As Trump continues to flood the zone with executive orders and brainless pronouncements designed to commandeer our attention while he attempts to install autocracy as our operating system, I’m reminded of the typology of trauma response. When pursued by a sabre-toothed tiger, we are told, our ancient ancestors experienced the same three impulses that beset …
In 2018, the egregious Trump strategist Steve Bannon—erstwhile investment banker, Hollywood executive producer, and cofounder of Breitbart News—was interviewed by the writer Michael Lewis, who inquired about the Trumpists’ strategy to vanquish the Democrats. “The Democrats don’t matter,” Bannon said. “The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to …
NOTE: This post is to introduce you to the 48th episode of François Matarasso’s and my monthly podcast, “A Culture of Possibility.” It will be available starting 17 January 2025. You can find it and all episodes at Stitcher, iTunes, and wherever you get your podcasts, along with miaaw.net‘s other podcasts by Owen Kelly, Sophie …
My husband and I have a new year’s custom. Every December 31, each of us writes on little slips of paper the things we want to bring into the new year. We place the papers in a bowl near our wood stove, and start our ritual each year by reading the slips we created on …