The Best Stuff I Read This Week

“The cumulative effect of thousands of ethical actions can help to save and improve our world for future generations.”

— Jane Goodall & Douglas Abrams / The Book of Hope

“I am willing to walk
away, willing to be
on fire, to blaze
to Blake, to sink
into the moon’s
aphorism and
its garden of figures.”

— Peter Gizzi / “Song”

“Let’s stop sleepwalking towards the destruction of our planet by climate change. Today it is Pakistan. Tomorrow it could be your country.”

— António Guterres / U.N. Secretary-General, August 30, 2022

“The average life expectancy of Americans fell precipitously in 2020 and 2021, the sharpest two-year decline in nearly 100 years and a stark reminder of the toll exacted on the nation by the continuing coronavirus pandemic … In 2021, the average American could expect to live until the age of 76 … The figure represents a loss of almost three years since 2019, when Americans could expect to live, on average, nearly 79 years.”

— Roni Caryn Rabin / “U.S. Life Expectancy Falls Again in ‘Historic’ Setback” / The New York Times

“This virus is going to continue to throw 210-mile-an-hour curveballs at us, so get ready…It’s not done with us just yet.’’

— Michael Osterholm / “What we’ve learned about COVID-19” / The Boston Globe

“As usual, predators are wreaking havoc on the internet. Predators are the only people in town. If she had to summarize the plot of contemporary life, the mother would say: it’s about everyone punishing each other for things they didn’t do.”

— Tess Gunty / The Rabbit Hutch

“Hope is contagious. Your actions will inspire others.”

— Jane Goodall & Douglas Abrams / The Book of Hope

What I’m Listening To:

“They were planting seeds at night
To grow a made-up paradise
Where the truth was auto-tuned”

— Gorillaz / “Cracker Island”