Clay Risen

No son, they are not "magically delicious." The workers made them delicious. This is a slogan meant to mystify the social conditions of labor

Gabor Boritt, Refugee Who Became Expert on Lincoln, Dies at 86

Thanks to @risenc.bsky.social for this obituary of Civil War historian Gabor Boritt in The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/b...

The end of an era: Boeing is retiring its final 787-8 test aircraft, ZA004, after 16 years as a propulsion and development workhorse. Now, one last flight for the flamingo. 🦩https://theaircurrent.com/aircraft-development/boeing-retires-final-787-test-aircraft-after-16-years/

The Whiskey World Is Reeling, but This Company Has Bigger Troubles

Some cosmic journalistic symmetry here. @risenc.bsky.social broke the Nearest Green story for the NYT back in 2016. A decade later, he's reporting on the maybe-existential court fight unfolding between the founders of a distillery created in Nearest's name and their lender.

A line from Kant that’s been ricocheting around my head a lot for the past year: “Whoever wills the end wills also the necessary means.” We’re going to get a lot of doe-eyed protestations from folks who “just wanted immigration laws enforced” & couldn’t be bothered to contempate what that entailed.

a presença de intelectuais (inclusive de esquerda) e gestores de universidades nos arquivos simplesmente não me surpreende

This is the first time someone I genuinely admire and have a lot of respect for has been revealed to have associated with Epstein. I have to say: it doesn’t feel great!

Everybody knows that Pupper just won Downhill Gold

a man in a suit and tie is dancing in front of a group of flags ALT: a man in a suit and tie is dancing in front of a group of flags

A lot of people made fun of Bush dancing with the West African Dance Company—and sure, it's funny—but this was good.

Middle aged white guy unfamiliar with something culturally nonwhite recognizes it's a happy, fun celebration, and welcomes it, participating though awkward.

That was much better.

Review: Alexandra Lange on Danish Modern "Danish Modern" first drew attention in 1949 with a pair of chairs, but by the time American manufacturers got done with it, you could buy a recliner, a stereo, a television, in a style that had with ...

And some more here! books.substack.com/p/review-ale...

I saw. Though it raises additional questions. Does Bard not vet its donors, even a little? It’s not like Epstein’s conviction was a secret.

Please keep me posted

The same way they all do. Easily and without consequences

“In several emails to Mr. Epstein, Dr. Botstein mentioned or quoted Vladimir Nabokov, the novelist….Mr. Nabokov wrote “Lolita,” a 1955 novel about an intellectual who becomes sexually obsessed with a 12-year-old. Mr. Epstein kept a first edition of the novel in his Manhattan townhouse.”

In the interest of full disclosure my daughter goes to a Bard HS and I am so fucking pissed off right now.

New Email Shows Bard’s President Thanked Epstein for Caribbean Trip

Botstein invited a known pedophile to a high school he oversaw. How can he possibly survive this?

“Mr. Clay…loved his country partly because it was his own, but mostly because it was a free country; and he burned with zeal for its advancement, prosperity and glory, because he saw in such the advancement…of human liberty, human right and human nature.”
www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/spee...

Jack Daniel’s is owned by Brown-Forman but it’s the Johnnie Walker of the US whiskey market. George Dickel in turn is owned by Diageo (owner of JW), but it’s unquestionably the Old Forester of US whiskeys. That I should shut up now should be plainly obvious to all

Did you know that the legendary historian Samuel Eliot Morrison received a commission from FDR to join the WWII Navy & write its history from the inside, & that he narrowly escaped a kamikaze pilot among other episodes? That & more in today’s Valentine’s blog post! @hcrichardson.bsky.social 🗃️

today's incredible piece of lore is that apparently Jon Hamm is a Bad Bunny superfan and has acquired the nickname Juan Jamón

If they can do this to find a dog, they can do this to find anyone. That’s terrifying.

"Fear and Fury" author Heather Ann Thompson on how the demonization of four young Black men who were shot by NYC "subway vigilante" Bernie Goetz in 1984 marked a national rebirth of white rage that continues today

So uh Ring just up and said they've got a huge centralized private surveillance network they can leverage all at once huh

Red China? Johnnie Ray?

Whew, this new ending to the updated story

Nothing was more Washington Post than Marty Weil starting his night shift by walking around the newsroom saying hello to every single person at their desks

After non-endorsement, 250,000 subscribers cancel The Washington Post Post staffers press for answers on loss of readers and trust after owner Jeff Bezos explained why the paper would no longer endorse presidential candidates.

It just guts me that the Washington Post lost a *quarter of a million* subscribers because of Bezos's sucking up to Trump, and his reaction is, "Obviously the Post should stop covering books and international affairs."
www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/...

YouTube video by WarrenZevonArchive Warren Zevon “Join Me in L.A.” Live at the Capitol Theatre on 10/1/1982

answering the call www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqco...

Federal Vaccine Advisers Take Aim at Covid Shots

Federal vaccine advisers are setting their sights on the next targets: the mRNA Covid shots, and vaccines offered to pregnant women. One panelist, Robert Malone, says he is “trying to force FDA to come clean” on data showing harms of COVID shots
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/h...

'Immutable' follows a group of young student debaters The documentary 'Immutable' follows a group of students from the Washington Urban Debate League. Norm Ornstein, founder of the Matthew Harris Ornstein Summer Debate Institute, joins Morning Joe to dis...

A wonderful segment. The Matthew Harris Ornstein Summer Debate Institute and the documentary 'Immutable' are such beautiful and inspirational tributes to your son. May his memory be an eternal blessing.❤️‍🩹🙏🕊
www.ms.now/morning-joe/...