If you're having trouble watching other versions, here's an Internet Archive link for the 60 Minutes CECOT segment suppressed by Bari Weiss in the U.S.

60 Minutes is one of only two documentary-style public affairs programs left on the air. The other is Frontline on PBS, which saw its funding gashed by the Trump admin and Congress. They have a matching donation rn. www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontli...

I genuinely affirmatively think that it is now a democratic imperative to spend as much time as you can offline. Read more offline. Socialise more offline. Discuss media you consume with other people offline. Out there is a real world full of people looking for real human connection - seize it

For the late Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim,, crafting crosswords and treasure hunts was as thrilling as writing musicals. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

“That's where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent. And I don't want the best for them.” - The President of the United States

Alban Berg's masterpiece 'Wozzeck' premiered 100 years ago today. (Dick Van Dyke, it turns out, is a day older than Wozzeck!!) This is, for my money, one of the best performances: Claudio Abbado conducting the Vienna State Opera in 1988 www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVmW...

As people begin to jump ship, remember that they hung on after the GOP claimed that an election was stolen and a coup attempt was warranted. It’s not because they are morally against what is happening, it’s because they now see a political exit ramp.

As someone who lived in Indiana for six years, the Indiana GOP is batshit insane and it is completely shocking that they would take the ethical highroad on anything. You have to hand it to them?

Similarly, acknowledge the difference between "free speech" and "consequence free speech"

A transformative, historical line-in-the-sand architect. Too many wonderful artistic responses to his architecture to name, but here's one: Esa-Pekka Salonen's Wing on Wing www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQuy...

For whatever reason, my morning commute music today (?) But what an unbelievably colorful, energetic work! www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8qA...

Two things can be true at once: 1) it’s insane to claim that one needs to be “deepfaked” into thinking what is happening in Gaza is ethnic cleansing. 2) a lot of people I know who get their news about this from TikTok/social media are wildly misinformed. And I’m talking basic information

Oh this could be really, really good!

They have cloaked their moral rot in the guise of political ideology…which allows their followers to let their worst selves come to the surface and claim it’s just a political disagreement

One of the best to ever do it. A giant. The end of an era. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/t...

To put a finer point on this whole thing: "Two people with direct knowledge of the operation" — presumably uniformed military leaders — are accusing the U.S. Secretary of Defense of personally ordering specific war crimes. That's a historic accusation.

Kind of uncanny how anything that will hurt Peter Thiel’s investments is also the antichrist!

I filmed a made-for-home-video version of a lecture I gave at the University of Utah’s Fridays With Faculty series, about how musical structures can “behave” or mirror extra-musical concepts. robrankin.substack.com/p/form-as-me...

It's the day of the show (talk), y'all! I'm lecturing about how musical structures can "behave" or mirror extra-musical concepts. We are gonna look at some Beethoven, some Berg, and my own Concerto for Wind Ensemble. Come on out!

The President of the United States just called for Democratic members of Congress to be executed. "HANG THEM", he posted. If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.

Just checked the @nytimes.com site and for a paper of record which is able to change their top headlines and cover story with the click of a button, it is beyond me why "PRESIDENT CALLS FOR THE DEATH OF POLITICAL OPPONENTS" isn't blaring from their page?

Bret Stephens continues to step on the same rake over and over again for the past two decades. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/o...

Mike "Do You Think Americans Really Give A Fuck About Ukraine?" Pompeo

The New Deal would like a word

I wrote about A.I. music slop and why it fools us more then A.I. visual slop. robrankin.substack.com/p/ghost-writ...

I don’t know…this Donald guy seems to be a bad influence on Jeff

Is cultural bankruptcy a term yet? www.thedailybeast.com/the-no-1-cou...

I'm giving a talk on how musical structure can function as a kind of metaphor. Come out and hear me blab about Beethoven, Berg, and, humbly, me! music.utah.edu/events/?trum...

Grateful that six people bought by the Heritage Foundation decided that I get to remain married for at least the next few years.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a call to overturn its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. apnews.com/article/supr...

A sneak peek at the cover of next week’s issue, which celebrates Zohran Mamdani’s historic win. #NewYorkerCovers https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/451hFM

Breaking news: Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is elected as the next mayor of New York City, defeating former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and becoming the first Muslim and first of Indian descent to hold the office. https://wapo.st/47rlrDf

I feel like the fundamental misunderstanding in this country is that the annoying things your twenty year old niece posts online are not official Democratic talking points.

Pete Gold-Armstrong. 😌

Happy Halloween!

“Take Care of This House” from the Bernstein/Lerner musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, has been referenced, metaphorically, over the past ten years. Tonight, with the former East Wing of the White House now a pile of debris, the song becomes something painfully literal. youtu.be/ns0bW-VonK4

Use code “indictment” for $5 of free bets on DraftKings

Picked up this hefty boy from the Hollywood Amoeba Music (for a bargain) and have been gradually making my way through the 106 discs. I'm a little over halfway there. Two takeaways: 1. These Mozart Pno. Concerto/Symphony recordings are unparalleled 2. The La Mer recording is shockingly terrible!

Canvas has been down alllll day. Maybe monopolies ARE bad!

I wrote about Arnold Schoenberg, the wonders of modernism, and the prevailing myth that a single man can ruin an entire art form. open.substack.com/pub/robranki...

You would think after decades of making this claim, they would have found at least one (1) single “Thanks For Protesting” check

Now that fall has finally arrived, at least here in Utah, here is an essay from last year about the mysterious but undeniably satisfying connection between the music of Brahms and autumn. Give it a read, whip up your favorite autumnal drink, and listen to a symphony or piano concerto!

They seem nice…

OMG I am so happy!!

This past week, I’ve been preparing a lecture on Webern’s astonishing Symphony Op. 21. What I cannot get over in this piece is how the static and immobile set of canons which open the piece gradually expand and loosen up into something flexible and almost weightless. youtu.be/rzIW-Sums08?...

Hegseth called Eddie Gallagher “a war hero.” Gallagher stabbed Khaled Jamal Abdullah, an Iraqi teenager, in the neck and, in separate incidents, shot civilians including an old man and a young girl. In photos, Gallagher is seen posing with Abdullah’s corpse.

Yeah, everyone hates the AI subway ads as much as you do nygroove.nyc/ai-subway-ads/

Not ideal but here we go #Cubs fans

This is possibly the most important thing to read as a voting member of a society! www.loa.org/books/452-se...