David Swerdlick
@swerd.bsky.social
@nytopinion.nytimes.com sr. staff editor. Listen to your friend Billy Zane.
Today's gift link. "What, uniquely, does writing do? It compels thought. It compels thinking in ways that silent contemplation or spoken language rarely can." www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...
Opinion | I’m Begging You: Never Write With A.I. (Gift Article)
It’s bad for your brain and worse for democracy.
nytimes.com
Breaking News: Two deaths in Michigan have been linked to cyclospora. Both people who had the parasite also had underlying health issues.
Two Deaths Linked to Cyclospora Outbreak in Michigan
The patients had “significant underlying health conditions” that may have contributed to their deaths, health officials said.
nyti.ms
As a committed shorts-wearer, I didn't want this to be persuasive, but it was. "That's why pilots wear uniforms. And you'd be turning right around on the jet bridge if you looked into the cockpit and spotted madras, bare legs and flip-flops." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/o...
Opinion | Accept Your Fate. Don’t Wear Shorts to the Office. (Gift Article)
It might be hot but men must resist showing the knee.
nytimes.com
If you’re only using the Normal mode on your washing machine, your clothes and linens might not be getting as clean as they could be. Here are the 10 most important settings on your washing machine to make it work better: nyti.ms/4bf6Egk
10 Ways to Make Your Washing Machine Work Better
If you’re only using the Normal mode on your washing machine, your clothes and linens might not be getting as clean as they could be.
nyti.ms
Today's gift link. "Pious or secular, these beliefs come down to the same idea: Men are people, and women are things." www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
The Masculinity Scam
The manosphere’s campaign strategy
theatlantic.com
Today's gift link. "Anyone who cares about Israel's well-being shouldn't be silent about anti-Palestinian settler terrorism." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/o...
Opinion | Jewish Terrorism Is Also a Threat to Zionism (Gift Article)
A blunt warning for Israel.
nytimes.com
Double-bonus gift link. "It would be a mistake, however, to dismiss Mr. Jackson as a bargain bin (or a Marden’s bargain, as they might say in Maine) version of Mr. Platner. Mr. Jackson might be the Graham Platner that Maine Democrats were always looking for." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/o...
Opinion | Maine Democrats Are About to Replace an Oysterman With a Lumberjack. It Might Just Work. (Gift Article)
For the state’s progressives, Graham Platner was tempting. Troy Jackson is tested.
nytimes.com
Bonus gift link. "He indulges in a favorite refrain that falls groaningly short of being a rallying cry: 'For so many North Carolina families, there's just too much month at the end of the money.'" www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/o...
Opinion | North Carolina’s Blissfully Boring Retort to All the Democratic Drama
nytimes.com
Today's gift link. "Chris Rock was onto something when he riffed about Iraq war-era politics in his 2004 stand-up special, 'Never Scared.' He noted that, like most people, 'I got some stuff I'm conservative about; I got some stuff I'm liberal about.'" www.nytimes.com/2026/07/20/o...
Opinion | America Has 2 Political Parties but 8 Political Tribes (Gift Article)
Think of our two major political parties as two coalitions.
nytimes.com
Breaking News: Taylor Farms, whose lettuce was linked to cyclospora cases, said it would remove the products at the center of the outbreak.
Taylor Farms to Remove Products After Lettuce Is Linked to Cyclospora Cases
The Salinas, Calif., company grows produce in more than 12 states, and in Mexico and Canada. Some Taylor Farms lettuce suspected of causing sickness ended up at Taco Bell.
trib.al
"It kept buying Iranian oil, maintained relations with the Gulf states, avoided the costs of defending Iran or policing the Gulf. This is Beijing's preferred approach, no dramatic confrontations but rather the steady accumulation of influence." www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | The Iran war is a gift to China
Without firing a shot, China gained a freer hand in the Gulf, a boost for its industries and new credibility.
washingtonpost.com
Quite a few instances of "war" and "prewar" in a document meant to end a conflict that was not described as a war. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/u...
