71 in NYC. In some sense you have to admire this absolute unit
"It’s appalling to me that I even have to defend myself against a television show. These are not creative embellishments of personality. They are assertions about conduct — and they are false." www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/o...
George AI is giving David Strathairn
Last year when I was checking into a hotel, the desk person was wearing Meta glasses. I kindly asked them to take them off. They were annoyed. I said, “I do not consent to you looking at my credit card and ID with Meta glasses on.” My instincts were correct: www.bbc.com/news/article...
One woman who called the State Department helpline looking for help said they told her to "stop ranting and raving" and hung up on her.
Another woman said they asked her how to spell Oman.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/t...
When we talk about Baby Boomers not getting off the stage: In 1997, the US president was born in 1946.
In 2007, the US president was born in 1946.
In 2017, the US president was born in 1946.
And next year in 2027? The US president will have been born in 1946.
Powerful words from KC Concepcion: “I wanna be a role model for those who may be scared to speak up, who may be afraid and not confident in yourself. … Don’t let a[n] outside person’s thoughts, opinions get in the way of you being great, of you achieving something in life.” ❤️
"But Tom [Junod] doesn’t write; he excavates. He digs for people’s full, messy truth on the page. Who leaps at the opportunity to do that to those he cherishes most?" @johnhendrickson.bsky.social for Esquire
www.esquire.com/entertainmen...
Lindsey's substack is one of my favorites, what a thrill to pop up there this morning
NYT OpEd asked me to explain vibe coding to a general audience, and I took a swing. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/o...
Deliveristas ending their shift and about to head home over the Williamsburg Bridge, though the blizzard. One of them, Salvador,tells me he’s happy for the cutoff by the city.
“This is more dangerous than last snowstorm, harder to move in,” he tells me in Spanish.
“There’s a recognition of people’s pain that you don’t have unless you’ve been through some extraordinary pain yourself,” @bronwendickey.bsky.social tells @johnhendrickson.bsky.social about @tomjunod.bsky.social.
New: A comedian set up a fake ICE tip line as a joke. Then 100 calls flooded in: neighbors ratting on neighbors, a teacher reporting a kindergartener. Fans say the viral TikToks revealed deportation's "banality of evil." Conservatives say he should be in prison wapo.st/4kM4qbF
The doctor Jeremy Boal helped convince Governor Kathy Hochul to pass New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act. He may be one of the first people to use it.
For @nymag.com, I drove upstate to meet Dr. Jeremy Boal, who is devoting his final time on earth to bringing nuance to the charged public debate around Medical Aid in Dying: nymag.com/intelligence...
My friend @johnhendrickson.bsky.social has written an honest, beautiful Esquire profile of journalist Tom Junod, whom you might know for his stories about Mister Rogers or the 9/11 Falling Man. The article explores masculinity, secrets, and betrayal, and it's told with John's big open heart.
When I wanted to write my first book, Tom Junod kindly offered to provide a blurb for my proposal (he was a fan of my covers blog). I had no real public profile and have no doubt his stamp of approval helped me get it published. Never met the guy but will be forever grateful. Excited for his book.
Thanks Feed Me! www.esquire.com/entertainmen...
This was one of the most daunting, intimidating, and fulfilling stories I’ve ever done. With thanks to J.R. Moehringer, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Wright Thompson, Bronwen Dickey, and many others for their reflections + insights on someone with a singular life and career www.esquire.com/entertainmen...
To me and countless others, Tom is the Michael Jordan of magazine writing. And now, at 67, he’s about to publish something that had occupied his head for so much of his life. What took him so long? What was he afraid of? I spent some time with Tom in Georgia trying to figure it out...
(2/3)
Mini-thread:
A few months ago my old boss Michael Sebastian texted and asked if I’d be up for a rather meta freelance assignment: an Esquire profile of one of Esquire’s greatest profilers, Tom Junod. (1/3...)
I wrote about the time Jesse Jackson brought the movement to Sesame Street. [giftie] www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/a...
thinking about the conversation I had with Jesse Jackson in 2019:
"The truth of slavery—that Africans subsidized America’s wealth—that truth will not go away. It’s buried right now, but as each generation becomes much more serious, it will be grappled with." www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
Unadulterated joy
"Arguing intelligence & adjacent traits are biologically determined served a clear function for Epstein, who treated women as subordinate. It’s equally unsurprising that the powerful people he cultivated might come up with a natural, objective explanation for their perch at the top of society"
spent some time in Chicago, and also at a very nice library at Yale, trying to understand JB Pritzker www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
My first cover story at @nymag.com! I went to Utah to figure out how everything got so Mormon: www.thecut.com/article/morm...
the Spectator accidentally recycled a subhed from a previous day’s article about Tehran