Bike Messengers & Ghost Candidates

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DC’s Last Bike Messengers

Washingtonian • 18 Sep 2024 • ~3600 words • Archive Link

In the bustling streets of Washington, D.C., bicycle messengers have become a rare breed. This piece dives into the lives of these couriers, like Chip Landis, who have navigated a changing landscape over decades, facing both the thrill of the ride and the challenges of a dwindling profession. Explore their unique subculture of bike messengers, as well as their role in paving the way for the growth of bike infrastructure in the city.

It was weird: On one hand, you held the lowest-status job in Washington. On the other, you moved in and out of the city’s most important rooms and buildings, ferrying documents connected to the country’s biggest court cases and political debates. Every messenger felt the dissonance.

Florida “Ghost Candidates” Scandal Puts the Entire Utility Sector on Trial

Mother Jones • 18 Sep 2024 • ~4450 words

This piece explores a political scandal in Florida involving "ghost candidates" - candidates who run for office without campaigning, often as spoilers to siphon votes from one side. It alleges that the utility company Florida Power & Light (FPL) financed and orchestrated these ghost-candidate campaigns to influence state elections and advance its legislative priorities. The article also examines the broader issue of how monopoly utility companies use lobbying and political meddling to maximize profits, sometimes at the expense of consumers and the environment.

From the utility’s perspective, expanding the state Senate’s Republican majority—by whatever means—would help fulfill its legislative priorities. Those priorities included escaping liability for damages related to power outages in the wake of Hurricane Irma; ousting J.R. Kelly, the state’s long-serving (unsympathetic) consumer utility watchdog; and winning approval from the Senate-confirmed Public Service Commission for Florida’s largest-ever hike in electricity rates.

Recommended Articles

The shapeshifter: who is the real Giorgia Meloni?

The Guardian • 19 Sep 2024 • ~6500 words

Giorgia Meloni has sparked intense debate since rising to power in Italy, with critics branding her a neo-fascist while others point to her political pragmatism. This article explores her background, the evolution of her party Brothers of Italy, and the key policy positions and controversies surrounding her government, raising questions about whether she is a "closet fascist or a conservative democrat". This is an excellent profile of a controversial politician.

Her top advisers – some of whom I interviewed at length – are intelligent and thoughtful people, very conservative politically, but far less extreme than the people around Trump, for example. At the same time, Meloni the shapeshifter presents different sides to different audiences. She is scrupulously moderate when addressing the EU and international audiences, but a populist firebrand on the campaign trail.

Maggie Cheung Walked Away From Acting 20 Years Ago, But Her Legend Endures

GQ • 18 Sep 2024 • ~5050 words • Archive Link

Maggie Cheung, a renowned Hong Kong actress, walked away from acting at the peak of her career over 20 years ago, but her legend and influence endure. This piece explores how Cheung's enigmatic persona and acclaimed performances have made her a revered figure among a new generation of filmmakers and fans, even as she has remained largely out of the public eye. The article also examines the reasons behind Cheung's decision to step away from acting and her pursuit of other creative endeavors.

In the years since In the Mood for Love came out, the image of Cheung in the film quickly ascended to that cinematic pantheon, becoming the 21st century equivalent of Marlene Dietrich in the suit from Morocco or Audrey Hepburn in the Givenchy dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

An Irish Bishop Was Buried in a Cathedral Vault. His Secrets Were Not.

New York Times • 18 Sep 2024 • ~2000 words • Archive Link

The article discusses the legacy and scandals surrounding Bishop Eamonn Casey, a prominent Catholic bishop in Ireland. It explores how new allegations of sexual abuse against a minor have emerged years after his death, reigniting demands to remove his remains from the cathedral crypt where he was buried. The article examines how the bishop's past transgressions and the church's handling of them continue to haunt his legacy.

In late July, seven years after Bishop Casey’s death, Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTÉ, aired a sobering television documentary asserting that an affair was the least of the man’s covered-up offenses. The disturbing allegations, including that he had begun sexually abusing a niece when she was 5, have now ignited demands that his remains be removed from the crypt — that he effectively be evicted from the sacred ground reserved for the former bishops of Galway.

The Woman Who Invented “Dark Fantasy.” How Gertrude Barrows Bennett Popularized the Fantastic

Literary Hub • 18 Sep 2024 • ~2300 words

Gertrude Barrows Bennett, known as Francis Stevens, is often credited with inventing dark fantasy, but her influence on genre fiction is far broader. This piece dives into how her innovative storytelling—spanning themes of alternate worlds and social critique—shaped modern speculative fiction, all while juggling the challenges of her time. If you’re curious about the woman who helped redefine genres for future writers, this article is worth a read.

Using tales about the clash of alternate worlds and values to reassess scientific ideas and social relations emerging at the turn of the twentieth century (many of which are still very relevant), she innovated in speculative subgenres including but not limited to: the dark fantasy, the parallel worlds story, the superhero origin tale, and the feminist eco-utopia.

The DNA Dreams of the New Eugenics

Los Angeles Review of Books • 18 Sep 2024 • ~2750 words • Archive Link

Patricia Williams delves into the unsettling implications of "new-genics" and the biases embedded within modern genetic research. This essay examines how the pursuit of genetic "improvement" and the quest to identify genes for high intelligence raises ethical questions about the potential misuse of these capabilities, particularly regarding social control and discrimination. The article also connects these scientific endeavors to the rise of far-right political ideologies that promote exclusionary and authoritarian visions for society.

