Thoughtful conversation. Nice alternative to the proliferation of gaslighting, disinformation, vitriol, overwrought “tv news interviews” and vain Congressional hearings. Things can be interesting without being perfectly defined or confined within one’s own mind. Xenia is key to thoughtfulness.

Greg Jenner (Historian)@gregjenner.bsky.social · 4d ago

Fantastic Nolan interview by a Chinese PhD student who asks all the best questions, and receives all the best answers about his interpretation of the Odyssey youtu.be/wa4I8Ch2TRo?...

I appreciate much of the fair criticism of Nolan’s film, but a 2nd viewing of the film—not in an IMAX theater—opened the film much more than my first viewing. I feel a third viewing is warranted, too, & people will read The Iliad to even better appreciate Homer’s as well as Nolan’s Odyssey.

EMILY WILSON@emilyrcwilson.bsky.social · last wk.

I wrote about the Nolan Odyssey for the LRB. I'll summarize some of my main points below, in case you don't feel like reading all that. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

I have been called an alarmist and worse by well meaning people who want to think it will just all be ok. The truth is it doesn't always end up ok and we can't pretend it will. Donald Trump is targeting Black voters and women to rig this election. We need to stand up, call it out and take action.

Christopher Nolan said he's only seen the crew applaud an actor on set twice in his career. This first was Heath Ledger as the Joker, the second was Samantha Morton as Circe in THE ODYSSEY.

Definitely, a great film. More visceral & meditative. Not a “blockbuster spectacle.” Subtly substantial. Thinking about it more--days later--than the day after. There is a quiet that runs through all of the action. The myth penetrates the film as the film must give way in wonder.

Dr. Sarah Parcak @indyfromspace.bsky.social · 2w ago

The Odyssey was extraordinary. No spoilers don't worry. Nolan had to compress a major epic poem into 3 hours. It is amazing because by watching the film, you feel you are listening to the ancient performer reciting it in a torch lined hall. The best movie I've ever seen about the ancient world.

This is kind of an incredible website: Why your stuff stopped lasting, who profited, and what's still built right.

Worse on Purpose

The brands you trusted quietly gutted quality to protect margins. Investigative essays on corporate enshittification. Free newsletter.

worseonpurpose.com

NEW: If there were any Republican hopes that Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) might change her mind to vote for the SAVE America Act, she made it clear in no uncertain terms that she will never. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

Murkowski slams door shut on supporting SAVE America Act

Not only is Sen. Murkowski not going for the SAVE America Act, but the Wall St. Journal says Trump's desperate pleas for the bill could backfire.

democracydocket.com

Enjoy this masterpiece 🎶🎶🎶

This was really good to read and reflect on as we look for all the ways any of us can help cultivate a real future with deep care, engagement, and ways for young people to contribute. May they arise as the healthy adults in the room we are so sorely lacking today. Solid hope here.

Mississippi Free Press@mississippifreepress.org · 3w ago

OPINION: "Our findings suggest young people are more likely to contribute when they feel hopeful about the future and when they see their lives as connected to others," Kimia Shirzad and Jen Agans write.

Warnock: The SAVE Act is about saving Trump's power. It is not about saving our democracy. It is a voter suppression bill, pure and simple. #LoserTrumpsElectionLies

Tonight, Donald Trump made one thing abundantly clear: He’s going to do everything he can to interfere in our free and fair elections. This is the time for all of us to stand together and fight back.

An egregious scheme to profit off the presidency and enrich Wall Street while doing nothing to help Americans.

I still love card catalogs. Nothing silly here. Humane system of care.

sjvn@sjvn.bsky.social · 3w ago

My first search engine.

Feel like Telemachus longing for Odysseus to come home. What’s taking him so long? I need a ship….

Cheryl by the Sea 🌊@peachycheryl.bsky.social · 3w ago

It is real and it is sickening. ca.news.yahoo.com/aerial-photo...

The public, and all who knew and loved the victim, deserve a full, independent investigation. apnews.com/article/ice-...

Man shot and killed by ICE in Maine was not the target of warrant, Sen. Angus King says

The motorist killed by ICE officers in a Maine shooting Monday was not the target of the warrant the officers were executing, Sen.

apnews.com

Reposted here simply in respect.

