“Either we all live in a decent world, or nobody does,” wrote George Orwell. It’s from his essay, “The Lion and the Unicorn,” which was a prose-poem in some ways to the quiet virtues of his native England. It so affected me that I actually remember the moment I was reading it. I was a 13 year old on the top deck of a double-decker bus, the windows opaque with condensation, the air thick with cigarette smoke, the skies dark outside, rain falling steadily, making my way home from school.

      Decency. This was Orwell’s deep theme . . .  Orwell saw it primarily in ordinary people, especially the English, and rarer among intellectuals: “It is not easy to crash your way into the literary intelligentsia if you happen to be a decent human being” . . .

This is an excerpt from Andrew Sullivan’s Substack. We urge you to read the whole piece there.

The argument in favor:  People love treating things as conscious. . . . People are already personifying AI! Half of the youth have a GPT-4o boyfriend. . . .

The argument against:   . . . AI companies have an incentive to make AIs that seem conscious and humanlike, insofar as people will feel more comfortable interacting with them. But they have an opposite incentive to make AIs that don’t seem too conscious and humanlike, lest customers start feeling uncomfortable (I just want to generate slop, not navigate an independent being with its own hopes and dreams who might be secretly judging my prompts). . . .

In honor of the holiday, we’re delighted to reprint our favorite Thanksgiving recipe, a classic dish for this perilous, querulous era.

***

Ingredients

35 years of family squabbles, still stewing

1 gallon of raw anger

1/2 gallon of steaming rage

1 pint of unadulterated guilt

2 quarts of mild frustration

6 cups of exasperation

2 pints of low-fat antagonism

3 pounds of constant complaining

4 ounces of raw milk, spilled

2 ounces of crying, over spilled milk

3 tablespoons of minced irritation (or use a dollop of spite).

2 teaspoons of annoyance extract

½ teaspoon of bad timing

¼ teaspoon of touchiness

A sprinkle of irritation

A dash of accusation

A hint of reproach

A splash of annoyance

A pinch of reality

A dusting of growing dissatisfaction …

It turns out there are considerably more than ten annoying things about modern life today. In fact, there are at least these ten more:

10: Weather apps that predict a “a 5-percent chance of precipitation” or say “light rain is expected to start in 43 minutes” as you walk outside into an already howling monsoon.

9: The sticky residue left behind after you try to peel the price tag off anything, leaving you with a half-torn label that will never ever come off no matter how much you rub and scrub.

8: Traffic lights that stay red for so long and then, just at the moment you look away for one second to adjust the radio, the light turns green and the car behind you honks like you’ve committed a felony.

7: Restaurant waiters who suddenly come over to your table to ask how everything is precisely when your mouth is filled with 14 cubic inches of eggplant parmigiana and you can only respond with a thumbs-up while trying not to choke. . . .

      James Marriott has composed a particularly eloquent elegy for reading, now that humanity seems to be turning in another direction: toward screening—toward the smartphone. Marriott’s elegy is also particularly frightening, for he sees “the post-literate world [as] characterized by simplicity, ignorance and stagnation.” This website excerpted a chunk of Marriott’s depressing argument the day before the essay you are now reading is being published.

      And how can any of us whose thoughts have been formed in large part by newspapers, magazines and books—by descriptions and propositions, by sentences—not feel some sadness watching them being made redundant. How can we avoid some disquiet about the ongoing triumph of that flickering, know-it-all, video-jukebox-busybody, smart-alecky phone—to whose siren song even we often enough succumb?  

      . . . But I wanted to hear Marriott out not because he is right but because his argument—which is showing up in many forms lately, forms not often as literate and eloquent—is, I believe, profoundly and importantly and demonstrably wrong. . . .

. . . If the reading revolution represented the greatest transfer of knowledge to ordinary men and women in history, the screen revolution represents the greatest theft of knowledge from ordinary people in history.

      The transmission of knowledge—the most ancient function of the university — is breaking down in front of our eyes. Writers like Shakespeare, Milton and Jane Austen whose works have been handed on for centuries can no longer reach the next generation of readers. They are losing the ability to understand them.

      The tradition of learning is like a precious golden thread of knowledge running through human history linking reader to reader through time. It last snapped during the collapse of the Western Roman Empire as the barbarian tides beat against the frontier, cities shrank and libraries burned or decayed.

      That golden thread is breaking for the second time. . . .

This is an excerpt from Cultural Capital, a Substack written by James Marriott. We recommend that you read the entire piece there.

      This pains me to say it, but I believe it’s true: Donald Trump is the most influential president of our lifetime. Maybe the most influential person.

      The influence hasn’t been good, of course; it’s been terrible. But I think there’s no denying that Trump has had more influence on government, on politics, on economics, on racial ideas, on American culture than any of his predecessors over the last 75 years or so. . . .

