www.youtube.com/watch?v=w01G...

5 New Nonfiction Releases You Should Know — August 2026

YouTube video by BookLab by Bjorn

youtube.com

Delighted to see Thomas Meyer's new biography of Hannah Arendt (in my translation) named here!

Publishers Weekly@publisherswkly.bsky.social · 4w ago

After a long and merciless winter, summer is upon us, and with it, the urgent need for beach reads, pool reads, park reads, fire escape reads, coffee shop patio reads—you get the point. The Millions has got you covered, with some 130 titles to choose from.

Congratulations to all five shortlisted translators for this year's Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize! www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/ku...

A thinker for our time. Hannah Arendt by Thomas Meyer, translated by @shelfrisch.bsky.social, reexamines one of the most influential political minds of the twentieth century. On sale 8/11. Learn more: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/609267... #HannahArendt

Some dog is getting shot tonight.

So the feds ARE NOT considering an mRNA vaccine for the flu, which could save countless lives, but ARE backing research into whether horse dewormer can cure cancer, because the right views vaccines as elite and ivermectin as populist. Cool. kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

FDA won’t review Moderna application for first mRNA-based flu vaccine

The decision, which shocked company officials, comes as the FDA says it will take a stricter approach to federal vaccine approvals.

washingtonpost.com

Today is a dark day for American journalism. Some of the best reporters and editors around the globe have been laid off by the Washington Post. The news-consuming public will pay the price. My job wasn't spared. It's been the honor of a lifetime to be Berlin bureau chief, if only for 6 months.

Naples 1925 by Martin Mittelmeier (trans. Shelley Frisch) is “highly recommended” by Sun News Austin.

Naples 1925: A Critical Year for Philosophy – SUN NEWS AUSTIN

Image: Mt. Vesuvius, near Naples This unusual book prompted a lengthy essay in The New Yorker magazine on Nov. 25, 2024. It was written by the editor of Granta, Thomas Meaney, and I will not presume to improve upon that analysis here. I will however, offer some thoughts, fractal in nature, that migh...

sunnewsaustin.com

Today I learned Noem's full name is Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem Her initials are KLAN Fitting

The Watchdog Coalition@thewatchdogco.bsky.social · 6mo ago

I hope they didn’t think we forgot about impeaching Kristi Noem. 181 cosponsors and counting, 40k+ letters sent, and countless calls telling Representatives to get on board. Let them know we aren’t slowing down. Send your letter here: actionnetwork.org/letters/tell...

This @aaronwiener.bsky.social piece captures a lot of conversations I've had with Germans lately, friends and near-strangers – they've spent their lives looking at the US as an ally and model, and now feel bereft and confused. And I don't have anything comforting to say at the moment.

Aaron Wiener@aaronwiener.bsky.social · 6mo ago

America: The spouse who no longer accepts his partner as is, and insists the partner become something else. Germany: The partner who knows it's time to leave the relationship but can't quite quit. However you analogize the breakup, it's very hard on Germans. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

First victim shot dead by ICE in Minneapolis was named GOOD; today's fatal victim is named PRETTI. Who will ICE aim at next: WISE? The symbolism in these horrific acts seems inescapable.

“Unacceptable.” “Intolerable.” A “hostile act.” A “mistake.” Trump's Greenland stance has alienated even his strongest supporters in Europe: the leaders of right-wing nationalist parties. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...

In populist split, Trump’s fans in Europe broke with him on Greenland

The European far right’s pushback showed the limits of the president’s with-me-or-against-me politics, a key obstacle to cooperation among nationalist parties.

washingtonpost.com

My translation of Thomas Meyer's Hannah Arendt biography has entered the hallowed halls of Amazon, and will be published by Penguin in August: www.amazon.com/Hannah-Arend...

Hannah Arendt: A Life of the Mind

Hannah Arendt: A Life of the Mind [Meyer, Thomas, Frisch, Shelley] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Hannah Arendt: A Life of the Mind

amazon.com

A member of parliament from the right-wing Alternative for Germany party (AfD) was sure his presentation to the State Department would be canceled after news broke of a Nazi-linked serenade. Then he got a phone call from a senior State Dept. staffer... www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

Germany’s anti-immigrant AfD party finds open door in Trump’s America

Some German lawmakers want to ban Alternative for Germany, but the party has been embraced in Washington, and some of its leaders see Trump’s path to power as a road map.

washingtonpost.com

Remember the part in the old Peter Pan play where Peter tells the boys and girls in the audience that if they all just clap harder they can save Tinkerbell? That's what Trump's Cabinet Meeting reminded me of. A bunch of children wildly applauding him, all in an effort to bring him back to life.

A statement about David Bellos just issued by his department: www.princeton.edu/news/2025/11...

David Bellos, renowned scholar of French fiction and ‘totally brilliant translator,’ dies at age 80

His work grappled with the tricky nature of interpreting between languages and embraced the potential of language itself to help us understand the human condition.

princeton.edu

I attended this terrific panel on the nature of truth, lies, and bullshit-- and how AI accelerates the proliferation of bullshit.

Princeton University Press@princetonupress.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Why does the truth fail against Bullshit? Listen in to the discussion and celebrate Twenty years of Harry Frankfurt’s On Bullshit. press.princeton.edu/ideas/twenty... #philosophy #OnBullshit

A prominent far-right German activist has applied for political asylum in the U.S., as the Trump administration has signaled plans to prioritize protections for White refugees and Europeans who claim they are being targeted for their populist views.

German far-right activist seeks asylum in U.S. as Trump ties deepen

Social media influencer Naomi Seibt, a supporter of the nationalist AfD party, said she is being persecuted in Germany for her political views.

washingtonpost.com

RIP to a dear friend and eminent scholar, David Bellos.

Posting for no reason news.artnet.com/art-world/do...

When Donald Trump Razed the Bonwit Teller Building, He Promised the Met Its Art Deco Friezes. A New Book Details How He Pulverized Them Instead | Artnet News

Read an excerpt from the book 'Art and Crime: The Fight Against Looters, Forgers, and Fraudsters in the High-Stakes Art World.'

news.artnet.com

Happy birthday, Hannah Arendt!

Just in case the dramatically low Leni Riefenstahl-style angle was too subtle, they used a word from her most famous movie

Two German regions each claimed to have the oldest bratwurst. They decided to settle it in the boxing ring. I attended the historic fight at the German Bratwurst Museum in Thuringia. (Did I mention that I love my job?) www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

In Germany, a boxing match decides fight over birthplace of bratwurst

Two regions competing for bragging rights to bratwurst, Germany’s signature sausage, took their battle into a boxing ring in a ham-fisted bid to settle the matter.

washingtonpost.com

First glimpse of the cover image for my forthcoming translation of Thomas Meyer's biography of Hannah Arendt, to be pub by Penguin next year.

Have Germans become the slackers of Europe -- and of the entire developed world? The data certainly says so. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Germany canning ravioli in preparation for war: www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Germany’s latest preparation for war: A national ravioli reserve

Wary of a warmongering Russia, Germany is refitting its military, buying weapons, recruiting soldiers and also contemplating new strategic reserves of canned food.

washingtonpost.com

👇👇

@martinmitt.bsky.social celebrates the 100th anniversary of critical theory in Naples. Martin Mittelmeier is the author of NAPLES 1925 (in my translation, pub. Yale UP).

Yale University Press@yalepress.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Martin Mittelmeier, author of Naples 1925, writes about the 100th anniversary of critical theory in Naples, to the day in August 19, 1925.

Congratulations to translator Paul Reitter!! www.goethe.de/ins/us/en/ku...