Daniel Benneworth-Gray@danielgray.com · 3w ago

Sam Neill on tackling depression and imposter syndrome when you’re between jobs.

“No matter how cognitively impaired & reckless the convicted felon becomes, he will never become less cruel, cheap or hostile to justice and the rule of law. It will take…every one of us to push back & overcome the tragedy of a man like this and his enablers.” www.americaamerica.news/p/this-night...

This Nightmare Will End. Look Who's Helping.

As Trump becomes more reckless and impaired, a growing number of judges and aggrieved legal professionals are fighting back

americaamerica.news

It has been criminally underreported but Kelsey Pfendler has just rowed solo across the Pacific Ocean from the US coast to Hawaii in record time. A 2,400-mile unsupported journey in 43 days, 17 hours, and 55 minutes. Notably beating the Men’s record by 9 whole days.

I just reposted an essay by Roshi Joan Halifax that is extraordinary. Read what she says...and then later, if you can find this film (streaming on Apple, Amazon, etc.), watch it as a mindful-filmic illustration of the deep ethic of being-time she beautifully shares. www.imdb.com/title/tt2849...

www.upaya.org/2026/07/theu... Dogen locates ethics in the present moment rather than in rules or outcomes. Rules are broken the moment conditions overwhelm them; outcomes are hostage to forces beyond us.

I missed this in 2020, but listened intensely today. Find the link to the video and listen to the end. History must not exhaust hope, and it can’t if shared.

GC Writing Center@writingcentergc.bsky.social · last yr.

Wishing all of our writers a happy Independence Day! Today is a great day to remember the powerful writers whose words have shaped this country's ideals, ignited change, and sparked hope even in the darkest of times. Here's one example from Frederick Douglas, read by his descendants: buff.ly/p5dNODx

To celebrate a rebellion is to know that, from a flawed world, we can make new things. We can hold on, we can find each other, and not just imagine but create a much better America. It is a special 250th – it is ours. Video in link: snyder.substack.com/p/on-tyranny...

On Tyranny — Special 250th Edition

With friends, on video, to recall and to rebel

snyder.substack.com

Wonderful essay. Beautiful insights sparkle through an expressive heart, embracing what is so freely given as it opens to a wholeness that cannot be grasped, let alone be bought with crypto. Truly contemplative practices respond openly enough to the raw conditions of life. Deep-read this.

Roshi Joan Halifax@joanhalifax.bsky.social · last mo.

Here you go... an essay on embracing the world... Please read. www.upaya.org/2026/07/embr...

The real headline from the birthright‑citizenship case isn’t the outcome. It’s that four Supreme Court justices signaled they believe a president can effectively rewrite the Constitution through executive order.

thinking about Dred Scott today in advance of the birthright citizenship decision. the 14th amendment it isn’t just about status or paperwork—it’s about humanity. that all people born here are citizens.* Scott died after being free for just 16 months. he had fought for his daughters, not himself.

This was no 12-hour news cycle story in some fantasmic world where witless scripts out-pander history. This was a time when intelligence bolstered a collapsing moral faith in the Constitution as the US backbone. Jordan’s words still model respect & continue to rally us out of cheap despair.

Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)@hcrichardson.bsky.social · last mo.

Representative Barbara Jordan. Still, after all these years, a mic drop.

Phang: I have standing to be able to get Todd Blanche to comply with Judge Sullivan’s order, which is now telling him that on or before July 2nd, he either has to put up or shut up. He either has to bring forth unredacted files or show cause as to why he should not or cannot do so.

Climate.us is officially live! After NOAA ended Climate.gov’s day-to-day operations in 2025, former team members built Climate.us to carry that work forward. Their explanations and graphics have always stood out to me as clear, accessible, and transparent. I’m really looking forward to this reboot.

Climate.us Home

independent, nonprofit, and immune to politics

climate.us

It greatly matters that we try to understand our lives even if there are no final answers to latch onto. I’m grateful for these reflections today amidst a gamut of absurd “news” about the latest exploits of would-be-masters-of-the-universe. Sanity, unforced, is rooted in depths of goodness. 💙

Roshi Joan Halifax@joanhalifax.bsky.social · last mo.

Why it matters that we understand and live our values. www.upaya.org/2026/06/an-a...