ve read in years. It’s nominally
Technocrats are no longer setting the agenda and activists are taking over Fauna ibérica; mamíferos Madrid, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, 1914. So I want to talk about Joe Biden’s climate plan, whoa whoa hang on come back. Mainly I want to talk about the process by which his
'People who want democracy to happen on their own terms are doing fascism even if they use the language of democracy' Coloured figures of the birds of the British Islands. 1885-1897. Last week this infamous letter was published in Harper’s and it was all anyone in the
Reducing the struggle to a time-limited, painful means to an end American ornithology, or, The natural history of the birds of the United States, 1808-1814. There’s an attitude in the nonprofit world OK could be the white nonprofit world OK could just be white progressives in general of which
The impacts of protests are often profound but unpredictable Boston with its environs in 1775 & 1776 The scale of the protests against police violence and systemic racism over the past few weeks is unprecedented. Demonstrations are happening in all 50 states, even in small conservative towns with mostly white
We look back on this chapter in history with self-congratulatory warmth, but loathed it as it happened The Monk by the Sea (German: Der Mönch am Meer) by Caspar David Friedrich 1808-10 Last year, a person you might remember named Barack Obama was addressing a group of wealthy liberal donors
Things that do a better job of solving problems we currently entrust with men carrying tools that cause death and pain Epomops francqueti. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. One time I was interviewing someone at a foundation that funds climate work and he posed to me this question:
The things that are deemed acceptable and not acceptable during the pursuit Fauna boreali-americana, or, The zoology of the northern parts of British America :.London :John Murray,1829-1837. Even speaking as someone who likes to go on and on about the potential speed and power of social movements, it has
'A lot of folks are tired of that. They’re not going to take it anymore.' March to the BPD station today This is going to be short because we decided to go to a rally and march this evening organized by Mass Action Against Police Brutality. It
When people show up, you don’t have to compromise The Zoological journal. London: W. Phillips, 1824 If you know the name Erica Chenoweth, it’s probably in relation to the Harvard professor’s widely cited “3.5% rule,” which poses that no government can withstand a challenge from 3.
People buying stuff near constantly and when they stop for even a few weeks things start to crumble Still Life with a Golden Goblet, Pieter de Ring, 1635-1650 It really struck me just how fragile capitalism is, in this particular go round of economic meltdown at least, when the Cheesecake
Living on the brink of oil stained societal collapse, everything going wrong in 20 different directions Christopher Wood, Zebra and Parachute, 1930, © Tate, CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0 I’m going to write about William Gibson today, for the second time in this newsletter, because while he is best known for a