Illustration by Leah Mandel
Now Is The Time To Talk About What We Are Actually Talking About
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The New Yorker
"It does not have to be like this," wrote Adichie in this piece that could be read as a prose poem, stating with confidence, clarity, and urgency what we must do now. "Now is the time to burn false equivalencies forever."
Why Some Biologists Are Abandoning Their Faith In Total Conservation
Zoë Schlanger, The FADER
We're past the point of no return regarding climate change. Now, we don't have to accept the bed humans have made for themselves, but we need to change the way we think about the future, and the future of conservation. In this piece from the Faith Issue, Schlanger spoke with biologist Gregor Schurmann, who's heading up the challenge of deciding what must stay, and what we can stand to let die.
There And Back Again
Bryan Washington, The Awl
Why aren’t there more famous black sci-fi authors? That's the question Washington answers in this smart-as-hell piece about the dearth of minority voices in the world of speculative fiction. With hope, he writes, "there is also room for black voices in parallel universes. There’s room for black voices in the future."
Already Happening: Media Normalization Of Trumpism
Joy-Ann Reid, The Daily Beast
The media was participating in the normalization of Trump before his win, by treating him as though he was as qualified to run as Hillary Clinton. After Trump's win, there were many who speculated (or, more likely, hoped) that the president-elect would suddenly collect himself and act presidential. Nope. But the normalization continues. Major publications report Trump's rabid tweets as truth, and underplay the extremists he's chosen for his administration. Why? And what to do about it? Reid discusses.
More on Trumpism this week: We Can't Afford To Ignore Donald Trump's Tweets [Slate]
Talking About Fascism Might Make You Sound Hysterical. Do It Anyway.
Amos Barshad, The FADER
"Talk of strategy is practical," wrote Barshad, in this new age of Trump. "It’s also wilfully optimistic, and rooted in a certain sector of the opposition’s bedrock belief: our democratic institutions and traditions are too strong for Trump to do away with." But practicality doesn't actually seem so practical right now, so Barshad spoke with experts about the potential for fascism and autocracy in the U.S. Buckle your seat belts, and never stop resisting.
Social Media Is Killing Discourse Because It’s Too Much Like TV
Hossein Derakhshan, MIT Technology Review
"Let us react with our minds rather than our hearts," wrote Derakshan, arguing for the proliferation of words over images, for a "trust/suspect" button instead of "like/dislike," and for resisting our emotions' "lethal appeal." Basically, use your brain, and use it well.