A Look at the Text of the Agreement Between the United States and Iran
nytimes.com
Today's gift link. "Americans hate data centers. They really, really hate them." www.nytimes.com/2026/06/12/o...
Opinion | This Could Be the Winning Issue for Democrats
nytimes.com
Breaking News: U.S. exports rose 2.6% in April, as the war with Iran boosted exports of oil and petroleum products.
U.S. Exports Rose in April, as War with Iran Buoyed Oil Demand
Commerce Department data showed exports rose 2.6 percent in April to $327.1 billion.
nyti.ms
From @theathletic.com: The first sitting U.S. president to attend an NBA Finals game, President Trump was booed louder than the San Antonio Spurs by his fellow New Yorkers. nyti.ms/4uZHM49
President Trump roundly booed by New York crowd at NBA Finals Game 3 at MSG
Trump, a native New Yorker, was booed louder than the Spurs ahead of Monday's NBA Finals Game 3. The Spurs went on to win the game, 115-111.
nyti.ms
My crankiest old man take is that referring to all art/entertainment/journalism/criticism/comedy/advertising as “content” helped pave the way for broad-ish acceptance of AI slop.
MENG: Are you going to issue new memo in writing rescinding weaponization fund? BLANCHE: I'm not committing to putting anything in writing. What would the purpose be? M: You established it in writing so it makes sense to rescind it in writing B: Ok. I'm not committing to doing anything in writing
46.3 million barrels: that's how much U.S. gasoline inventories have fallen since january, the largest such drop on record going back to 1996. it's 54% bigger than the second-largest ever recorded, 2022's 30.3 million barrel plunge.
Today's gift link. "Americans may be struggling to afford food, gas and a visit to the doctor, but drugs and alcohol are more affordable than ever." www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/o...
Opinion | It Shouldn’t Be This Easy to Get High
nytimes.com
Bonus gift link. "Having lambasted President Barack Obama's 2015 deal to ease sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program, Mr. Rubio is now among the loudest supporters of a similar agreement." www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/o...
Opinion | How Long Can Marco Rubio Keep This Up?
nytimes.com
Today's gift link. "People are enduring democracy as 'the worst form of government' without the necessary balanced understanding (that citizens in the mid-20th century had gained through firsthand observation) of 'except all those other forms that have been tried.'" www.nytimes.com/2026/05/31/o...
Opinion | The Fire of Stupidity Cannot Be Contained
nytimes.com
Today's gift link. "You want to bring only cases that you are confident you can win—that is, unless your real aim is subjecting people to bogus charges." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/29/o...
Opinion | This Is How to Stop Trump’s Vindictive Prosecutions
nytimes.com
Bonus gift link. "'We can't tolerate mediocrity,' she told me. Every step of this autopsy process shows Democrats doing exactly that." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/o...
Opinion | The Agony Around the Democrats’ Mysterious, Ridiculous Autopsy
nytimes.com
Today's gift link. "Members of Congress must act to reassert the exclusive power that the Constitution vests in the legislative branch—or else we will have gone a step further toward making Mr. Trump a king." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/22/o...
Opinion | There’s a Way to Stop Trump’s I.R.S. Slush Fund
nytimes.com
Today's gift link. "We can't afford to underestimate Russia's strength and its ability to harm Ukraine and NATO allies—by providing Iran with intelligence, for instance—but we must not overestimate it either." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/o...
Opinion | I’m the Foreign Minister of Sweden. Don’t Overestimate Russia.
nytimes.com
Today's gift link. "Majorities of voters said that the war was not worth the costs and held deeply pessimistic views about the economy." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/u...
Trump’s Approval Sinks Amid Unpopular War, Darkening G.O.P. Prospects
nytimes.com
Today's gift link. "The exit-strategy imperative also makes the departure of U.S. forces an objective—rather than a consequence—of a successful military operation, thus mixing ends and means." www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/o...
Opinion | Stop Looking for an ‘Offramp’ in Iran
nytimes.com
