In Colson Whitehead’s new book, a furniture salesman navigates underground punk clubs on the Lower East Side and butts heads with the Mafia

Colson Whitehead concludes his three-part love letter to New York

And reminds readers that crime fiction is the best urban genre

bit.ly

‘Considerations of Marat’s life and legacy still yield some lessons. Populists thrive when representation fails, and when the powerful are not held to account. Turning politicians into icons will result in disappointment.’ Oliver Cussen on Jean-Paul Marat’s revolution. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Oliver Cussen · Doctor of the Incurable: Marat Unmade

Beyond the violence and immediacy of his language, perhaps Marat was popular for a more straightforward reason: he gave...

lrb.co.uk

"Truth isn't always beauty, but the hunger for it is." ~ Nadine Gordimer

In addition to my dad's best inappropriate joke, you will hear, Shell Game, the true tale of my close encounter with a South American dictator, which first appeared in @unlikely-stories.bsky.social petersontoscanostudios.podbean.com/e/wooden-leg/

Fear Not! Mitch McConnell is fine. I just delivered some of his favorite coal snacks to him.

I've been enjoying the Quakers Today Podcast, hosted by @petersontoscano.bsky.social , as they explore #Quakers & money. The best part so far was a prophetic listener comment by John Choe at the end of the June 16 episode. Thank you, John. www.friendsjournal.org/podcast/quak... #prisonabolition

Quaker Podcast - Podcast Exploring Quaker Life & Religious Beliefs

Quakers Today, hosted by Peterson Toscano, features writers, musicians, and thinkers who are seeking wisdom and understanding in a rapidly changing world.

friendsjournal.org

Curious about the future of pets? Hear what will happen to animals over the next 100 years. youtu.be/MhxPTQCBVO4?... #pets #farmanimals #petcare

The Future of Pets in a Climate-Changed World (A Message from 2115) | Climate Changed S4E1

YouTube video by The BTS Center

youtu.be

I am thrilled that my weird essay about woods, cruising, birding, and the hot minks of Sunbury PA found a home in Thomasonian Journal. I look forward to digging into the other pieces. Here is mine: POSTED KEEP OUT! NO TRESPASSING readthomasonian.my.canva.site/issue-2/post...

Thomasonian@thomasonianmag.bsky.social · 2mo ago

IT’S HERE: Thomasonian Issue II! Kick back and take a stroll through the natural world with these poems, photos, and nonfiction. Thank you to our lovely contributors who have trusted us with their fantastic work. You can find Issue II at thomasonian.com/read

I wish someone would start a war with me and then give me $300 billion. I'm even willing to take less.

Recalling the terrifying moments when the mob attacked her shop and forced her to close, Spatini said, “They do not care that I am legally in the country.”

GroundUp News@groundup.org.za · 2mo ago

Following protests by March and March in Springs in recent weeks, many immigrant informal traders have closed their stalls because they fear further attacks. Read groundup.org.za/article/immi... by Kimberly Mutandiro

A cow wanders around a field with squares on it. If you hold the square where it makes a “deposit” you win a grand prize: $2,000. Read Glen Retief's article about Cow Patty Bingo in @dailymaverick.co.za www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

Waiting for the plop — the high-stakes world of charity cow patty bingo

A Pennsylvania community rallies around ‘cow patty bingo’, a quirky fundraising tradition where a steer’s bowel movements fund custom baseball fields for disabled children.…

dailymaverick.co.za

“If capitalism is a system of violence against the planet and people…” Peterson Toscano and Diana Yañez ask what spiritual responsibility looks like when we benefit from extractive systems. @friendsjournal.org QuakersToday.org

Who cares about one's name up in lights? I like seeing my name among fine-ass writers! I am thrilled that my meandering piece about woodland paths, trespassing, racial profiling, and conversion therapy will be on the pages/screen of the Thomasian!

Thomasonian@thomasonianmag.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Thomasonian Issue II - Nonfiction Contributors

The ecologist who helped change the world’s understanding of trees returns with a new book

A root-and-branch account of how forests work

The ecologist who helped change the world’s understanding of trees returns with a new book

econ.st

The disorientating goal of the Israel lobby has been to loosen evidence thresholds, constrain critical thinking, and redefine racism and criminality. The effects have bled into dangerous new policing norms. Matthew Alford reads my latest: jonathancook.substack.com/p/listen-uk-...

Listen: UK policing – from the Nowak murder to crushing protest – grows ever more rotten

Read by Matthew Alford

jonathancook.substack.com

This year Pride is Giving Shame. Shame on those liars who pursue violence and make the world unsafe for everyone. #LGBTQ #Trans #FreePalistine

The conversation delves into the indigeneity of Palestinian Christianity, the metaphor of the olive tree as a framework for theology, and the importance of staying in the "long silence" of Holy Saturday during times of genocide and suffering. open.spotify.com/episode/7yrA...