There are lots of ways that intelligence might be measured and many critiques of the messiness and cultural ambiguity of the very attempt. Whatever the problems involved in deciphering what such testing signifies, the danger of such new-genic thinking arises not just in the tests’ translation into effective norms and standards but also in the social uses to which they are put. This is particularly true when they are used as markers of exclusion.

“Downton Abbey” but with NDAs: how to be a butler to the super-rich

The Economist • 13 Sep 2024 • ~3300 words • Archive Link

Take a glimpse into the world of elite butlers who cater to the ultra-wealthy. This piece explores the training and etiquette required to become a butler for the super-rich, including the need to maintain strict confidentiality through non-disclosure agreements. It also discusses the evolving role of butlers today, revealing how they balance traditional etiquette with the often bizarre demands of their affluent employers.

Compared with other positions someone might pursue among the super-rich, such as “house manager”, personal assistant or yacht crew member, becoming a butler requires esoteric knowledge and ritualised behaviour. It requires someone to buy into the same fantasy as their employers – that their job is a calling, the pinnacle of service – even as it carries the financial and personal risks that come from entering an unregulated profession in which your career depends on the whims of a powerful individual. As one recruiter told me, butlers need “almost a demeaning attitude”.

Democracy Needs the Loser

The New Yorker • 24 Aug 2024 • ~2700 words • Archive Link

The article discusses the importance of election losers accepting defeat in a democracy and the risks of violence and unrest when they do not. It examines factors that can contribute to post-election violence, such as winner-take-all political systems, parties organized along ethnic or religious lines, and the undermining of democratic institutions.

But equally important in a democracy is how the loser reacts. If he or she does not accept the vote, then portions of a country can become ungovernable. Buhari’s devoted followers did what many, throughout history, have done when their favored leader faced defeat: they turned to violence. Democracies survive only if losers accept the results.

This is the secret system that covers up police misconduct — and ensures problem officers can get hired again

San Francisco Chronicle • 17 Sep 2024 • ~7000 words

Through this investigation we learn about a secret system in California where police departments use "clean-record agreements" to cover up officer misconduct and allow problem officers to get hired again at other law enforcement agencies. It reveals how these agreements obscure terminations, reverse sustained findings of misconduct, and enable officers accused of serious wrongdoing to secure new jobs in law enforcement and other sensitive positions. The article also examines the challenges in trying to reform this system and hold agencies accountable.

Those whose conduct is hidden by these deals — also known as “clean-record agreements” — include a deputy accused of groping a woman held in a county jail, an officer who investigators determined falsified a report to link a man to a crime, and a deputy who was found to have violated department policy when he fatally shot a teenager as he lay wounded.

Explaining Chinese Food—and China

Los Angeles Review of Books • 18 Sep 2024 • ~3300 words • Archive Link

This piece reviews two recent books that aim to deepen Western understanding of Chinese cuisine and its cultural significance. It explores how Chinese food has been perceived and misunderstood in the West, and how these books grapple with the complexities of modern Chinese food culture and its relationship to broader social, political, and economic changes in China. The article also examines the challenges of writing about China for foreign audiences and the potential influence of the Chinese government's push for "cultural confidence" on such works.

Food was becoming a literal manifestation of the emerging moral ties, and respect for the elderly became a way for monarchs to brandish their Confucian credentials. The relevance of the banquet in modern Chinese society can still be found easily today: many dishes across China have adopted the “Eight Treasures” format, from porridges to teas, while filial piety remains a central pillar of Chinese culture.

How Japan caught up with the West (also: Part 2)

Wrong Side of History • 18 Sep 2024 • ~2900 words

The story of Japan's transformation during the Meiji Restoration is a journey of adaptation and resilience in the face of Western imperialism. This article explores how Japan embraced foreign ideas while fiercely guarding its cultural identity, navigating the complexities of modernization and nationalism. It's an interesting look at how a nation sought to redefine itself on the global stage. Some of Part 2 of the article is subscribers-only, but the rest is still a good read.

The key to Japan’s cultural revolution was what sociologists call isomorphism, but most people call ‘imitation’. It is said of Japan that the key to its success is ‘adapt, adopt, adept’ and they proved good at all three. Just as Japanese adoption of Tang-style court caps was a form ‘ancient global isomorphism’, wearing British frock coats was simply ‘modern global isomorphism’.

A little history of the anchovy

Engelsberg ideas • 13 Sep 2024 • ~1450 words

If you think anchovies are just a pizza topping, think again. This exploration of this humble fish reveals its rich history in Western cuisine and its surprising connections to culture, class, and identity. The journey from ancient Rome to modern gastronomy shows how a small ingredient can carry such significant weight in our culinary stories.

it is the Romans who first put it on the food map through their fish sauces, of which garum is the best known. The sauces were probably all produced using the same method: layers of fish were alternated with layers of salt in jars or vats and left to cure, often in direct sunlight, for anything up to a year. Its potency proved ambivalent: Horace called it a ‘table delicacy’; he also said ‘It stinks’.