Trump keeps giving Putin whatever he wants. www.wsj.com/world/europe...

A night at a Washington theater. A violent attack just miles away. I didn’t realize they were unfolding at the same time until I checked my phone after the play. I wrote about that strange convergence today. open.substack.com/pub/roncharl...

Tom Perrotta’s new novel follows a writer forced to confront the grief he’s spent 50 years avoiding. My review of “Ghost Town”: roncharles.substack.com/p/tom-perrot...

Remember when Melania condemned the man who threatened to kill "a whole civilization" and celebrated the death of FBI Director Robert Mueller? Maybe if she watched less late-night TV, she wouldn't miss the "hateful and violent rhetoric" coming from her own house. deadline.com/2026/04/mela...

"A wealthy man decided that journalism that displeased him deserved institutional destruction, and then he arranged it." Peter Thiel isn't done. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/24/o...

Almost all challenges to library books last year came not from parents, but from pressure groups and government officials. Today’s newsletter on the new politics of censorship, plus Arbor Day (!), poetry, and more. roncharles.substack.com/p/whos-reall...

Maria Semple’s "Go Gentle" just debuted at No. 7 on the bestseller list. Here’s my review of the witty novel that vaults from Stoicism to rom-com chaos. roncharles.substack.com/p/woman-on-t...

T.C. Boyle’s new novel starts with a one-night stand and escalates into class resentment, violence, and self-destruction. My review is out now. roncharles.substack.com/p/the-one-ni...

Good grief… This chronicle of madness feels like the kind of exposé you expect to read after order has been restored. But it’s still going on, and Republican senators are apparently fine with it. www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Terrific spring books section in today’s @wsj.com www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

The way Tanner greets Dawn, you’d never know I’d been playing with him all day. What dogs see when they look at us — and what we might be missing: roncharles.substack.com/p/what-dogs-...

“Don’t we love Adora?” We do. Stoic philosophy and exploding burritos: Maria Semple’s "Go Gentle" is a wild ride. My review: roncharles.substack.com/p/woman-on-t...

Oprah just chose Maria Semple’s "Go Gentle" for her book club — and yes, it really is that wild: Stoic philosophy, exploding burritos, and a heroine who greets each day by telling the universe, “Surprise me!” My review: roncharles.substack.com/p/woman-on-t...

Maria Semple’s "Go Gentle" ricochets from Stoic philosophy to rom-com thrills — with terrorists, exploding burritos, and a heroine who wakes up each day and tells the universe, “Surprise me.” My review: roncharles.substack.com/p/woman-on-t...

"Hey Siri, if I've posted a blasphemous image of myself as Jesus Christ, what ludicrous excuse could I feed to my addled cultists when I'm forced to delete it?"

The richest Americans don’t pay income taxes like you do. This week’s newsletter: how that works — and how to stop it. roncharles.substack.com/p/how-to-avo...

It's not fair to say that Trump's Iran War accomplished nothing. It made a ton of money for these oil executives: www.wsj.com/business/ene...

Astonishing WSJ story about Trump's use of a low-level, sycophantic lackey to corrupt the Justice Department. www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...

“Executives say there is considerable overlap between shoppers hunting for a $20 tube of lipstick and a $50,000 handbag.” (Sh*t Executives Say) www.wsj.com/cfo-journal/...

I wrote this morning about trying to take a week off without feeling like everything will collapse. Still not convinced I know how to do that. But here goes: open.substack.com/pub/roncharl...

Big publishing news this morning: roncharles.substack.com/p/ai-platfor...

Fiction almost never treats disabled adults with such complexity and humor — or with so little sentimentality. My review of Woody Brown’s debut novel, "Upward Bound": roncharles.substack.com/p/the-lives-...

Attention pilgrims: In Canterbury, there’s now an immersive Canterbury Tales attraction featuring projections, puppets, animatronics, holograms — and “family-friendly” Chaucer. Naturally, I had questions: roncharles.substack.com/i/192161500/...

Julia Alvarez this week at Georgetown: funny, wise, and still wonderfully alert to the possibilities of revision. I wrote a little about the evening in this week’s newsletter: roncharles.substack.com/i/192161500/...

