I never noticed this either.

If there has been a colder day in the past 25 years, I don’t remember it. Be careful out there, New Yorkers.

Needed to turn my brain off, so I watched The Housemaid. That might have been too far off.

Why did they use a photo of Don Knotts?

The Post's announcement named Book World as a discrete entity being eliminated, which led to a lot of kind words, all of which are greatly appreciated. But other critics weren't in a section entirely eliminated (though what will remain of it, I have no idea), so I've seen much less about them. 1/2

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition. Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

What exactly are we doing here?

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

Tonight's martini is going to be arctically cold.

Hearing that almost all the WaPo arts section is gone, with the exception of a couple people. A major source of great writing as well as Pulitzers.

Definitely worth noting since it wasn't announced in that way.

I'll say more before too long, but for now: Thanks to anyone who has ever read and supported the Post's books coverage.

Love this photo of Letterman with Liberace and Dylan I watched this episode when it first aired and it was super rare to see Bob on television RS

All awards shows, like all-star games in sports, are silly. But the Grammys is definitely the Pro Bowl.

All the stars are here: Brantley Gilbert, Brice Bradley, Gabby Babby, Bibb Glibsy, Slab Gabbert, Brice Bryce,

My wonderful colleague Nora Krug writes beautifully about her brief but intense correspondence with DFW in 1996. (Gift link.) wapo.st/4bvcviA

Have been listening to this the last day or two in an attempt to lower my blood pressure. It's working. I've got it down to 300/240.

Unacceptable.

Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

As mayor, I would cause a run on very used copies of Wilfrid Sheed's "Essays in Disguise." But that's politics. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/n...

"The air is the only place free from prejudices. I knew we had no aviators, neither men nor women. I knew the Race needed to be represented along this most important line, so I thought it my duty to risk my life to learn aviation." --Pioneer aviatrix Bessie Coleman, Texan, born 134 years ago today

Been too long...

My sister and I are accountability partners on reading Don Quixote. (And some other hefty books throughout the year, we hope.) I knew it was comic, but I didn't realize it was so broadly comic (compliment).

Tomorrow's front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 24, 2026

Introduce yourself with five concerts you’ve seen; the version I've seen that asks for women singers 10,000 Maniacs Innocence Mission Sleater-Kinney Waxahatchee Paramore and some dudes Prince Radiohead Elliott Smith The Hold Steady Lyle Lovett

"The whole time our posse of masked goons were kidnapping a 5yo child and sending him to prison in a different state, their primary concern was the safety and welfare of that child."

Haven’t seen much talk (not just in awards context) about Kirsten Dunst’s strong and moving performance in “Roofman,” which I thought elevated it from a diversion to a pretty good movie.

Becca Rothfeld reviews Jason Zengerle's account of how Tucker C.'s opportunistic career arc, toward only owning the libs, mirrors the movement of conservative media as a whole. www.washingtonpost.com/books/2026/0...

I've seen eight of the 10 Best Picture nominees, much more than usual at this stage of things.

Ron Charles on George Saunders's "Vigil," the idea of what we might owe the dying, and what effect the answer might have on the art of the novel itself. www.washingtonpost.com/books/2026/0...

Nearing the end of season 2, this show is very bingeable and supremely goofy.

This is very good. (I'm spending a snowy day catching up on periodicals, one of life's great pleasures.) harpers.org/archive/2026...

This photo was taken in 1911 using glass plate technology by Herbert Ponting who was part of Scott's Antarctic expedition, The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance Iconic imo

The main thing I did once I got my drivers license in 1991 was drive to the next town to see movies. We had movie theaters in Jefferson City, MO, but if you wanted to see most of the really GREAT movies you had to drive to Columbia, MO, to see them. Great movies are worth it.

If I Had Legs: Less harrowing than I feared and more original than I expected. Byrne is a treasure, per usual. Conan pulls it off. Qualms but very glad I saw it on the big screen, with an edifying Q&A after with director Bronstein.

I'm humbled to report that Vida Blue has given me his 1971 Cy Young Award.

I appreciate that when the NYT front page shit all over the newfangled "telephone" in 1877, they took the time to absolutely cook people from Philadelphia

The algorithm sometimes comes through. This is lifting me just enough today. I hear some Annie Lennox, some Tracy Chapman, some ... Rusted Root? But also someone distinctly herself. www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-2o...

Just another morning in the Twin Cities, keeping my eyes on the preschool parent signal chat to make sure none of my child’s classmates, their parents, or their teachers were kidnapped by the federal government in front of the school.

In September I saw them in Houston and then, the next night, in Austin.

Saw Mr. Supreme. There's a great sports movie in it. And a great mid-century Jewish movie in it. And a great self-discovery movie in it. But alas, it's not really any of those movies. And like nearly everything, it's 25 minutes too long. Still, enjoyed it more than I thought I would. TLDR: B-.

I often have reason (always hilariously) to think of these lines by Sasha Frere-Jones from 2006. In a reverse-construction way, RFK Jr. "ending the war on protein" is the latest reason.

*You* might be behind on pop culture, but *I* just finished the first season of Homeland.

Strange to be reading this at a time when one is *slightly* jealous of the protagonist.

To intentionally pivot to something dumb for a moment, I've been unduly annoyed lately by something I would put this way: If the *first time* you hear of someone, they are more famous to you than their parents, they are not a nepo baby.

New by me —> Will Pittsburgh become America’s most important city without a newspaper? Or will the @post-gazette.com shutting down in May spur some long-delayed action? www.niemanlab.org/2026/01/will...