Top 5 articles: Panic, Hyperbole, and Apocalypse
Also, it's 1856...but with bots.
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Top 5 articles for your week:
“Don’t Panic, Just Worry” (The Dispatch)
Because, “Simply put, we have become unable to rouse ourselves to take public problems seriously unless we can persuade ourselves that they present immediate and utterly apocalyptic dangers.”
“It’s 1856 All Over Again” (New York Times)
Because we definitely didn’t remember the 1856 election from history class, and Steve Inskeep has an interesting thread between that election and now.
“Bots Are Destroying Political Discourse As We Know It” (The Atlantic)
Because some of us may have once spotted a bot account on Twitter, but they may become harder to detect soon, and we already know the results when ordinary citizens on Facebook and Twitter fall for potentially damaging disinformation and propaganda.
“Elizabeth Wurtzel and the Illusion of Gen-X Success” (New York Times)
Because with the recent passing of Wurtzel, this short piece reflects on how women in their 40s and 50s - especially those in the media and creative worlds - are struggling to stick around at the top of their careers.
“The Broken Road of Peggy Wallace Kennedy” (The Bitter Southerner)
Because you should read this long-form piece on the daughter of George Wallace, Peggy Wallace Kennedy - a humbling rumination on family, legacy, consequences and grace.
Image depicts a collapsed home in Puerto Rico following a 6.4-magnitude earthquake. 5.9 and 5.2-magnitude earthquakes hit this morning. Puerto Rico has experienced hundreds of earthquakes since December 28th. Image credit: Carlos Giusti/AP