First Lady Melania Trump appeared with a humanoid robot this week to imagine the future of education. It was one of the bleakest tech fantasies I’ve seen in a while. My new piece: roncharles.substack.com/p/the-white-...

Today’s review: “American Han,” Lisa Lee's debut novel about ambition, cruelty, and the cost of success within one immigrant family. roncharles.substack.com/p/what-succe...

The new censors don’t storm in with pitchforks and torches. They come screaming about balance, fairness and free speech. It’s a different strategy—and a more effective one. I write about that here: roncharles.substack.com/p/the-new-ce...

“No one needs to bleed for the news to die.” My new essay on how “free speech” is being weaponized to undermine the press—and democracy. roncharles.substack.com/p/the-new-ce...

Are the rules of marriage changing again? I asked Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney — here’s what she said: Full review of "Lake Effect": roncharles.substack.com/p/the-divorc...

My review of Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s “Lake Effect” is up — a novel about what happens after two marriages fall apart (and why that might not be a tragedy). roncharles.substack.com/p/the-divorc...

“The only people for me are the mad ones.” A new exhibit at the Grolier Club in New York explores Jack Kerouac’s manuscripts, letters and spiritual searching. I wrote about it in Friday’s newsletter: roncharles.substack.com/i/190249321/...

When he was 7, Manchán Magan found a leprechaun’s pipe in the garden. That strange discovery opens a wonderful book about the Irish language — which has 32 different words for “field.” I wrote about it in today’s newsletter: roncharles.substack.com/p/why-irish-...

Karan Mahajan’s new novel *The Complex* unfolds like an endless family gathering — an Indian version of Hotel California: You can check out anytime you want, but you can never leave. My review (with a short video from Mahajan): roncharles.substack.com/p/all-in-the...

A new bill in Congress would punish schools for letting students read about gender identity — or even “lascivious dancing.” Somewhere, Kevin Bacon is very nervous. roncharles.substack.com/p/now-congre...

A new bill in Congress would punish schools for letting students read about gender identity — and “lascivious dancing.” Book bans aren’t fading. They’re evolving. Today’s newsletter: roncharles.substack.com/p/now-congre...

Heartbreaking. www.wsj.com/finance/inve...

M.L. Stedman’s new novel feels like a Greek tragedy transplanted to the Australian outback. My review of “A Far-Flung Life.” roncharles.substack.com/p/ml-stedman...

@rjhartigan.bsky.social is going to clear up what happened to Amelia Earhart once and for all ;) Join us for a conversation at People's Book on Mon. 3/2 @7pm about her new book, Lost. She'll be in conversation with @roncharles.bsky.social - I promise, we'll all learn something!

From Lincoln’s eloquence to Trump’s 108-minute harangue open.substack.com/pub/roncharl...

@roncharles.bsky.social calls Heather L. Reid and Phillip Mitsis's translation of Lucian "so immediate you can feel the athletes flinging sweat into your eyes." Read the full How to Compete review here:

The author of ‘An American Marriage’ returns with a novel about two girlhood friends who set off in different directions. roncharles.substack.com/p/in-tayari-...

Producing yesterday’s newsletter was delightful chaos. When I sat down to copy-edit, the power went out. I jumped in the car & rode w Dawn to school, where she set me up in the English office. Then we saw JASON REYNOLDS in the school auditorium! open.substack.com/pub/roncharl...

Mohammed Hanif's new novel drops readers into a dazzling bazaar of history, tragedy, and farce. open.substack.com/pub/roncharl...

Roses are red, violets are blue. A Valentine’s Substack, written for you. open.substack.com/pub/roncharl...

After 20 years, I've been laid off at The Washington Post. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Terrifying story about how the Trump administration is ramping up efforts to spy on and intimidate anyone who questions its actions: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Good Lord….. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R), the highest-ranking Minnesotan in Congress, said,” We are grateful no Border Patrol officers were harmed.” www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...

"In the annals of political lawfare there’s dumb, and then there’s the criminal subpoena federal prosecutors delivered Friday to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell." www.wsj.com/opinion/jero...

So hard to decide... Should I work with Copilot for eight minutes to craft an inane reply that sounds like it came from the Borg Queen's middle school son or just write the reply myself?

This week, JD Vance lost the 2028 Republican primary for president. No one comes back from shocking the nation’s conscience this deeply.