Confirmation bias

Surprise me View in browser October 05, 2018 Celia Pym, Darned Fingertips    This week We've got Rebecca Traister on the podcast, talking about—what else?—women's anger, and why it's politically important. I'm actually trying to stay in the rage zone and keep myself from moving into resignation and complacency, which I can feel creeping around the corner. On that note: Are you registered to vote in this year's midterm election? Are all of your friends registered? The deadlines are fast approaching—many of them in the next few days: I'm reading How fraud formed Trump, and why cruelty is the point of his administration. Migrant children are being moved to new detention camps under cover of darkness. Who is really "the resistance"? How race affects our willingness to forgive bad teen behavior. Nikki Darling and Myriam Gurba on surviving violence and making art. Men grapple with the fact that they've been bystanders to and perpetrators of violence. How men can engage with gender in a more meaningful way. Joy Press interviews Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner about his new show—and about the misconduct allegations against him. How we know Kavanaugh is lying. What is a judge, if not a teacher? Against character witnesses. A group of Latina women across the country have been turning their homes into shelters for abused immigrant women. How black women are turning out voters in the South. The movement to restore felons' voting rights in Florida. Nicole Chung on complicating the transracial adoptee narrative. The last good thing on Twitter. Who benefits from exaggerating the threat of A.I. robots. Taxi drivers talk about their depression. A catalog of people's loneliest moments. A 17-year-old Palestinian activist describes her months in prison. The genius of Sandra Oh. Jessica Hopper profiles Cat Power's Chan Marshall. The story of Eartha Kitt in Istanbul. Alaskan Native women revive a tattoo tradition. The racist history of the word "spook." Stop erasing trans drag queens. A gay man on the pleasures of being cruised. Every memoir by a presidential mistress. The person to blame for adults on scooters. Let's hear it for mediocrity. Members only Become a paying member for just $5/year. [This is a secure site that takes all major credit cards but, unfortunately, not PayPal. For now.] I'd love your support. What are you missing? Click here to see what these pie charts are all about. I'm looking & listening The Dream, a fantastic new podcast about multi-level marketing (aka pyramid schemes). Queerly Beloved, another excellent new podcast, about chosen family. "Vote 'Em Out" by Willie Nelson. GIFspiration Wow, this week. I endorse DIY T-shirts with iron-on letters. A quick, easy, no-sew way to make your beliefs known to the world, because it's hard to carry a sign while also shopping for groceries or going through security check at the airport. And as long as you don't put them in the dryer, they'll last through multiple protests.  (Tip: If you run out of a letter you need, you can almost always frankenstein a few together. Those Rs on the second t-shirt are actually Ps with little bits of Is attached to them.) You endorse Survived and Punished—a coalition of allies fighting to, in their words, "decriminalize efforts to survive domestic and sexual violence." "You might remember their early work—their successful efforts to free Marissa Alexander, who was incarcerated for firing a warning shot into a wall to protect herself from her abusive former partner while he was beating her. They now have three affiliated chapters, in CA, NY, and Chicago, and they fight for both short-term change (get survivors of gender violence out of jail) and long-term change (prison abolition). I endorse them for a million reasons, but especially these two: Following their work has taught me SO MUCH about mass incarceration, on a deeper and more nuanced level than popular discussion around the issue, and I believe in their ability to succeed—their vision, strategy, and work is both aspirational and grounded. Plus they make offer a ton of resources to help you learn and get involved." -Stephanie P. Reminder that this space is for things that YOU—you, the wonderful subscribers to this newsletter—recommend! Submit a link here. IRL This week, find me at some great literary events in Los Angeles: Oct 8: In conversation with Heather Havrilesky about her new essay collection Oct 10: In conversation with Leah Dieterich about her new memoir, Vanishing Twins And then I'll be on tour with Call Your Girlfriend! Oct 21, San Francisco Oct 23, Portland Oct 24, Seattle Oct 26, Chicago Oct 28, Minneapolis Oct 30, Washington, DC Nov 2, Philadelphia Nov 3, Brooklyn Nov 4, Somerville, MA [sold out] The Classifieds Popular Information is a new political newsletter for people who give a damn. Get in-depth, no B.S. information about things that really matter, Monday-Thursday. No advertisements, no trolls, no Nazis. Subscribe at popular.info. Tired of talking into an empty void? Take this FREE CLASS class: 5 Writing Mistakes That Are Killing Your Sales and get the 5 easy fixes that’ll take you from “crickets” to clamoring fans and buyers. Hurry, doors close Wednesday! GET VISIBLE for your ideas + your work (not your lifestyle). Learn how with this social media strategy + workshop for feminist entrepreneurs Win 6-mo of Little Feminist Book Club here. All entrants get their "25 Must-Read Feminist Kids' Classics" PDF. So it's a win, win, win. Join TGIMonday to add some love to your work week. All the best recommendations for your week, delivered to your inbox every Monday AM 👏. Sign up for the Sunday Soother, a newsletter that helps ease the Sunday scaries. Full of fun links, fun products, and ways to self-reflect. Do you want customers, readers, or subscribers? You gotta ask for them. Click here for ad rates and availability. Testimonials "Hey @annfriedman sitting in Zagreb reading your weekly with a glass of wine! Wish this is how I read your newsletter every weekend" -Natalie Wossene. The happiest hour! "I'm surviving my post-Italy, post-Kavanaugh weekend by reading 3 weeks of articles curated by @annfriedman in her email newsletter. (Sunday will be all @lauraolin's curations. These ladies are saving me.)" -Julie Bestry. It's true: Laura Olin's newsletter is also great! This newsletter is making a list of forever enemies. Spitefully forward it to any GOP senator who isn't named Lisa Murkowski. AF WEEKLY Subscribe Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Manage paid membership MORE ANN Email me About me Writing archive Public speaking Rent my brain Manage Preferences | Unsubscribe | Ladyswagger, Inc. PO Box 26932 | Los Angeles, CA 90026 © 2018