Popular Writing Advice That's Actually Bad

Tell don't show, write what you don't know, and let those darlings live.

Aug 21

25

Drugs Should Be Illegal Because Buying Them in Stores Is Lame

We traded rebellion for retail and now everything is worse.

Aug 3

49

June 2025

Sketches from Parenthood, Months 2–6

Parenthood fears and the true meaning of commitment. Also, the time DMB's tour bus dumped 800 pounds of poop onto an open-top boat.

Jun 17

18

May 2025

Things I Learned from The Idea Factory

Fun facts about Bell Labs, midcentury American businesses, and the device formerly known as "stimulated emission."

May 21

16

April 2025

Missionary Impossible

Ross Douthat tries and fails to turn me religious

Apr 4

11

March 2025

A Few of My More Humiliating First Date Mishaps

100% true stories from my single days.

Mar 12

21

February 2025

God Bites Man

How I kinda, sorta, maybe stopped being an atheist

Feb 21

25

January 2025

Another Twelve Months I’ll Never Get Back

2024 in review and “resolutions” for 2025

Jan 3

36

December 2024

Sketches from Parenthood, Days 1–30

Hello from the other side.

Dec 28, 2024

31

The Best (Or Maybe Just Most Top of Mind) Things I Read in 2024

Various arrangements of words that stuck with me this year.

Dec 5, 2024

15

November 2024

What I've Been Reading About the Election

Some links

Nov 7, 2024

27

October 2024

Having a Kid Is Already Fucking Me Up and He Hasn't Even Been Born Yet

The only essay you'll ever read about parenthood that compares it to fucking a sheep.

Oct 27, 2024

55