Set up a mobile pizza station for our street's 4th of July block party:

A thread of Independence Day recommendations from Seabird. First up, @jamellebouie.net in @nytimes.com: "It is this Declaration — the slaves’ Declaration, the abolitionists’ Declaration, Lincoln’s Declaration — that is the beating heart of the American project." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/o...

A few years ago my coauthor and I planned a dinner to celebrate our book but never got around to it. Now we've finished a second book and figured it was time to celebrate both, so we opened a bottle of vintage port older than both of us. And wow, now I know why people hold on to these for decades.

As the crowd yearns for more

Folks, it's Seabird Day, no better day to join @seabirdreader.bsky.social! www.seabirdreader.com

This week's Tidings is on-theme with some Independence Day reads, as well as stories about nuisance alligators, a soccer Viking, and a very unruly seal. Check it out!

FDA lets Philip Morris communicate obviously truthful statement to consumers. www.cnbc.com/2026/06/30/f...

Medicated and feeling mad we don’t let him into the scary basement

Sichuan food, World Cup, and talking about tobacco harm reduction, always good to catcch up @chancethegardener.bsky.social.

I just ordered the print edition of The Reconstruction Papers and suggest you do too!

Very cool new archive online: 5,000 historic American restaurant menus, searchable by location, year, and other settings. One Portland menu supposedly featured "Mount Tabor owls, roasted" (possibly a joke?) which may be a challenge to recreate for contemporary chefs! pudding.cool/2026/06/menu...

Apparently it's pre-order sale time at Barnes and Noble, so if you'd like to get The Bartender's Library for 25% off, now is a great time to reserve your copy! Use code PREORDER25. www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-barten...

You can get 25% off pre-orders of Elon Take The Wheel during the Barnes & Noble pre-order sale, now through June 26 (this Friday). Pre-orders are one of the only ways to build momentum for a book like this, so your support means a lot!

My next book won't be out till October, but if you order it now you can lock in free shipping thanks to @bookshop.org's Anti-Prime Day! bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

Our dog found a very good stick at the park this evening.

If you're into coffee, this is also a really cool profile of La Marzocco. I would have liked those new front-loading portafilters in my barista days, though wrenching them into place is pretty satisfying too.

Earlier this month I went to Warsaw to speak on this panel about the problems with tobacco and nicotine prohibition. Check it below:

I'm much better at card shuffling than math, but really enjoyed this piece about mathematicians tackling the problem of when a shuffled deck becomes truly disordered. www.quantamagazine.org/seven-perfec...

We've had a Seabird app for a while, but notifications are new. Excited to finally see these popping up! Check it out here: www.seabirdreader.com

New Tidings out today rounding up Seabird links from the past week. Is it that sweet? I guess so. seabird.kit.com/posts/tiding...

Regulating the bad stuff, banning the safer stuff? 🧐 @harryshapiro.bsky.social and tobacco policy journalist @jacobgrier.bsky.social expose the chaotic world of THR. They dive deep into why public health regulation is failing and driving a massive illicit market. Watch the interview here:

I don't know what the supply of Chartreuse is like in DC these days, but this seems like an excellent time for local bars to revive the Swampwater cocktail.

New RFK collab to offer nicotine and beef tallow in one convenient pouch.

Lots of discussion today about the relative toxicity of various social media models, so if you want to try something new, I'll re-up the invitation to join @seabirdreader.bsky.social, where you can only share posts with links, there are no replies or quote-posts, and you only get 3 posts per day.

Looks like I picked the right 30 seconds of this series to catch on a bar TV.

New Tidings out today: worms, condors, soccer, and more! seabird.kit.com/posts/tiding...

Just a bill introduction for now, but another sign of the US tilting toward tobacco and nicotine prohibition. www.cigaraficionado.com/article/new-...

As if there weren't enough ways AI is making things bad for writers, now it also generates text for scams like these that are just plausible enough to waste a moment reading. I've received at least three so far. (Red flag: advance copies of my book aren't out yet, so they're just making things up.)

Good morning! We have a new issue out of our free newsletter, Tidings, highlighting some of the best stories shared by our users on Seabird this week. Subscribe for recommended reading every Friday. seabird.kit.com/posts/tiding...

If you only follow me on here and would prefer to get updates about my work (and additional commentary) in your inbox, my personal site is available as a newsletter. With more writing (including @liberalism.org) this year, I'm making regular updates a priority. Here's this month.

From the weekend: on flavored vapes, the crank realignment, and why tobacco harm reduction needs better allies than Trump and RFK. www.theunpopulist.net/p/corruption...

No bone luge option?

Bookthread 2026: @jacobgrier.bsky.social‘s The Rediscovery of Tobacco was a celebration of liberalism‘s base belief: fundamental human dignity. Critiques of scientism and the right place for toleration were approachable and well argued. Highly recommended, #smokingishealthierthanfascism

Weekend music recommendation: Portland songwriter Alela Diane's new album, out a week ago, is definitely going to be one of my favorites of the year. open.spotify.com/album/2ejne9...

Look at our dog posing like he's about to be painted by a Dutch master. 📷: @blueskybeth.bsky.social

Bluesky, asking for your recommendations for Warsaw, Stockholm (especially the archipelago), and Amsterdam. I've spent a little time in each but don't know any of the cities super well.

Everything that Trump touches turns to crap, even a good policy like deregulating vapes. Great piece by @jacobgrier.bsky.social at @theunpopulist.net open.substack.com/pub/theunpop...

One challenge around nicotine is that policy and politics do not line up very well, mostly due to the widespread misperceptions about relative risk. @jacobgrier.bsky.social wrestles with these issues for @theunpopulist.net: substack.com/@joegitchell...

New from me at @theunpopulist.net: on flavored vapes, RFK, and how Trump poisons everything, even the rare issue he gets sort of right. www.theunpopulist.net/p/corruption...

🎵"Like a rhinestone Proud Boy...🎵

DO YOU SING?

I've done like 4-5 open mics now, so I assume it's just a matter of time before they make it down the list to invite me to perform at America 250.

Congrats, Mike Bloomberg!

A problem I'm happy to have: a growing community at Seabird posting more stories than ever, only some of which can make it into Tidings.

Do we have a mutual friend?

Begging these people to stop saying things I might have to edit into the draft of my next article.

Sold concert tickets to someone on Craigslist and they thanked me for bringing them over with a couple of fresh eggs from their backyard chickens, the good quirky Portland still has juice.

Alas, I am also preparing pizza for this party.

I personally really like Bluesky, but people take for granted that text-based social platforms need replies and quote-posts. We made @seabirdreader.bsky.social with neither and it's pretty nice! www.seabirdreader.com/feed