Reading for the week of 1/30/2022

Here is what I read this week. Some of the articles/posts may require a subscription to read them. I also share my recommended reads on Pocket for anyone who wants to follow along there.

Books

In Progress

• The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro. This is turning out to be the best of the series so far. Perhaps, in part, it is because the first half of the book is all about Johnson taking his lumps as Vice President after his years in the senate. I was hoping to finish this up today, but I’ll like finish it tomorrow instead.

Articles/posts

• Why Neil Young’s Spotify Protest Matters – The Atlantic by Spencer Kornhaber (The Atlantic, 1/29/2022) #covid #music
• Is Now a Good Time to Buy a House? – The Atlantic by Joe Pinsker (The Atlantic, undated). We just refinanced our house (getting in just before the rates went up) and I feel incredibly fortunate every time I read an article about how difficult it is to break into the housing market these day–especially in a place like Arlington, Virginia, home of the new Amazon headquarters, where the market seems crazy these last few years. #economics
• Astronomers Might Have Detected the Background Gravitational Waves of the Universe – Universe Today by Matt Williams (Universe Today, 1/23/22) #astrophyics
• Aha! Moments Pop Up from below the Level of Conscious Awareness by Emily Laber-Warren (Scientific American, 1/26/22). This happens to me all the time, and it was intersting to read how this is different from ordinary recall. #pyschology
• What We Can Learn From How the 1918 Pandemic Ended – The New York Times by John M. Barry (NY Times, 1/31/22). I read Barry’s book in the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, The Great Influenza in the fall of 2020 and found it fascinating. Here are some lessons-learned for our current pandemic. #covid
• Is the United States in Another Housing Bubble? – The New York Times by Paul Krugman (NY Times, 1/28/22) #economics
• Why Book Ban Efforts Are Spreading Across the U.S. – The New York Times by Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth A. Harris (NY Times, 1/30/22). I’ll have more to say about book banning on Monday. #books #censorship
• America’s Favorite Pickup Truck Goes Electric by John Seabrook (New Yorker, 1/24/22). I appreciated the paradoy of “Rhinestone Cowboy” in the piece. #transportation #longform
• Fermat’s Theorem: The Texas Oil Heir Who Took on Math’s Impossible Dare – The New York Times by William J. Broad (NY Times, 1/31/22). I’m not a mathematician. I can hold my own thorugh derivitive calculus, but kind of hit a wall with integrals. Still, I’m always fascinated by mathematical subjects. #mathematics
• Tabula Rasa: Volume Three, by John McPhee | The New Yorker by John McPhee (New Yorker, 1/31/2022). I’ll read anything by McPhee. Over the last year or two he has been doing these “tabula rasa” pieces, writing about pieces that he never ended up writing, and they are always interesting. #writing #longform
• So Big (1932): “Epic of American Womanhood” – Melanie Novak by Melanie Novak (blog, 2/2/22) #film
• The Washington Football Team Has Rebranded as the Commanders – The New York Times by Ken Belson (NY Times, 2/2/22). #sports
• Why Are Oil Prices So High and Will They Stay That Way? – The New York Times by Clifford Krauss (NY Times, 2/2/22) #economics
• A Word the Press Should Remember – by James Fallows (Substack, 2/3/22). A great piece on how news media “frames” stories and what to watch out for in the framing. #reporting
• Did the Browns Lose on Purpose? – JoeBlogs by Joe Posnanski (Substack, 2/3/22). This was a fascinating look into why teams try to tank and how American sports differ from English sports in this regard. #sports #football
• Wealth Inequality Is the Highest Since World War II – The New York Times by Peter Coy (NY Times, 2/2/22) #economics
• January 2022 Jobs Report: Strong Gains Show Resilient Economy – The New York Times by Ben Casselman and Talmon Joseph Smith (NY Times, 4/4/22) #economics
• MLBPA declines mediation offer in MLB lockout talks – The Washington Post by Chelsea Janes (Washington Post, 4/4/22). I’m not optomistic about the season starting on time. And while I have been a long-time supporter of the players against the owners, it now look ridiculous to the average fan, who may only be able to afford to attend a game or two each season, if they are lucky, and who has to cope with local blackouts on TV. #baseball
• This Jack Reacher Is Going to Be Big – The New York Times by Elisabeth Vincentelli (NY Times, 2/3/22). I binge-watched the first season (having previously read the 26 books in the series). I’ll have more to say about the series around mid-February, but for now: it was amazing! #television
• Travel writer’s viral tweet about salary sparks pay transparency conversation – The Washington Post by Janay Kingsberry and Anne Branigin (Washington Post, 2/4/22) #writing
• Brady Shouldn’t Stand Pat – by Molly Knight – The Long Game (Substack / The Long Game, 2/1/22) #football

Any recommendations for books, articles or posts I should read? Let me know in the comments?

Written on February 5, 2022.