I loved talking about romance and books on @kqedforum.bsky.social today! Listen here or wherever you get podcasts for the full hour, and for my thoughts on YEARNING podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
Emma Sarappo
@emmasarappo.bsky.social
a books editor at The Atlantic and spreadsheet lady for its union. once described as "friendly" on eBird
Pay special attention to Bob's Sith outfit. You think at first it must be some kind of ceremonial Vatican garb—wait. Computer, enhance: It's a zip up hoodie, and there is also a hat underneath
Ray Padgett@raypadgett.bsky.social · last wk.Bob Dylan met the Pope earlier today! via Vatican News
“Darmok” gets a lot of shit now for being an unrealistic portrayal of how language would develop, but it’s really an accidental parable about becoming too online and forgetting how to communicate with people who haven’t memorized 12,000+ posts
Patrick Stewart took “Star Trek” as seriously as any Shakespearean role—and his performance turned Jean-Luc Picard into a valiant lead for the ages, @emmasarappo.bsky.social writes:
The Leader Patrick Stewart Knew How to Play
The late actor exemplified the wisdom and sophistication of his most famous character, Jean-Luc Picard.
bit.ly
As a little girl watching TNG with my dad, I felt Picard was the obvious template of a man in leadership: calm, fair, collected. Today, the world seems to prize brashness and violence, especially in men—and that makes Stewart's on-screen persona worth celebrating www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
The Leader Patrick Stewart Knew How to Play
The late actor exemplified the wisdom and sophistication of his most famous character, Jean-Luc Picard.
theatlantic.com
In TNG terms: Yesterday—Kiazi's children, their faces wet. www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
The Leader Patrick Stewart Knew How to Play
The late actor exemplified the wisdom and sophistication of his most famous character, Jean-Luc Picard.
theatlantic.com
Jean-Luc Picard was the best because Patrick Stewart was the best. @emmasarappo.bsky.social wrote a really beautiful tribute to him: www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
The Leader Patrick Stewart Knew How to Play
The late actor exemplified the wisdom and sophistication of his most famous character, Jean-Luc Picard.
theatlantic.com
Guys, they’re canceling the love interest in ACOTAR on Threads (at this point in the plot he’s suggesting that instead of a binational and equally democratic state, they build a wall and sequester two warring populations for a fragile peace. This is clearly the Bad Ending btw we have 3 books to go)
Call it the Ploward Bison, guys, I think we can make this happen
DC launches snowplow naming contest ahead of winter weather season
The District of Columbia has launched its “Name That Plow” contest, inviting residents to submit creative names for eight of the city’s snowplows.
fox5dc.com
I read this maybe once a year, it never gets old, it's so awesome www.newyorker.com/magazine/200...
Lesbian Nation
In the seventies, thousands of women turned away from a world in which female inferiority was enforced by culture and law, and hit the road.
newyorker.com
One thing about all your ancestors living and dying in Catholic Philly is that sometimes you unlock your phone and discover the cemetery where your grandparents are interred has been potentially dodging its tax bill for a decade
Philadelphia Inquirer@inquirer.com · 3w agoHoly Sepulchre is run not by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, but by a for-profit corporation based in Florida. Montgomery County argues the cemetery should pay property taxes.
Beautiful day for America: bald eagle flying above Turnstile at the Washington Monument
This is so awful, especially for authors Catapult was working with and for Catapult workers, who recently unionized:
Catapult Is Being Sold; Operations Will Wind Down On October 30 - Publishers Lunch
The Catapult Union has confirmed to PL that the publisher is being sold and operations will wind down on October 30. Formed in June, the union says the company “announced plans for a sale while the NL...
lunch.publishersmarketplace.com
Really appreciated this from Tope Folarin, previous Caine Prize winner: www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/1...
The Paradox of African Writing and AI
A past winner of the Caine Prize draws a hard lesson from the controversy over its latest recipient.
theatlantic.com
I have something delightful and fun to share with you (gift link): www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/1...
50 Unforgettable Love Stories
Centuries of joyous, tragic, tantalizing, enduring fiction
theatlantic.com
a perfect list from @emmasarappo.bsky.social and the rest of her colleagues on The Atlantic’s books team! www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/1...
50 Unforgettable Love Stories
Centuries of joyous, tragic, tantalizing, enduring fiction
theatlantic.com
BILLY EVANS: Dont worry kitten ELIZABETH HOLMES: okay ❤️ yay ❤️ NATHAN FIELDER:
Me and the other birders are losing our minds about Hains Point www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
The Cutest Target of Trump’s D.C. Makeover
A mini-golf course
theatlantic.com
Sinatra and SZA, Appalachian folk and Detroit funk: Take a journey through the music that showed one critic America’s soul. Read about James Parker’s 50 songs that explain America:
50 Songs That Explain America
From Sinatra to SZA, Appalachian folk to Detroit funk, a journey through the music that showed one British critic this country’s soul
bit.ly
Genuinely thanking God for my regular-ass parents, who gave me everything I ever needed and nothing that I didn't. How do you ever actually fledge under this kind of regime www.nytimes.com/2026/09/13/w...
Worried About Your College Kid? Now You Can Hire a Local Mom.
At some universities, parents can pay to make sure their children are cared for, the way they were back home.
nytimes.com
Chappell Roan in a 1200 person club doing Bad Romance / Animal Collective doing the Purple Bottle bit with the I Just Called to Say I Love You bit they couldn't afford lol
Ken Lowery @ PAXU@kenlowery.bsky.social · 6mo agoFavorite cover you saw live? Top of mind for me is FIDLAR *opening* their show with a ribcage-rattling cover of Beastie Boys's "Sabotage." Talk about One Weird Trick to make a crowd high-energy from the jump Recently: NIN covering "I'm Afraid of Americans"
@emmasarappo.bsky.social explores the enduring legacy of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library on children’s reading in the Books Briefing:
What Dolly Parton Knew About Reading
She wanted to be remembered, most of all, as the “book lady.”
bit.ly
If you’re looking for books that will make you feel deeply this season, @emmasarappo.bsky.social recommends “Fat Swim.” See more recommendations from The Atlantic’s summer reading guide here: theatln.tc/aOo6jjjn
Sorry—it's Merriweather Post Pavilion, for journalistic reasons (alive members, captures a scene and moment in time, local angle) but mostly personal ones
Stop Calling Me Frank@stopcallingmefrank.bsky.social · 3mo agoYou have a month to write a 33 1/3 book about the album of your choice. Which record are you going to write about? (No previously covered albums allowed; new shit must come to light: see below.) (For all books in the series: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/33_1/3) (H/t @monostich.bsky.social
For @theatlantic.com, I reviewed a new novel featuring spiritual mysteries, supernatural apparitions, and the most embarrassing line of dialogue I’ve read in a very, very long time: www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...
The Subject Too Big for Fiction
Amitav Ghosh believes that climate change requires rethinking the novel. His new work of fiction fails that standard.
theatlantic.com
speaking of "New York New Jersey" and New York claiming shit that by rights is in Jersey... let's wake THIS up...