Without a shred of political or governing experience and a generally dishonorable backstory, he ratified the cliché that anyone can grow up to become president. Even before his first election, he had fundamentally changed how politics is performed, talked about and consumed. He elevated social-media-driven politics and direct-to-voter communication. In Steve Bannon’s words, he knew how to “flood the zone with shit,” obtaining constant media saturation—and it all worked and is mostly still working. . . .

      It doesn’t take organized book burnings to mute free speech in today’s MAGA America. At Indiana University, it took only a disgruntled college student, an influential U.S. senator and a cowardly university administration.

      The story barely caused a ripple in a week that saw the collapse of Democratic courage to stand up for affordable health care, a lurid dump of Jeffrey Epstein emails, the beating of U.S. war drums off Venezuela, ICE’s invasion of another U.S. city (Charlotte, NC) and yet another Trump turnaround on tariffs as his administration scrambles to stabilize his plunging poll numbers in the face of rising prices.

The Indiana University saga, however, deserves a lot more attention, particularly since the impact of the university’s actions could prove chilling not only in Indiana but on campuses across the country. . . .

(This is a conversation between Abbott—who believes, as so many young people do today, that the end is nigh—and Ether—who doesn’t—from Jason Pargin’s novel, I’m Starting To Worry About This Black Box Of Doom, as quoted on Scott Alexander’s blog, Astral Codex Ten.)

      Ether groaned and put her head in her hands. “Okay,” she said, trying again. “How about this: What do you think the world will look like in the future, post-collapse?”

      Abbott thought for a moment as if picturing it. “Uh, terrified people scrounging for food and running from bandits. Rampant disease, infrastructure breakdown. All the stuff from the movies, I guess.”

       “No internet?”

       “I wouldn’t think so.”

       “No electricity? No running water, no sewage? No hospitals?”

       “Probably not.”

       “Got it. So, what I’m about to say isn’t an opinion, it’s not a matter of personal philosophy or politics. It is an objective fact that what you’re describing is how virtually all humans have lived through all of history. Until, that is, about thirty years ago. . . .

      . . . Some older studies—the ones I really liked—suggested that low amounts of alcohol, particularly red wine, might actually reduce certain cardiovascular risks. And so for decades, red wine was often said to be good for you—especially for your heart. Lab findings seemed to indicate that compounds like resveratrol and polyphenols in red wine might protect blood vessels, reduce inflammation or improve cholesterol.

      Not so fast.

      The American Heart Association now suggests those studies were mistaken, and that risks of drinking wine, red or white, even at low levels, may outweigh any possible benefits.

      Taken all together, it means there is no completely safe level of alcohol consumption. And to be honest, I am a little bereft. . . .

What are the seven most transformative ideas humans have had—ever? Here is my list, counting down. What would you add or subtract? Is there a woman who—despite all the difficulty women have had getting heard—should have been included? Are there ideas from Asia that should have made this list?

. . . 3.  Rousseau, Voltaire and Diderot: “Liberty, equality, fraternity” 

There was a revolution in each of these three words—not only an assault upon monarchy but the end of inherited orders, ranks, and privileges and a call for us to recognize our own brotherhood.

      “All men are created equal”—despite not being true and, outrageously, leaving out women, sisters—was pretty damn powerful too.

      Yes, we all have different abilities and different resources and different luck. But shouldn’t we all—and, over time, that “all” would finally grow to include different races and different genders and different sexual preferences—be free to pursue happiness and have equal rights. . . .

Ten of the most annoying things about modern life today, not including, of course, the president of the United States:

10. Produce bags at the supermarket that you can’t figure out which end to open and then once you figure that out which end to open you still can’t open without rubbing the two sides together and hoping they come apart.

9. Political emails beginning with the phrase, “Will you chip in today”? And political emails, usually from a candidate you’ve never heard, ending with “Will you chip in today?”

8. Gas station pumps that start playing loud audio/video channels as soon as you start pumping. . . .

      My generation of 70- and 80-year-olds is experiencing the ravages of age.

      Around every corner there is an ache or a pain and something requiring a cat scan, X-Ray or an MRI. Of course, when they give you these scans, they find other things that were never known. In the last year my husband and I have been hounded by sciatica, lower back pain, an ovarian cancer scare, a kidney cyst and a TMI mini stroke.

      And we are super healthy. We eat right, exercise, get outdoors, sleep well, enjoy life and have lots of friends and family to play with. . . .

Here’s some of what we have seen recently that might be of particular interest to our generation. (Apologies for any pay walls.) Send us what you have seen at WritingAboutOurGeneration@gmail.com.‍ ‍

• She hiked the entire Appalachian Trail at 80, unaware she’d just made history, Sydney Page, Washington Post,Oct. 29, 2025

• How Pickleball Took Over Thousands of Tennis Courts, as Seen From the Sky, Ethan Singer, New York Times, Sept. 1,2025

• What Sleep Is, Vladyslav Vyazovskiy, Aeon, Oct. 14, 2025

• Many seniors get cheaper medicine from Canada. That might become harder. Shannon Najmabadi, Washington Post, Oct. 18, 2025

• One Four Two Five Old Sunset Trail:On the last days of Gene Hackman, Joy Williams, Harper’s , Oct. 2025

• No amount of alcohol is safe, at least for dementia risk, study finds, Richard Sima, Washington Post,Oct. 15, 2025

• The Mobility Workout: Six exercises to keep you moving well as you age, Jen Murphy, New York Times, Jan. 15, 2025

• Long Lives Helped Early Humans Thrive,Michael D. Gurven, Nautilus, Sept. 16, 2025

• I’m Not Getting Any Better,Roz Warren, New York Times, Sept. 13, 2012

• Listen to Jane Goodall’s final — and urgent — message, Benji Jones, Vox,Oct 1, 2025

• Is it true that …you get shorter as you get older?, Kate Lloyd, The Guardian, Oct. 6, 2025

• Want to keep your brain sharp as you age? Science may have a recipe. Richard Sima, Washington Post, July 31, 2025

• Unlocking the Secrets to Living to 100, Dominique Mosbergen, Time, Oct. 2, 2025

Click for more

This is an excerpt from Rebecca Solnit’s Meditations in an Emergency newsletter.

While people talk about all the forms of resistance we should engage in, most of these are very specific acts outside our everyday lives–joining groups like Indivisible, showing up at protests, writing or calling politicians, donating, voting. They matter.

      But a really significant part of the work is just speaking up, and not just in public–letting people know where you stand, talking about what matters, speaking with accuracy, clarity and conviction about the situations we face, standing on principle, encouraging people to know that we have power and can use it, refusing to be swayed by those posturing defeatists who pretend that there's nothing we can do and the outcome has already been decided. And yeah, signs, buttons, t-shirts, and stickers can do some of this work too. . . .

      Seven million people—perhaps the most in history—out in the streets protesting.

      An election night sweep, an utter rejection of he who was not directly on the ballot.

      Poll after poll saying the other guys are at fault for the government shutdown.

      Sinking favorability numbers for the asshole-in-chief.

      And then he is vociferously booed at, of all places, an NFL game.

      So, obviously, the time was right for the opposition party, the Democrats, my Democrats, buoyed by pretty much everything and everyone to keep fighting, to totally cave. . . .

Everything below, including: the image, “A Note Before You Read,” the snooty final title suggestion and all the first person stuff was produced by ChatGPT 5. I will however correct one error: I believe it prepared by reading just one of my writings.

I Asked AI to Write in My Style: How Did It Do?

A Note Before You Read

I asked an AI to write in my style. I fed it a few of my essays, said, “Sound like me,” and waited to see if a machine could stumble into something resembling human thought.

The result is below. At times it is eerily convincing, at times awkwardly overconfident, and at all times a little unsettling. It’s a reminder that style can be copied—but judgment, curiosity, and the stubborn insistence on meaning remain stubbornly human. . . .

      Recently, my husband and I attended an ‘80s dance party at Cat’s Cradle, a local music venue. I love to dance and rarely have the opportunity to do it. Although a dance party wasn’t my husband’s idea of a fun Saturday night, he was game. A couple of music venues in our area occasionally hold ‘80s and ‘90s dance nights, and I was curious to see what it was like. In our era of digital and automated everything, I was excited at the prospect of watching two humans spin vinyl on turntables.

      We expected the crowd to be at least 70 percent over the age of 55, given the era of music the DJs would be playing. Not so. Rather, most of the people appeared to be in their 20s. There were couples, people in small groups, people alone—all who just wanted to dance.

      An older couple got things started. Then a man, who looked to be in his 70s, joined them, grinning and swaying near the sidelines. Slightly less inhibited after a glass of wine, I turned to my husband and said, “let’s do this!” and we hit the dance floor. . . .

      For the last several weeks—well, maybe even a month or so—I’ve had a medical issue. It’s a troublesome rash, a rash that won’t go away. Of course, I didn’t want to go see a doctor about it.

      My wife, on the other hand, developed a pain in the neck at the end of last week. It’s quite sore and stiff. She, quickly and responsibly, has been to the doctor twice.

      Why is it that men, including our generation, are—like me—generally more reluctant to see doctors compared to women?

      That’s not just a limited anecdotal judgment based on nothing more than my intuition. There’s research and statistics backing it up. . . .

      The Blue Wave victories in so many elections across the nation this week are significant—not just because Democrats won in many races, but because they won those races decisively and on a raft of issues. 

      Results like these seem to reflect not just voter anger on one hot button issue, but on many issues, from immigration to the economy, to voting rights, to redistricting. And that bodes ill for a Republican Party that, as Jamelle Bouie in the New York Times said, “has tied its entire identity to the man from Mar-a-Lago.”

      Consider the huge wins for governor in Virginia and New Jersey—both, as it happens, won by more centrist Democratic women, and each at or near landslide proportions. (For the geeks: a landslide victory generally is thought of as a win by 15 percentage points or more.) . . .