I have a piece in this week's New Yorker mag on two of my favorite things: word games and immigration. It's the story of Mangesh Ghogre, a crossword writer who got an "extraordinary ability" visa from India to the U.S.
I have a Sisyphus joke but—wait, I botched the set-up, lemme start over. I have a Sisyphus joke but—ha, sorry, that's still not it. I have a Sisyphus jo
I’m writing a book! It’s a study of the influx of attention on the crossword puzzle, and the staggering new talents — from computer scientists to film critics to comedians — attempting to remake this curious cultural object in their image.
@kategarrick
@DeniseOswald
Good to remember what
@Econ_Marshall
& others constantly say, that economists "supply"—dream up, misrepresent, contort—data & models for the powerful, themselves supplicants to a "science" primed for post-hoc apologias for hating the poor. The cruelty invents its data points.
i wrote my master's thesis on climate migration, and one thing that's constantly ignored, which jake's great piece foregrounds, is that people *do not want to leave their homes*. as much as we need migration pathways, we need global investments in mitigation more!
Stunning story from Jake Bittle, who was the first journalist to obtain the Marshall Islands’ climate adaptation plan. Without billions in aid to curb sea level rise, the government calls for a total migration of the islands by 2100—full abandonment.
personal news! i’ve started a new role as the director of development of
@asylumadvocacy
. couldn’t be more thrilled to join an amazing team and fight alongside our members for a saner and more just asylum system.
For the first time, the
@NewYorker
print edition will feature an American crossword—constructed by me!
It's in this week's Anniversary issue, a tribute to TNY writers through history.
Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant:
"I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we will act accordingly."
ah yes, saturday, the day i have 100 texts, half of them about my and hannah's names appearing in an NYT game, the other half from my right-wing Israeli family calling me a traitor.
glad to have signed this
"Jewish identity is not a weapon to wield in a fight for statist power but a fount of generational wisdom that says justice, justice, you shall pursue. Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof."
you solve a crossword you cross a picket line, i don’t make the rules. solidarity and love to the
@newyorkerunion
and the incredible organizing they’ve been doing.
BREAKING: The New Yorker Union has voted 98% in favor of authorizing a strike. We stand with our
@condenast
colleagues in
@pk4union
and
@ars_union
, which have also overwhelmingly authorized a strike. Our statement:
one nuremberg prosecutor called the trials "the greatest history seminar ever held in the history of the world."
i'm skeptical of the icj, but there's immense power in starting to build an unassailable collective narrative of israel's horrors.
"The first genocide in history where its victims are broadcasting their own destruction in real time in the desperate, so far vain hope that the world might do something."
Blinne Ni Ghralaigh at the ICJ in the Hague
today’s the launch of the inaugural Puzzles & Cartoons special issue of
@NewYorker
! i have a puzzle online today but do check out the entire, wonderful issue
NEWS: Columbia University is suspending Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) as official student groups through the end of the fall term.
Israeli TV running a counter of fatalities in Gaza – most of whom are civilians and many of whom are children – under the heading “terrorists we eliminated”. And for those too lazy to drive to Sderot to watch the genocide, they’ve got you covered with a livestream of the bombing
walking the streets of prospect heights overhearing so many dudes in their tooze era — beanie, mustache, air pods in, intoning "no yeah right like, obviously other banks were exposed"
I wrote today’s
@NewYorker
crossword!
Crosswords are always a game of “here’s some stuff I love I hope you love it too” but today really dials it to 11. 😙
i had monday's
@NewYorker
crossword! in the throes of the job hunt so forgot to post it, but i'm really fond of this one—do be warned, it's hella hard. 😇
kam on the dusty “cultural gradualism” of this crossword site not only has his best linguistic tics—a felt moral momentum, unsparing generosity meets visionary side eye—it’s that rare specific analysis (one site’s racist gatekeeping, in one niche field) that applies to much more.
OK, something that isn't about the d*** c*******. Obituaries have acknowledged his brilliance and huge influence, all of which is true. But I think it's important to realize that his project to reform macroeconomics was a failure 1/
It was such a pleasure to talk puzzles, drums, and rep the Job Guarantee in this
@NewYorker
interview! Featuring Liz fixing my puns and a lovely intro from the inimitable
@hels
!
“Were there no Israel, there wouldn’t be a Jew in the world that is safe,” Biden says at the White House Hanukkah party as he reaffirms support for Israel against its war against Hamas.
About inflation: the price increases we're seeing are due to supply chain issues worsened by COVID. They are not permanent.
We need to understand this. If we panic & raise interest rates, rather than strengthening infrastructure to help the supply chain, unemployment will go up.
This is a tour de force of an interview — ranging, funny, and personal. And nothing makes me happier than learning Will has fallen for another lover of table tennis!!
i'm really partial to today's
@NewYorker
puzzle, one of the hardest and hopefully most fun i've written — give it a whirl here or in this week's magazine
for
@bethejuggernaut
, i wrote about the architectural conventions in crosswords that mean you’re likelier to see NAAN, HAJJ, ROTI, and RAGA in the grid—often with inaccurate clues—than IDLI or ZAKAT.
Picketing schedules for our first week of strike are up
#CUonStrike
Digital schedule for the week:
Sign-up for in-person picketing: ; digital picketing:
Strike fund request form: