She’s a fun guy!
A mutated form of mpox has been circulating for months in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The country still doesn't have a single vaccine. / Bloomberg [+]
Former national security adviser HR McMaster says Vladimir Putin deliberately exploited Donald Trump's "ego and insecurities." / The Guardian
Related: Putin appears to be following the Soviet Bloc's Cold War playbook diligently, which means "more is yet to come." / War on the Rocks
Spencer Ackerman plans to destroy his Emmy if Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda's nomination is rescinded. / Forever Wars
An expert on white nationalists explains why she's hopeful about the presidential election: "I have faith in the normies." / Linkes I Would Gchat You if We Were Friends
Headline of the week: "How a small group of nuns in rural Kansas vex big companies with their investment activism." / The Associated Press
BIll Clinton's Labor Secretary says Social Security is in trouble because the trustees, himself included, didn't anticipate income inequality. / Robert Reich
The best and worst American cities for upward mobility. / axios
The percentage of 19-year-olds in the United States with a driver's license dropped from 87.3% in 1983 to 68.7% in 2022. / The Wall Street Journal [+]
Two-thirds of books released by the top-ten trade publishers sell fewer than a thousand copies. / The New Yorker
Why does Ireland produce so many great writers? "The scale of the country is perfect. You can get to know it in your lifetime." / The Guardian
Some theatrical speculations on what Samuel Beckett said to Andre the Giant when he drove him to school. / Open Culture
From February, a peek inside Austin Kleon's commonplace diary. / Austin Kleon
The brief history (fyi, it's a bit NSFW) behind a beautiful Art Deco alphabet of nude and semi-nude figures. / Flashbak
"She's not doing crazy, she's not doing too much." Designer Jennifer Daniel explains the new emoji that is little brown mushroom 🍄🟫.
And now a brief chat with a new Sustaining Member, Becky D.!
Becky, hi! You found us through the Tournament of Books, right? How did you discover the ToB in the first place? I think I found the Tournament of Books through my neighborhood bookstore, Phinney Books (in Seattle), who probably mentioned it in a newsletter.
Any favorite ToB moments over the years? The March 6, 2024 play-in match gives me great joy. I re-read that one constantly and am trying to internalize Rufi Thorpe's judgement matrix. "Is It Drugs" is an outstanding way to describe the way a great book sucks you in, and I think we might use that metric to rate any number of things life has to offer. It was when I referred to that match for the umpteenth time this year that I thought okay, I should support this thing I love. So I did!
We love it. And we're grateful—thank you! I am dipping into The Morning News more and more (another tab to keep open). With how nutso things are these days, I've realized I prefer a more curated news experience; I appreciate the effort you put into it. I hope it's okay with you that ToB will always be my first love.
All of our supporters are our favorite little mushrooms 🍄🟫 🍄🟫 🍄🟫
Please become a Sustaining Member today at the level that works for you. Thanks!
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Your headlines are sourced and composed by Rosecrans Baldwin (☜) and Andrew Womack, Monday through Saturday. View this edition and the latest headlines at TMN.