The Cross and the Olive Tree: Cultivating Palestinian Theology with John and Samuel Munayer

open.spotify.com

Nasser Abu Srour was incarcerated for over 33 years in Israeli prisons. He was released in October 2025, and yet, as he writes in a new memoir for @equatormag, “what can liberation possibly mean amid a genocide?” www.equator.org/articles/why...

Nadav Weiman, the executive director, told me that Breaking the Silence is trying to counter the Israeli government’s narrative that atrocities and war crimes were committed only by bad apples. “It’s the entire system,” he said. “It is systematic crimes that we are doing.”

The Economist@economist.com · 2mo ago

“Today I’m not proud to be an Israeli,” confesses Jonathan. The former IDF soldier tells 1843 that he is “ashamed” of his platoon’s actions during the war in Gaza. Register to read his story in full

"How is it even decent to remain sane in this insane world we are so recklessly and callously deranging? It is a kind of madness to always hear the keening of the dead, this hurt canticle. It is a madness not to hear." -Anna Badkhen

Jonathan Cook@jonathan-cook.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Israel has been gradually expanding its "kill zone" in Gaza. Its army has now officially seized 70% of the territory. In a few months, 2 million Palestinians will be crushed into 20% of Gaza. Then 10%. The "ceasefire" is a cover for genocide, not an end to it.

For those of us who survived the ex-gay world, this is not just another hypocrisy story. Conversion therapy always gave adults permission to invade queer kids’ inner lives and call it care. They preyed on youth, then they imposed heterosexuality on us. That is institutionalized sexual abuse.

Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 3mo ago

“Alan Chambers is accused of trying to meet a 14 year old boy for sex. He once was the head of Exodus International. For 4 decades the church said it helped ‘cure’ gays and lesbians across the country.”

"For the eye has this strange property: it rests only on beauty; like a butterfly it seeks out color and basks in warmth." From the Archives: Virginia Woolf wanders the streets of London.

Virginia Woolf: “Street Haunting: A London Adventure”

An essay by Virginia Woolf: “No one perhaps has ever felt passionately towards a lead pencil.…”

yalereview.org

"Prophetic imagination isn't about seeing what will happen tomorrow," says Ron Hogan, "but about recognizing what has gone wrong with the world today—and why." The miracle of Pentecost came with a promise that Spirit will help us all access such a transformative mindset. quaker.org/2026/05/18/i...

An example of how the term LGBTQ gets used in establishment media to flatten and obscure. Frank was notoriously hostile to trans rights, and wasn't particularly keen on queer communities broadly outside a swath of gentry white cis gays. The main trail he blazed was for his own power.

NBC News@nbcnews.com · 3mo ago

BREAKING: Barney Frank, one of the first openly gay members of Congress who championed Wall Street reform, dies at 86.

Sadly this is not the first time Alan Chambers pursued child abuse. youtube.com/shorts/x1wpK...

Former Conversion Therapy Leader Caught in Sex Sting

YouTube video by Peterson Toscano

youtube.com

Kathryn Brightbill ✒️@kebrightbill.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Welp, the former head of Exodus International Alan Chambers got himself arrested for trying to pick up what he believed to be a 14 year-old boy on Snapchat

"The (Lebanese) ministry said the toll is now 3,020 killed in the Israeli strikes, including 292 women and 211 children. Fighting began on March 2 with the Hezbollah militant group firing at Israel, two days after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran." www.pbs.org/newshour/wor...

Lebanon death toll tops 3,000 in latest fighting between Israel and Hezbollah

Lebanon's health ministry said the toll is now 3,020 killed in the Israeli strikes, including 292 women and 211 children.

pbs.org

Sound like a current destructive leader.

London Review of Books@lrb.co.uk · 3mo ago

‘Ptolemy VIII wanted to be named Benefactor, but the Alexandrians called him Malefactor and Potbelly. Both were accurate.’ Robert Cioffi on the Ptolemaic dynasty. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Join AFSC 5/19 @ 8pm ET to learn how communities are organizing as militarized policing & ICE raids wreak fear across the U.S. RSVP:

Protect, Resist and Build with AFSC · American Friends Service Committee

This monthly webinar series brings together AFSC supporters to learn about how to protect our communities, resist authoritarianism, and build peace with justice. Join us on the Third Tuesday of ever...

mobilize.us

What is relational finance, and why are Diana Yañez & I talking about it on the Quakers Today podcast? And what does Jennifer Aniston have to do with it?? youtu.be/P3qgL8UmMmA?... @friendsjournal.org

Quakers Today and Relational Finance: Financial Experts vs. Spiritual Seekers?

YouTube video by Friends Journal Quakers

youtu.be

Stop leaving money to the "experts"! 🛑 Quakers Today explores Relational Finance—a "priesthood of all believers" approach to our wallets. Let’s move from an extractive economy to one that nurtures community. 🤝✨ Full episode out now! 🕊️ @friendsjournal.org www.quakerstoday.org

Money

ALT: Money

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